Sandwiched between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope on the Lucasfilm timeline, Rogue One was designed to be the first in a series of Star Wars anthology movies – movies that will, in time, gently expand this most beloved franchise in new and exciting directions.
Solo: A Star Wars Story will hope to achieve the same level of box office stardom on May 25th, 2018, but upon further analysis, it turns out Rogue One shares some connective tissue to the just-released Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Originally dreamed up by ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) supervisor John Knoll, who mined inspiration from the opening crawl to A New Hope, it’s been revealed that Rogue One actually name-drops hyperspace tracking, a game-changing piece of tech that plays into The Last Jedi‘s prolonged chase sequence.
For years – nay, generations – launching into hyperspeed has been the silver bullet of the Rebel Alliance, who could so easily evade an oncoming Star Destroyer by flipping a switch and watching as time and space bends before their very eyes. But in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson subverted expectations and gave the First Order a means of tracking enemy vessels through hyperspace – something that was initially teased by Rogue One.
First spotted by Twitter user ‘@kyleauxren,’ this throwaway line by Jyn Erso has taken on a whole new meaning since the arrival of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the first-class Easter egg was later confirmed by Lucasfilm chief Pablo Hidalgo:
https://twitter.com/kyleauxren/status/942516563730722817
https://twitter.com/pablohidalgo/status/942603059418374145
How’s that for franchise building? As The Last Jedi analysis continues, we’ll be bringing you all the latest as Rian Johnson’s Star Wars sequel begins to leave its mark on the Lucasfilm timeline – for better or worse. If it’s more coverage you’re after, you can have a gander at our own in-depth breakdown, or if you’re searching for some (spoiler) light reading, look no further than our glowing review, in which Matt Donato heaps praise on Johnson’s blistering space adventure.