Written by Maci
Modified & Updated: 18 Sep 2024
Reviewed by Sherman Smith
When you think of sci-fi, Star Wars may be one of the first titles that come to mind. As one of the largest movie franchises of the 21st century, Star Wars pioneered the long line of epic space adventures that directors try to replicate to this day. With meticulous world-building and complex characters, Star Wars definitely takes you out of this world with its storytelling. However, there’s still much to discover in George Lucas’ expansive galaxy. Find out more about the secrets of a galaxy far, far away with these Star Wars facts.
- The first Star Wars movie (Episode IV) premiered on May 25, 1977.
- As of 2020, a total of 9 Star Wars movies have been released.
- As of 2020, the Star Wars franchise has grossed a worldwide box office revenue of over $10 billion.
- The first Star Wars film (Episode IV) took 4 years for production to complete.
- As of 2018, 7 known color variations of the Light Sabers exist in the Star Wars franchise.
- The opening credits of the Star Wars films were printed on a 6-foot long glossy printed plate.
- The average runtime of the Star Wars movies lasts 2 hours and 12 minutes long.
- The famous line that Darth Vader is known for was originally “No, I am your father”.
- The cheapest Star Wars set to was the interior of the Exogorth in Empire Strikes Back.
- Anthony Daniels is the only cast member to appear in all 9 Star Wars films.
- Darth Vader has been voted as the most popular Star Wars character in an IGN poll.
- George Lucas almost did not direct the Star Wars films for a chance to direct a war movie.
- The film Return of the Jedi was originally titled ‘Revenge of the Jedi’.
- Yoda’s original concept was a monkey with a cane and mask.
- Yoda is also voiced by a Muppeteer named Frank Oz.
- Burt Reynolds, Christopher Walken, and Al Pacino all had chances of playing Han Solo.
- The Star Wars collectible coins are legal tender on the island of Niue in the South Pacific.
- The character Greedo was played by two actors.
- George Lucas hired several crew members from the Space Odyssey movie to work on the Star Wars franchise.
- The character Chewbacca was inspired by George Lucas’ pet Alaskan Malamute.
The voice of the character Chewbacca combines various animal noises.
In the Star Wars universe, Chewbacca serves as one of the supporting members of the Rebel Alliance as Han Solo’s faithful companion. One of the darker Star Wars facts is that Chewbacca’s distinct sound comes from mixing the dying noises of lions, bears, walruses, and other animals.
In the films, Chewbacca is classified as a Wookie, but is portrayed much taller than the average size of its species. In the French translation of the films, Chewbacca’s name is changed to Chiktaba due to the English name being too similar to the phrase ‘chewing tobacco’.
The character’s name C-3PO is short for Cyborg 3 Protocol.
In the Star Wars universe, C-3PO is a cyborg built by Anakin Skywalker to assist others in translating etiquette and customs procedures. This cyborg also knows over 6 million forms of communication, which makes it a handy companion during space travel among different species.
While C-3PO has been criticized for his oblivious nature in the Star Wars films, this character served a vital role in the original trilogy. Apart from the original films, C-3PO also appears in many of the television series, comic books, and video games.
The language of Ewok combines Tibetan and Nepalese.
According to Ben Burtt, the sound designer for the Ewok language, the species’ distinctive language comes from a mix of two Asian languages. The unique dialect combines phrases from Tibetan and Nepalese to create new meanings.
Living in the forest moon of Endor, the Ewok species are furry bipedal creatures famously known for aiding the Rebel Alliance in the Battle of Endor. These creatures typically stand at an average height of 1 meter, and use more primitive weapons such as slingshots, knives, and spears.
The famous boy band NSync has also made brief appearances in Attack of the Clones.
Rising to fame from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, NSync was a hit boy band that launched Justin Timberlake’s career. During the filming of the film Attack of the Clones, Rick McCallum invited the boy band group to act as extras on the set while filming the scene for the climactic battle of the movie.
