Tis the day to reference Star Wars fa la la la la… while it might not be as festive as Christmas (depending on which Galaxy you’re living in anyway!), May the Fourth brings the best out of the community as the internet gets flooded with Star Wars references, parodies and puns!
I feel a little left out on that so I’m going to do my bit to help cram just a little more Wars into the web, who knows … I might even use… some Force… (I’ll shut up now!). So here are some fun facts you may not know about Star Wars and if you do, then kudos – help grow the list and contribute your own facts in the comments!
Darth Vaders?
Three actors came together to play one character, Darth Vader. Most of us will know that James Earl Jones provided the voice for Vader but his body belonged to David Prowse and his face was that of Sebastian Shaw. Most of us will associate Jones with the role, the voice is the iconic part but things got a little worse for Prowse. Not only was he outshone, but creator, George Lucas found him annoying and banned Prowse from all official Star Wars events.
Death Star Scaling
The Death Star in Return of the Jedi was 460% bigger than it’s predecessor which first appeared and was also destroyed in A New Hope.
Ewokenese
You can learn to speak Ewok, just start with Tibetan and Nepalese, mash the two languages together and you’re speaking like an Ewok! Speaking of short furry little dudes, the Ewoks are named after a Native American tribe, Miwok, who lived in theRedwood Forest where the scenes for Endor were filmed.
Qui-Gon Not Fit Through There!
Actor Liam Neeson cost the production budget for The Phantom Menace a whopping $150,000! Why? He was taller than some of the already made sets, the 6ft 4′ actor couldn’t fit through doorways and hallways, all of which were replaced.
Jar Jar The REAL Villain
He was so badly received by fans, (my Mom hates him, only because I spent an entire summer talkin’a, likea-deez) that George Lucas decided to turn Jar Jar Binks into a villain…of sorts. In Episode II, Jar Jar is standing in for Senator Amidala, the Gungan is the one who proposes that Palpatine be given temporary supreme power, just enough time for Palpatine to enact his plan and utterly destroy the Jedi and the Old Republic.
N-Sync Cameo
Yeah, there’s nothing funny about this! George Lucas’ daughter was such a huge fan of the boy-band, that they actually filmed a cameo for Attack Of The Clones, but it didn’t make the final cut for the movie… relief!
Bossk Upcycles
Any Whovian worth their salt might recognise that Bounty Hunter, Bossk is wearing a very familiar suit. No they don’t shop at the same stores, the suit is actually one reused from a Doctor Who episode ‘The Tenth Planet’!
Lights, Camera, R2-D2
Ever wondered what R2-D2 means? No it’s not some fancy robotics lingo, it was a term used in the production of another Lucas film, American Graffiti – reel 2, dialogue 2! In the Star Wars Universe though it does stand for Second Generation Robotic Droid Series-2 but that’s not as catchy!
Book Of The Dead Spell
Army Of Darkness fans, the words ‘Klaatu, Barada, Nikto’ might know these words as an encantation to destroy the Book of the Dead, Necronomicon. However they are also the names of three alien guards aboard Jabba the Hutt’s barge. It goes a little deeper though as the names were originally words uttered in The Day The Earth Stood Still, by character Helen as a message to robot Gort before he took aboard the alien ship.
Pssshhht Vooom – Ewan McGregor
Let’s be honest, 90% of us reading this would be guilty of it too! So excited to be on set and grasping a light sabre, actor, Ewan McGregor couldn’t contain his joy and repeatedly made light sabre noises while in combat scenes. He did it so much that they eventually decided to just fix the sound in the post-production stage, apparently it was contagious though and his fellow actor, Hayden Christensen did the same!
The family, that Stars Wars together…
A little bonus one, George Lucas’ kids all appear in the second trilogy at one stage or another, all as background extras mind you!
Editor-in-Chief, part-time super villain and hoarder of cats. If you can’t find me writing, I’m probably in the kitchen!
