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30 Behind-the-Scenes Facts About Star Wars

August 28, 2023

Jar Jar was pretty bad, right? Might be hard to imagine the character being any worse. But actually, it could’ve been much, much worse. Turns out, the King of Pop wanted to play the character, and he had some pretty wild ideas. More about that and 29 other behind-the-scenes tidbits about the Star Wars franchise below…

30

WE CAN THANK GOOFY FOR JAR JAR BINKS. According to George Lucas, the main inspiration for the now-infamous Jar Jar was the king of clumsy comic reliefs himself, Goofy. CRACKED.COM — 12 Bizarre Inspirations Behind Star Wars Movie Characters

29

The Millennium Falcon's round shape makes it stand out. It was inspired by a burger. Model builders had originally created a Falcon that looked too similar to the ship in Space 1999, SO they scrapped it. Legend has it they drew their inspiration for the revised design from a hamburger next to an olive on a stick, held up by George Lucas. The original model was later used as the Tantive IV, which was the first ship to appear in Star Wars. CRACKED.COM http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Millennium_Falcon#Behind_the_scenes — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

28

SUPREME LEADER SNOKE WAS INSPIRED BY THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL. A giant Lincoln sitting in a chair can be pretty intimidating for a kid, and that's what gave the visual effects department the idea for Snoke's look from The Force Awakens. CRACKED.COM — 12 Bizarre Inspirations Behind Star Wars Movie Characters

27

You might think of Chewbacca as some sort of space gorilla. He's actually based on a dog. Specifically, Chewie is based on George Lucas' Malamute, Indiana. Her constant companionship as he was working inspired Lucas to give Han Solo a sidekick that was like a big, furry dog. CRACKED.COM http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/indiana — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

26

The cockpit of the Millennium Falcon... Is based on the cockpit of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. George Lucas watched hours of World War II footage to study dogfights. Не liked the look of the B-29 so much, he copied its cockpit for the Falcon. CRACKED.COM http://www.starwars.com/news/from-world-war-to-star-wars-the-millennium-falcon — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

25

THE RANCOR IS A CROSS BETWEEN A BEAR AND... A POTATO. + Phil Tippet, the stop-motion animator for Return of the Jedi, admitted that he took LSD while working on the film. The idea for the Rancor came to him after this powerful LSD trip, in which he also conversed with his cat. CRACKED.COM — 12 Bizarre Inspirations Behind Star Wars Movie Characters

24

Yoda

COMBINE STUART FREEBORN AND ALBERT EINSTEIN, AND YOU GET YODA. The late Stuart Freeborn was a makeup and creature designer on the original Star Wars trilogy. When he created Yoda, he based him on his own facial features and those of Albert Einstein. CRACKED.COM — 12 Bizarre Inspirations Behind Star Wars Movie Characters

23

Samuel L. Jackson's lightsaber is unique in more ways than one. Not only did he convince George Lucas to break canon and allow the lightsaber to be purple so he could find himself in the Battle of Geonosis, but the effects team surprised him by engraving it with the words BAD MOTHER F*CKER. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

22

J.J. ABRAMS' TEACHER INSPIRED MAZ KANATA. The character of Maz Kanata, who provided inspiration for Rey, was herself inspired by J.J. Abrams' English teacher, Rose Gilbert. Abrams calls her timeless and wise. CRACKED.COM — 12 Bizarre Inspirations Behind Star Wars Movie Characters

21

Luke's face sure took a beating, in Empire. Some of those scars were real. Just before the end of the filming of Star Wars: A New Hope, Mark Hamill was in a car crash that crushed his nose and left cheekbone. It took seven hours of surgery to put his face back together, and a stunt double was used to film the scenes that were shot after his accident. GRACKED COM http://www. stars handshake de/gossip htm — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

20

Michael Jackson really wanted to play Jar-Jar Binks. LUCA At a concert, George Lucas introduced Ahmed Best to Jackson as Jar-Jar, after which the King of Pop acted awkward. Lucas later told Best that it was because MJ wanted the part, but he wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup like Thriller. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

19

A lot changed between the drafts of Star Wars. Han and Luke, by Ralph McQuarrie But the biggest change was Luke's gender. Somewhere between draft 2 and draft 3 of the Star Wars IV script, George Lucas decided there weren't enough female characters, and made Luke a girl. Mark Clark, 2015. Star Wars FAQ Everything Left CRACKED.COM to Know About the Trilogy That Changed the Movies — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

18

X-WINGS WERE INSPIRED BY A GAME OF DARTS. Star Wars ship designer Colin Cantwell got the inspiration for the X-Wing fighter from watching a game of darts in a British pub. CRACKED.COM — 12 Bizarre Inspirations Behind Star Wars Movie Characters

17

Rian Johnson briefly considered bringing Lando Calrissian back for The Last Jedi. The director revealed he contemplated different ways to include the fan- favorite Rebel hero, possibly even as the codebreaker on Canto Bight. But he ultimately decided to leave his return up to J.J. Abrams in Episode IX. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