In 2002, rumors of the cameo quickly spread around, which received a large amount of attention from fans of the franchise However, George Lucas cut the band’s cameo from the film in the final edit, since it was not discussed before casting. As expected, this disappointed both the fans and the members of the band itself. How’s that for unlikely Star Wars facts?
Originally, the character Jabba the Hutt was played by an Irish man named Declan Mulholland.
In the theatrical release of the original Star Wars trilogy, the character Jabba the Hutt was originally played by Declan Mulholland. According to George Lucas, he wanted the character of Jabba the Hutt to appear more alien-like, but the available technology at the time greatly limited the special effects.
After the Irish version’s theatrical run, Lucasfilms reintroduced Jabba the Hutt in all his slimy glory, the way George Lucas always envisioned him to be. Over time, this version of the character became one of the most famous in the Star Wars franchise.
The Star Wars universe is purposely filled with non-English words and languages.
According to George Lucas, he wanted the Star Wars universe to appear as foreign as possible, which led him to the concept of inventing new languages for the different species in the franchise. Apart from using foreign languages, George Lucas used several uncommon languages spoken to bring a bit of culture into the universe of Star Wars.
Many common languages mixed into the speech of the Star Wars characters include phrases that translate from Sanskrit, Dutch, and other Central American and Himalayan languages. Many of the names of the characters in the franchise also come from particular phrases in other languages, such as the Dutch word for father into Darth Vader.
The phrase “I have a bad feeling about this” is uttered in every Star Wars film.
After appearing in all the films of the first trilogy, the phrase became a running joke among the producers, and has been put into every Star Wars movie. This phrase is also one of the most well-known words from the films. Even beyond Star Wars, the phrase has also featured in other Lucasfilm properties and unrelated series.
In the film The Last Jedi, the phrase is not directly spoken. Instead, the droid BB-8 delivers the line in the opening sequence through a series of beeps. This line is confirmed by the director of the film, Rian Johnson. Now, that’s definitely one of the more interesting Star Wars facts.
The ‘Splinter of the Mind’s Eye’ novel was supposed to be a potential sequel to Star Wars.
The first confirmed and officially sanctioned expanded universe work for the Star Wars franchise was written in 1978 by Alan Dean Foster. In this novel, the characters Luke, Leia, and Darth Vader clash on a jungle planet of Mimban in an attempt to find the Kaiburr crystal.
With this device, the crystal significantly increases the power that they have over the Force. While this was originally going to be a potential sequel to the Star Wars films, George Lucas, decided to take a different direction with the franchise due to the films’ cult status.
The original Star Wars trilogy uses hand-painted special effects for certain scenes.
Before the fourth film of the Star Wars franchise, the original Star Wars trilogy used hand-painted special effects in place of Computer Generated Images (CGI). Created through oil paint on plexiglass, the matte paintings were used as fake sets in the first trilogy.
These hand paintings were also oversized to achieve a more realistic effect on the scenery. As one of the first major films to use this camera trick, this style of special effects became more widely popular thanks to the Star Wars franchise.
The only character to ever wield a purple lightsaber is Mace Windu.
In the Star Wars universe, lightsabers commonly have the color red, green, or blue. However, Mace Windu is seen as the only character in the Star Wars films to use a lightsaber with a purple color.
According to George Lucas, Samuel L. Jackson specifically requested for his lightsaber to be in this color. Since it would not affect the story or the character’s background, Lucas allowed Jackson to wield the Mace Windu’s iconic purple lightsaber.
George Lucas was once sued by Universal Studios due to the design of R2-D2.
According to Geroge Lucas, the design for R2-D2 was originally inspired by the drones in Silent Running. Due to this, Universal Studios prompted a lawsuit over the design of the Star Wars droid. However, they also retracted the lawsuit when Fox countersued, citing no similarities between the two franchises.
In the Star Wars franchise, R2-D2 is commonly seen as a companion to the cyborg C-3PO and Luke Skywalker. According to George Lucas, R2-D2 serves as an acronym for Reel 2 Dialogue 2, which is an editor’s code for the cans of film used in American graffiti.
Star Wars has belonged to Disney since 2012.
