98 Fun Facts About Star Wars Movie

Both Anakin and Luke Skywalker grew up on which twin-sunned desert planet, filmed largely in Tunisia?

Tatooine raised both Skywalkers; the Lars homestead interior was filmed at the Hotel Sidi Driss, a working underground hotel in Matmata, Tunisia.

Who owned Han Solo's ship before Han won it in a game of sabacc?

Lando Calrissian owned the Millennium Falcon until Han won it at sabacc, shown at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), set about a decade before the original film.

Before the black armour and breathing mask, Darth Vader was a Jedi Knight hailed as the Chosen One under what birth name?

Anakin Skywalker was the Jedi believed to be the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force, and the prequel trilogy charts his fall into Darth Vader.

Which character famously exclaims, 'It's a trap!' in 'Return of the Jedi'?

Ackbar, a Mon Calamari commander, realizes the Rebel fleet is flying into an ambush; the line became one of the most-quoted of the trilogy and an internet meme.

What is the first name of Emperor Palpatine?

Sheev is Palpatine's first name; it was revealed not in the films but in James Luceno's 2014 canon novel Tarkin.

In what year was the first Star Wars film, 'A New Hope', originally released?

The original 'Star Wars' film, later subtitled 'A New Hope', premiered on May 25, 1977. It quickly became a cultural phenomenon and a blockbuster success.

Who directed 'Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope'?

George Lucas wrote and directed the 1977 original himself, the only Star Wars film he directed until the prequels; his friend Steven Spielberg never directed one.

In A New Hope, Grand Moff Tarkin tests the Death Star's superlaser on Princess Leia's peaceful home planet; which planet?

Alderaan is destroyed even after Leia gives Tarkin a location for the rebel base, purely to demonstrate what the station can do. Dantooine was the base she named.

Who directed The Empire Strikes Back (1980)?

Irvin Kershner, Lucas's former USC film instructor, directed The Empire Strikes Back; Lucas wrote the story and served as executive producer while Gary Kurtz produced.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke finds Yoda living alone on which fog-bound swamp planet to begin his training?

Dagobah is where Luke leaves his training unfinished to rescue his friends at Cloud City, and where he returns in Return of the Jedi to find Yoda dying.

Which starship famously made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs?

The Millennium Falcon's boast bothers physicists because a parsec measures distance, not time; later stories explain it as a dangerously short route.

What species is Chewbacca?

A Wookiee is what Chewbacca is: a tall, hairy and highly intelligent species from Kashyyyk. Ewoks are the small forest-moon creatures people confuse them with.

What does Darth Vader reveal to Luke at Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back?

He is his father, one of cinema's most famous twists, and it lands because Luke had been told since the first film that Vader killed his father.

An Imperial probe droid finds the Rebel base on which ice planet at the start of The Empire Strikes Back?

Hoth opens the film with the Battle of Hoth, AT-AT walkers and all; the Rebels evacuate Echo Base after the walkers destroy its shield generator.

What color is Luke Skywalker's lightsaber in *Return of the Jedi*?

Luke's lightsaber in Return of the Jedi is green; it was blue in an early trailer and on posters, changed so the blade stood out against Tatooine's sky in the sail-barge fight.

Which bounty hunter flies the carbonite-frozen Han Solo off Cloud City to claim Jabba's reward?

Boba Fett barely speaks across the original trilogy, yet became by far the most popular of the bounty hunters Vader hired to track the Falcon.

In Attack of the Clones, on which ocean planet does Obi-Wan discover the clone army being grown?

Kamino, a storm-swept ocean world, is where Obi-Wan finds the Kaminoans growing the clone army; the order had been placed in the name of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas.

What is Padmé Amidala's home planet?

Naboo elected Padmé queen as a teenager, and it is also the home planet of Senator Palpatine, the future Emperor.

What color is the lightsaber Rey builds for herself at the end of The Rise of Skywalker?

She uses part of her old quarterstaff as the hilt, echoing the yellow blades of the Jedi Temple guards seen in The Clone Wars.

What is Count Dooku's Sith name?

Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master, falls to the dark side and becomes the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, apprentice to Darth Sidious.

What secret command turned the clone troopers against their Jedi generals?

Order 66 is a chip, not a choice: The Clone Wars revealed every trooper was implanted with one that Palpatine activated by voice, compelling them to kill their Jedi commanders.

According to the prequel trilogy, who was Sidious's own Sith mentor?

Palpatine tells the tale of 'Darth Plagueis the Wise' at the opera to tempt his future apprentice with the promise of cheating death, then admits the master was murdered in his sleep.

What is the unique color of Mace Windu's lightsaber?

Mace Windu's lightsaber is purple; Samuel L. Jackson asked George Lucas for the color so he could pick himself out in the arena battle of Attack of the Clones.

Which actor played Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi master in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace?

Liam Neeson played Obi-Wan's master in The Phantom Menace (1999), the Jedi who discovers Anakin on Tatooine and dies duelling Darth Maul.

In The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar Binks belongs to which amphibious species?

