10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About The Death Star
3. Rogue One's Kyber Crystals Have Been Around From The Start
Remember the Kyber Crystals, the magic macguffins used to power the Death Star's laser in Rogue One? Introduced as suddenly as The Phantom Menace's much-derided midichlorians, the use of the kyber crystals seems a shoed-in plot point to explain why the Empire is interested in the dusty wasteland of Jedha and its Jedi temple.
Except the kyber crystals concept is older than the original Star Wars trilogy. They turned up as early as the second draft of the film that would become A New Hope, which featured Luke Starkiller fighting the Black Knights of the Sith and used a 'kiber crystal' as one of its major plot points.
This glowing magic rock can enhance the wielder's Force abilities, heal the dying, and generally do everything a scriptwriter needs in his mystical space artifacts.
The kyber crystals survived in now non-canon form as force crystals essential to the construction of lightsabers and much sought-after by Expanded Universe force users of every stripe. The concept survived never being mentioned on-screen until it was finally entered cinematic canon as the magic ingredient that gives the Death Star its oomph.