In 2012, the Disney company acquired Lucasfilm for a deal worth over $4.05 billion in cash and stock. Since then, the deal has been regarded as one of the best acquisitions in the history of corporate America. As of October 30, 2012, Disney began expanding the Star Wars franchise and with several new films, TV series, and toy lines.
Additionally, Disney has also profited a great amount from the Star Wars franchise through DVD sales, video games, and other merchandise sales. Despite Lucasfilm now being under Disney, the former company still owns the rights to its other properties such as Indiana Jones.
David Prowse is banned from every and all events that are associated with Lucasfilm.
It may come as a surprise to you, but George Lucas has officially banned Darth Vader from all official Lucasfilms events. Playing the role of the famous Star Wars antagonist, David Prowse has been deemed a persona non grata by George Lucas himself.
The reason for this is simply due to the actor’s animosity with George Lucas in the past, having burned too many bridges for Lucas to let go. Unfortunately, the feud was never resolved between the two, even when David Prowse later died in November 2020 at the age of 85.
R2-D2's beeps come from the sounds of a baby.
According to one of the film’s sound editors, Ben Burtt, the sound samples for R2-D2’s robotic voice comes from the sounds that a baby makes. While it may sound unlikely, these samples were heavily processed to a pitch that makes it seem more robotic and electronic.
According to the sound team, this method is often used to create sound effects for several of the scenes in the films. Additionally, this method is also used to create the sounds and languages of other species in the Star Wars universe to bring them to life.
While filming the scene at Jabba’s palace, Carrie Fisher refused to use modesty tape.
While filming one of the most famous scenes in the original trilogy, Carrie Fisher refused to go through proper costume adjustments for the scene. While filming the complex scene, the actress kept having problems with her bikini costume, which led to several retakes. Ultimately, this set back the filming schedule for a short while.
Additionally, the scene included over 40 extras and 90 crew members to keep doing the same shot over and over again to avoid any discrepancies in the final cut of the film. To move Jabba The Hutt as realistic as possible, the set also needed no less than 10 puppeteers. How’s that for amazing Star Wars facts?
George Lucas makes a small cameo in Episode III, Revenge of the Sith.
George Lucas makes his first and only appearance in the film as a Pantoran Senator with blue paint all over his body. He appears in the corner for a short while during a scene in the fourth movie of the franchise, Revenge of the Sith.
According to George Lucas, this is the only time he makes a brief cameo in the entire film series. Did you manage to spot him in the film?
Jeremy Bulloch played two roles in the Star Wars films.
In the Star Wars films, Jeremy Bulloch plays the role of the character, Boba Fett. However, in the film The Empire Strikes Back, Jeremy Bulloch also played the role of Imperial Lieutenant Sheckil.
During an interview, Jereme Bulloch revealed that he had to take on the role of the Imperial Lieutenant as the original actor could not make it to the set of the film on time. Due to this, the characters’ connections were changed to fit the discrepancies, which later on made them twin brothers in the Star Wars universe.
Boba Fett’s first appearance in the Star Wars Franchise was not in the film Empire Strikes Back.
According to the Star Wars timeline, the character Boba Fett first appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special before the release of The Empire Strikes Back. In this holiday special, Han Solo and Chewbacca are seen escaping the Empire to celebrate the Wookie Christmas event.
During the special, Boba Fett makes his first appearance and is shown celebrating with other Rebel Alliance members such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and many other characters.
Ewan McGregor continuously made lightsaber noises while filming fight scenes.
According to George Lucas, several actors tended to make their special effects sounds with their voices while practicing using lightsabers and other similar props. During filming, Ewan McGregor built this habit, and would often continue making these noises while filming scenes for the movies.
As a result, these sounds had to be digitally cut out during post-production and replaced with the actual sound effects used for the lightsabers during fight sequences. If you look closely, you can also see Ewan McGregor moving his mouth during some of the fight scenes.
Cleaners kept cleaning up environmental props on the production set of A New Hope.