Jar Jar Binks is one of the Gungans, the amphibious natives of Naboo ruled by Boss Nass; he later serves as a representative in the Galactic Senate.

Who directed *Star Wars: The Force Awakens*, the first film of the sequel trilogy?

J.J. Abrams directed The Force Awakens (2015) and co-wrote it with Lawrence Kasdan; he initially declined the job before Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy persuaded him.

What is Rey's home planet at the beginning of *The Force Awakens*?

Rey is introduced as a scavenger living on the desolate desert planet Jakku, awaiting the return of her family.

What is the birth name of Kylo Ren?

Kylo Ren was born Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, and nephew of Luke Skywalker.

What type of starfighter does Poe Dameron primarily pilot in the sequel trilogy?

Poe Dameron is known as a highly skilled X-wing pilot for the Resistance, often flying his black-and-orange T-70 X-wing.

What was Finn's stormtrooper designation before he defected from the First Order?

Finn's designation was FN-2187; the digits nod to cell 2187, where Leia was held in the 1977 film, itself a reference to Arthur Lipsett's 1963 short 21-87, a Lucas favorite.

On which secluded planet is Luke Skywalker found at the end of *The Force Awakens*?

Luke Skywalker is discovered in self-imposed exile on the oceanic planet Ahch-To, home of the first Jedi Temple.

What is the Sith Eternal's secret Star Destroyer fleet in The Rise of Skywalker called?

The Final Order is a colossal fleet of planet-destroying Star Destroyers, secretly amassed by the Sith Eternal under Darth Sidious on Exegol.

Who is the main protagonist of the standalone film *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*?

Jyn Erso leads a daring mission to steal the plans for the Death Star in *Rogue One*, making her the central figure of the story.

Which tropical planet houses the Imperial data archives in *Rogue One*?

Scarif is a heavily fortified tropical planet where the Galactic Empire stores crucial data, including the Death Star plans.

Which famous actor did George Lucas first consider for the voice of Darth Vader?

Lucas decided Welles' voice would be too recognizable to audiences and went with the then lesser-known Jones.

What happens to Han Solo in *The Force Awakens*?

He is killed by his son: Han walks onto the bridge to reach Ben, and Kylo Ren runs him through with a crossguard lightsaber.

Which childhood friend of Luke's is killed flying in the Battle of Yavin?

Biggs Darklighter, Luke's friend from Tatooine, flies as Red Three and is shot down by Darth Vader in the Death Star trench; their hangar reunion was restored in the 1997 Special Edition.

Who directed Return of the Jedi (1983)?

Richard Marquand, a Welsh filmmaker, directed Return of the Jedi; Lucas stayed on as executive producer and co-wrote the script with Lawrence Kasdan.

Who composed the iconic musical scores for the main *Star Wars* saga films?

John Williams is the legendary composer behind the famous musical themes and scores for all nine episodic *Star Wars* films, as well as several other entries.

What does the 'TIE' in the Empire's TIE fighter stand for?

TIE stands for Twin Ion Engine, the propulsion of the Empire's short-range fighters, which were built without shields or hyperdrives to keep them cheap, light and fast.

Which bounty hunter's DNA was used as the template for the Republic's clone army?

Jango Fett was the clone template; as part of his fee he asked for one unaltered clone to raise as his son, Boba Fett, who became a bounty hunter himself.

Who are Princess Leia's adoptive parents?

Senator Bail Organa, an early rebel leader, and his wife Queen Breha raise the girl as a princess after her mother's death.

Which slug-like crime lord, ruling from a desert palace, puts a bounty on Han Solo over a dumped smuggling shipment?

Jabba the Hutt wanted Han over cargo he jettisoned before a search, and in Return of the Jedi keeps the smuggler frozen in carbonite as a wall decoration.

In Return of the Jedi, what beast does Luke kill beneath the crime lord's palace?

Luke kills the Rancor, the hulking beast kept in a pit beneath Jabba's palace, by dropping a gate on its neck; Jabba then orders the heroes fed to the Sarlacc instead.

What creature nearly swallows the Millennium Falcon in The Empire Strikes Back?

The Exogorth, a giant space slug living inside an asteroid, is the creature; what looked like a sheltered cave was its mouth, and the Falcon flies out as the jaws close.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Cloud City floats above which gas planet?

Cloud City is a tibanna-gas mining colony floating in the atmosphere of the gas giant Bespin, administered by Han's old friend Lando Calrissian.

What color is the lightsaber of Darth Maul?

Red is the Sith colour, and Maul's twin red blades are wielded like a staff; Jedi carry blue or green, with Mace Windu's purple the famous exception.

Which forest moon, home to the Ewoks, hosts the final ground battle of Return of the Jedi?

Endor's forest moon holds the shield generator protecting the second Death Star, which is why the climactic battle is fought on the ground among the Ewoks.

Star Wars' creator modeled Chewbacca on which of his own pets?

Chewbacca was modeled on his Alaskan Malamute dog, Indiana, who rode shotgun in Lucas's car like a co-pilot and later lent her name to Indiana Jones.

