8 Movie Mistakes Acknowledged As Canon
When movies embrace their flaws.
Like death and taxes, movie mistakes are just a part of life. They're usually so minor as to go unnoticed by most all viewers, though every so often they're egregious enough to stand out, and even leave fans questioning the internal logic of the story they're trying to enjoy.
While the majority of filmmakers and movie franchises won't care to ever acknowledge these gaffes, there are occasional instances where films have actually bothered to take the initial mistake and either address it or even roll it directly into the existing continuity.
This can happen by engaging with a supposed "plot hole" on screen - typically referred to as "hanging a lampshade" on it - making fun of the mistake in a future movie, or otherwise just actively embracing the unintentional screw-up as a very real part of the mythology.
Given that these mistakes, plot holes, and questionable storytelling beats have all invited much discussion from fans over the years, it's refreshing to see franchises daring to tackle them head-on rather than just burying their heads in the sand...
8. The Clumsy Stormtrooper - Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: A New Hope plays host to one of the most infamous - and glorious! - gaffes in cinema history, when an ill-sighted stormtrooper smacks his head on one of the Death Star's doors.
The moment has been relentlessly relished by fans ever since the film's original 1977 release.
According to the man behind the helmet, the mistake happened because he was preoccupied with a bout of intestinal trouble during shooting, yet neither George Lucas nor any other crew member apparently noticed the comical error.
And though Lucas can be a rather humourless sort where mockery of his baby is concerned - and honestly, can you blame him? - in this instance he decided to lean into the absurdity and make the mistake even more apparent for A New Hope's 2004 re-issue.
Lucas added a distinctive metallic "donk" sound effect to the helmet's impact, ensuring practically nobody watching could miss it while giving everyone another big laugh in the process.
Lucas further toyed with fans by also including an overt reference to the injury in 2002's Attack of the Clones, where Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) hits his own head on the door of his ship, Slave I, while escaping Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor).
Given that a good portion of the first-generation stormtroopers are cloned from Jango himself, Lucas has basically made that lunk-headed clumsiness a damn genetic character trait.