According to George Lucas, studio cleaners kept coming to clean up the environmental set during the production of the film A New Hope. Despite several requests for the cleaners not to tidy up the used space, set workers still had to continuously remake the set and rearrange the mess to how it was the previous shooting day.
Lucas originally didn’t want the environmental set to be tampered with throughout filming, for an added sense of authenticity. Additionally, to achieve this look, several props were rolled around in the dirt spread all over the filming set to make them seem as rugged as possible.
Wedge Antilles is the sole X-Wing pilot that survived the three major battles of the first trilogy.
According to the Star Wars universe archives, only one background character has managed to survive the Battle of Hoth, the Battle of Endor, and The Battle of Yavin. This character is famously known as Wedge Antilles, who is considered a talented young rebel pilot who comes from Corellia.
In the Star Wars films, Wedge Antilles has also piloted a Snowspeeder apart from the famous X-wing Star Fighter that he is known for. Throughout the trilogy, Denis Lawson plays this supporting character, while Nathan Kress voices the character in the running animated series.
Alec Guinness negotiated 2% of the gross box office receipts for the Star Wars franchise.
The actor famously known to play the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Alec Guinness, arranged a deal with George Lucas in attaining 2% of the gross box office receipts of the original trilogy. As a result of this deal, Alec Guinness earned around $95 million in value at the time, despite him referring to the original trilogy being in bad taste.
Additionally, this deal was agreed upon so long as Alec Guinness agreed to forego his directing fee in exchange for proper compensation with a percentage of the box office gross. Later on, the actor began speaking kindly of the Star Wars franchise due to its success and acknowledged the potential it held in terms of storytelling.
Benicio Del Toro was originally going to play the role of Darth Maul.
Originally, George Lucas casted the actor Benicio Del Toro for the role of Darth Maul in the film, The Phantom Menace. However, it was reported that the actor was not pleased with some of the changes made to the script, which removed a large amount of lines that Del Toro had to deliver.
As a result, Benicio Del Toro dropped out of the film and was later on replaced by Ray Park who could not deliver any lines himself. During the final cut of the film, the actor was instead dubbed over by Peter Serafinowicz for the scenes that he was in.
A Disco version of the theme for Star Wars became a number 1 hit in 1977.
In 1977, a disco version of the theme for Star Wars was released which later on became a number 1 hit on music charts in the late 70s. For two weeks, the song held the number one spot, despite critics stating that its placement was ironic for the sci-fi franchise.
The track was released as a part of the album titled Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk, produced by the artist known as Meco. The album was also licensed by UMG on behalf of Island Mercury records.
Originally, the famous lightsaber was not meant to make any noise at all.
The sound effect for the lightsabers in Star Wars is one of the most distinctive noises in the science fiction genre of movies. According to George Lucas, the concept for the lightsaber was brought up as a means of having a legendary weapon to complement the storyline of the original trilogy.
The concept for the lightsaber also needed to be futuristic in a way, despite the old space-age time setting of the franchise. Over time, the idea for the lightsaber being a laser sword was solidified, becoming one of the most iconic weapons of all time.
Luke Skywalker and his relatives were originally envisioned as dwarves.
When the storyline for the film, A New Hope was being written, the Skywalker family was originally written as a dwarf species. Additionally, the franchise also originally intended for several known characters to appear more alien, such as Han Solo who was originally meant to have green skin and fish-like gills.
In other drafts of the Star Wars film, George Lucas also stated that the character Luke Skywalker was originally going to be a girl in the second draft of the script. Other drafts also included Luke Skywalker’s name change from Luke Starkiller.
Despite the character's race being known as Ewoks, the term is never uttered during the trilogy.
In the film, The Return of the Jedi, the species of Ewok are introduced to viewers as an army of Wookies that were meant to help in the Battle of Endor. However, despite the species being introduced and revealed on screen, the name of these creatures are not mentioned out loud by any of the characters in the film.
According to the script, the term Ewok is only mentioned in the film’s ending credits. Additionally, the term was also later on used in promotional content and in other spin-off series that follows the premise of the franchise.
From 1977 to 1978, the Star Wars franchise sold over $100 million worth of toys.
