9 Major Retcons That Saved Iconic Movie Franchises

4. The Death Star's Fatal Flaw - Rogue One

It was a long running joke in the Star Wars community that the Death Star was taken out pretty easily for a weapon which could literally blow up planets. A bit like a video game boss, the idea that there was such a large, obvious weakspot waiting to be exploited felt a little bit contrived, and an oversight that the Empire would never have made.

In perhaps the best bit of retroactive continuity ever however, Rogue One made that slight goof the entire point of its plot. The Star Wars spin-off is all about how the Rebels got the secret codes to the Empire's new super-weapon, and the legacy of the man, Galen Erso, who was forced to build it. It turned out that the Death Star's weakspot wasn't just an unlucky accident, but actually an act of sabotage on behalf of Erso, who conveyed the information to his daughter before dying.

Recontextualising the entirety of A New Hope, this added detail imbues that movie with even greater significance, and solves one of the most infamous "plot holes" in cinema history.