So That's Why Wedge Antilles Wasn't In Rogue One

The epic Battle of Scarif in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story revived a few pilots from Star Wars: A New Hope to help out in the skies thanks to vintage footage, but one of the most famous Rebel pilots did not show up to patrol the skies. Now we know why.

In response to a fan question on Twitter about why Wedge Antilles wasn't shown in the Battle of Scarif, Lucasfilm story group executive Pablo Hidalgo explained that was a very deliberate decision — and it's one even the most keen-eyed Star Wars fan probably would've missed. Hidalgo said they couldn't have Wedge at the early battle because he delivers the line "Look at the size of that thing!" the first time he sees the Death Star during the battle in Star Wars: A New Hope. So, had he seen the Death Star before at Scarif, that line from the original trilogy would have no longer made sense. So, if you were among the Star Wars fans curious as to why Wedge wasn't at Scarif, the mystery is finally solved.

Director Gareth Edwards famously used some archived footage of Red Leader and Gold Leader from A New Hope to splice them into the climactic space battle in Rogue One, but that only worked because those character didn't express surprise at the sight of the moon-sized Death Star. The tiny detail is a testament to the amount of effort Lucasfilm and Disney have put into its canon department, with a literal team of people combing over tiny details just like this one to make sure they all match up across decades of canon.