10 Times Star Wars Gave Fans Exactly What They Wanted
Long-awaited Force Ghosts, epic returns, and more times Star Wars delivered fans the goods.
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00:00 From jaw-dropping rematches that more than lived up to the hype, to the long-awaited
00:04 return of some of the galaxy's most cherished figures.
00:08 Star Wars fans may not be able to agree on most things when it pertains to this corner
00:11 of space, but next to no one will argue with the following moments all being instances
00:16 of force-infused fan service done right.
00:19 Gareth here from WhatCulture Star Wars and here are 10 times Star Wars gave fans exactly
00:24 what they wanted.
00:26 10.
00:27 Rematch of the Century Most of the attention was quite rightly focused
00:31 on a certain rematch of the century coming into Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi.
00:35 Yet instead of simply carting out the two former brothers-in-arms to duke it out just
00:39 at once, after spending nearly two decades away from the Star Wars spotlight, Deborah
00:44 Chow and Kathleen Kennedy gifted fans with the sight of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen's
00:49 Ben Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader crossing lightsabers on three separate and
00:55 wholly satisfying occasions.
00:57 And Obi-Wan absolute mauling at the hands of the rage-fuelled Dark Lord in Part 3 was
01:02 eventually followed by a digitally de-aged bout of training between Master and Padawan
01:06 from before the Clone Wars in Part 5.
01:08 And if that was not enough, the iconic figures were given one last chance to truly let loose
01:14 against one another in the series finale, with Kenobi reverting back to a classic stance,
01:19 Vader finally getting the high ground, and a merging of Christensen and James Earl Jones'
01:24 unmistakable voices, post-mask-smashing all leaving fans needing a serious lie-down.
01:29 9.
01:30 Han Solo completes the Kessel Run
01:32 Let's face it, Solo a Star Wars story will not go down in history as one of the most
01:37 universally beloved tales ever told in this galaxy far, far away.
01:41 But that's not to say that every aspect of this prequel feature can be deemed as a
01:44 complete and utter failure upon a rewatch.
01:47 In fact, arguably one of the most mythical stories ever to tumble out of a much-loved
01:51 character's mouth was finally and brilliantly realised on the big screen in Ron Howard's
01:56 space adventure.
01:57 After years of banging on about his trusty Millennium Falcon being the mighty ship that
02:01 was able to make the perilous, multiple black hole-boasting Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs,
02:07 Disney finally rewarded fans with the concrete evidence of the legendary Solo genuinely pulling
02:11 off this mesmerising feat within their 2018 outing.
02:15 Thanks to an inspired shortcut, of course.
02:17 Sure, the origins of the titular icon's last name, among many other frustrating elements
02:21 within this dud of a flick, may not have excited the masses.
02:25 But you'd be lying if you said you weren't even a little bit thrilled by this sequence
02:28 of Solo finally living up to his legend.
02:31 8.
02:32 Ahsoka comes face-to-face with Vader
02:34 Throughout the massively embraced Clone Wars animated series, one character alone stood
02:39 as the undoubted MVP of these prequel tales - Ahsoka Tano.
02:43 So with the fierce figure acting as Anakin Skywalker's Padawan in her time before leaving
02:47 the Jedi Order behind, fans were always somewhat curious as to what would have gone down if
02:52 the former Master and Apprentice crossed paths once again in the wake of the former's tragic
02:56 fall to the deck, said.
02:58 Well March 2016's Twilight of the Apprentice Rebels' hour-long special finale to season
03:03 2 finally provided Skyguy supporters with that exact scenario.
03:08 And boy did it deliver on the emotional gut-punch front.
03:10 Watching each other blow for blow during their instantly immortalised showdown on Malachor,
03:15 Tano's slashing of Vader's helmet stunningly mirrors the moment Obi-Wan Kenobi does something
03:19 similar to his one-time ally in the recent live-action series.
03:24 And just like that emotionally charged beat, a flicker of the Skywalker within is enough
03:28 to fool Ahsoka into thinking there's still hope for her former master, as she confesses
03:32 that she won't leave him, not this time.
