My little boy once asked me “Dad, in Star Wars, why don’t they have to go to the bathroom”. I think my answer to him applies here: They always needed to, but we don’t need to see it.
Fuel is reference directly and indirectly a few times in episodes one through six, but we don’t need to see the characters stopping at gas stations, standing at the pump, grabbing snacks from the Hyper Fuel Grab-N-Go and hitting the bathroom on the way out. We also do not need to see Han ticked off because Chewy forgot to order fries with his burger, or Luke feeling a cold coming on or Leia needing to lie down get rid of a headache. It happens…it all happens…but it does not help the story and certainly detracts from the fun.
I will get to the second part of the question, but, first, I think it is important to look at why questions like this pop up periodically. I think the origins of this question come from a common misunderstanding of story telling in general. The main reason it is important to make characters the audience can relate to is so they can automatically understand and feel the entire situation of the character, not just what is directly presented. If we can relate to the characters, we fill in the mundane gaps, like those mentioned above, plus insecurities, loneliness, having “off” days etc. It is knowing these characters are dealing with the normal stuff that makes witnessing them rise above, push through or, in some cases, be swallowed by everything that makes it all so emotionally and mentally impacting.
Now, the second part of the question, about hyper fuel causing plot holes in previous movies. As mentioned above, we all can relate to using machines for transportation and the for the overwhelming majority of the audience refueling is always a consideration. This is why there was no need to waste screen time and money (and audience attention) on such things. We knew the ships all run on fuel. To get more technical, in space there is no resistance to movement, so if you give a ship a push it will continue at the speed forever. So fuel is needed to change speeds or directions, stop and power generators life support systems. So, consumption of fuel would vary widely from almost nine to a lot, depending on the factors above. Some may rarely need to refuel, while others may need it all of the time.
In the new movies, we are introduced to a fuel source that is very concentrated and very powerful. I imagine that type of fuel source would be available in different forms for different purposes all over the galaxy. So, filling a ship with a ton of it would last a very long time preventing the need to stop all of the time. The Resistance fleet in The Last Jedi needed a considerable amount to power all of the life support generators plus leaping through hyperspace. The latter would always take the most fuel, and they had not been able to resupply for quite some time and through multiple blasts through hyperspace.
In conclusion, fuel was not introduced in the Solo or The Last Jedi and the presence of it, especially being to concentrated, supports the events a of all official cannon Star Wars material.
Why was “hyperspace fuel” put into The Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story? It created more plot holes than it filled, like the Millennium Falcon never worrying about refueling.Mike Glass, blogger, web dev and life-long Star Wars kid.Answered Apr 4