As of 2013, the Star Wars toy line continues to show success, accumulating a revenue of over $3 billion. Additionally, the franchise has gained an approximate total of $3.5 billion in video game revenue.
The Star Wars franchise also has an accumulative revenue of $2 billion in book sales such as their comic book series and spin-off graphic novels. Overall, the licensing deal has granted the Star wars franchise a total revenue of $1.3 billion as well.
Laura Dern was also reported to make gun noises while filming scenes for the movie franchise.
Much similar to how the actor McGregor could not help but make his lightsaber sound effect with his mouth while filming, Laura Dern was also in a similar situation. During the filming of the film The Last Jedi, the actress could not help but make “pew pew” noises while pretending to fire her laser blaster for her scenes.
Much like McGregor’s situation, her voice was removed in the final cut in the film, but if the audience looks closely, her mouth can also be seen moving and mouthing the sound effects. This trivia is also mentioned by Rian Johnson, the director of the film during the commentary version of the movie.
The characters Yoda and Baby Yoda are confirmed to be two different characters.
In the Disney+ exclusive series The Mandalorian, a character resembling a younger Master Yoda is introduced and is later known by the fan base as Baby Yoda. Despite being from the same force-sensitive species in the Star Wars universe, it has been confirmed that these two characters are not the same, as the Mandalorian takes place after the timeline of the original trilogy films.
As of the release of the film, several theories have also been made to decipher the possible relation between the two characters despite Master Yoda disappearing in the original trilogy. Additionally, it is also revealed that the character Baby Yoda is 50 years old in infancy, and therefore ruling out the possibility that he is Master Yoda himself.
In the world of Star Wars, the upbeat swing music genre in the film is called Jizz.
In the Star Wars universe, the term used to refer to the upbeat swing music genre is called Jizz. Musicians who specialize in this genre are often referred to as Jizz-wailers, such as Max Rebo and his band of musicians who have performed at the palace of Jabba the Hutt.
The music genre was first canonized in the junior novelization of Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi written and released by Ryder Windham in 2017. The music genre was also first used in the film The Return of the Jedi, which also has a sub-genre of its own in the music community of the Star Wars franchise.
The TIE fighter sound effect is partly made from the sounds of an elephant.
According to the films’ sound design team, the sound effects used for the TIE fighter planes combine samples of bellowing elephants and the sound of cars screeching wet pavement. This distinctive sound was created by sound designer Ben Burtt, and differs slightly from the sound effect described in the novel.
According to the novelization of the franchise, the TIE fighter is described to sound more like a German Junker Ju ‘87 Stuka bomber which used sirens to scare civilians while attempting raids. In the Star Wars franchise, the TIE fighters are used as starfighters which are propelled by two identical engines that allow them to move fast and become very agile.
Dennis Lawson is blood-related to Ewan McGregor, but their characters are not.
These two actors are noted to be the only blood relatives to play notable characters in the original and new trilogies of the Star Wars franchise. Dennis Lawson played the role of Wedge Antilles in the first three films of the new trilogy, while Ewan McGregor played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original George Lucas trilogy.
During television interviews, Ewan McGregor has also been noted to demonstrate his lightsaber-wielding skills using prop items worth over $200. Additionally, McGregor has also stated that he nearly turned down the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi before being convinced otherwise by his uncle, Dennis Lawson. Now, there’s one of the Star Wars facts that are too good to be a coincidence.
The American animated TV show, Family Guy has aired a 3 episode parody of the Star Wars trilogy.
In the parody version of the franchise, Peter Griffin takes on the role of Han Solo and goes through the storyline of the original Star Wars trilogy in a comedic manner. Other notable characters such as Darth Vader are played by Family Guy’s Stewie Griffin, while Chris Griffin takes on the role of Luke Skywalker.
Many references from the original trilogy are also used as running jokes in the parody episodes, and also reference to the relationship dynamic of the characters. The Star Wars parody is titled Laugh It Up Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy, aired in December 2010.
The eyes of the character Yoda is based on the eyes of the famous scientist, Albert Einstein.
