Right. Until DJ ratted out the plan, the First Order had no idea the shuttles were being used for escape, and the plan relied on their not bothering to look for the little ships. She was going to draw their attention away from the shuttles once they were clear, but the First Order figured it out too quickly.

I got…

Well at least it had a precedent earlier in the film when not-Willrow Hood stayed with the medical frigate. It might have been as simple as a Captain going down with her ship.

Because setting the autopilot to ramming speed is a pragmatic stopgap that only matters until the next crisis pops up, but sacrificing yourself is inspiring. The Resistance was about to die, and Holdo knew they needed inspiration to continue fighting the First Order.

hmm. now that you mention it, why didn’t Luke just have R2-D2 jetpack into the 2-meter Death Star opening with a thermal detonator.

She stayed behind because leaving an actual person on the ship was the easiest way to make sure they could react to any changes in the situation that would affect the original plan.

I thought they were supposed to win by saving those they loved instead of dying for them or something like that.

Here’s the thing that people miss- there’s an entire generation- scratch that, generations - that are growing up and have grown up with the prequels as an intrinsic part of their Star Wars vocabulary. There’s countless fans out there- not just hardcore crazies, but fans from all walks of life- who’s childhood memories…

I think ‘Rogue One’ is going to be a single ship. With a big bunch of shiny heroes on it. Morally ambiguous characters who are just out there in the big bad universe with no great special destiny, who decide to take a stand against a giant, seemingly implacable enemy...

Plus the pilot needs to have dinosaurs.

And who would YOU send to steal the info on Death Star II? The same people who successfully stole the info on Death Star I, or some new, inexperienced band of idjits who’ve never even stolen any Death Star plans!

You mean the movie all about trying to find Luke Skywalker? Where the villain was the son of Leia Skywalker and was committed to living up to the legacy of his grandfather Anakin Skywalker? That movie is the franchise at peak Skywalker.

Though he didn’t actually appear until the last few seconds, The Force Awakens was very much centered around Luke Skywalker. A large part of the movie was focused around the map to his location, and trying to track him down.

I think he is including Kylo Ren and Leia as Skywalkers and Kylo was certainly prominent in Force Awakens.

Ah, “Twilight of the Apprentice” is concerning, but twilight is still ambiguous, and there’s more than one apprentice on the show.

I am curious what parts of the Star War “experience” and tone will they keep for the stand-alone movies and what is reserved for “episodes.”

In the very unlikely event you don’t know, Rogue One is about a group of Rebellion pilots who are tasked with getting the plans for original Death Star

That is, of course, assuming that Fulcrum or anyone from the Ghost is even alive by that point.