Star Wars fans are theorising that Krennic is (sort of) referenced in the original trilogy after all

A handful of Star Wars super fans are convinced Rogue One and Andor villain Orson Krennic was indirectly referenced in the original trilogy – and it's all thanks to an empty chair.

On April 29, OkuroIshimoto took to the franchise's unofficial discussion board on Reddit to share a still from 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Often dubbed the 'Death Star conference room', it sees Darth Vader and other highly-ranked Galactic Empire officers hold their important meetings. 

In the post, they highlight that one seat is vacant, alongside the caption: "Hearing a lot of headcanons that this seat was Krennic's. Any other theories?"

"I could be wrong, but I think I remember one of the From a Certain Point of View stories describing how Admiral Motti (or Tagge) glanced over at Krennic's empty seat in the briefing," commented another. "Presumably, the author of that short story intended for this empty seat to be the one they meant."

"God damn, yes, this should be the top comment lmao. It isn't a fan theory, it's confirmed in a canon book as being his seat. It was Tagge though that looked over at Krennic's empty seat," echoed someone else.

"I like the headcannon that it was for Krennic! Never thought of that but it makes sense. He died the day before right??" said a fourth, while a fifth wrote: "I'd never heard this before, but I like it. RIP Krennic. Perhaps when there's ever a 'Very Special Edition' there will be a black band draped over the chair in memory of the fallen director."

Others, however, don't seem to be buying it, arguing that the chair was clearly one of four left empty so as not to obstruct certain shots as the camera moved round the table. Others joked that it's Vader's seat, but he always stands so as not to look goofy.

"Honestly, yeah, the visual of Vader just sitting in a chair with a bunch of rank-and-file guys really doesn't work. He only looks intimidating if he's standing up and striding around with his cloak swooshing behind him," a fan claimed.

In Star Wars canon, said conference takes place after the Empire capture Princess Leia, which happens right after the end of Rogue One. Krennic dies in the Battle of Scarif in the same film, so it's perfectly plausible that the meeting room would've been set up for his attendance, only for him to not to show up. 

Ben Mendelsohn is currently reprising the role of Krennic in Andor season 2 on Disney Plus, opposite Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, and Diego Luna.

Keep up to date with every episode using our Andor season 2 release schedule, or see our Andor season 2 review for our spoiler-free verdict on the whole show.