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00:00 As well as all of the X-Wings, TIE Fighters and Jedi, if there's one thing Star Wars
00:04 has become well known for over its 45 year tenure, it is the vast number of plot twists.
00:10 These revelations, with the large ones tending to appear in the films, are frequent in every
00:14 corner of this space opera, from comic books and novels to TV shows and of course, video
00:20 games. And we're here to talk about the biggest and the best today. As I'm Jules,
00:24 this is WhatCulture.com, and these are the 10 Biggest Plot Twists in Star Wars History.
00:29 10. Boba Fett Escaped the Sarlacc Pit
00:32 From his initial introduction in the Star Wars Holiday Special, Boba Fett has enjoyed
00:37 a cult following of fans, which was only heightened once the bounty hunter appeared on the big
00:41 screen in The Empire Strikes Back. However, Fett would not get the send-off that many
00:45 fans wanted for the character, after he gets accidentally thrown into the Sarlacc Pit in
00:50 Episode VI. On the 2004 special edition DVD of Return of the Jedi, George Lucas laments
00:55 Fett's death, saying that "In the case of Boba Fett's death, had I known he was
00:59 going to turn into such a popular character, I probably would have made it a little more
01:03 exciting." Despite his limited screen time and his undignified death, Fett quickly became
01:08 a fan-favourite character, with many clamouring to see more of the bounty hunter. Several
01:13 decades later, viewers were delighted to see the bounty hunter make a triumphant return
01:17 in the second season of The Mandalorian, after his embarrassing defeat at the hands of a
01:21 blind Han Solo.
01:23 Although his spin-off show, The Book of Boba Fett, which detailed how Boba survived his
01:27 Sarlacc encounter, didn't exactly satisfy everybody, Star Wars fans are excited to see
01:31 where Lucasfilm takes the original Mandalorian next.
01:35 9. Darth Maul Survived
01:37 One of the many things that Star Wars The Clone Wars did right was its villains, particularly
01:42 the Sith assassin Darth Maul. Although the character had been soundly defeated by Padawan
01:47 Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of The Phantom Menace, Maul made a surprise return in the Clone Wars
01:52 episode 'Witches of the Mist', and would go on to create a brutal rivalry with Kenobi
01:57 throughout the remainder of the show.
01:58 Speaking to Rebel Force Radio, The Clone Wars director Dave Filoni reflected on revisiting
02:03 the Zabrak warrior and his role in the show, saying that "Definitely one of the hardest
02:07 things we've had to do on the show was resurrect Darth Maul. We kind of took baby steps into
02:12 this. We brought Boba Fett back into the show, we were very careful about how we did that,
02:17 and we brought Chewbacca into the show, so we were able to practice getting these types
02:20 of characters that people know right. To me, the exciting part about bringing Darth Maul
02:24 back to the show is now you don't know what happens to him."
02:27 Though Maul's death was later seen in Star Wars Rebels, his return in The Clone Wars
02:32 was every bit as surprising as it was exciting for fans of the show.
02:36 8. Kylo Ren is a Solo
02:39 When it was first announced that the House of Mouse would be making a new Star Wars trilogy
02:42 in 2012, fans were ecstatic that they would be seeing their favourite characters return.
02:48 This excitement was amplified when a trailer for The Force Awakens was released in 2014,
02:52 in which a Dark Jedi later revealed to be Kylo Ren dominated the discourse amongst fans.
02:57 Eventually it was announced that Adam Driver would be playing that role, though Ren's
03:01 true identity was kept a secret up until the film's arrival to cinemas in 2015, where
03:06 he was presented to be the son of Han Solo and Leia.
03:10 As the picture progresses, Kylo's dark bond with his heritage and parentage is continually
03:15 strained, reaching the heartbreaking climax of Ren murdering his own father in an effort
03:20 to honour his grandfather, Darth Vader.
03:22 Speaking at a post-screening Q&A session at the Writers Guild of America, director J.J.
03:26 Abrams spoke about the decision to kill Han Solo, and this is what he had to say.
03:31 "Star Wars had the greatest villain in cinema history. So how you bring a new villain into
03:35 that world is a very tricky thing. We knew we needed to do something bold. The only reason
03:40 why Kylo Ren has any hope of being a worthy successor is because we lose one of the most
03:44 beloved characters."
03:45 7. Luke Skywalker in 'The Last Jedi'
03:49 Easily one of the most contentious films in the Star Wars saga is 2017's 'The Last
03:54 Jedi', with director Rian Johnson choosing to take the franchise in a bold direction,
03:58 and it's fair to say that the film divided the fanbase, particularly over the portrayal
04:03 of Luke Skywalker.
04:04 Following on from 'The Force Awakens', which had Luke desert his friends and their
04:08 cause, 'The Last Jedi' had to answer the reasoning behind Skywalker's disappearance.
