As flawless as a movie might seem when fans first see it, repeat viewings can reveal that
some of the biggest questions are never actually answered.
There can be plenty of reasons, but whether the answer is found in deleted scenes, overlooked
clues, or novelizations, we've got you covered.
Here are Screen Rant's 10 Amazing Movie Mysteries Finally Answered.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Since Return of the Jedi ended with the downfall
of the Death Star and Emperor, it was assumed that the Rebel Alliance had won the day, with
the Imperial army weakened by the loss of its commanders.
But in The Force Awakens, the Rebels are still known as "the Resistance," without ever explaining
what they're resisting.
In the novelization, it's explained that the slow, boring politics of the Star Wars prequels
are to blame.
Apparently, once the Empire started to crumble, the same greedy, oblivious senators all dragged
their feet, ignoring Leia and the Rebels.
That let the Empire recover, kicking off the next movie trilogy.
The Lion King When Simba runs away from his home, he doesn't
stop until he's left the African plains behind for the jungle, growing from a boy into a
man.
He only returns when his childhood friend Nala shows up to tell him how bad things have
gotten - but she's surprised to find him.
So what was she doing miles and miles from home?
In the original story, Nala had been banished after refusing Scar's romantic advances.
But the studio decided such a dark sexual storyline wasn't right for the younger audience
it was aiming for.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Fans of Steve Rogers didn't just get to see
an updated, stealthy costume for Cap in his big screen sequel, but a return to his roots,
when he puts on his original costume - after stealing it from the Smithsonian.
But the actual reason for stealing the uniform isn't given.
A deleted scene showed Cap's suit was being tracked, so he ditched it to lead S.H.I.E.L.D.
on a wild goose chase, forcing him into street clothes for the rest of the movie.
He needed a uniform that couldn't be followed, leading him to his uniform created before
the tracking technology was used.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Some problems in George Lucas' prequels arise
when fans realize that the Sith, the Jedi's ancient enemy, isn't a powerful order or army,
but just two Force Users: a master and apprentice.
Why not recruit an army instead of hatching a decades-long plan?
The answer comes in the novels, when the greatest surviving Sith, Darth Bane, realized the greed,
hunger for power, and anger the Sith taught guaranteed they'd betray each other, and never
work together.
It was better, he decided, to keep just two true Sith at any time, who could manipulate
the rest of the galaxy’s leaders without them ever realizing it.
The plan worked, after all.
Independence Day Science fiction nitpickers are quick to point
out the most far-fetched moment of Independence Day, when an Apple computer is completely
compatible with the alien mothership.
But follow the plot, and you don't even need the deleted scene explaining it.
The Area 51 scientists explain that the digital age was a result of studying the alien ship,
right down to the microchip.
If modern computers were reverse-engineered from the alien systems, as revealed in a deleted
scene, someone as brilliant as Jeff Goldblum's character could have easily programmed an
interface.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park It's one plot hole that refuses to die, and
with good reason.
When the ship containing the T-rex crashes into San Diego's port, the crew are found
completely dismembered on board.
Shockingly, that fact is never explained.
But in the novel, a pack of velociraptors snuck on board, killing the crew, and apparently
falling overboard on the way.
At least, we HOPE that's what happened to them.
The Dark Knight Rises Critics cried foul when Bruce Wayne returned
to Gotham from his prison pit, without any explanation.
But the solution is obvious going by the previous movies.
It's not hard to believe Bruce could have traveled back to a port city, since he left
the States in the exact same way.
It's also shown, and explicitly stated by Harvey Dent, that Wayne Manor isn't anywhere
close to Gotham.
So Bruce could have gotten to his Batcave easily - with his gadgets and tech, getting
past Bane's forces would have been a breeze.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens The movie makes a point of explaining that
the First Order’s superweapon is practically planet-sized, compared to the original Death
Star.
But seriously, how could a space station ever be built so large?
Besides being home to billions of soldiers, how could the crew use all of the space?
The novel explains it by revealing the base wasn't built at all - it was a planet to begin
with:
"...the planet had been altered: its mountains tunneled into, its glaciers hacked, and its
valleys modified until it no longer resembled its original naturally eroded form.
Those who had remade it had renamed it.
Starkiller Base."
Titanic Every Titanic fan points out the same problem:
Jack and Rose could easily have both fit on the floating door if they'd just tried, or
taken turns if it wouldn't support both their weight - and they could have both been rescued.
But think about it: when help arrives, Jack looks to be almost frozen solid.
Rose barely survives herself, so if she and Jack had taken turns getting in and out of
the water, they would BOTH have died of hypothermia.
Jack probably knew it, sacrificing himself to a certain death, instead of trying a plan
that would have gotten them BOTH killed.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Fans have been debating the true identity
of the new hero Rey since the movie released, wondering who it was that left her all alone
on Jakku, and why they never returned.
It seems pretty cold for a hero like Luke or Leia to leave her behind for good, but
the novel reveals that wasn't the plan at all.
When Luke's lightsaber triggers Rey's Force visions, the scene ends with Rey hearing a
voice calling to her.
Not just any voice, either, but that of her parent, with their last words a promise to
come back for her once it was safe, ending with the line "I'll come back sweetheart,
I promise" - confirming once and for all that movie audiences don't know the half of her
origin story.
Those are the nagging questions we've seen movie fans debate with no hope of an answer,
but which great debates, plot holes, or unexplained movie mysteries are your favorites to discuss?
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