As tremendous as Star Wars may be, there have been many stumbles in the franchise’s 48-year history – but the pᴀssage of time has meant a lot have been fixed. When the first Star Wars movie released back in 1977, even George Lucas himself never expected it to be the beginning of a franchise that would last for almost half a century (and counting). The genius of Star Wars lies in the seamless blend of familiar tropes and archetypes with a wonderfully fresh and original galaxy, resulting in a story that left viewers captivated.
That doesn’t mean Star Wars is faultless, of course. Course-corrections led to so many plot holes and retcons, and some scenes now feel rather awkward in light of later revelations; think The Empire Strikes Back‘s Luke-Leia kiss. Because Lucas tapped into popular culture of the time (both with the original trilogy and the prequels), some story elements haven’t dated well. There were even story mistakes, with later revisions added to try to fix them. Here are the biggest mistakes and missteps that have been fixed by the franchise since its launch in 1977.
5
Slave Leia Becomes The Huttslayer
A Moment That Really Doesn’t Sit Well Now
Let’s start with one of the most controversial moments in Return of the Jedi: Slave Leia. In this scene, Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia is held prisoner by Jabba the Hutt. He reduces the strong and confident rebel leader to a Sєx symbol, chained to his side, and even gives her a grotesque lick. George Lucas wanted to tap into popular fantasy tropes, pointing to fantasy artist Frank Franzetta as inspiration. ᴀssociated with covers for the Conan the Barbarian books, Franzetta’s art featured women as either skimpily-clad damsels to be rescued, or seductresses who had to be vanquished.
To be fair to Lucas, the plot of Return of the Jedi subverts this trope. As Fisher herself came to realize, Leia ultimately takes the chains that have bound her, and uses them to throttle Jabba to death with them. But let’s be honest; that isn’t why the look is remembered. Fisher prophesied that the gold ʙικιɴι was “what supermodels will eventually wear in the seventh ring of hell,” and she was right.
For a time, there were rumors that Disney had decided to discontinue any merchandise ᴀssociated with Slave Leia back in 2015 (this was based on a comment from cheesecake comic cover artist J. Scott Campbell, but no official statement was ever made). Then, in 2016, author Claudia Gray spotted an exciting movement in the fandom that allowed her to reinterpret the gold ʙικιɴι in her tremendous novel Bloodline. As she explained to MovieWeb:
“Right around when I was working on this part of the book there was a movement that went around in some Star Wars fan circles – a lot of talk about how much people don’t like the ‘Slave Leia’ outfit. That’s her most powerless moment in the entire thing. It was a dancing girl outfit, but it gets called a slave outfit. I believe it was a young lady named Angie P, who said, ‘I peтιтion that we call it The Huttslayer outfit,’ and I was like, ‘That is a great name and that is going to happen right now. Not only did I like recasting that outfit as a memory of Leia being really strong and kick-ᴀss, but think about it – for a human being to kill a Hutt with her bare hands? That’s unbelievable. Anybody who would be able to pull that off would be remembered for it. That would be legend.”
Return of the Jedi‘s Slave Leia is now the Huttslayer, an approach that has even slipped into merchandise. The recent Jabba Sail Barge LEGO model (set number 75397) features a minifgure officially christened “Huttslayer.” It’s a smart fix, taking the focus off the slavery and Sєxiness, and instead celebrating the end of the story – the fact Leia proves she is so much more than a slave.
4
The Clone Wars Brought Darth Maul Back
The Phantom Menace’s Worst Mistake
Even George Lucas knew he made a mistake killing Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The Sith Lord had one of the most imposing and impressive designs in the franchise’s history, and figured prominently in marketing for the prequels. In the end, though, he had only a handful of scenes and a little dialogue before he was cut down by a Jedi Padawan. It was such a waste, and Lucas swiftly realized he’d made a misstep. He even considered having Maul return as General Grievous in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
A third party during the Clone Wars, Maul battled both the Jedi and the Sith, adding a wonderful degree of complexity and nuance to the story.
Fast-forward to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Lucas dropped a bombshell on the creative team he’d ᴀssembled by revealing he wanted to resurrect Darth Maul. This was eventually accomplished through a combination of cybernetic technology and Nightsister magick, and it didn’t take long for Maul to become The Clone Wars‘ most compelling villain. A third party during the Clone Wars, Maul battled both the Jedi and the Sith, adding a wonderful degree of complexity and nuance to the story.