04:12 Eventually it came to light that the Jedi Master had felt a sharp darkness in his nephew
04:16 Ben Solo, and had seen the pain and suffering he would inflict on the galaxy. In a brief
04:21 moment of instinct, Luke ignited his lightsaber before realising what he was doing. Skywalker
04:26 was left with shame, and had inadvertently created Kylo Ren in an instinctive attempt
04:31 to prevent his creation.
04:32 Johnson's take on Luke saw Star Wars fans erupt into debate as to whether or not the
04:37 director's answer was fitting for the character. Many saw this answer as a blatant character
04:41 assassination of Luke Skywalker, whilst others enjoyed Johnson's take on the character,
04:46 as it gave the Jedi a new emotional battle to overcome. Although the debate still rages
04:50 on, this twist is undoubtedly one of the biggest the space opera has to offer.
04:55 6. Emperor Palpatine Lives
04:57 By the conclusion of 'Return of the Jedi', Anakin Skywalker fulfils his prophecy by extinguishing
05:03 Darth Vader and killing his master, Darth Sidious. However, in the final chapter in
05:07 the Star Wars saga, 2019's 'The Rise of Skywalker', Palpatine is resurrected for
05:12 our heroes to overcome. In a 2019 interview with Collider, J.J. Abrams opened up about
05:17 the decision to bring Palpatine back into the frame. As the filmmaker explained, "You
05:21 just look at what he talks about, who he is, how important he is, what the story is. Strangely,
05:26 his absence entirely from the third trilogy would actually be conspicuous. It would be
05:30 very weird."
05:31 Although Palpatine was heavily used during the marketing of 'The Rise of Skywalker',
05:35 the reveal that the Sith Lord had survived his ordeal on the second Death Star was absolutely
05:40 shocking. But that did not mean it was for the right reasons. As many fans were quick
05:44 to point out, Palpatine's surviving past the end of 'Return of the Jedi' does a
05:47 disservice to Anakin Skywalker's chosen one prophecy, particularly as Palpatine was
05:52 finally defeated by Rey in the final moments of 'The Rise of Skywalker'. Whether or
05:57 not Palpatine's return was the best thing for the sequel trilogy, it was undoubtedly
06:00 a huge surprise seeing the Sith Lord again.
06:03 5. Rey is a nobody
06:06 For as controversial as 'The Last Jedi' is, one aspect that more and more fans seem
06:10 to be agreeing on is Rey's lineage. After the release of 'The Force Awakens', fans
06:14 were quick to speculate on who Rey's parents were. After waiting two agonizing years for
06:19 the next installment of the sequel trilogy, 'The Last Jedi' confronted fans with the
06:22 big twist that Rey was a nobody. During a 2018 podcast interview with Empire, Rian Johnson
06:28 justified the reveal that Rey was a nobody. As Johnson put it, "For me, if Rey had gotten
06:33 the answer that she's related to so-and-so, that would have been the easiest thing she
06:36 can hear. The hardest thing to hear is, 'Nope, this is not going to define you.' And in
06:41 fact, Kylo is going to use this to try and undercut your confidence so that you'll
06:45 feel you have to lean on him for your identity. And you're going to have to make the choice
06:49 to find your own identity in this story."
06:51 Though Rey's heritage was later retconned in 'The Rise of Skywalker', the initial
06:55 reveal in 'The Last Jedi' was one of the most impactful plot twists in Disney's
06:59 'Star Wars' sequels.
07:00 4. Princess Leia is a Skywalker
07:03 One of the biggest revelations the original trilogy brought to 'Star Wars' was the
07:06 heritage of Princess Leia. As Luke leaves Dagobah to rescue his friends on Bespin, Obi-Wan
07:11 worries for the young Skywalker's fate, though Yoda hints at another hope, by reassuring
07:16 Kenobi there is another. By return of the Jedi, the Jedi Grandmaster reveals to Luke
07:21 that he has a sibling, and that sibling was Leia.
07:24 In the year 2000, the producer of 'A New Hope' and 'The Empire Strikes Back',
07:28 Gary Kurtz, stated that Leia was not always meant to be a Skywalker, with the return of
07:32 the Jedi initially having a very different ending. He said, "The story was quite a
07:36 bit more poignant, and the ending was the coronation of Leia as the queen of what was
07:40 left of her people, to take over the royal symbol. That meant that she was then isolated
07:44 from all of the rest, and Luke went off by himself. It was basically a kind of bittersweet
07:48 ending. She's not his sister that dropped in to wrap up everything neatly."
07:52 With this reveal, Lucas had inadvertently opened a can of worms for the 'Star Wars'
07:56 franchise, such as whether or not Leia could be trained as a Jedi, as well as her unfortunate
08:00 kiss with her brother on Hoth. Even so, Leia being a Skywalker certainly came as a major
08:06 shock to fans.
