10 Moments Star Wars Caught Fans By Surprise

Number 10. Palpatine and Yoda Get Nuts The Prequel Trilogy

Throughout their time acting as two of the original trilogy's most powerful and mysterious entities

Emperor Palpatine and Yoda often displayed just how proficient they were in the ways of the Force

What fans did not get to witness, however, is how well they were able to wield the trusted go-to weapon of many a Jedi and Sith

But that all changed over the course of George Lucas' prequel trilogy. And simply put, not a soul alive was ready for the frankly absurd visuals heading their way

Not only were the little green legend and the possessor of unlimited power a pair of dab hands with a laser sword

the two suddenly transformed from a set of senile space wizards into full-blown force-sensitive studs

Yoda's first on-screen duel in particular instantly became yet another one of the more divisive elements the prequels had to offer

with some lapping up the audacious acrobatics on show, while others felt that the Jedi Master's silly lightsaber gymnastics took a bit of the mystique away from a cherished figure

Either way, you'd be lying if you said your jaw didn't drop even for only a brief moment

the first time these masterful titans pulled out their swords. Number 9, The Return of the Skywalker, The Mandalorian

At a time when trying to execute a genuinely stunning surprise on the small or big screen

has never been more difficult, the fact Jon Favreau and the gang were able to keep

The Mandalorian's season 2 finale shocker completely under wraps was seriously impressive

Heading into the closing stages of Chapter 16, Mando and the gang look to be in some serious trouble as the dark troopers closed in on their position

but then a rather familiar X-Wing suddenly lands on the cruiser. One of the most emotionally charged dispatching of droid sequences to ever grace the galaxy far, far away later

the all but confirmed return of none other than Luke Bloody Skywalker himself

was finally made official thanks to some digital wizardry and a returning Mark Hamill

With the episode itself dropping in the thick of the global pandemic, fans the world over found themselves passionately connecting online

over just how damn taken aback they all were about the comeback of a character no one honestly saw coming

And for a few moments there, one of the most difficult periods in modern history was entirely forgotten

as fans lost their minds over this heartwarming return of the Jedi

Number 8. Everybody Dies Rogue One, A Star Wars Story There was actually a time there when the likes of Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor

may have made it out of arguably the greatest Star Wars feature of the last decade in one piece

This was largely down to the fact that the likes of Gareth Edwards and co. weren't convinced Disney

and Lucasfilm would ever sanction such a dark and deadly conclusion to a Star Wars story

But as anyone who sat through the entirely unanticipated bittersweet conclusion of Rogue

One can attest to the team did ultimately get their morbid wish in the end And the ultimate sacrifice was dramatically made late in the day by everyone in the titular crew in order to successfully get the Rebels hands on those all Death Star plans

After investing so heavily in the likes of Jyn, Cassian, K2SO and the rest of the makeshift unit

over the course of their routinely gripping quest to find the key to taking out the Empire's new superweapon

the sight of our central heroes all shockingly biting the dust, after finally succeeding as about as bold a conclusion as you'll ever witness in such a big-budget epic

However, it was unquestionably the right call and helped cement this Star Wars story as one of the absolute finest

Number 7, Leia Flies in Space, Episode 8, The Last Jedi Stepping into slightly more controversial waters now

and to a floating sequel trilogy visual that almost instantly divided the Star Wars fandom

I am of course talking about the sight of General Leia Organa herself being blasted out of her cruiser

only to suddenly and rather surreally shoot herself across space via the Force

This acted as the first real-time fans had witnessed Leia wield the mysterious power on the big screen

and to say it left them with their jaws dangling off the floor would be a bit of an understatement

Some applauded such a daring and rousing reveal of Leia's hinted at but never really cinematically explored Force sensitivity

whereas others were quick to blast the Leia poppins' development as another silly and absurd sequence to add to an already divisive Episode 8

Whether you were an instant fan of the Icons' emotional force-assisted attempts to survive

or struggle to sit through Leia's bizarre spaceflight without rolling your eyes

both sides can all agree that the legend soaring through the stars was about as extraordinary as it gets

Number 6, NOOOOOO! Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith Now you can't exactly blame what was left of Anakin Skywalker being a little bit upset about the tragic revelations sent his way late in the Revenge of the Sith day

But that still didn't change the fact that many were left wondering what in the holy hell they were witnessing

when the first few moments of a newly suited Darth Vader arrived on the prequel's scene

Staggering off the operating table on the back of being informed that he was apparently responsible for the death of his beloved Padme Amidala

the stuff of memes before memes were even really a thing was hilariously born

And yoooooooh, heard across the galaxy and in theatres all over the world

was the absolute worst kind of hammy and melodramatic, reducing what could have honestly been the truly heartbreaking point of seemingly no return for the Dark Lord

to one of the most laughable beats in Star Wars history. Number 5, Rey is a Palpatine, Episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker

Look, there were more than a few moments over the course of whatever J.J. Abrams was trying to achieve with The Rise of Skywalker

that led to those watching on scratching their heads at the madness unfolding before them

