Star Wars is one of the biggest film franchises in the world, and due to get bigger thanks to the next installment coming out later in 2015. Most people who are fans of Star Wars probably think they know all there is to know about the films…but they could be wrong. Here are 7 surprising facts about Star Wars that you might not know.
Ewoks Speak Tibetan
The little furry aliens are some of the most adorable parts in the films, but what is that language the Ewoks are speaking? Well, it is actually a mixture of Tibetan, Nepalese and Klamyk languages. The sound designer, Ben Burtt, was inspired by a BBC documentary about the languages and so decided to incorporate the sounds, languages, and dialects into the way Ewoks spoke. He interviewed several native Tibetan speakers and used this to formulate the Ewok language. These aren’t the only aliens to speak in another language however. Nien Nunb, Lando Calrissian’s pilot, speaks a Tanzanian dialect which was recorded by a Tanzanian exchange student. Also, Jawas from the original film spoke Zulu, which they then altered slightly and sped up. So, it isn’t just jibberish that you’ll find the aliens in Star Wars speaking. We wonder what those who speak Tibetan made of the Ewoks talking in their language?
Creating Boba Fett
Most people credit the incredible designer, Ralph McQuarrie, for all of the costumes and designs found in the Star Wars films, but that isn’t always the case. In fact, the creation of Boba Fett was all thanks to the effects genius that is Joe Johnston. There’s even detailed drawings and a video screen test which prove this! In the beginning, George Lucas wanted Darth Vader to be an intergalactic bounty hunter, before they decided that a fallen Jedi would be better. They then decided to recycle the bounty hunter idea and that is where Boba Fett came in. Joe Johnston is renowned for his visual effects work in the Star Wars films, along with Raiders of the Lost Ark and Battlestar Galactica. He has since gone on to become a successful director in his own right, recently directing and producing Captain America. He also directed Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji, both of which are known to be special effects heavy.
Boba Fett’s Other Role
Sticking with Boba Fett, did you know that the actor plays two roles in the films? In fact, you can see him without his helmet on in Empire Strikes Back! Jeremy Bulloch is the actor behind the helmet as Boba Fett, however he also plays Imperial Lieutenant Sheckil in Empire Strikes Back. He captures Princess Leia when she attempts to escape Bespin. This wasn’t always meant to be the case, however. The original actor was unavailable last minute and so Jeremy Bulloch was asked to stand in. However, his role proved so popular that he gained an even bigger spot in the Star Wars films. He becomes the imperial officer who shows Darth Vader the dismantled C-3PO. Jeremy seemed to be quite loved in the Star Wars films, as he also plays Alderaanian pilot, Jermoch Colton, in The Revenge of the Sith. Since showcasing his diverse acting skills in Star Wars he has gone on to appear in the original Doctor Who series, along with the Robin Hood TV series.
Flying Budget
According to reports, there was an extremely limited budget for the original Star Wars films. Due to this, all of the American cast and crew members had to fly in coach class to England, as opposed to first class. This included George Lucas! However, when Carrie Fisher’s mother (Debbie Reynolds) found out that her daughter was flying in coach class, she was less than impressed. She called up George Lucas right away and said how insulting it was for her world-class daughter to be flying coach class when she deserved nothing less than first class. When George Lucas took the call Carrie was in the room with him. As soon as she heard the commotion she asked George Lucas if she could speak to her mother on the phone, to which he obliged. As soon as she got on the phone she reportedly said, “Mother, I want to fly coach, will you f**k off?!” Well, that’s one way of handling the situation….
Inspiring Chewbacca
Chewbacca may be one of the best loved characters in the film, but he wasn’t created until the early 1970s by George Lucas. Apparently, he got the idea for Chewbacca whilst watching his wife drive off in the car with their dog. Their beloved pet was an Alaskan malamute called Indiana, after the famous Indiana Jones. George Lucas loved the way the long haired, shaggy dog looked in the passenger seat of the car and so set to work on a new character. He wanted to combine Indiana Jones, a bear, and a monkey, to create his brand new character; Chewbacca. You may think this gave him nothing but love for the character, but actually he didn’t care too much for Chewbacca. That may be why he didn’t care too much about keeping Chewbacca, when he sent over a list of characters he definitely didn’t want killed off in the Star Wars books. This led to Chewy being killed off in Vector Prime, one of the most well-known Star Wars novels.
Jabba’s Dancing Girl Slip
Who doesn’t remember the dancing girl scene in Return of the Jedi? The Twilek girl, Oola, seems to be thoroughly enjoying her routine to Jabba the Hutt’s favorite disco song, Lapti Nek, so much so that she doesn’t notice a rather embarrassing wardrobe malfunction. When this film came out on VHS there was plenty of rewinding, pausing, and taking pictures. If you have Return of the Jedi on VHS then you’ve probably already uined the tape trying to find this moment. What is even more surprising is that apparently George Lucas didn’t edit this out when creating the Special Editions version of the film. He may have spent a fortune in time and hours to create a new version of Jedi Rocks, and plenty of other aspects in that scene, but he didn’t get rid of this. Priorities, of course!
Casting the Characters
There are some pretty interesting stories when it comes to the actors (and actresses) featured in the first Star Wars films. For example, did you know that Darth Vader was played by a weightlifter from Bristol? He played the character on screen, but was so convinced the film would be a flop that he didn’t want his name, David Prowse, featured in the original credits. Also, did you know that Greedo was played by a woman in some scenes? In the U.S scenes this alien bounty hunter is played by Maria de Aragon, whereas Greedo was played by Paul Blake in the US. Finally, Wedge Antilles is actually Obi-Wan Kenobi’s uncle! Well, kind of. Denis Lawson, who played Wedge Antilles, is actually Ewan McGregor’s uncle in real life. Wedge is also the only background character to survive all three of the major battles in the original Star Wars trilogy.