08:07 3. You Are Darth Revan
08:09 What is widely regarded as the best 'Star Wars' game, and say it with me kids, of
08:14 all time, 'Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic' story and gameplay would go on
08:18 to lay the foundations of what a great role-playing game could and should be. Right from the beginning,
08:23 the player is informed of the dangers of the Sith Lord Darth Malak, and what threat they
08:27 pose to the galaxy, as well as learning about the Dark Jedi and his empire throughout the
08:32 game's playtime.
08:33 A detail that is constantly brought up is that Malak had betrayed his master Darth Revan,
08:37 and had taken the title of Dark Lord of the Sith for himself after Revan's death. However,
08:42 during the player battle with Malak, it's finally revealed that you are Revan, and that
08:46 the Jedi had taken your body and wiped your mind after Malak's betrayal.
08:50 Given the nature of a role-playing game, the player is then free to decide what to do with
08:54 this information. The player could choose to eventually obliterate the Republic's
08:57 fleet and retake their title as Dark Lord of the Sith, or vanquish Malak and destroy
09:02 the Star Forge. No matter what decision the player makes, the reveal that you are Darth
09:06 Revan most certainly shaped how the rest of the game was played, as well as what a good
09:10 Star Wars twist could be.
09:12 2. Order 66
09:14 Even though everyone knew that Chancellor Palpatine would emerge from the prequel trilogy
09:18 as the tyrannical Emperor, viewers did not know how he would do so. During 'A New Hope',
09:23 Obi-Wan Kenobi briefly mentions the Clone Wars and the twilight of the Republic to a
09:27 starry-eyed Luke Skywalker, and so fans came to know that the downfall of the Jedi was
09:31 intrinsically linked to the conflict. So, by the release of 'Revenge of the Sith',
09:35 Star Wars fans were keen to see the Clone Wars and Palpatine's plan to overthrow galactic
09:40 democracy unfold. What came as a twist was that the clones the Jedi were fighting alongside
09:44 were instrumental in the Sith Grand Plan, and the destruction of the Jedi Order. Keen-eyed
09:50 viewers certainly could have worked out Palpatine's scheme, considering that 'Attack of the
09:53 Clones' indicates that the clone donor, Jango Fett, was hired by Darth Tyrannus, the
09:58 apprentice of Darth Sidious, in order to create an army for the Jedi.
10:01 Although the reveal that Chancellor Palpatine was Darth Sidious was not necessarily a shock
10:05 to the audience, it was still very much a major plot twist in the story of Star Wars,
10:10 and is one of the most important plot points in the saga, considering it set in motion
10:14 the story of the original trilogy.
10:16 1. Darth Vader is Luke's father
10:18 Arguably the biggest plot twist in cinema history, the reveal that Darth Vader is Luke
10:23 Skywalker's father shook the foundations of the burgeoning franchise to its core, whilst
10:28 also cementing Star Wars' place in popular culture. The twist was so shocking that both
10:33 George Lucas and the Empire Strikes Back director agreed to keep the plot point completely hidden
10:38 from everyone, including virtually every member of the film's cast and crew. In order to
10:43 keep that reveal a secret, a false page was put into the script, which would have seen
10:47 Darth Vader declaring that Obi-Wan had killed Luke's father. However, the twist was quietly
10:52 revealed to Mark Hamill during the shooting of the scene to ensure the actor could elicit
10:56 an appropriate reaction to the revelation.
10:58 In a 2017 interview with Graham Norton, Hamill stated that "the director handed me a piece
11:03 of paper and said, 'I am your father.' I was shocked. I said, 'Is this true? Oh
11:07 my gosh, Dad Vader!'"
11:09 Luckily, the revelation was kept a secret right up until The Empire Strikes Back's
11:13 release in 1980, and so by the end of the film, the cast were just as stunned as audiences
11:18 all over the world were.
11:20 And there we go my friends, those were the 10 biggest plot twists in Star Wars history.
11:23 I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
11:26 the comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter
11:30 @RetroJay but the O is a zero, or you can swing by Instagram where it's the same handle,
11:35 RetroJay but the O is a zero. Hope to see you over there. But before I go, I just want
11:39 to say one thing, and this won't come as a surprise plot twist to many because I end
11:43 all of my videos in this way, and that is with a big dose of positivity for you listening
11:47 at home. I hope that you're treating yourself well with love and respect my friend because
11:52 you deserve all of the best things in life alright, and do not let anything or anyone
11:55 else tell you otherwise. You are a massive ledge, and I'm waiting to go up there and
12:00 utterly smash it today. I believe in you.
12:02 As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak
12:06 to you soon. Bye.