By: Aysha Schurman
There are so many tidbits of Star Wars trivia from the six blockbuster movies that any fan, whether you're a newbie or an honorary Jedi, will discover something new and intriguing on a regular basis. Considering the many problems endured filming the six movies in the story, an entire trivia game could be dedicated to filmmaking alone.
Star Wars Character Trivia
- Darth Vader was physically played by the relatively unknown David Prowse. However, Darth Vader credit often goes to the man who provided his voice, James Earl Jones. When the first Star Wars movie was released, the role was considered so minor that Jones didn't even have his name in the credits. Vader's helmet was originally designed for an unused scene where he traveled in empty space and needed a way to breathe.
- Han Solo was originally a burly, green alien and Jedi warrior. The character went through several changes until, in the final Star Wars draft, he became a renegade human star pilot. Harrison Ford was originally just a stand-in to read the script with other characters during screen tests. However, he did such a good job that he was given the job over many other formal applicants, including Nick Nolte and Jack Nicholson.
- Obi-Wan Kenobi appears in all six Star Wars movies, though his appearance in the fifth and six episodes are brief. The older Obi-Wan was played by the legendary actor, Sir Alec Guinness. Guinness displayed disdain for the role after the movies were released. Ewan McGregor played the young Obi-Wan, picked partly for his performance and partly for his resemblance to a young Guinness. McGregor was reported to often make "light saber sounds" during fight scenes that had to be edited out.
Star Wars Trivia
- Creatures. Many techniques were employed to create the creatures in the six Star Wars movies. Wookiees, Ewoks and C-3PO were costumes. Yoda, Jabba the Hutt, and the Scarlacc monster were puppets. R2-D2 and Tauntauns were robotics. Jar-Jar Binks and almost every creature from the first three episodes were computer-based special effects.
- Famous Lines. The "I know" quote is from Han Solo in response to Princess Leia's declaration about loving him in The Return of the Jedi. It is one of the most memorable Solo lines and is due to Harrison Ford's genius. The original script called for Solo to give an emotional speech about his feelings for Leia. Ford objected, stating the speech was wrong for the character and substituted the lines with a simple, "I know."
- Sound Effects. Great imagination went into the sound effects for all six Star Wars movies. The sounds made by Chewbacca were manipulated recordings of bears. The sound of hovering ships in The Phantom Menace was manipulated recordings of an electric razor being laid against a metal bowl. The sounds of the rancor monster in Return of the Jedi were manipulated recordings of a dachshund dog.
- Unexpected Problems. The six Star Wars movies experienced tons of unexpected problems. The first day of shooting a desert scene in Tunisia for the first movie, the country had its first big rainstorm in 50 years. Several sets for the fourth movie were only made to suit people of average height and the addition of the tall Liam Neeson to the cast required over $100,000 in extra construction bills.