16

When Han Solo was frozen in carbonite, it was heart-wrenching. Moreso than people realized. Harrison Ford was bored with playing Han Solo and wasn't sure he wanted to return for another movie. George Lucas needed a way to freeze the character, just in case Ford refused to return. So he chose to literally freeze him in carbonite. CRACKED.COM https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=mpaR3KDt_no — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

15

Star Wars cost Mark Hamill a chance at the lead role in Amadeus. Hamill, who had experience playing the part on stage, really wanted to audition for the role in the film. The actor revealed that director Miloš Forman turned him down, worrying that people wouldn't believe that the Luke Spacewalker is the Mozart. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

14

Being a cast member in Star Wars is like being part of a family. Literally, for Ewan MacGregor. MacGregor, who played young Obi-Wan, is Denis Lawson's nephew. Lawson played Wedge Antilles, who has the distinction of surviving episodes IV through VI, despite being a rebel pilot. CRACKED.COM http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-a-family-affair — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

13

Mark Hamill found a David Bowie review inside a Dewback. In what might be the ultimate Easter egg, the actor said he crawled inside a Dewback while filming in Tunisia and discovered the bar that controlled the lizard's head was wrapped in papier-mâché. The newspaper that was used included a review of concert in Paris given by The Thin White Duke, which Hamill read by flashlight. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

12

Return of the Jedi had an incredibly satisfying ending. It didn't start out that way. In the first draft of the screenplay, Han Solo died while trying to destroy the shield generator and Luke abandoned the rebels. George Lucas decided not to go with this ending - not because it was too bleak, but because he was worried about toy sales. http://herocomplex.latimes. com/movies/star-wars-was-born-a-long-time-ago- CRACKED.COM but-not-all-that-far-far-away-in-1972-filmmakers-george-lucas-and-gary-kurtz-wer/ — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

11

Christian Bale was almost in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Bale was in talks to play Han's mentor Tobias Beckett, an offer he called very tempting. The role wasn't the actor's only close call with Star Wars casting. Не was also Lucas (rumored) first choice to play Anakin in Attack of the Clones. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

10

Luke and Leia's swing to freedom was an exciting moment. Especially for the actors. Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher performed the swing across the Death Star core themselves, rather than using stunt doubles. And they got it in one take. CRACKED.COM http://www.imdb.com/title/t0076759/trivia — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

9

Darth Vader

David Prowse casually guessed that Darth Vader was Luke's father. The actor spoiled the plot twist of The Empire Strikes Back on at least two occasions in 1978... before the top-secret scene was even written. Decades later, Prowse said even he didn't know until the movie premiered and had no memory of blowing the reveal. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

8

The Stormtrooper helmets looked gritty and battle-worn. And that's because they were crap. The task of creating the original helmets fell to a man who built fish ponds and canoes. The auto paint he used to turn them white didn't adhere to the HDPE plastic, because no paint will. Collectors can spot the original props by their flaking paint. CRACKED.COM http://starwarshelmets.com/original-ANH-Stunt-Stormtrooper-armor-helmets.htm — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

7

Han Solo was frozen because Harrison Ford didn't want to come back. Unlike his costars, Ford did not sign up for two sequels after Star Wars was a hit. The actor famously told George Lucas he thought Han Solo should just die. With no promise of his return, Lucas had to change his original plans, literally putting the character on ice at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

6

The Meridian Trench was where Luke made his final attack run on the Death Star. It only existed because the model maker was lazy. The material used by Colin Cantwell to craft the Death Star tended to shrink, and the final model had a gap around the middle. Rather than putty it in, Cantwell suggested it be part of the plot. http://www. originalprop com/blog/2014/11/13/colin- CRACKED.COM cantwell-video-interviews-star-wars-prototype-models-nasa/ — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

5

The Emperor's throne in The Rise of Skywalker is not a new design. The stone chair with claw-like outcroppings is based on a Ralph McQuarrie concept sketch from nearly four decades ago. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

4

George Lucas turned Harrison Ford into a household name. Yet Ford isn't a fan of Lucas. On the script for Star Wars, Harrison Ford quipped, George, you can type this shit, but you sure as hell can't say it. Не also referred to his character as Ham Yoyo, and was glad when the filming wrapped. Three is enough for me. I was glad to see that costume for the last time, he said. CRACKED.COM http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/harnison-ford-han-solo_n_2097347.html — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

3

The Emperor was originally portayed by a woman... with chimpanzee eyes. 78-year-old Marjorie Eaton played the Sith lord in the original 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back. The character's menacing peepers were created by superimposing an ape's eyes over the actress's. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

2

Alec Guinness hated Obi-Wan Kenobi. Seriously. Не wanted him dead. Guinness called the movies banal and mumbo-jumbo, and would throw out Star Wars-related fan mail unopened. Не claimed that he persuaded George Lucas to kill off the character as a way to limit his involvement in the films. CRACKED.COM http://www.tv.com/people/alec-guinness/trivia/ — 27 Mind-Blowing TRUE Star Wars Behind The Scenes Stories

1

The Mandalorian's rifle is straight out of the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. The titular character's weapon of choice is an Amban phase-pulse blaster, which first appeared in an animated segment of the disavowed Life Day spectacular. CRACKED.COM — 22 Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars Facts

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