The galaxy far far away is a lot more famous than it might sound, and with a brand new
movie universe in the making, every dark corner or mystery of the Star Wars fiction is likely
to be explored.
But what about the stories that happen behind the scenes?
We're setting our sights on the Star Wars Saga for the latest dose of rapid fire trivia,
in Screen Rant's Know Your Movies: 20 Star Wars Secrets That Will Blow Your Mind.
Clever Cockpit As an inside joke among the modellers on the
original movie, they made sure to include miniature copies of a Star Wars poster and
a Playboy centrefold in the cockpit of the Rebel Blockade Runner.
They're impossible to see on film, but they're there.
The Krayt Dragon The massive bones in the sands of Tatooine
are never commented on, so it's fitting that the crew actually left the fibreglass model
behind when filming wrapped.
Until a pair of paleontologist fans tracked it down in 1995, taking one of its massive
claws as a souvenir.
The Moff's Feet When actor Peter Cushing tried on the leather
boots of his costume as Grand Moff Tarkin, he wasn't impressed.
The actor decided only to wear them when they were visible.
For every other shot in the movie, he's sporting a pair of cushy carpet slippers, hidden from
view.
A Family Tradition When he was cast as Rogue Squadron pilot Wedge
Antilles, actor Denis Lawson couldn’t have guessed that Wedge would become one of the
greatest pilots in the galaxy.
Or that his nephew Ewan McGregor would be cast as a young Obi-Wan 22 years later.
Fat Paychecks Everyone knows George Lucas made his millions
by keeping the merchandise rights to the Star Wars brand, but Alec Guinness made a deal
for just over 2% of all royalties paid to Lucas.
When the movie and Obi-Wan Kenobi were instant hits, he never HAD to take a role that he
wasn't sure if ever again.
Fated Fett Boba Fett's popularity took everyone by surprise,
from George Lucas to the actor in the suit, Jeremy Bulloch, who got the part thanks to
his half-brother working as a producer.
When he showed up on set, the costume fit him so perfectly, he was given the job on
the spot, without an audition or screen test.
Murky Waters Fans love seeing R2-D2 navigate the underwater
swamp near Yoda's secret hut, but it wasn't filmed on a Hollywood sound stage.
The shots were filmed in George Lucas' unfinished swimming pool, with the crew hiding underwater
or out of frame, and Lucas himself filming the shots.
Daddy Issues The reveal that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's
father was kept a secret to almost everyone, with the working script having Vader reveal
that Obi-Wan killed Anakin.
George Lucas filled Mark Hamill in on the actual twist just seconds before filming his
reaction, but the rest of the cast didn't know the truth until they saw it in theatres.
Missing Yoda It's hard to believe, but the original script
for Return of the Jedi didn't include Yoda's return or death.
George Lucas only added them after a child psychologist told him that unless he actually
showed someone confirming Darth Vader was Luke's father, kids would just assume he was
lying, leaving the plot unresolved.
Timeless Twi'lek When George Lucas decided to extend the musical
scene in Jabba's palace, he was surprised to find that Femi Taylor, the actress who
played the dancer Oola was in even better shape than she had been 15 years earlier.
She returned to film the new shots, and audiences never even noticed.
Fuzzy Fans The rise of CG effects was obvious in The
Phantom Menace, but model makers were still behind some of the massive shots of Mos Espa
Grand Arena (the first pod race).
To fill the stands with spectators, modellers painted and placed almost half a million cotton
q-tips by hand, with a fan blowing underneath to make them ripple like the real thing.
Head Room Since CG was used in almost every shot, the
sets were only built to be as tall as the actors' heads, and the rest filled in with
green screen.
Since he stands at 6 foot 4, star Liam Neeson's added height cost the production close to
$150,000 extra.
Jar Jar Jackson The part of the most hated character in the
prequel trilogy eventually went to actor Ahmed Best, but the man chasing the role was none
other than the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.
George Lucas thought his star power would be distracting, and even introduced the two
men so Jackson could give his seal of approval.
Multiple Mauls Devoted fans probably know that Darth Maul
is played by stunt performer Ray Park, but it's not the British actor's voice - that's
delivered by Peter Serafinowicz, later playing a different kind of space warrior in Guardians
of the Galaxy.
The Perfect Cut?
Fans have never, and probably will never see it, but rumors of a six-hour cut of The Phantom
Menace have swirled for years.
According to Jake Loyd, the young Anakin, the people who did see the cut called it "mindbogglingly
good."
Which means it's lost forever, probably.
Foreshadowing - Literally The shots of Anakin Skywalker's shadow while
on Tatooine are too perfect, with Hayden Christiansen's hairstyle giving him the same profile as Darth
Vader.
Apparently, it wasn't planned, just noticed when they arrived on set, and worked into
an entire scene in the finished movie.
What's Old is...
Older When it came time to create an older version
of C-3PO for Episode 2, the filmmakers decided it would just be easier to repaint and weather
the originals.
So in the prequel movie, fans are actually seeing the very same costume of the original
films, before he was polished and updated.
Dooku Do-Over Actor Christopher Lee brought serious gravity
to the role of Count Dooku, but the original character was going to a be a woman, serving
as Palpatine's second apprentice.
The design was changed but that version of the Sith warrior was used for the Clone Wars
series as Asajj Ventress, Dooku's own agent.
Blue Aces The Force Awakens introduces ace pilot Poe
Dameron and his fellow fighters of Blue Squadron.
It's actually delivering on a decades long plan, since Luke was originally going to be
fighting with the same squad in the first movie.
The blue paint wouldn't work with effects at the time and became red squadron instead.
Finally, things can be set right.
What's in a Name?
George Lucas thought up the name of his first R2 Droid when a fellow film editor asked for
Reel 2,Dialogue 2.
But the name of BB-8 is a lot simpler.
According to director JJ Abrams, he just noticed the Droid looked like a capital B and an 8
- from there, the name of the lovable Droid was obvious.
Those are some of our favorite bits of lesser known Star Wars trivia, but what are yours?
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