Nearly 40 years after the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story creatively answered the franchise's first mystery. George Lucas never imagined the heights his space opera would soar to, least of all that a cryptic age included in the original Star Wars film's opening crawl would be solved some four decades later in Rogue One. That iconic yellow text read, "It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR..."
Immediately, these words sparked mystery over who stole the Imperial Death Star plans, and how they achieved such a feat. The unseen battle sounded like a story worth a movie itself, but for Star Wars, was just background before the main event. Nevertheless, this vague allusion to Rebel spies technically represents Star Wars' very first mystery. Star Wars Legends had its own, quite complex, answer, with Operation Skyhook encoming multiple missions across multiple releases. One official canon answer, however, finally came via Rogue One almost 40 years after the question was originally posed, giving the spinoff the unique honor of fully answering the very first mystery in Star Wars history.
Rogue One Does Star Wars' Opening Crawl Justice
The primary task of Rogue One as a Star Wars spinoff was highlighting the hidden figures behind the scenes of the Rebellion. This challenge was ed with flying colors, as Rogue One portrayed a level of realism that had not yet been seen in a Star Wars movie. George Lucas' opening crawl provided the much-needed context audiences needed before being dropped into Star Wars' iconic cat-and-mouse opening scene and subsequent confrontation with Darth Vader, but it glossed over a major chapter in the Rebel Alliance's victory. Star Wars Legends' attempt to plug the gap, meanwhile, lacked cohesion. Rogue One finally did justice to Star Wars' opening crawl.
As compelling as George Lucas' original space opera story may be, Star Wars' focus was undoubtedly centered on the big-name heroes of the Rebellion - Luke, Han, Leia, etc. The Disney Star Wars sequel trilogy largely honored this trend through its continued focus on the Skywalkers. Rogue One seized the opportunity to solve Star Wars' first mystery, and finally chronicle the Rebellion's unsung heroes in the visceral, gritty, realistic manner such a huge untold story deserved.
Andor & Rogue One Make A New Hope Even Better
Although Rogue One epitomized Star Wars Legends retcons, it did so in a manner that laid the groundwork for a more nuanced depiction of the Rebellion that has found further critical success through Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine were, Rogue One and Andor have both highlighted the Empire's more grounded horrors. Lightsabers, super weapons, and force lightning are powerful instruments of the war machine, but the Empire's true terror lies in their overwhelming propensity to subjugate and suppress the galaxy's more ordinary citizens.
George Lucas likely would have jumped at the chance to tell these down-to-earth stories in 1977 if he were afforded the means to do so. Instead, Rogue One and Andor have expertly bridged the gap between Star Wars eras, telling the stories Lucas' original film only hinted at. The gritty, boots-on-the-ground story of sacrifice has shed new light on the Rebel Alliance, as the actions of the Rogue One crew served as the catalyst for the Empire's demise, culminating when Luke's resonant trench run destroyed the Death Star. The seeds for that expansion, however, trace all the way back to the very first seconds of Star Wars.
