Here’s what “Fulcrum” from Star Wars Rebels really means. Lucasfilm’s second animated series introduced fans to a small band of Freedom Fighters known as the Ghost Crew. Set before the events of the original Star Wars film, the team composed of Ezra, Kanan, Hera, Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper took it upon themselves to protect the planet of Lothal and its neighboring regions against the oppression from the evil Galactic Empire. While they had a small operation, the gang played a pivotal role in the eventual birth of the Rebellion.
While Star Wars Rebels mostly focused on its headlining characters as they functioned as the unofficial protectors of Lothal and its people, it also regularly featured familiar faces from the bigger lore. That included cameos from Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, and Mon Mothma. As the story went on, they become more interconnected with the budding Rebellion at that time. This allowed the show to delve into the early days of the movement before they even got the plans for the Death Star as seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
One aspect that fans have learned about the Rebellion was that they were getting intel from an anonymous tipster who’s only known as Fulcrum. Ahsoka Tano took on the codename and fed Spectres rebel cell leader Hera with information about Imperial targets to help them act accordingly. Fulcrum’s identity was kept as a secret until it was eventually revealed to be the former Jedi. Following her presumed death after her battle with Darth Vader in Malachor, the moniker was assumed by Imperial officer-turned-freedom fighter Alexasandr Kallus. In Rogue One, it was revealed that Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) also used the alias. Originally, the word “Fulcrum” was the name of Anakin Skywalker’s special subspace communication frequency during the Clone Wars, with only a handful of people aware of it including Obi-Wan Kenobi, Wullf Yularen, Saw Gerrera, and Ahsoka. However, in the real-world, what does fulcrum really mean?
The definition of fulcrum is “a thing that plays a central or essential activity, event or situation.” It came from the Latin word “fulcire” which means to “prop up.” Given this, the term is more appropriate for its Star Wars Rebels meaning rather than its original one as the Freedom Fighter spies who assumed that moniker had been instrumental in the Rebels’ operation. While the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars take place chronologically before Star Wars Rebels, this was not revealed until the former’s season 7, episode 9 titled “Old Friends Not Forgotten.” After a few years following its abrupt cancelation, Star Wars: The Clone Wars‘ final season was only released in 2020 — more than two years since Star Wars Rebels ended its run back in 2018. Chances are that Lucasfilm retroactively revealed that Fulcrum was Anakin’s secret communication line to create a nifty connection between the two Star Wars animated series. This was quite easily to execute since Dave Filoni was the main creative force behind both series.
It’s unknown if there are any other character who assumed the identity of Fulcrum once the Rebellion was properly established after the end of Star Wars: Rebels. Considering that it was a few years in-between the destruction of the first Death Star in the original film and the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi, it’s possible that the Freedom Fighters continue to acquire important intel from anonymous sources — as seen at the beginning of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
About The Author