Breaking Traditions in Star Wars - Part I (The Original Trilogy)

More than probably any other film franchise, Star Wars has adhered to certain practices in both form and content which recur from film to film.

Some have managed to appear on every entry, becoming full-fledged traditions. Many others though, almost make the cut but for an exception or two. Here I've compiled a relatively comprehensive list of how each movie breaks the conventions established by the rest.

In order to keep this article from being too long, I've divided it on four parts. Also, only feature films are taken into consideration, since obviously the TV series and other canon material often depart from many of these listed customs.

I'm sure I'm missing some, so don't forget to comment and tell me if you remember one!

 

PART I will cover Episodes IV through VI. Since these were the ones that established these conventions in the franchise, the list remains relatively short, but I think it still includes some interesting tidbits.

Yoda doesn’t appear in any capacity:

Not having been created yet, the first film is the only one in the Skywalker Saga where Master Yoda is completely missing. Though his presence in The Last Jedi is physical and more obvious, his Force Ghost also speaks in VII and IX, leaving his total absence in A New Hope as a one-off.

The Imperial March is never heard:

Probably the second most famous piece of music in the saga, and despite the major presence of the Empire in the first film, Darth Vader’s Theme, aka The Imperial March is absent here. John Williams would not write it until the next film, making it the main part of that score, and also very important for Return of the Jedi.

After that, it got increasingly vital nods in the Prequels. The Anthology films, both set in the Imperial Era, also feature it. The March is brief but still very important in VII and VIII during references to Vader before it makes a full comeback in The Rise of Skywalker.

A New Hope instead features a much lesser known Imperial/Vader motif, which remained absent from other films until Rogue One and Solo delightfully brought it back. Proto segments of what would become The Imperial March also appear occasionally in Episode IV, especially when Luke and Han walk to the elevators, but they still don’t count as the proper theme.

 

No stars behind the credits (also in the Prequels):

Each of the four Lucas-directed films have a curious distinction from those helmed by other filmmakers: while Episodes V-IX (plus the Anthology) keep the starry background from beginning to end during the end credits, George’s films (I-IV) only uses it during the first part. Once the scrolling credits begin, the stars vanish and are replaced by a solid black screen.

While this means that for a long time V and VI were the outsiders, the tendency has been reversed now that there are more films made by other directors than by Lucas.

 

No major character dies:

For all its reputation as the darkest Star Wars film, it might come as a bit of a surprise that this is the only movie where no character of actual importance is killed. The usual cannon-fodder stormtroopers and rebel soldiers bite the dust as always, but Dak, Ozzel and Needa are the closest thing to a major death in this Episode, and they are all far from prominent.

Every other film gets at the very least one big kill:

A New Hope has Kenobi, Owen and Beru, Tarkin and you might even want to count the destruction of Alderaan (which includes Bail Organa, unseen) and Biggs.

Return of the Jedi kills Jabba, Yoda, Vader and Palpatine.

The Phantom Menace has a pivotal death, that of Qui-Gon. It also used to include Maul’s.

Attack of the Clones is the closest to Empire, and yet it gets to kill Jango Fett and, even more importantly, Shmi Skywalker.

Revenge of the Sith is such a carnage, I don’t even need to mention its deaths.

The Force Awakens gets the loss of Han Solo. Lor San Tekka could be counted too.

The Last Jedi sees the death of Luke, Snoke, and Phasma. Ackbar and Paige are minor but could be counted.

The Rise of Skywalker has Leia, Kylo/Ben, Hux and Palpatine again.

Rogue One, of course, basically kills every major new character.

Solo loses Rio, Val, L3, Dryden and Beckett.

No Aurebesh:

For the uninnitiated, Aurebesh is the predominant writing system used in the Star Wars universe. First created for Return of the Jedi, it has appeared in every other piece of media in the franchise.

It was also retroactively included in the DVD Edition of A New Hope, replacing that pesky English test that appeared when Obi-Wan turned off the tractor beam. That leaves The Empire Strikes Back as the only film where no Aurebesh text appears onscreen.

No diegetic music:

Often, Star Wars all about its magnificent orchestral score. But a small musical element in the series, that is sometimes forgotten, are its diegetic pieces; that is, music that is being played in-universe. Ever since the Bith band made its appearance in the Mos Easley Cantina, most other films have followed, though none of these iterations is as monumentally famous as the first.

Besides cantinas and similar drinking holes, these source compositions make appearances in parades and celebrations, casinos, criminal dens, and even dark Calamari operas. Some are very subtle, like Attack of the Clones and Rogue One, but The Empire Strikes Back remains the only film where all music is extradiegetic.

No people staring to the distance as a closing shot:

Every film in the Skywalker Saga ends with a group of characters (or just one, in the case of VIII) in a wide shot, just before the circular wipe closes and the credits start.

The only exception to the rule is The Empire Strikes Back, which instead ends with a group of starships setting off into space. The interesting thing is that, just a moment before that, we do get a very similar shot to the traditional ones, as the twins and the droids stare out of the frigate’s window.

The crawl ends with a regular ellipsis:

While Return of the Jedi features a crawl, just like every other film in the Skywalker Saga, this is the only instalment where the third paragraph (they’re ALWAYS three) ends in a regular, three-dotted ellipsis.

Every other Episode finishes with four dots, which is allowed to be used to indicate the end of a sentence. Both forms can be considered correct.

It’s unknown why this distinction happens in VI, but the crawl remains this way even after its full digitalization.

No animal mounts:

For all its variety of vehicles, Star Wars still has an affinity for the beasts of burden. In the first film alone, we’re introduced to Banthas, Dewbacks and Rontos.

Since then, we’ve seen many more animal rides. In fact, they appear in every film except for Return of the Jedi (while a heard of Banthas is seen, they don’t have any riders).

This isn’t restricted to the Saga films. Both Anthology entries had more elaborate sequences featuring characters riding beasts which later ended in the cutting floor, but though only in passing, they do appear in the finished versions of Rogue One and Solo.

No POV shot through a viewer:

It also happens in every film except Return of the Jedi, but it’s rarely mentioned: we see at least one shot from the point of view of a character who is looking through a viewing device of some kind: it’s usually electrobinoculars, but it can be a periscope, a rifle or even Vader’s mask.

You may keep reading about this topic in PART II