May the Fourth has come and gone, but interest in Star Wars is eternal. Especially so, given that Episode VII has now been cast and is currently filming as we speak. Here are ten facts even the most devoted of fans may not know about the series.
1. Six Other Now-Famous Actors Almost Played Han Solo
Though Harrison Ford eventually landed the part of Han Solo,, there were a host of other actors considered for the role. Most impressive is the fact that nearly all of them are still recognizable names. The other six on the casting sheet? James Caan, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Sylvester Stallone, Nick Nolte and Kurt Russell. Now that would have been a different film.
2. George Lucas Pitched a Really Dark Ending for Return of the Jedi
We all know how the iconic original trilogy ended, but George Lucas actually had a very different, dark finale in mind. Once Vader killed the Emperor, Luke was going to take the iconic helmet, put it on, and become the next Vader himself, ordering his troops to kill the Rebel fleet. But in order to keep things “for the kids,” that was cut and we got an Ewok party. To be fair, as fun as it is to have a dark twist ending, that wouldn’t really have been consistent with Skywalker’s character at all.
3. It Was Once Rumored that Boba Fett Was Luke Skywalker’s Mother
After fans learned that Vader was Lucas’s father in what was then the biggest twist in cinematic history (and still might be) they went wild with speculation about who his mother might be. For a while, there was a crackpot running theory that Boba Fett might actually be Skywalker’s estranged mother. With that bulky armor and the voice modulator, I suppose anything’s possible. This was way before the prequels, naturally, before anyone had ever even heard the word “Amidala.”
4. George Lucas Almost Skipped Star Wars to Direct Apocalypse Now
Says Lucas himself:
“My second project was Apocalypse Now which John Milius and I had been working on in school, and we got a deal with Francis to develop the project. So I said, ‘This is great. I love John Milius; he’s a great writer. I was going to get a great screenplay and I wasn’t going to have to write it.”
That project would have directly conflicted with Star Wars, and the movie may never have been made at all. That would have been quite the alternate pop culture universe indeed.
I think we’re all thankful for that. It’s hard to imagine Star Wars at all without the scruffy-looking nerf herder.
5. In Total, Darth Vader Has Been Played By Six Different Actors
We may associate the famous character with one or two actors, but in reality, Vader is now a six-man operation. Ready for the grand rundown?
– Jake Lloyd – Young Anakin
– Hayden Christensen – Old Anakin
– David Prowse – Vader’s body
– Bob Anderson – Stuntman Vader
– James Earl Jones – Vader’s voice
– Sebastian Shaw – Unmasked Vader
6. Yoda Was Originally Played by a Monkey
“Look, the monkey’s just going to pull off the mask over and over again. It’s never going to work.”
That’s an actual quote from a crew member who was trying to dissuade the filmmakers from believing that Yoda could actually be played by a monkey. It was a short lived idea, but at one point there was literally a monkey dressed up in a robe, cane and mask, before they moved to a rubber/animatronic version of the character. You cannot make this stuff up.
7. Han Solo was Originally a Green Skinned Alien
Once upon a time, Han Solo was far more like Greedo than the screen version we saw. Says Lucas:
“[Han Solo] did start out as a monster or a strange alien character, but I finally settled on him being human so that there’d be more relationship between [Luke, Leia and Han]. That’s where Chewbacca came in as the kind of alien sidekick.”
8. The Noises of Star Wars Have Strange Origins
It may sound weird to say the series has produced many iconic noises, but it’s true. Most of them have weird origins.
– The TIE Fighter engine sound was created using the combination of an elephant bellow and a car driving on wet pavement.
– Chewbacca’s voice is a mix of the sounds of bears, lions, walruses, badgers and other animals
– The lightsaber’s hum was from the sound of an old television’s picture tube.
9. George Lucas Almost Wrote in a Scene to Explain Mark Hamill’s Facial Injury
In 1977, Mark Hamill was involved in a rather terrible car accident that resulted in his face having to be partially reconstructed. It made reshoots impossible and was highly noticeable going forward. Lucas originally planned for a scene in Empire Strikes Back to explain the injury, and there are even on-set shots of a robot bandaging up Skywalker’s face. But the scene never made it to the final cut.
10. Vader Wasn’t Luke’s Father in an Early Draft of the Script
It’s the most iconic twist of the movie, but it almost didn’t happen at all. In the original draft of the script by Leigh Brackett, Anakin Skywalker is very much alive, and a good guy. He administers the oath of the Jedi to Luke and his sister (who has also been training to be a Jedi in secret like Luke), and the gang resolves to fight the evil Empire together.
[Photos via Getty Images]