But the utterly strange development that easily sits head and shoulders above the rest that were all found in the nostalgia fest that is episode 9 undoubtedly comes in the form of the reveal that Rey wasn actually a nobody folks She was a walkin talkin Palpatine Something that had ranked as one of the more outlandish and ludicrous fan theories to tumble

out of The Force Awakens, soon became a deeply unexpected and downright peculiar piece of canon

In reality, though, this felt like little more than an attempt to wrong-foot and cheaply

stun those wanting to see how the Skywalker saga would come to its long-awaited end

It did precisely that, it must be said. However, this WTF reveal unfortunately also shrunk the galaxy far, far away a little bit more

and killed off the idea of one not needing to be related to a famous family to make a difference

Number 4, Boba's Book Becomes Mandalorian Season 2.5, The Book of Boba Fett

Fans who'd waited a lifetime to finally witness the galaxy's most badass bounty hunter be given the spotlight he always deserved

were understandably a little excited as The Book of Boba Fett wandered onto Disney Plus in late 2021

After a bit of a slow start, though, it's safe to say those giddy Bubba fanatics were left feeling a little underwhelmed by the book they were watching come to life

And then, in a twist fans perhaps should have seen coming given Fett's reintroduction came during The Mandalorian

the star of that other, much more celebrated show suddenly decided to drop by and pretty much steal the clones

Mando's surprising appearance alone was enough to leave fans suddenly punching the air in unanticipated glee

But perhaps the bigger WTF development was the fact that Din Djarin, Grogu, Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano's inclusion in the series acted as the book of Boba Fett's unquestionable highlights

Simply put, the arrival of Mando and the gang was a joyous surprise, for sure

But it also served as evidence that this particular book likely would have gone down better as another Mandalorian tale, rather than a supposed Boba story that wasn't really interesting enough to warrant its own show

Number 3, Kino Can't Swim, Andor Andy Serkis' completely unforeseen appearance as part of Rogue One prequel series and or in general

was enough to cause many a Star Wars fan to utter the words that inspired this very list aloud

However, it was one particular line his instantly captivating Kino Loy uttered during the One Way Out episode

that delivered the franchise one of its most heartbreakingly shocking moments to date

After already providing the series with one hell of a final Never More Than 12 line in the prior entry

if you know, you know, the figure once seen as an inmate who simply wanted to get through his time in prison

ultimately grows into the fiery leader of the rebellion that battles their way to freedom

But in a deeply moving and entirely startling turn of events, after inspiring Cassian and his fellow workers to freedom

the final step to securing his escape is suddenly one too far for Kino

With the waves of inmates all jostling to dive out of the jail and into the water surrounding it down below

Serkis delivery of the fateful phrase I can swim as he realizes he only came this far to come this far was simply devastating Kino may still have a part to play in Season 2 however with it being unclear as to what exactly happened next for this unfortunate loy

Number 2, Darth Maul survives the Clone Wars And one of the reasons fans are right to hold out hope for the aforementioned Kino's survival can be found in this very entry

After seemingly being decisively cut down by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the wake of taking out his master on Naboo

those who felt they'd sadly seen the last of one of the coolest Sith Lords in the galaxy

were treated to a rather stunning comeback in the Clone Wars animated series

Driven mad in the wake of that aforementioned bisecting, Maul is shockingly discovered by his own brother, Savage Opress

ten years on from that Kenobi clash during Season 4. And the one-time apprentice of Darth Sidious is now seen sporting a particularly creepy mechanical spider-like body

on the back of his sheer hatred remarkably keeping him alive. The animalistic creature that Maul had become in his exile soon has his mind repaired

by Mother Talzin on Dathomir, however, and this paved the way for a far more driven and

enraged version of the Force-sensitive icon than fans had ever seen before on their screens

as he set his sights on revenge against his mortal enemy, Kenobi

1. Somehow, Leia Always Knew What? Episode 6, Return of the Jedi

Over the course of the first two original trilogy episodes, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo

both appear to be acting as two potential loves for Leia Organa, with the princess sharing

a smooch with the two leading lads at various points in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back

But in a rather uncomfortable swerve that just about no one expected to become a Star Wars reality

back in 1983, Leia was ultimately revealed to have been Luke's twin sister the entire time

And making matters that little more icky, Leia then responded to this apparent surprise revelation

with the words of, Somehow I've always known in Return of the Jedi. That's right, when locking

lips with the Jedi in training on Hoth, and also laying a smacker on his cheek when trying to escape

the Death Star, Leia apparently had a feeling that the person she was getting particularly close to

was her twin bro all along. Admittedly, the familial twist itself clearly wasn't a part of

the OG trilogy plan from the get-go, but that still didn't change the fact that its eventual

execution provided the galaxy far, far away, with a shocking piece of dialogue that only grows

increasingly more awkward with each subsequent viewing. And that's our list of any other massive

WTF Star Wars moments that we've missed, then please lay them on us down below and do not forget

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right this second is based on. I've been Gareth from WhatCultureStarWars. May the force be with you

Hopefully, I'll see your faces very, very soon. But in the meantime, just be good to yourself

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