The Star Wars opening credits scroll is perhaps the most iconic opening shot in cinema history, with James Bond as a very close second.
It has been used since the very first appearance of the franchise, with a young George Lucas defining sci-fi motion pictures, creating a legacy with those slow crawls detailing the goings-on in the galaxy far, far away.
For years, we’ve watched those narrations giving us a quick overview of the state of the galaxy and the strength of either the Jedi or the Empire, and many have wondered who is giving this Star Wars narration.
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If we look at whom the fans think it is, the opinion differs wildly, but there is one constant, and it’s backed up by Lucas himself.
One of the few constant characters throughout all the movies is R2-D2, and Lucas noted that the droid is creating the ‘Journal of the Whills’.
This is Lucas’ framing device for the entire narrative, keeping R2 as the only character to sees and knows everything.
This has some holes in it, for example, how does R2 know the trials and tribulations of Rogue One? But, we could explain that away by R2-D2 being connected to some kind of galactic internet while hacking, and collecting information.
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Over on Reddit, other fans believe it’s a race of creatures actually called “Whills” and they are narrating the long since past.
One Redditor quotes, “Star Wars creator George Lucas intended the Whills to be microscopic single-celled life forms who were essentially God —the will of the Force.”
Another says, “The Whills! They are an ancient race that were telling the story of the conflict from way in the future, [...] read the Star Wars (A New Hope) novelisation for more info.”
It very well could be both, with R2-D2 living long enough to recount the story to the Whills, and that’s why he always comes off as so courageous in his scenes, also why he added in the bit about being able to fly with jets - it was hyperbole fun.
Topics: Star Wars, TV And Film, Disney, Lucasfilm