03:35 It may have been something fans were fantasising about for an age, but that still doesn't
03:39 mean they were ready for Vader's attempts to murder another piece of his past.
03:43 7.
03:44 Maul vs. Kenobi One Last Time
03:46 What appeared to be a rather fatal conclusion for Darth Maul during his Duel of the Fates
03:50 skirmish with Obi-Wan Kenobi, merely provided the foundations for one of the most iconic
03:55 rivalries in the galaxy.
03:56 Spending much of the Clone Wars obsessed with exacting revenge on the Jedi Knight, after
04:01 being revealed to have miraculously survived his chopping in half, the pair's destinies
04:05 appeared to be forever intertwined.
04:07 It was until Maul finally tracked down his long-time adversary on Tatooine many years
04:11 after the fall of the Jedi Order and the Republic.
04:14 Maul and Kenobi collide on the desert sands as the former becomes wise to the reasons
04:19 behind the latter's stay on the planet.
04:21 Short, sweet and deeply impactful, Kenobi aptly cuts down his old enemy using Qui-Gon's
04:26 old stance.
04:27 Brings a tear to your eye, but in another rather poetic turn of events, the tortured
04:32 Dathomirian then peacefully passes on in Kenobi's arms.
04:35 With the knowledge of Luke very much being the chosen one tasked with avenging them both.
04:39 An appropriate ending fit for a horned icon.
04:42 6.
04:43 The Return of Boba Fett From the second a certain Beskar-sporting
04:46 badass was accidentally sent flying into a Sarlacc pit, fans were already banging the
04:51 drum to see the return of the coolest bounty hunter in the galaxy.
04:55 And while few were expecting it to take a whopping near four decades to see him dust
04:59 off that aforementioned dance with death, the reality of Temura Morrison stepping back
05:03 into the Fett saddle in Disney+'s The Mandalorian, after his turns as Jango and many a clone,
05:09 was enough to produce a smile from just about every Star Wars fan in the galaxy.
05:13 Now sure, his long-awaited spin-off may not have quite lived up to the hype in the end,
05:17 with the book of Boba Fett's finest moments arguably taking place without a Boba in sight,
05:21 but the presence of this now multi-layered and battle-hardened daimyo will always be
05:25 welcome on the big and small screen in future space-aged entries.
05:29 So here's hoping Morrison gets his wish of bringing the legend back to his badass
05:33 ways, should he blast his way back into the Mandalorian or other corners of this galaxy
05:37 far far away in the coming years.
05:39 5.
05:40 Luke Skywalker in his prime
05:42 Few Star Wars moments will ever be able to match the sheer level of surprise conjured
05:46 up by Dave Filoni and the gang in the closing stages of the second season of their Disney+
05:51 live-action bibi.
05:52 Going to frankly absurd lengths to keep this undoubtedly moving return a secret, even digitally
05:57 rendering a graphic of Plo Koon's head to lace on top of the performance to keep those
06:01 behind the scenes from uncovering the shocking truth, none other than Luke bloody Skywalker
06:06 was unleashed on a troop of dark troopers late in the day.
06:09 Combining barmy digital de-aging effects when utilising Mark Hamill himself, with the performance
06:14 of a very much present actor in the form of stand-in Max Lloyd-Jones.
06:18 Fans not only witnessed the surreal visual of the mythical figure recruiting Grogu to
06:22 his new Jedi academy, but they were also treated to a sequence depicting Luke in full flight
06:27 with a lightsaber, as he expertly dispatches the seemingly unstoppable super-bot Horde.
06:32 Whether you're a fan of the technology used to realise this stunning moment or not, it's
06:36 still no doubt brought a tear to your eye seeing Luke Skywalker once again here to rescue
06:41 you.
06:42 4.
06:43 Darth Vader finally rages
06:44 Were Luke Skywalker's eventual brandishing of his green blade in the Mandalorian brought
06:48 with it a sense of safe and secure familiarity?
06:51 The same most definitely could not be said for the moment which sees his paps unleash
06:55 his iconic red blade aboard a Rebel command ship in Rogue One.
