Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis a favorite of manyStar Warsenthusiasts, but few noticed that it introduced one surprising problem with X-wings that persists to this very day. 2016’sRogue Onewas monumental for many reasons, but the biggest is that it was the triumphant return to the original trilogy era ofStar Warsin live action. This brought so many things back, like X-wings, AT-ATs,Imperial stormtroopers, and more, all realized with modern technology.
In bringing those familiar elements back, some necessary changes had to be made by Industrial Light & Magic. Because all of these once-physical models had to be translated into computer-generated ones, some things were changed in terms of scale or modeling specifics.One change to the monumentally iconic X-wing starfighter, however, was a mistake – and it has persisted ever since 2016.
Rogue One Made One Subtle Change To The X-Wing Design
The Wings No Longer Interlock
A post on X by userRgroseApoints out that before the creation of a new X-wing model forRogue One, the starfighter actually had much more asymmetrical wings. On the back of each wing, near the engine, there are protrusions on both the top and bottom wing. When the starfighter’s S-foils open, these become immediately visible, clasping together like two teeth when the S-foils close.
TheRogue Onemodel, however, features the same exact placement of this protrusion on both the top and bottom wing, making the design physically impossible. As pointed out by RgroseA in the same post on X, the practical props made forRogue Onedidn’t feature this issue, meaning it was likely a modeling oversight. Despite this, these models have continued to be used for years, making this physical issue now appear inThe Mandalorianand beyond.
Will Star Wars Ever Move Back To The Original X-Wing?
New Ship Models Aren’t Created As Frequently
It doesn’t look like this issue will be fixed soon, either, as modernStar Warsprojects have proven to us.Star Wars:The Rise of SkywalkerandAndorin particular both show us that ILM loves to reuse its ship models – as seen in theExegol Citizens' fleetand the Ferrix junkyard. In both of those settings, familiar ships from all over the modernStar Warsprojects make appearances.
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In reality, though, this change is incredibly minor, and will likely only be noticed by very few besides the most hardcoreStar Warsenthusiasts. The reason behind this lack of change is likely because it’s much cheaper and easier to reuse these highly detailed and beautiful models for future projects, especially for television. This entire concept, of course, is not unlike a modern version of the classicStar Warstradition of reusing props from previous projects,Rogue Oneincluded.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Cast
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a standalone film set in the Star Wars universe, where a group of resistance fighters, led by Jyn Erso, embarks on a mission to steal the Death Star plans. This pivotal event sets the stage for the iconic saga to follow.
