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Star Wars devotees love theorizing about the fates of certain characters and the outcome of pivotal events. Granted, plenty of outlandish speculation exists purely for comedy, but some of it actually hits the nail on the head. Certain theorists manage to predict iconic moments before they happen. Maybe the Force guides them?
7 Han Solo’s Death
This one wasn’t hard to predict. Harrison Ford has wanted out of the franchise for decades. In fact, he advocated for his character’s death in The Empire Strikes Back, so it was unlikely that he’d sign up for a whole new trilogy once The Force Awakens rolled around.
Episode 7’s derivative plot also betrays this twist. In the same way it mirrors the original Star Wars film, Han Solo fulfills Obi-Wan Kenobi’s mentor role in said film. Of course, everyone knows what happened to him, so Solo’s demise was a forgone conclusion.
6 Qui-Gon Jinn’s Return
The minute the Obi-Wan Kenobi show got the green light, fans speculated about which characters would appear. Flashbacks and Force Ghosts mean the sky’s the limit in terms of potential cameos. Further fuel to the fire came with the addition of several prequel trilogy actors like Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Joel Edgerton as Owen Lars, and Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa. With these familiar faces in the fray, why not throw in Kenobi’s master?
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The prequel films and TV series show that Qui-Gon Jinn had a massive influence on Obi-Wan as the young Jedi struggled to live up to his mentor’s example. This led many to believe Liam Neeson would return as the sly master in some form. Revenge of the Sith even states that Kenobi spent much of his time on Tatooine training for this purpose, learning to communicate with Qui-Gon from beyond the grave. Viewers get confirmation of this in the series’ final few minutes. The late Jedi pops up in the figurative flesh to the surprise of no one and excitement of all.
5 Snoke Is Palpatine
Poor world-building leaves a lot of room for interpretation, and Snoke is a perfect example of that. Essentially acting as the new Emperor of the sequel trilogy, Snoke seemed to come out of nowhere. The only clues were his facial scars and old age. With these minor factors, theorists threw everything at the wall to see what stuck.
One of the many suggestions was that Snoke was really a resurrected Palpatine. His supposed death in Return of the Jedi had left him more “scarred and deformed” than he already was. This is somehow less ludicrous than the actual explanation. It turns out that Palpatine did survive; he just doesn’t say how. He then made Snoke in a vat and established him as a leader by proxy. This contradicts what little information fans had, but their theory is still true “from a certain point of view.”
4 Ahsoka Lives
Fans have wondered about Ahsoka Tano’s fate since her introduction. When she came to Anakin Skywalker as his apprentice in The Clone Wars, viewers knew it couldn’t end well due to the Jedi Order’s eventual fate and her master’s role in it. The speculation should have ceased when she left the Order, but it somehow ramped up further when she returned in Star Wars Rebels. Her climactic battle with Darth Vader ended with her apparent death, but the lack of confirmation led to a campaign simply titled, “Ahsoka Lives.”
Rebels later fulfilled this hope in its final season. Through Ezra Bridger’s time portal shenanigans, Ahsoka narrowly avoided a fatal blow. This let her continue her clandestine heroism in The Mandalorian and even her own show.
3 Rex The Rebel
This Republic soldier was another Clone Wars character whose fate was uncertain. He could have conceivably been one of the clone troopers participating in Order 66, but fans didn’t like the idea of a loyal and relatable hero becoming just another automaton in the Empire’s murder machine. Once again, Rebels offered a ray of hope in this regard.
Here, Rex returned as an older, grizzled veteran who eventually joined the other freedom fighters in combatting the Empire. This led to speculation that he’d turn out to be one of the background characters in the original trilogy. Specifically, fans saw him as the soldier with the bushy beard in Return of the Jedi. The Rebels finale confirmed this by saying that he indeed fought in the Battle of Endor. Thus, everyone’s favorite clone lives to fight the good fight another day.
2 Maul Lives
Like Boba Fett before him, Darth Maul’s cool design saved him from death. When the Sith Lord emerged in The Phantom Menace, he was a spooky sight. His lack of dialogue left much to the imagination and aided his physical presence, which was further enhanced by his acrobatic mastery of a double-bladed lightsaber. Sadly, his impact was cut short when Obi-Wan sliced him in half and sent him down a bottomless shaft, but this was not the end.
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Fans believed that he could have survived his wounds. After all, people lose limbs in Star Wars all the time. These theories gained momentum from the villain’s appearances in comic books and video games, some of which see him sport robotic legs. That scenario made its way to the screen in The Clone Wars. Maul returned from the brink thanks to his long-lost brother and the Nightsisters’ magic. He then became a prominent underworld figure, seeking to reclaim his promised place of supremacy and gain revenge on Kenobi. Rebels saw him catch up to his quarry, but he met a more definitive death that he won’t cheat (probably).
1 Lando’s Daughter
The final original trilogy vet to return was Billy Dee Williams, who reprised his role as Lando Calrissian in The Rise of Skywalker. His involvement sparked many theories about his fate, but he wasn’t the only one to get this treatment. The movie boasted a bunch of new characters, each with enough speculation to fill a Wookieepedia page.
Chief among these was Naomie Ackie’s Jannah. Little was known about her aside from her abduction and indoctrination as a Stormtrooper. Considering so much of Star Wars is about family legacy, fans thought she could be Lando’s daughter. Supplementary material like books even stated that he had a child who was taken by the First Order. Though she was ultimately underdeveloped and superfluous in the finished film, a throwaway line at the end implied that Jannah is indeed Lando’s long-lost daughter. Take that for what little it’s worth.
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