Did a ‘Star Wars’ fuel stop change the fate of the galaxy forever?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Qui-Gon Jinn and the rest of the Nabooian refugees had to stop to refuel on Tatooine, and thus began the Skywalker Saga and the love that destroyed and saved an entire constellation.

Star Wars has always alluded to philosophical ideas such as fate and mythological concepts like prophecy, but when all is said and all is done, fans have just realized that the entire story is based around a coincidental detour to Tatooine. Were it not for Qui-Gon deciding to land on the desert world, Anakin Skywalker would never have found his way to Coruscant and the Jedi Temple.

In fairness, though, Anakin wasn’t as integral to Palpatine’s plans as people generally assume. The big bad always intended the Clone Army to serve as the defacto Jedi purgers, so whether or not Anakin succumbed to his will, the Emperor would’ve gone ahead and executed Order 66, bringing about an end to democracy.

Still, it’s interesting to ponder that so far as Anakin is concerned — and he is the main character in the entirety of Star Wars — none of these things would’ve happened if the Royal Starship never made its way to Tatooine. As such, fans have been asked to share other “minuscule decisions” that changed the course of events, and they’ve come up with some interesting answers.

For instance, what if the Empire had just decided to shoot down R2-D2 and Threepio’s pod in A New Hope?

If Anakin had remained at the temple as Mace instructed him, the Jedi Master would’ve just killed Palpatine and avoided the Empire and its tyrannical 20-year reign.

Here’s one all-time favorite speculation: What if Obi-Wan ran a bit faster and saved Qui-Gon in The Phantom Menace?

What if Luke had made it to Tosche station? And more importantly, how does this affect LeBron’s legacy?

Ultimately, I think when it comes to the machinations of fate, it’s always an eye-opening mind trip to think back on some of the most defining moments in your personal life, and how they all involved simple things happening in the right order or at the right moment.