9 Major Retcons That Saved Iconic Movie Franchises

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

Star Wars Rogue One Princess Leia
Lucasfilm

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.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.