Crocker Jarmen

That's what I thought at first, because of the movie poster I saw hanging in the theatre well before the movie came out. I didn't know the plot of the movie yet as it hadn't come out (and I was 5), so when I saw this poster, I assumed it was the remains of the blown up Death Star.

Of course, at some point after seeing the movie, I did realize that it was a wholly new Death Star under construction.

EDIT: And now that I've looked up the old poster I remember, it DOES NOT have the half built Death Star on it. So now I don't know where I got that idea from. Damn that Mandela-effect.

GoldenJCJ

I just assumed the blast front the first Death Star didn’t completely destroy it and what we saw in Jedi was the Death Star after it was almost put back together. I mean, if they can build a space station like that from scratch they can rebuild the space station from, like, 70% destroyed.

Jay G.

It had to be. The first Death Star literally took 19 years to build. The second one took only 4 years, if they had started construction on it immediately after the destruction of the first.

Josh-da-man

I remember reading, years ago, that the original Death Star was Tarkin's project, and the second, larger, Death Star was built in secret by Palpatine. The reason being that when Tarkin began construction on his, Palpatine didn't want one of his underlings having a super-weapon, and wanted a larger one for himself. So the Death Star II construction was started not long after the work began on the first Death Star.

I am unsure if this was mentioned in an EU book or comic, or if it was just speculation on someone's part.

I always liked that idea, because it sort of ties into the Sith philosophy; Palpatine would be paranoid that Tarkin might make a move against him or otherwise attempt to seize power for himself. It also provides a better in-story excuse for having a second Death Star other than Lucas was unable to think of anything else for the third movie.

Shannon Nutt

Yeah, I'm not sure if it was in the novelization of ROTJ or some other item from Lucasfilm (maybe in Timothy Zahn's books?), but I've always understood that the two Death Stars were pretty much build concurrently.

Jay G.

Revenge of the Sith pretty much threw that out the window though, since it shows Vader and Palpatine gazing at the Death Star being built.

Mabuse

No you didn’t.

The original poster does feature an image of the incomplete Death Star.

Jay G.

You're right, I must've confused it with the explosion of Alderaan. Looking at that explosion, there's a big chunk that flies up and to the left.

This poster?

Mabuse

It’s right there behind Darth Vader’s head.

Jay G.

Yes, I can see it. I was just confirming that's the poster you meant. I found another vintage poster that gives a different impression of the state of the Death Star.



There's also a quad that give a different view of the Death Star:

Crocker Jarmen

This is the poster I was referring to. I remember the planet beside Luke's hand being the "half-blown up" Death Star. I was mistaken.

Jay G.

The Death Star is there, it's the smaller "moon" orbiting that planet.

Close-up of that part of the poster:


It may be the resolution of that image I found, but it looks a bit more "chewed up" than "under construction." So I can see how someone could've made that interpretation before seeing the movie.

urrutiap

ive always had a Back to the Future theory since the old DVD Trilogy that came out back in 2002 or early 2003

the other Marty was always there in the beginning of the movie witnessing everything.

Marty and Doc of Back to the Future II were already there the whole time in Back to the Future 1 in 1955 especially the daytime downtown where BTTF II Marty was wearing a fedora and sunglasses.

Plus the thing about 3 Deloreans being there the whole time during Back to the Future II because of Back to the Future III

urrutiap

Even tv movies on Sy Fy Channel they are in the same universe such as Sharknado and the Steve Guttenburg Lava Tarantula movies.

Jay G.

Do you mean you can actually see them in BTTF1? Like Marty in a fedora and sunglasses in the background? Because I don't think there were thinking that far ahead..

In terms of story, due to the particulars of time travel that BTTF uses, no, they weren't there "the whole time". For the first movie, only the first Marty and first Delorean were in the past, with only the original Doc. Each trip back to the past creates an alternate timeline.

First, original, unaltered timeline: Marty's dad falls out of tree, gets hit by a car, gets nursed back to health by his mom, they go to the dance together and kiss. They get married, but Marty's dad is a pushover, and Biff stays a bully. No Marty, no Delorean.

BTTF timeline: Marty goes back, "saves" his dad and gets hit by the car instead, which causes all sorts of ripple effects. This is now an alternate timeline, one where, for a while, he may ultimately end up not existing. One Marty, one Delorean.

BTTF2: Biff goes back and changes the timeline. So two Biffs in the past, and the Delorean he "borrowed" as well for a while. Marty and Doc go back to "fix" this, but they take steps so as to not to alter their own timelines apart from fixing what Biff changed (i.e. getting back the sports score book). So at one point there's two Biffs, two Martys, two Docs, and three Deloreans (Biff's, Marty 1's, and Marty and Doc 2's). At this point though, the "old west" timeline hasn't been change though, only the 1950s.

BTTF2 ending/BBTF3: Doc 2, in the 50s, gets sent further into the past in the third Delorean. At this point, that Doc starts changing the past, and we end up seeing Marty in that altered timeline getting a letter from Doc 2. He then goes back to Doc 1 right after Marty 1 is sent back to the future. Biff 2 is gone as well. Marty 2 with Doc 1 pulls out the Delorean Doc 2 hid. So now, at one point while Biff 2 was past, there were 4 Deloreans: Marty 1's, Biff 2's, Marty and Doc 2's, and the hidden old west one.


The BTTF time travel has a lot of paradoxes and contradictions though. For example, in BTTF1, Marty goes back, changes the past, and travels forward into the alternate timeline. But in BTTF2, Biff goes to the past, changes it, then travels forward back into the original timeline, as if he hadn't altered it. Contradiction. Then Marty and Doc travel back to the 80s and somewhow end up in Biff's alternate timeline, although they didn't travel all the way back to the point of divergence. Then when Doc gets sent to the old west, we immediately see the effects of that with the letter, but Marty shouldn't be on that altered timeline yet. The BTTF movies are fun, but when you dig into their time travel mechanics, it's a contradictory mess, not as clean as the Bill and Ted films.

urrutiap

whatever, bud.

My theory still makes sense.

Only YOU think they dont appear on screen in Back to the Future 1.

I still think that BTTF II Marty and Doc are aroiund in Back to the Future 1 in certain places like young Biff's garage and BTTF II Doc doing whatever during the daytime

There was alot going on at night during the storm besides the dance anyway

TomOpus

Provide screenshots and timestamps, please.

Groucho

Up, and to the left. Up, and to the left. Up, and to the left.

Josh-da-man

The Death Star explosion was an inside job. There was a rebel sympathizer involved in the construction who sabotaged it.

candyrocket786

Thor.

Odin's horse had 6 legs.😲