- "We need to pull some Holdo maneuvers. Do some real damage."
- ―Beaumont Kin
The Holdo maneuver[3] was a suicidal ramming tactic[1] named after Resistance Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. The name was based on Holdo's sacrifice[4] during the First Order's attack on the Resistance navy, which consisted of Holdo ramming the cruiser Raddus against the Supremacy at near-lightspeed velocities to buy the surviving Resistance members time to escape to Crait.[1] One year after the Battle of Crait, Beaumont Kin proposed to use the Holdo maneuver against the Sith Eternal's fleet, the Final Order, but the former stormtrooper Finn dismissed it as a "one-in-a-million" shot.[3] The maneuver, however, was later used by a heavy freighter to destroy a Resurgent-class Star Destroyer above the forest moon of Endor.[5]
Characteristics[]
As the sole remaining member of the crew of the Raddus after ordering all others to join the Resistance transports ferrying survivors to the surface of Crait, Vice Admiral Holdo performed this maneuver in an effort to force the pursuing First Order fleet to halt its attack. Powering up the hyperdrive, she brought the Raddus about to directly face the Supremacy, at the head of the First Order fleet. This was initially dismissed by General Hux as a transparent attempt to draw their attention away from the fleeing transports; by the time he realized Holdo's intent and ordered the fleet to turn its fire upon the Raddus, it was too late to stop her.[1]
Holdo initiated her hyperspace jump and the Raddus collided with the Supremacy mere moments before the cruiser would have transitioned from realspace into hyperspace.[5] While the ship itself was destroyed in the impact, the energy of the Raddus' experimental deflector shield continued on at near lightspeed, ripped through the Supremacy and sheared off its entire starboard wing, and destroyed twenty other Star Destroyers that were in escort around it and docked in its internal hangars.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
The Holdo maneuver first appeared in the 2017 film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, the second installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.[1] It was first identified in the 2019 sequel Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker[3] and its accompanying reference book Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary.[4]
In a discussion about the nature and precision of the Holdo maneuver, Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo cited a similar maneuver that appeared in an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and that Holdo's maneuver was under unique circumstances[6]—echoing a 2018 comment made by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson to /Film: "The fact that Hux doesn't see it coming means it's probably not a standard military maneuver. I think it was something that Holdo pulled out of her butt in the moment."[7]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi (First appearance)
- The Last Jedi Adaptation 5
- Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker (First identified as Holdo maneuver, simultaneous with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary)
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition audiobook (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel audiobook
Non-canon appearances[]
LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars — "Rolling with BB-8/Resistance on the Run"- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Sources[]
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
- The Star Wars Book
In Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy, Go Inside the Crucible of War on StarWars.com (backup link)- Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas places the events of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens in 34 ABY. Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi takes place immediately after the end of The Force Awakens.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
- ↑
Pablo Hidalgo (@pablohidalgo) on Twitter: "When this first came up, we figured something made it exceptional since it wasn't common, and the one instance of something similar happening (Clone Wars, season one) had enough of the requisite factors that it counted as precedent. But all of that pales to, 'Does it look cool?'" (screenshot)
- ↑ Rian Johnson Talks About The Holdo Maneuver, One of 'The Last Jedi's Most Breathtaking Moments by Pearson, Ben on /Film (January 24, 2018) (archived from the original on January 28, 2018)
