The Death Star has been a major part of the Star Wars franchise from the very beginning, but despite being so synonymous with the brand, there are still aspects of it that don’t make sense. First appearing all the way back in the original Star Wars (since retitled A New Hope), the Death Star has reappeared in several different iterations, with weapons such as the Starkiller Base seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens being inspired by its world-ending abilities. Still, a base of this size would be a logistical nightmare if it were to actually be built.
Although the Death Star was destroyed in the very same movie it was introduced in, the space station’s legacy lives on to this day. It was eventually rebuilt at least somewhat in Return of the Jedi, and would have an impact through its careless destruction of Alderaan and the threat it posed to the galaxy. Regardless, below is a list of things about the Death Star that still make no sense.
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10 There Are No Guard Rails On The Death Star
The Drops Would Be Dangerous For Anyone Working On The Death Star
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When seeing the Death Star for the very first time, one of the most apparent things about its interior design is the fact that there are many deadly drops throughout the space station. One wrong step, and any unwitting person working on the Death Star could be sent plummeting to a very sudden and tragic death. This would be prevented if the Death Star followed some sort of internal safety guidelines and, for example, put up guard rails wherever these seemingly unnecessary drops were located.
Not only can Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa be seen swinging over some of these dangerous drops in A New Hope, but this issue continues into the second Death Star’s design. After all, when Darth Vader attempts to kill Darth Sidious, he does so by pushing him down one of these dangerous drop-offs. This all could have been avoided if those designing the Death Star kept a little bit of safety in mind when building it.
9 The Death Star Has No Obvious Propulsion Systems
How Does It Move From Planet To Planet?
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One of the most dangerous aspects of the Death Star is that it is a galaxy-wide threat, capable of moving from planet to planet. This is what allowed the Empire to destroy Alderaan and later threaten Yavin 4. However, despite this apparent ability to move great distances throughout the galaxy, the Death Star doesn’t look like much more than its own planet sitting in the middle of space.
There are no visible thrusters on the Death Star, making it look much more like a stationary space station than the galactic weapon of mass destruction that it really is. It theoretically has a massive hyperdrive, but how does it use all of that power to move from place to place? Design-wise, looking like a planet is incredibly interesting and even intimidating, but planets aren’t exactly known for straying from their set paths.
8 Galen Erso’s Plan Made It Into The Final Death Star Design
No One Realized There Was A Major Flaw In The Death Star’s Plans
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was an amazing movie that finally answered one of the biggest questions audiences had about the Death Star. Why was an entire space station able to be destroyed in a single shot? Surely, the people working on such a massive undertaking wouldn’t overlook such an obvious design flaw.
The movie explained that this part of the design was intentional, placed there by Death Star architect Galen Erso in the hopes that someone would find his plans and use them to destroy the Death Star. However, though this does answer one question, it brings up even more. Theoretically, wouldn’t someone else, presumably more loyal to the Empire than Galen, be able to decipher the plans and tell how obvious a flaw that exhaust port was?
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7 The Empire Kept All Of Their Best And Brightest In One Place
When The Death Star Was Destroyed, It Took Many People With It
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The Death Star was incredibly convenient as a base of operations for the Empire, able to house countless stormtroopers and intelligence officers in a single place. Not only that, but the base was able to move wherever it needed to be in order to intimidate opponents of the Empire. Although this is a convenient way to run the operation, it isn’t exactly a smart one.
Because so many people were on the Death Star when it was destroyed, the loss of life was catastrophic. Countless high ranking members of the Empire, including Grand Moff Tarkin, were killed in the explosion, leaving the Empire at a severe disadvantage and looking to rebuild. Because of this, spreading out their forces and assets would have been a much safer option, avoiding the deaths of many who were stationed there on the Death Star.
6 There Is Little Security On The Death Star
Obi-Wan Kenobi Explored The Death Star Unchecked
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Despite the fact that the Death Star is crawling with stormtroopers and other Imperial officials, it seems that many of its most important systems are left completely unguarded. When Obi-Wan Kenobi ventures through the Death Star alone in A New Hope, he is given unfettered access to its systems. He is allowed to make his way through the space station unopposed, only meeting resistance once he finally comes face to face with Darth Vader himself.
If there were at least one or two guards stationed on some of these systems, Obi-Wan would have had a much more difficult time standing in the way of the Empire. Perhaps there was no one stationed here because the Empire was so certain of their dominance that they believed it to be impossible for anyone to break into the space station. This arrogance partially led to their defeat, in this instance allowing for the escape of Leia Organa.
