History Headscratchers / RogueOne

** According to Wookieepedia Mon Mothma was 48 at the time of this film, Creator/GenevieveOReilly is 39. So not that an unreasonable age difference.

** Don't forget that when Ep3 was being made the idea of Rogue One wasn't even on anybody's mind chances are that since all her original scenes were cut they had no idea we'd been seeing the character on screen again.

** According to Wookieepedia Mon Mothma was 48 at the time of this film, Genevieve O'Reilly is 39. So not that an unreasonable age difference.

* It's easily missed but when the Y-wings make their attack run on the shield gate, they bomb the structure directly instead of the shield. It has no evident effect.

* Why were the X-Wings targeting the shield itself instead of targeting the the shield generator? The generator was obviously unshielded because they are shown destroying turrets on it. Plus the Star Destroyer crashing into the generator is what finally takes the shield down.

** It's a little bit of a plot hole, since the ''Tantive IV'' is shown in the Admiral ship's hold during the assault, but Threepio and Artoo are shown on Yavin after the admiral himself has already left. You could say the they docked with the command ship sometime during the battle but that almost seems too risky, since the Rebels plan relies on the Imperials not knowing a consular ship is even there and Leia's diplomatic immunity.

*** Mon Mothma and Bail Organa were still senators in the the Imperial Senate, the reformed Galactic Senate that served to rubberstamp the Emperor's decrees and maintain the illusion that the citizens had some control of their government. It's not until Leia is captured in ''A New Hope'' that the Imperial Senate is dissolved - "The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us" bit.

* I know ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale, but this is ridiculous. How could two huge starships be hanging ''so'' close to each other that a slight push made one instantly career into the the other? And why would a slowly moving ship slice through an equally armored ship like knife through butter?

** If it was a retcon, it was Lucas who retconned it. Genevieve O'Reilly is the same actress who played Mon Mothma in the prequels. most of her scenes got cut and you can only find them in the special features, but she's been in Star Wars since Episode III.

** What I don't understand is why there isn't some consideration of the idea that Galen could provide valuable information beyond the Death Star to the Alliance? Also, what's stopping the Alliance from considering that Galen can help build weapons and tech for them? He's clearly a very skilled engineer and he could help design and enhance the technology for the Alliance. In WW2, the Americans didn't just kill the Nazi scientists and engineers when the war ended, not all of them, and had them use their skills to enhance their own tech when facing off against the U.S.S.R. I don't see why this isn't even brought up.

** The impression I got was that Bail and Mon DID want him alive so he could testify before the Senate and the Alliance, it was only the General who wanted to go straight for assassination assuming that it was a trap. A better tactic/order would be "Attempt extraction but assassinate the moment things go pear shaped"

* Other than getting the plans out entirely by sheer luck and coincidence (and to provide a neat tie into ANH's opening scene, natch), what was Leia ''doing'' at the Battle of Scarif? Last we saw Senator Organa, he was summoning Captain Antilles to ferry Leia to Obi Wan's location; even Threepio says "'They' are going to Scarif?" rather than "We". Why would Bail put his daughter at risk by sending her to an emergency engagement with high chance of failure when she already has a very sensitive mission? Or, if it was Leia's own initiative to join the attack, what did she mean to accomplish?

** Maybe they did and found nothing (remember, the thing is ''huge''), maybe they did and found ''something else'' (which never shows up, because, well, why would it?). Remember that while the Death Star was (mostly) kept a secret until the events of Rogue One, it is not anymore after it and the Empire knows that the Rebels know. So having it mothballed until a flaw that might or might not exist is detected has considerable costs (not being able to use your best weapon) with little potential benefit. Besides, the Death Star nearly did win the Battle of Yavin, if it weren't for a smuggler, an ancient religion and "sheer damn luck". Notice the discussion early on in ''Film/ANewHope'' about the Death Star and the Rebellion - the only one in the room believing the Rebellion to be a threat to the Death Star is some low level grunt (compared to Vader and Tarkin) who is quickly ignored. Vader knows the Force is stronger than the Death Star, but it is unclear whether he even knows Obi Wan is still alive at that point and he surely knows of no other living Force-user (unless there is something in canon I missed).

** It's likely also that the trooper waiting for the diskette was compressing the file to fit, and it was simply uncompressed when it reached Yavin IV.

* How did Mon Mothma age 20 years in a few days? edited: before Return of the Jedi?

* What exactly did Lyra think she would accomplish, marching across an open field, loudly announcing her arrival and intentions, and then targeting the only imperial who ''wasn't'' armed? Even if her shot had killed Krennic, his troops would have just gunned her down anyway and finished the mission without him. The smarter thing to do would have been to stick to cover, snipe troopers from a defensible position with an escape route, or at least engage them on her own terms. If it was so important to deal with the imperials near her husband first and foremost, she still could have saved him ''if'' she was a crack shot, ''if'' she had the element of surprise, and ''if'' she had prioritized those men who were actually capable of fighting back. Yet she squandered every last one of those advantages in a futile and pointless sacrifice, leaving her daughter to be raised by a fanatic guerrilla.

* Per the supplementary materials, Leia's mission to go to Tatooine and recruit Obi-wan was supposed to occur with Raddus's fleet flying escort most of the way, and they just diverted to Scarif instead. Given the secretive nature of the mission, going by Bail Organa's and Mon Mothma's dialog, it is likely that only Leia and a few on the Tantive IV were given the full details, and the fleet (including possibly Raddus) just thought it was part of some mission to hide the Rebellions warships in a remote area. as far as C3PO and R2D2, keep in mind that the CR90 corvettes can land on planets, as we've seen in Rebels. it is totally possible that the Tantive IV was on the ground when the scene happened, getting ready to take off itself, with the droids boarding just before it lifts off. then the ship follows the fighters up to the capital ships and docks with the Profundity before the fleet takes off, with Leia's mission either being overruled by Raddus's orders (he's an Admiral, she's just a senator, not in the chain of command) or with Leia agreeing with the diversion to Scarif to help rescue the Rogue One group. (it would be in character for her.) Presumably they had expected their show of strength to let the fleet get away, after which the Tantive IV could have split off while the fleet scattered to avoid pursuit, and headed off to Tatooine. it is also worth noting that Tatooine and Scarif are only a few dozen lightyears apart, so the Fleet was already going to be headed in that direction anyway. which may have played a role in the decision to divert.