10 Controversial Star Wars Retcons That Fans Choose To Ignore

It’s only natural for a major franchise like Star Wars to have numerous retcons throughout its history. If the series is to continue to expand then some changes must be made in order to accommodate new stories. The new Disney canon may have eliminated some Legends retcons but created some of its own.

Whether it’s changes to a character’s backstory, perhaps a shift in Jedi or Sith Lore, or maybe even certain events which had gone unmentioned until their appearance in various prequels, there’s a number of retcons which have been brought in to add detailed layers to the narrative. Unfortunately, not all of these changes are popular and can cause a lot of controversy amongst the fan base.

10 Honorable Mention: Anakin’s Padawan

When Ahsoka Tano was first introduced to fans there was a major backlash to the character. Many felt that she was annoying, immature, and completely ruined Anakin’s own backstory. After all, why was there absolutely no appearance from the Padawan during the prequel trilogy?

As time passed though Ahsoka’s legacy in the galaxy far far away became firmly cemented. Now one of the most popular characters in the franchise, her role in Anakin’s turn to the dark side is incredibly compelling. With a tragic history of her own, she has now made a vital impact on The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian alongside additional materials from the expanded universe.

9 Boba Fett’s Origin

Boba Fett had been built up as a merciless killer in the Star Wars canon. Mysterious and professional, audiences were in awe of the Bounty Hunter during his sparse appearances in the original trilogy. The prequel series would change all of that though.

With Jango Fett brought into the picture, it was revealed that Boba was really just another Clone soldier. The mystery surrounding the character disappeared, although both The Mandalorian and The Clone Wars have done a great job in building Boba Fett’s aura back up again.

8 Ruled By Two

The Rule of Two was a hugely famous part of the Sith Mythology. Developed to ensure that the Order would never meet its downfall again, the general premise was built around both the apprentice and their master. There would be a constant cycle of one overthrowing the other, with a new Sith Lord arising each time.

However, the novelization of The Rise Of Skywalker made a controversial change. The book talks about the Rule by Two rather than the Rule of Two. This suggests that the two Sith Lords are of equal worth, suggesting Vader and Palpatine were partners rather than a hierarchy being formed. It’s a change that really breaks everything fans know about the evil Order.

7 R2-D2’s Hidden Talents

R2-D2 is of course a major character in every Star Wars trilogy thus far. However, in his real-world first appearance, the droid’s abilities were really quite limited. Yet, the prequels and The Clone Wars have demonstrated a number of R2’s hidden talents.

The most controversial retcon is of course the droid’s ability to fly, which could have certainly gotten the group out of a number of precarious situations. R2-D2 even has some combat abilities installed in him though; perhaps it was a memory wipe that could explain away this plot hole-shaped retcon.

6 Ben Kenobi’s Poor Memory

Speaking of R2-D2 it’s well documented that Obi-Wan Kenobi and the droid went on many missions with one another. Yet when Ben Kenobi originally meets the droid in Star Wars he states that he doesn’t ever remember owning him, or any other droid for that matter.

Some fans have suggested that this was Ben being sarcastic since R2 was Anakin’s droid after all. Yet, Kenobi was seen with a droid in his ship on a number of occasions suggesting he did actually have ownership over one. It’s a small retcon that fans still debate about today.

5 Snoke’s Role

Many would argue that the shocking death of Snoke during The Last Jedi was one of the highlights of the film; turning the whole narrative on its head. However, until this point fans had been led to believe that Snoke was the one to tempt Kylo Ren to the Dark Side and was a powerful Sith in his own right.

The Rise Of Skywalker completely changed this though with the reveal that Snoke was merely a puppet in the Emperor’s larger plans. This also suggests you can imbue the Force into another living being which is another area of controversy that The Mandalorian is attempting to tackle head-on.

4 Palpatine’s Survival

Darth Sidious has been a huge threat to the galaxy ever since his first chronological appearance as Palpatine in the prequel series. He would later become the Emperor and rule over everything with an iron fist and a merciless attitude. His death was a major moment in Return Of The Jedi. 

The Rise Of Skywalker undid all of this though by stating that really Palpatine survived his fall, cloning himself and ultimately creating a new body. It was a retcon that really damaged the original trilogy and perhaps did an overall disservice to the character.

3 Midi-chlorians

Midi-chlorians could be the most controversial piece of Star Wars retconning in the brand’s history. The Force was always presented as a living thing, but it was never measurable and certainly shouldn’t be able to be explained by a microorganism.

Yet that’s exactly what the prequels did, suggesting that Midi-chlorians were responsible for who was able to connect to the Force and who wasn’t. It’s a plot point that fans certainly ignore now and it’s rarely mentioned in any other Star Wars canon story.

2 Who Shot First?

Greedo is perhaps one of Han Solo’s most dangerous enemies but everyone knows how their final confrontation went. Han shot first of course… or did he? Retcons to A New Hope itself have digitally changed who actually initially fired their blaster.

Some versions of the movie now have Greedo trying to kill Han who strangely dodges the shot and fires off his own blaster, while others showcase how the confrontation was originally supposed to play out. For nearly every fan, Han shot first no matter what the films say.

1 Visual Changes

Speaking of digital alterations, there’s plenty of them in the original trilogy. Fans really seem to detest any kind of changes to what would have originally been on cinema screens when these movies were first released. Some of the changes seem completely redundant.

CGI aliens, visual shifts in Jabba the Hutt, and other such decisions can at least make sense in the larger continuity of Star Wars. But other rettons such as the positioning of certain rocks, the noise that Ben Kenobi makes in the desert, or the previously mentioned Greedo scene are completely unnecessary and only tamper with what audiences have come to love.

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