5 How Did The Second Death Star Shoot Through Its Own Shield?
The Rebellion Could Not Shoot Through, But The Death Star Could
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After the introduction of the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi, it is noted that one of the biggest modifications made to this version of the planet killer was the introduction of a protective shield. The Rebel Alliance was unable to shoot through, making this version of the Death Star much more difficult for them to destroy. However, despite the fact that the Rebellion could not shoot into the shield and at the Death Star, the Empire was capable of shooting through it and directly at the Rebel Alliance.
This does not make sense from a logical standpoint. If the Rebellion is unable to shoot through the shield, shouldn’t the Empire be unable to shoot through it as well? This point is eventually made irrelevant once the shield generator is destroyed by the Millennium Falcon, but the question still stands as one about the second Death Star that remains unanswered.
4 The Death Star’s Construction Was Secret For Years
Planning Began All The Way Back In Attack Of The Clones
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Years before the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire, talks about the creation of the Death Star were already underway. Plans for the creation of such a weapon were first created by the Geonosians in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and subsequently given to Count Dooku for safe keeping. This begs the question, how did Count Dooku and Darth Sidious keep these plans a secret for so long?
Even if production of the Death Star didn’t begin until after the Empire took over, there are still millions of little things to account for that would have needed to be set into stone years before its actual creation. Those in charge would need to requisition materials, hire people to build it, and locate a place to begin construction just to name a few things. If a process is going to involve so many people, how they kept the creation of such a superweapon a secret for so long remains a mystery.
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3 The Death Star Is An Expensive Intimidation Tactic
How Much Did The Death Star Cost, And Was It Worth It?
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Because the Death Star is such a massive space station, in theory it would take an impressive amount of money and materials to make it. Where would the Empire find access to so much money and so many materials? There are plenty of stories of the Empire exploiting planets for their own gain, but how would the organization find the money to do so on such a large scale?
While it is not above the Empire to steal from those they are ruling over, the economy needs to keep running somehow. Money still changes hands, and that includes hands in the Empire. There is likely some answer that would make sense of this, but regardless, the Death Star’s production seems unlikely at best and near impossible at worst.
2 The Death Star Is Not A Very Practical Weapon
There Are Simpler Ways The Empire Could Destroy A Planet
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While the Death Star’s primary practical use is as a space station, in the movies, the focus is on the fact that it is capable of destroying entire planets. This is likely the reason that it was built to travel such long distances instead of remaining stationary, aside from the tactical advantage that being on the move generally provides. Despite this, there are more practical ways to keep one’s forces on the move while also having the ability to destroy entire planets.
Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo showed one way that this was possible in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Here, she uses a ship moving into hyperspace in order to destroy the First Order dreadnought, the Supremacy. This tactic could be utilized at a higher scale using asteroids or larger and possibly cheaply made ships, and with the inclusion of the aptly named Holdo Maneuver in Star Wars canon, it is surprising that the Empire and the First Order never employed similar tactics.
1 How Did The Death Star Provide For So Many People?
Food And Water Had To Be Provided Somehow
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The Death Star is so massive for a reason, as the space station needs to house an incredibly large number of people. There are stormtroopers, intelligence officers, and a whole variety of different people with different backgrounds working on the Death Star. One thing that all of these people have in common is that they all require food and water to survive.
This leads to another thing about the Death Star that Star Wars has yet to answer. How does the Empire provide for all of these people in order to keep things running day to day? Is there a section of the space station dedicated to growing food and purifying water, or are they surviving off of rations to get by? Procuring that much food and water and having a place to keep it all is not an easy task, and it would likely need its own dedicated department.
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Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
Created by George Lucas First Film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope Cast Mark Hamill , James Earl Jones , David Prowse , Carrie Fisher , Harrison Ford , Daisy Ridley , Adam Driver , Ian McDiarmid , Ewan McGregor , Rosario Dawson , Lars Mikkelsen , Rupert Friend , Moses Ingram , Frank Oz , Pedro Pascal TV Show(s) The Mandalorian , Andor , Obi-Wan Kenobi , The Book of Boba Fett , Ahsoka , The Acolyte , Star Wars: Skeleton Crew , Lando , Star Wars: The Clone Wars , Star Wars Rebels , Star Wars: The Bad Batch , Star Wars: Resistance , Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures , Star Wars: Visions Character(s) Luke Skywalker , Han Solo , Rey Skywalker , Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious , Obi-Wan Kenobi , Ahsoka Tano , Grand Admiral Thrawn , Grand Inquisitor , Reva (The Third Sister) , The Fifth Brother , The Seventh Sister , The Eighth Brother , Yoda , Din Djarin , Grogu , Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader , Leia Organa , Ben Solo/Kylo Ren Video Game(s) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic , Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords , Star Wars Battlefront (2015) , Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005) , Star Wars: The Force Unleashed , Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II , Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order , Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Expand