Foreshadowing is a powerful tool at the disposal of storytellers, used to add depth and detail to narratives and the arcs of characters. With twelve theatrical films and five full-length canon TV shows under Star Wars' belt, foreshadowing is prominent, and on many occasions, it is brilliantly used, often adding an extra layer to the content upon rewatches as well as the initial viewing.
It is hard for foreshadowing to be fully effective given the variety of orders in which Star Wars can get watched. But from improving the arcs of character duos to hints at the saga's future, it is so often used to great effect in the Galaxy far, far away.
The Zillo Beast On Coruscant - The Clone Wars
As a contained story, the Zillo Beast arc in The Clone Wars is a good arc with some great moments and has a simple yet effective bit of foreshadowing that leads perfectly into the second part of the story.
After finding out the Zillo Beast was to get transported to Coruscant, Anakin remarks the Beast will be safe, prompting Windu to reply, "Let's hope we can say the same about Coruscant." Of course, the second episode of the arc sees the Zillo Beast escape and wreak havoc on Coruscant. It is not a hugely affecting piece of foreshadowing, just a simple example that leads one episode into the next.
"Let's Split Up." - The Clone Wars
In the Bad Batch arc of The Clone Wars' 7th season, one small detail stuck out to fans who rewatched it after The Bad Batch season 1, a moment where Anakin says, "Let's split up" that seems to foreshadow Crosshair's turn to the Empire.
When Anakin says this - while on the search for Echo - only Crosshair goes with Anakin. Both of these characters would go on to the Empire not long after this arc, betraying their comrades in the process. Whether this was deliberate or not is unknown, but it is an excellent piece of symbolic foreshadowing nonetheless.
Leia's Floating Back To The Ship - The Last Jedi
The Last Jedi is full of controversial moments, not least of all Leia's Mary Poppins-esque float through space back to the Resistance ship. This scene did, though, provide a great little hard-to-spot piece of foreshadowing.
While floating back, Leia flies through the destroyed bridge of the ship where a hologram of the Supremacy is still active; a hologram Leia es through the middle of. Later in the movie, Vice-iral Holdo completes the Holdo maneuver, flying the ship through the Supremacy, destroying it in a beautiful Star Wars visual. This was undoubtedly a deliberate little easter egg and moment of foreshadowing from Rian Johnson.
Beckett's Advice - Solo: A Star Wars Story
Solo: A Star Wars Story may well be the most underrated Star Wars film out there. It is a fun adventure story with some awesome characters and performances. One solid character is Beckett, who provides some obvious foreshadowing to audiences and Han.
He tells Han not to trust anyone and "assume everyone will betray you." At the climax of the film, Beckett unsurprisingly turns on Han. Fans could see that moment coming a mile away, but it actually works well thanks to the performances and Han quickly shooting Beckett.
Rex's Ability To Follow Orders - The Clone Wars
When foreshadowing comes seasons and years before it pays off, it is hard to believe it is deliberately done, and that is the case for the moment when Obi-Wan remarks that Rex does not follow orders well.
In The Clone Wars season 7, fans see Rex resist and fight Order 66 - proving why he is one of the best and most likable clones in the Star Wars franchise - to the best of his ability before completely abandoning the programming when the chip responsible got removed. It is unlikely Filoni and Lucas put the line from Obi-Wan in season 1 of the show in the knowledge that Rex would fight Order 66, but it is great hearing the line years later, knowing what Rex went through.
"Why Do I Get The Feeling You're Going To Be The Death Of Me?" - Attack Of The Clones
Some lines in the Skywalker saga are only properly foreshadowing depending on the order in which the fan watches the films, and this line from Obi-Wan is a great example if the prequels are watched before the originals.
Despite Anakin's protests that Obi-Wan is like a father to him at this moment, Obi-Wan would eventually die at the hands of Anakin/Darth Vader in A New Hope. It is hard to class moments like this as true foreshadowing given the fact Obi-Wan got killed by Anakin twenty-five years before this line was spoken.
Luke Sees Himself In Vader's Mask - The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back is widely considered the best Star Wars film, and in one of the movie's most crucial scenes, Luke sees himself in the mask of Darth Vader, a moment of great significance and symbolic foreshadowing.
Later in the film, it gets revealed that Luke is the son of Darth Vader, a twist deemed by many as the greatest in cinematic history. This is a moment of foreshadowing that does not rely on the dialogue or the sheer obviousness of the moment, but one that is pretty nuanced, improving and being fully understood when the twist reveals itself later on.
Kylo Questions His Connection With Rey - THe Last Jedi
Arguably the best scenes in the sequel trilogy are those that see Rey and Kylo Ren's dynamic explored. This is done especially well in The Last Jedi when their Force dyad gets introduced, and a line from Kylo holds so much weight and is full of foreshadowing.
When the two first see each other through the Force, Kylo remarks, "You aren't doing this. The effort would kill you." Not only was this hinting at Snoke - or anyone for that matter - connecting the pair, but it also lets audiences know that putting enough effort into a Force ability could kill the , just like it did to Luke later in the movie when he used Force projection - the first and only time a character has done so on screen.
"If There's One Thing We Clones Know What To Do..." - The Clone Wars
One of the most prominent themes and ideas in The Clone Wars is the individuality of clones, the idea that they are not programmed like droids. In reality, that is exactly what they are, thanks to Palpatine, and one remark in "Brain Invaders" foreshadows as such.
The clone Edge remarks that "If there's one thing we clones know, it's how to stop a Jedi." Of course, by this point, Revenge of the Sith and the Siege of Mandalore, and a heartbreaking one at that since The Clone Wars gets fans so attached to both clones and Jedi alike.
Jedi Can Be Killed - The Phantom Menace
Qui-Gon Jinn may have only been in one of the prequel trilogy films, but he still managed to be one of its best characters, and he gave way to one of the more harrowing moments of foreshadowing in the saga when Anakin remarks that nobody could kill a Jedi.
Qui-Gon's "I wish that were so" is not just indicative of the wider Galaxy where Jedi continually die in the prequel era - some of which at the hands of Anakin - but is more explicitly foreshadowing his death, which comes epically at the climax of The Phantom Menace.