According to the film director, Irvin Kershner, he made special instructions to the makers of the Master Yoda prop to give the character eyes that resemble the famous scientist to make him seem more lifelike. Additionally, instead of the puppeteer Frank Oz giving movement direction to the Master Yoda character, Irvin Kershner often took over due to how life-like the movement seemed on camera.
George Lucas has also stated that he was impressed with this work the first time he laid his eyes on it. This led to Lucas also later on lobbying Frank Oz for an Oscar nomination, which he regrettably did not win. Nonetheless, this is still one of the Star Wars facts that show the franchise’s attention to detail.
In the original storyline of the first trilogy, Luke Skywalker becomes the next Vader.
In one of the early drafts of the Star Wars scripts, Luke Skywalker was originally going to turn over to the dark side to defeat his father, Darth Vader. This scene was scripted in a way that Luke would defeat Darth Vader after threatening Princess Leia to save her.
For this plot, Luke Skywalker becomes a Sith lord later on after defeating his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, this idea was later on scrapped and Luke Skywalker was instead made to be the chosen one who would come to help the rebel alliance save the galaxy.
In 2014, Harrison Ford broke his ankle on set during the filming of the film The Force Awakens.
During the filming of the movie The Force Awakens, several accidents had occurred on set which left a few actors on set in no condition to act until healing from their injuries. This story mainly highlights how Harrison Ford once broke his ankle on the set of the film due to one of the hydraulic doors slamming down onto his leg.
Additionally, during this time, J.J Abrams attempted to rescue Harrison Ford from the incident by lifting the door off of the actor’s foot and broke his back in the process of doing so. However, J.J Abrams kept this a secret from the crew and resumed filming his scenes while secretly wearing a back brace underneath his clothes.
All of the clone troopers in the film Revenge of the Sith was made with CGI.
All of the clone troopers shown in the film Revenge of the Sith were added digitally using CGI. In the Star Wars franchise, the Clone Troopers are introduced as elite soldiers of the Galactic Empire, serving under the command of the Sith Lord, Darth Vader.
Additionally, since not a single physical clone trooper was used in the making of Revenge of the Sith, the blasters fired in the film came from real compressed air guns which would have more of an impact against its targets.
The sound of a lightsaber comes from an unlikely combination.
The famous woosh sound of a lightsaber is taken from sampling a movie projector and mixing it with the feedback from an old television set. Sound producers working on the film would hold a stripped cable close to the old television set to attain the feedback noises produced by the electromagnetic disturbance.
This iconic sound effect is typically used when moving the lightsaber around and swinging it during fights. Additionally, it is also used when a lightsaber is taken out and creates a soft humming noise when unmoved.
George Lucas considered making the characters Darth Vader and Boba Fett brothers.
In one of the drafts for the Star Wars prequel, George Lucas once stated that he considered making Darth Vader and Boba Fett brothers for a short while. However, after much consideration, George Lucas ultimately decided that the concept seemed too absurd to make canon.
Additionally, in other drafts, this also proved to be more complicated to incorporate into the storyline, as it would also affect the characters’ relationship and dynamic with Luke Skywalker. In the end, Boba Fett was made to be the unaltered clone of Jango Fett who was also the male Mandalorian bounty hunter that provided the genetic code for an army of stormtroopers during the time of the Galactic Republic.
Originally, the Ewoks were planned to be Wookies.
In the original Star Wars trilogy, the species of Ewoks were originally going to appear as Wookies until the last minute. This was done so that George Lucas could incorporate a fight scene that he had envisioned for the first film of the trilogy.
One of the key differences between the Wookie and the Ewok species is the average body frame and height that they have. Wookies are notably much larger and taller than those of the Ewok species, and they are also much stronger than most humans.
Gary Kurtz originally wanted to kill off Han Solo and Luke Skywalker.
One of the producers for the film The Return of the Jedi, Gary Kurtz originally stated that he planned an early storyline that killed off Han Solo. Additionally, the producer had also written Luke Skywalker to disappear into the wild and cut him from the main storyline.