06:59 After years of clamouring to see a version of the uncompromising and freakishly powerful
07:03 Vader, they'd seen butcher many a rogue Jedi and innocent civilian in everything from
07:07 comic books to video game properties, Gareth Edwards provided fans with the sort of display
07:11 that leaves your jaw ricocheting off your knees in an instant.
07:15 Slicing and force-choking his way through Rebel scum like frustrating gnats at a barbecue,
07:20 the entire sequence plays out like something out of a horror flick.
07:23 As the freedom fighters desperately sacrifice their lives in order to keep the vital Death
07:27 Star schematics out of his reach.
07:29 It worked, but my God at a cost.
07:31 3.
07:32 Han and Chewie arrive on the Falcon
07:34 From the second it became clear that Disney were very much ready to reignite the Skywalker
07:38 saga engines and set a brand new sequel trilogy in motion, a mixture of anxiousness and gleeful
07:44 anticipation made its presence felt across the globe.
07:47 But with each passing new trailer for J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens, fears were gradually
07:51 replaced with near unmatched hype.
07:53 Yet one moment in particular was enough to send the entire internet into meltdown, upon
07:58 its dropping in the film's second official teaser.
08:00 The closing shot of Han Solo and bloody Chewbacca boarding their trusty Millennium Falcon all
08:06 but confirmed the incoming feature's record-smashing future box office figures.
08:10 And the moment the sequence actually goes down within the film itself only builds on
08:14 this wholly moving tease, as Solo is spotted taking in his old cockpit and reminding Rey
08:19 his baby made the casserole in 12 parsecs.
08:22 It was like they'd never been gone at all.
08:24 2.
08:25 The Yoda puppet returns
08:26 The use of CGI to completely reimagine a certain wise old space wizard did not go down too
08:31 well with every Star Wars fan around the time of Attack of the Clones.
08:35 But that still didn't stop George Lucas from doubling down on his digitally rendered
08:39 Yoda for his Revenge of the Sith follow-up, and even entirely lacing his CGI creation
08:43 into the Phantom Menace back in 2011.
08:46 With Lucas wanting to depict the all-powerful Jedi very much strutting his flipping stuff
08:50 with a lightsaber over the course of the prequels, it's not hard to see why he relied on his
08:54 new favourite toy for the most part, instead of the once game-changing puppetry work used
08:59 to bring Yoda to life previously.
09:01 However, sensing that audiences would likely connect more with that Frank Oz-voiced and
09:05 controlled entity than the rather soulless digital variant, Rian Johnson made the inspired
09:10 call to bring the legendary puppeteer back on board.
09:13 Then the time came for Yoda's Force Ghost to appear before Luke in The Last Jedi.
09:17 The results clicked and then some, giving The Last Jedi one of its finest exchanges
09:21 in the process.
09:22 1.
09:23 Qui-Gon Jinn's Force Ghost
09:25 Despite quite happily lending his vocal talents to the animated version of Master Qui-Gon
09:30 Jinn over the course of the Clone Wars series, fans had still been praying to one day see
09:34 the live-action return of Liam Neeson's mysterious Jedi Master.
09:38 So after spending the majority of his titular series trying and failing to commune with
09:42 his fallen master, seeing Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan finally reunite with his Phantom Menace
09:46 co-star on the small screen was about as surreal as it was undeniably effective, alluring folks
09:52 into wanting to see more of the iconic duo in a second season.
09:56 And while it's still not clear as to how Jinn was able to ultimately complete his training
10:00 in the Force, to the point of being able to manifest himself physically after death, Neeson's
10:04 recent comments of not wanting anyone else to play the part, and only being too happy
10:08 to join back up with McGregor on screen, seemed to suggest he could be open to sticking around
10:13 to show us should that potential second season be given the green lightsaber.
10:17 That's the end of our list!
10:19 Know of any other times Star Wars gave fans exactly what they wanted?
10:22 Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget
10:25 to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
10:28 I have been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, thank you very much for clicking on this video
10:32 today, may the Force be with you and hopefully I will see you very, very soon.