The first film in the Star Wars saga is now legendary. Nevertheless, in retrospect, a lie has crept in that denies the rebels some significant victories.
The intro to Star Wars is iconic. After the line that appears, “Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away,” comes the fanfare and the prologue text, which briefly explains the starting point of each film.
This was already the case with the first part, episode 4 in 1977 and has not changed to this day. But in the first film, of all things, a lie crept into the text, which was only exposed years later by series and the Star Wars canon.
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The rebels were already celebrating victories before Rogue One
What lie is it about? The intro to “A New Hope” talks about the “first victory against the evil galactic empire.” This refers to the Battle of Scarif, during which the rebels managed to steal the Death Star plans.
This event is told in the film Rogue One and leads to the turning point in the conflict between the Rebellion and the Empire. However, the statement that this was the rebels’ first victory is not true.
As seen in the Rebels series, there have been successful battles and victories against the Empire before. So Scarif wasn’t the first.
One could still argue that the rebels before the Battle of Scarif consisted of various, small groups and resistance movements rather than forming a unity. However, there were already recognizable structures and key figures within the alliance before the events of Rogue One.
How can this be explained? Star Wars was created in 1977, and at that time it was not yet clear how big the universe would become. The intro text probably simply didn’t take into account any previous stories.
In retrospect, it made sense to tell the complex history of the alliance in all its details in series like Rebels. The series creators probably didn’t want to hide the rebels’ first triumphs, even if they contradict the prologue of the first film. It is a “mistake” that is easily forgiven. Even outside of the films, there are interesting characters that are worth a look: One of the best Star Wars games introduced a powerful character who could even defeat Darth Vader.