Since 1977, Star Wars has been transporting audiences to a galaxy far, far away. It’s become one of the biggest and most successful movie franchises of all time, building generations of passionate fans. Hollywood has pumped out a whopping 11 live-action films in the Star Wars universe so far, consisting of three separate trilogies and two standalone movies.
Despite the series’ iconic status and astronomically high budget, Star Wars does have its share of flaws and mistakes — and no, we’re not talking about plot or character mistakes. We’re talking about bloopers and production errors.
Continuity is overlooked, props inexplicably change locations, or stand-ins are accidentally left in the shot. By the time these mistakes are spotted, it’s too late. The final cut has been released, already being consumed by millions of viewers. And in the age of DVR, streaming services, and social media, it’s easier than ever for eagle-eyed fans to spot these ten mistakes and share them all over the internet.
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10 Finn’s Bag Magically Moves Places – The Last Jedi (2017)
The Last Jedi is the most polarizing entry in the Skywalker saga for its mishandling of major characters and questionable plot points. It also includes a glaring continuity error. There’s a scene where Finn (John Boyega) attempts to leave in an escape pod with the grand aspirations of sacrificing himself.
He’s setting down his knapsack in front of the pod when he’s confronted by his companion, and another divisive character, Rose (Kelly Marie Tran). You can clearly see the knapsack by his feet. And yet, in the next shot, we see the bag suddenly stored away inside the escape pod.
9 Fake Mace Windu – The Phantom Menace (1999)
Mace Windu is the powerful, purple lightsaber-wielding Jedi Master from the prequel trilogy, played famously by Samuel L. Jackson. But it seems like the character was briefly played by another actor as well.
At the end of The Phantom Menace, we see Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), also known as Darth Sidious, walking with the Jedi Council. Among them is Mace Windu — except it’s not Samuel L. Jackson. It’s clearly the actor’s stand-in, filling Jackson’s space in the shot.
8 Captain Needa Moves After Being Killed – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Empire Strikes Back has been hailed by many as the best Star Wars film. But even this iconic sequel isn’t without its goofs.
After failing for the last time, Captain Needa (Michael Culver) is killed by Darth Vader using his iconic Force Choke. A couple of guards swoop in to drag Needa away into the background. But if you watch closely, you can see Culver standing up to help the guards who are lifting him, even though his character is supposed to be dead.
7 C-3PO’s Red Arm – The Force Awakens (2015)
The Force Awakens kicked off Disney and director J.J. Abrams’ disjointed mess that became known as the Star Wars sequel trilogy. It introduced alluring questions that the series never really got around to answering. Is Flynn Force sensitive? How did Maz Kanata find the lightsaber that Luke had lost, along with his hand? And what on earth is up with C-3PO’s (Anthony Daniels) red arm?
In his first scene in the movie, the talkative protocol droid approaches Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and says in classic C-3PO fashion, “Goodness! Han Solo! It is I, C-3PO. You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.” The red arm, at the time, felt like a question that would eventually be answered. But like many of the sequel trilogy’s mysteries, it was never addressed again in the movies. In fact, by the end of The Force Awakens, C-3PO’s red arm is suddenly gone, and his golden arm is back in its rightful place.
6 “…if he even exists.” – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke is instructed by his late Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), to travel to the swamp planet Dagobah, find his old master, a Jedi Knight named Yoda, and continue his Jedi training. Luke does as he’s told, though he’s doubtful whether his dead master actually visited him — and whether this mysterious Yoda is actually real. “Now all I got to do is find this Yoda. If he even exists,” Luke says, as he looks around the swamp.
Except, technically, Luke doesn’t say those last four words. His lips never move, even though we hear his voice. It was added in post-production. The filmmakers probably thought they could get away with it because of the darkness in the shot. But oh, how wrong they were.
5 Death Star Schematics – A New Hope (1977)
The Death Star is one of the most powerful weapons in cinema, the Empire’s moon-sized space station and doomsday weapon with enough firepower to destroy an entire planet. It’s an iconic element within the Star Wars universe: a giant ball with a superlaser that sits just above its equator. At least, that’s how it looks most of the time. When the Rebel Alliance is reviewing its schematics in A New Hope, the Death Star is portrayed incorrectly.
The superlaser is now positioned on the equator rather than above it. Fans like to say that the Rebels must’ve acquired an early blueprint of the Death Star, which differs from the end result. That excuse would work if we didn’t see early blueprints of the Death Star in Attack of the Clones, which does capture the Death Star correctly.
Attack of the Clones takes place over 20 years before A New Hope. Are we really supposed to believe that the Rebels got their hands on a blueprint that predates Attack of the Clones? Or should we all just admit that this is a clear mistake?
4 Darth Vader’s Neck Piece – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Revenge of the Sith is the underrated conclusion to George Lucas’ prequel trilogy, capturing the fall of the Republic and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and the rise of the Galactic Empire and Darth Vader. After getting massacred in an epic duel with his old friend and master, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), Anakin’s burnt and amputated remains are rescued by Darth Sidious.
We watch Anakin transform into Darth Vader on the surgical table, as he’s given robotic limbs and Vader’s iconic suit to keep him alive. In one shot, we see Anakin fully clothed in Darth Vader’s suit, missing only the neckpiece and helmet. His burnt neck is clearly exposed here.
And yet, in the very next shot, Anakin is suddenly wearing the neckpiece and is now only missing Vader’s helmet. Regardless of this mistake, Anakin’s physical transformation into Darth Vader is epic, especially when the mask is placed onto his head, and we hear that iconic breathing for the first time.
3 Luke’s Force Kick – The Return of the Jedi (1983)
The Return of the Jedi opens with an epic battle on Tatooine, where an improved Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) flexes his new Jedi abilities and rescues his friends from Jabba the Hutt. One of these new abilities is the Force Kick.
In this scene, Luke kicks one of Jabba’s henchmen and sends him flying into the sarlacc pit below. Except, Mark Hamill’s foot doesn’t even come close to the guy’s head. This goof has since been comically referred to as “the Force kick”, a fake power that weaponizes the Force with a kick.
2 Han Solo’s Restraints – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is everyone’s favorite stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, Nerf-herder, the bad boy of the galaxy far, far away. In The Empire Strikes Back, Han is captured by the Empire, his hands bound by restraints.
In an emotional scene that resulted in one of the best improvised lines in cinema (“I know”), Han is frozen in carbonite to test out the equipment and ensure that it can be safely used on Luke, Darth Vader’s real target. There’s just one problem. When Han resurfaces, his arms and hands are suddenly free of their restraints. But that still didn’t stop this from becoming one of the most iconic images and moments in Star Wars history.
1 Stormtrooper Bumps His Head – A New Hope (1977)
Most of the mistakes so far are largely unknown, even among the biggest Star Wars fans. But this one — this is one of the most famous, and hilarious, bloopers in cinematic history. And unlike other entries on this list, it’s pretty easy to catch. In A New Hope, a group of armed stormtroopers force themselves into the room where C-3PO and R2D2 are hiding.
The door slides up, granting them entry. The stormtroopers rush into the room, and as they do, the one on the far right (there are conflicting reports about who actually portrayed this character) accidentally bangs his head against the bottom of the door. It’s impossible to unsee this moment once you spot it — and also impossible not to laugh at.
