The Death Star is one of the most iconic staples in the Star Wars universe. A moon-sized space station equipped with a superlaser that can destroy an entire planet with one shot. It’s one of the most terrifying weapons imaginable. But its origins have been retconned and expanded on multiple times since it was first introduced 49 years ago. What was originally a simple storyline became more complicated overtime.
A New Hope
In the Original Trilogy, the Death Star only exists as the Empire’s ultimate weapon that needs to be destroyed. No details were given about how it was constructed or how the Rebels learned of its existence. All we know is that Rebel spies stole the Death Star schematics so that Princess Leia can transport them to the Rebel Alliance.
One crucial detail regarding the Death Star’s design is that it had a thermal exhaust port which vented heat from the reactor core. Luke Skywalker exploits this vulnerability by launching torpedoes from his X-wing starfighter into the reactor, triggering an explosion that destroys the superweapon.
The Prequel Trilogy & Star Wars Rebels
The Death Star’s schematics are visible in scenes set in the desert planet Geonosis in Attack of the Clones. One of the individuals involved in the project is Archduke Poggle the Lesser, a member of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. However, Poggle turns on Orson Krennic, the Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial Military. By Revenge of the Sith, the Empire has taken over the project which is in the early stages of its construction.
The two part Star Wars Rebels episode “Ghosts of Geonosis” reveals that the Empire brought the Geonosians to near extinction in order to keep the Death Star a secret. Rebel extremist Saw Gerrera decides to investigate and becomes convinced that the Empire is building a superweapon after he learns the Imperials are taking kyber crystals (the same ones that power lightsabers) from Jedha.
Andor & Rogue One
The 2016 film Rogue One and the second season of Andor go into more detail regarding the construction of the Death Star.
In the first three episodes of season two, Director Krennic holds a secret meeting with various members of the Imperial Security Bureau. He lies about the Empire needing Kalkite for its clean energy program, though extracting the mineral will cause the planet to be uninhabitable. This culminates in a years-long campaign of oppressing the Ghors, using propaganda to demonize the peaceful planet, before finally decimating the population under the guise of quelling rebel activity.
Thanks to constant delays, Director Krennic forcibly recruits Imperial research scientist Galen Erso to complete the design. A team of engineers and scientists work on the weapon on the rainy, mountainous planet Eadu, while the season one finale of Andor reveals that prisoners from Narkina 5 unknowingly built parts for the superlaser.
Interestingly:
- Galen secretly sabotages the project by building the vulnerability in the Death Star’s reactor core.
- One of the prisoners from Narkina 5 was Cassian Andor, who would later play a key role in destroying the weapon he (unknowingly) helped build.
The final episodes of Andor show us that ISB Lieutenant Supervisor and Rebel Spy Lonni Jung discovers the Death Star project by accident. He shares this info with Luthen Rael and eventually the rest of the Rebel Alliance learns about the Empire’s ultimate weapon, though some will doubt its existence. The ISB struggle to contain the leak as they try to prevent one of the Rebels, Kleya Marki from leaving Coruscant. The stress of dealing with an enraged Krennic and fear of facing Palpatine’s wrath nearly tears the Bureau apart. Kleya is successfully extracted from Coruscant and the leak results in Krennic losing the Death Star with Grand Moff Tarkin taking over the project.
All of this ultimately leads to the fateful mission on Scarif, where a team of Rebels led by Cassian and Galen’s daughter Jyn steal the plans for the Death Star from the planet’s Imperial facility. The Death Star fires its superlaser on Scarif at Tarkin’s orders, but not before Rogue One succeeds in transmitting the plans so they can be sent to Princess Leia, taking us back to A New Hope.