3
Clone Became Heroes Again Thanks To The Clone Wars’ Chip Retcon
A Narrative Stroke Of Genius
The clones debuted in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and the movie wasn’t exactly subtle about setting them up as proto-stormtroopers. Nobody was particularly surprised when the clones turned on the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith, executing Order 66 at Palpatine’s command. The problem for Lucas, though, was that he wanted the clones to be more sympathetic – especially when he began working on The Clone Wars animated show.
Lucasfilm settled on an incredibly smart fix, with the TV show revealing the clones had been implanted with inhibitor chips that were activated when Palpatine uttered those fateful words. As soon as the Sith Lord spoke, they were effectively reduced to slaves, and they gunned down the Jedi ruthlessly. Their lack of free will meant Order 66 was a tragedy for the clones as well as the Jedi, and viewers could root for the clones without any dissonance.
This retcon also improves one of Revenge of the Sith‘s darkest scenes. Anakin Skywalker is shown leading clone troopers as they march on the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and now that scene underlines how far he has fallen: the former slave boy is leading an army of slaves. It’s a chilling retcon, and one that feels so very powerful.
2
Ahmed Best Got The Return He Deserved
Kelleran Best Is Brilliant
Jar Jar Binks became one of the most controversial characters in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, although his reputation has improved in recent years. That said, he deserves mention on this list for a far more disturbing reason; the fan reaction. Voice actor Ahmed Best came close to taking his own life after the backlash.
Fast-forward to The Mandalorian season 3, though, and Best got his chance to return in spectacular form. He played Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in a fantastic flashback sequence, one that revealed his new character was the one who had rescued Grogu from Order 66. Best had previously played the role in a (likely non-canon) YouTube game series, but now Kelleran was officially part of the wider franchise, and he’s since been name-dropped in novels as well.
Best admitted the decision to return was a difficult one. As he explained to StarWars.com:
“Honestly, I had to think about it. I’ve been in the Star Wars world for such a long time and my story is such a rollercoaster ride of emotions. So coming back to Star Wars wasn’t an easy decision for me. It wasn’t something I could have immediately said yes to. I did have to marinate over it for a bit.”
Thankfully, the fan reaction to Best’s return was an absolute delight to see. He was celebrated by the fandom, welcomed and treated with honor. It was just what he deserved after his awful treatment in the 2000s; it can only be hoped that Kelleran Beq will return. Best has already, even getting to voice Jar Jar again in LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy.
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1
Tusken Stereotypes Have Been Fixed Thanks To Book Of Boba Fett
A Welcome Change In Storytelling
Let’s close with a controversy that runs all the way back to A New Hope, a result of Lucas drawing inspiration from popular culture at the time. Fantasy readers will be familiar with the trope of “Standard Fantasy Races,” the idea that every member of a race is exactly the same; all elves are noble warriors, all dwarfs are gruff and use battleaxes, and so on. Lucas imported this idea into Star Wars, and the problem is most notable with the Tuskens.
Padmé Amidala barely blinks when Anakin tells her he slaughtered Tusken men, women, and children.
Tuskens draw on the American Western mythology, and they play to all the classic (now recognized as racist) tropes about indigenous peoples. The Star Wars Expanded Universe fleshed them out a little more (John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi is particularly noteworthy). But the movies continued to fail the Tuskens, drawing on those tropes in Attack of the Clones. Padmé Amidala barely blinks when Anakin tells her he slaughtered Tusken men, women, and children.
The Mandalorian leans heavily into American Western mythology, and has returned to Tatooine several times. But there were hints of a shift, with Din Djarin speaking to Tuskens rather than fighting them, and visibly unimpressed by the constant conflict between the Tuskens and Tatooine’s settlers. Then came The Book of Boba Fett, which saw Boba inducted into the Tuskens, finally portraying them in an empathetic light and developing their culture.
The story isn’t perfect; some have critiqued it for having an element of the old “White Savior” trope. But it’s a mᴀssive step forward for Star Wars, in that it turns an established trope on its head. For the first time, viewers were expected to empathize with the Tuskens – even to celebrate their attacks on a train. Anakin’s Attack of the Clones atrocity retroactively looks even worse, and the casual racism of the past has now been discarded.
