I was watching Attack of the Clones again recently, and something near the end of the movie caught my attention – something I had never really noticed before. It’s during the part where Count Dooku is trying to escape from Geonosis, right after the whole Yoda duel. Anakin, even though he just lost an arm, tells a nearby clone pilot to shoot Dooku’s ship down. The pilot responds, saying the gunship is out of rockets.
At first, I didn’t think much of it. But then I paused the movie at exactly 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 5 seconds (or 0:11 timestamp of the video below). When I zoomed in on the gunship’s wing (at the top left corner of the scene) , I saw four missiles still attached. Fully intact, ready to go. I even rewatched that part a couple times just to be sure. The rockets are clearly visible, and there’s no sign they were used. Which makes the pilot’s line kind of confusing – why say they were out of rockets if the missiles were still right there?
I’ve been thinking about what might have happened. Maybe it was just a mistake in the animation or something that wasn’t supposed to be noticed. But from the story’s point of view, it’s actually a huge deal. That clone trooper had Dooku in his sights and could’ve ended everything with one shot. No more Dooku means the Separatists lose their leader. Palpatine’s whole plan gets thrown off. Maybe no Clone Wars, no Order 66, and no fall of the Jedi. All of that could’ve been avoided in just a few seconds.
It’s also possible the pilot really thought they were out. Maybe the targeting system wasn’t working, or the missiles weren’t armed. Could’ve been a tech issue. But when you just look at it on-screen, it feels like they had the chance and didn’t take it. Everything was right there, and it all slipped through because of one line.