Despite sweltering frustrations surrounding the Star Wars sequel trilogy for a lack of direction and divisive contention surrounding the prequel trilogy for being too different, it's inarguable that George Lucas' Star Wars has cemented itself as one of the most iconic franchises in film history. While fans may not agree on which set of newer trilogies is "worse," most would agree that the original trilogy was a cinematic triumph.
Part of what makes the original trilogy so endearing—despite its dated graphics and visuals (even with re-releases)—is the enrapturing personalities of its cast from the legendary voice of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader to the swashbuckling smuggling of Harrison Ford's Han Solo. Even so, the original trilogy isn't perfect, featuring questionable moments like Luke and Leia's kiss and the strange circumstantial survival of certain characters who should've kicked the bucket.
7 Maximilian Veers Shouldn't Have Survived Hoth
If A New Hope was the Rebellion's golden hour, then The Empire Strikes Back is undoubtedly the Empire's. The 1980 film begins with the rebel forces being discovered by the Empire on the snow-covered planet of Hoth, putting them into a mode of desperation as they try to flee the overwhelming might of the Imperial Blizzard Force.
Spearheading these efforts was General Maximilian Veers, the Imperial officer responsible for the destruction of the shield generators protecting Echo Base. Although he was critically injured during the Battle of Hoth, Veers ultimately survives. Earlier scripts, however, suggest that Veers was originally supposed to perish in the climactic battle, a death that would've given more weight to the drastic measures the Empire took to snuff out the Rebel Alliance.
6 Bib Fortuna Was No Better Than His Predecessor
While most of the salacious scoundrels of Jabba the Hutt's nefarious court meet their end at the beginning of Return of the Jedi, Bib Fortuna was one of the few members to survive the disastrous ordeal that was the Great Pit of Carkoon. Best known as Jabba's majordomo and chief of staff, Fortuna would later seize Jabba's assets following the crime lord's demise.
Given his sleazy nature, it's simply abhorrent to think that the deplorable Twi'lek survived to see another day. This oversight is made even clearer by Fortuna's bloated appearance in The Mandalorian, suggesting that greed and power had consumed him like it did his predecessor. Fortunately, Boba Fett and Fennec Shand quickly rectify this mistake, killing Fortuna and seizing the late Hutt's possessions for themselves.
5 Admiral Ackbar Realizes The "Trap" Too Late
Everyone knows the Mon Calamari Admiral Ackbar for the iconic line that he shouts during the closing act of the original trilogy's final outing Return of the Jedi. As the Rebel Alliance approaches the Empire above the forest moon of Endor, they quickly discover that the sinister Emperor Palpatine has baited them, pinning the fleet between the Imperial Navy and fully functional Death Star.
It's here Ackbar shouts his famous line: "It's a trap!" However, a string of convenient victories enables the Rebellion to ultimately win the day. The Mon Calamari's words, then, have little consequence to the Rebel fleet's supposed impending doom. Conversely, this victory might've felt more earned had Ackbar and Home One met an unfortunate end during that battle to effectively demonstrate the true gravity of Palpatine's trap.
4 Lando Calrissian Didn't Deserve Redemption
When audiences first meet Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back, they are given plenty of reasons to like the suave and charming friend to Ford's Han Solo. The tables quickly turn, however, when Lando reveals that he's sold Han and his friends out to the Empire, claiming that he didn't have a choice.
Lando's actions directly lead to Han Solo getting frozen in carbonite and indirectly result in Luke falling into Vader's trap, resulting in the young Jedi losing his right hand. And, while Lando does double-cross the Empire, he's not able to rescue Han before Boba Fett escapes on Slave I. Given Lando's unscrupulous notoriety, it's somewhat surprising that Vader didn't have the smuggler executed after securing the denizens of the Millennium Falcon.
3 C-3PO Is Utterly Useless Beyond His Complaining
If one character had to receive an award for being the most incessantly annoying throughout the Star Wars franchise, the award would most certainly go to the gold protocol droid best known as C-3PO, a.k.a. "Threepio." While Threepio often boasts being fluent in "over six million forms of communication," he more often than not contributes very little to the actual plot of the story, if anything at all.
While both C-3PO and his far more useful counterpart—R2-D2—play more substantial roles in the prequel trilogy, the events of the sequel trilogy suggest that the pair should've been retired from the silver screen with the end of the original trilogy. And although C-3PO is given a larger role in The Rise of Skywalker, everything about the 2019 film feels forced, suggesting this protocol droid would've been better off kicking the bucket a long time ago.
2 Palpatine Should've Never Been Resurrected
Okay, perhaps it's not entirely fair to include Sheev Palpatine here since the insidious villain does perish at the hands of Darth Vader during Return of the Jedi. However, as Palpatine says to then Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith: "[t]he Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." And, if going by the expanded Star Wars lore, it certainly seems that cloning and immortality number among those "abilities."
While Palpatine has found ways to survive his original body through the use of clones in both the Legends and Canon universes, what really seals the deal to confirm the Dark Lord of the Sith's resurrection is his homecoming in The Rise of Skywalker. Given the overly confusing and convoluted legwork J.J. Abrams had to do to make this plot make any sense whatsoever, it would have been much better to leave this villain in the grave where he belonged.
1 Harrison Ford Always Wanted Han Solo To Die
It's no secret that Harrison Ford long campaigned for Han Solo to be killed off as far back as The Empire Strikes Back, a choice George Lucas blatantly refused to even consider. Ford felt that the character lacked any real purpose beyond A New Hope, claiming that the smuggler and his Wookiee companion Chewbacca would've parted ways with the Rebel Alliance after fulfilling their contract to rescue Princess Leia.
Instead, the original trilogy would see the infamous scoundrel transform into a beloved hero and general for the Rebellion. Fortunately, when asked to return in The Force Awakens, Ford was finally granted his wish with Han Solo dying at the hands of his son, Ben Solo. Of course, given that the Corellian native had already undergone a complete transformation at this point, much of the original reason for killing the character off no longer felt applicable.
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