Due to a fear that this might badly affect the revenue of toy sales, George Lucas declined this idea and instead found other ways to make the storytelling of the films more dramatic. Today, merchandise for the two characters remains to be one of the most popular in terms of toy sales for the Star Wars franchise.
Harrison Ford never intended to take on the role of Han Solo in the films.
According to Harrison Ford in an interview, he came into the Star Wars spotlight by pure chance one day. During the time that George Lucas held auditions for the role of Han Solo, he worked as a carpenter for various sets on site.
George Lucas was short one actor to complete the auditioning process and invited Harrison Ford to come in and read a few lines for them. Since he delivered his lines spot-on compared to other actors, Lucas eventually offered Harrison Ford the role of the intergalactic gunslinger.
Kylo Ren uses an ancient lightsaber design.
The iconic lightsaber design that the character Kylo Ren uses an old design that is believed to have been first made during 34 ABY in the Star Wars universe. The handguards that poke out from the side of his lightsaber poke out due to the cracked Kaiburr crystal housed inside of the weapon’s core.
Additionally, the lateral vents on the lightsaber also prevent the weapon from overheating, as it diverts the heat into either side of the hilt which also became a part of its notable design. This lightsaber design was also widely publicized during the time until the release of the film The Force Awakens.
Originally, Luke Skywalker’s surname was supposed to be Starkiller.
Before there was a chance to mention the name on the screen, George Lucas had already made the necessary changes to turn the surname into Skywalker instead. The name was officially changed in April 1976 due to it seeming too violent for younger audiences.
Additionally, George Lucas stated that audiences might pick up unpleasant connotations for the surname, which could also hinder sales and how the films overall would perform at the box office. However, after Disney bought the rights to the Star Wars franchise, the character was introduced again and made canon in The Force Unleashed.
In The Empire Strikes Back, the asteroid scene was rumored use potatoes.
The film The Empire Strikes Back was noted to be one of the most well-received films among the first trilogy of the franchise. The effects used for the film was especially taken note of due to how well it was made for its time.
Some rumors have stated that the effects used in the production included bits of potatoes painted into asteroid imagery to grant a sense of realism into the shot. Other rumors have also stated that a tennis shoe and yogurt containers were also used in the background of the shot.
In Return of the Jedi, Oola has a wardrobe malfunction that was never edited out.
In the film, a dancer can be noticed in the background of Jabba’s Palace having problems with her costume. During one of the dance sequences for the scene, the dancer accidentally exposes her breast as it slips out of her shirt during the performance.
Initially, this scene was never cut out, as it was never noticed . That said, the uncut copies remain in place on the original VHS tapes that went on sale after the film’s premiere.
The original title for the film ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ was ‘Dark Times’.
In all the Star Wars films, Rogue One is the only Star Wars movie title that has also been spoken as a line of dialogue by a character. Additionally, the original title for this particular film was Dark Times but was later on changed to Rogue One to fit the theme of being a military call sign.
However, the title was not officially changed until the start of pre-production, where an opening crawl for the film had already been made.
Steven Spielberg was originally banned from working with George Lucas.
According to Geroge Lucas, Steven Spielberg came very close numerous times to become one of the many Star Wars film directors. George Lucas stated that he was his first choice to direct the film The Return of the Jedi.
However, due to a credit dispute with the Directors Guild of America, Steven Sperberg was ultimately not allowed to direct the film. Instead, the directing role for the film was given to Richard Alfred Marquand in 1983.
The flag found outside of Maz Kanata’s castle is also a reference to a Star Wars fan group.
In the film The Force Awakens, the flags that hang outside of the castle of Maz Kanata display the symbol of Ziro the Hutt’s black sun tattoo. Additionally, many other iconic symbols in the Star Wars franchise are also displayed on the castle walls, including the lesser-known 501 Legion flags.
This flag also shares the name of a popular international Star Wars fan group that is known for recreating Star Wars items such as weapons, armor, and screen-accurate characters from the films. This particular flag also references the Clone War regiment that fought the Jedi Order known as Vader’s Fist.
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