In early drafts, Luke's surname was not Skywalker but what?

The change came during production; the name Starkiller was later recycled for the base in The Force Awakens and a video-game hero.

The 1973 Star Wars treatment borrowed narrative beats from which Kurosawa film?

The Hidden Fortress (1958) follows two bickering peasants escorting a princess through enemy territory, a structure Lucas echoed with the two droids and Leia.

Which Kurosawa regular was considered for Luke's old Jedi mentor before Alec Guinness was cast?

Toshiro Mifune was approached to play Obi-Wan; his daughter Mika later said he turned down both the mentor and Darth Vader, worried that shoddy effects would cheapen the samurai image.

Ben Burtt built the lightsaber hum from a projector motor plus interference from what?

He found the buzz by accident while carrying an unshielded microphone past a TV, then layered it over the projector hum.

Darth Vader's breathing was recorded by Ben Burtt breathing through what?

Ben Burtt recorded Vader's breathing through a scuba regulator with a small microphone inside the mask; the mechanical rasp became the character's signature sound.

Before release, the Star Wars creator traded 2.5% of its profits for 2.5% of which Spielberg film?

Lucas swapped 2.5% of Star Wars for 2.5% of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, sure Spielberg's UFO picture would be the bigger 1977 hit; Spielberg has collected on the bet for decades.

Which veteran science-fiction writer wrote the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back?

Leigh Brackett, a veteran of pulp science fiction, delivered the first draft in early 1978 and died of cancer weeks later; little of her dialogue survived, but she kept her co-writer credit.

Empire's ice-planet battle was shot on the Hardangerjøkulen glacier in which country?

The shoot hit the area's worst snowstorm in fifty years; some scenes were filmed just outside the crew's hotel door.

At which English studio were The Empire Strikes Back's interiors, including Echo Base, built?

Elstree Studios in Borehamwood housed The Empire Strikes Back's interiors, including the Echo Base ice sets; a January 1979 stage fire during The Shining's shoot delayed the production.

Han's scripted reply to Leia's 'I love you' became 'I know' at whose suggestion?

Harrison Ford improvised 'I know' in place of the scripted 'Just remember that, 'cause I'll be back'; Kershner kept it, and Lucas came around only after test audiences laughed.

In 1980, Empire's Emperor hologram was a masked woman overlaid with which animal's eyes?

The 1980 Emperor was makeup artist Rick Baker's wife Elaine in a mask, with chimpanzee eyes superimposed; the 2004 DVD replaced the shot with Ian McDiarmid.

Why was Jeremy Bulloch cast as the armored bounty hunter in The Empire Strikes Back?

Jeremy Bulloch got the part because the costume fit him; his half-brother, producer Robert Watts, arranged it, and he also appears unmasked as an Imperial officer restraining Leia.

Before the final rewrite, Yoda was alternately called 'Minch', 'the Critter' and what?

Lucas's notes called the character Buffy, then Minch, before settling on Yoda; early versions were a slimy creature, then a small blue one, and only the long life and wisdom survived every draft.

Return of the Jedi was shot under which fake title to deter fans and price-gouging?

Blue Harvest, tagline 'Horror Beyond Imagination', was the cover title for Return of the Jedi's shoot; the other three options were later Star Wars working titles.

Kenny Baker was cast as Wicket the Ewok but lost the part on set because of what?

Kenny Baker came down with food poisoning on the day of shooting, so 11-year-old Warwick Davis, with no film experience, took over as Wicket and went on to appear in nearly every era of the saga.

The forest-moon exteriors in Return of the Jedi were shot among redwoods in which US state?

The redwoods were on private timber land near Smith River in northern California; the speeder-bike backgrounds were filmed separately with a Steadicam walked through the trees at a very low frame rate.

What happened to the 6,800 leftover teaser posters bearing Jedi's abandoned original title?

The leftover teaser posters were sold to fan-club members by Lucasfilm for $9.50 each; the original title was dropped because a Jedi would never seek revenge.

Return of the Jedi was the first film presented in which Lucasfilm sound system?

THX, developed at Lucasfilm by engineer Tomlinson Holman, debuted with Return of the Jedi in 1983 after Lucas grew frustrated with the poor sound in many cinemas.

Ray Park's Darth Maul voice was judged 'too squeaky' and dubbed by whom?

Peter Serafinowicz, later of Shaun of the Dead, dubbed Maul's few lines; Ray Park, a stunt-team martial artist, got the role after a test tape, and Benicio del Toro had left it once the dialogue was cut.

Queen Amidala's Theed palace interiors were shot at the Royal Palace of Caserta in which country?

The Royal Palace of Caserta, a Bourbon palace near Naples in Italy, stood in for Theed's palace interiors; the production returned to it for Episode II.

Which pop star wanted to play Ahmed Best's clumsy Episode I character in makeup, not CGI?

Michael Jackson wanted to play Jar Jar in prosthetic makeup, Ahmed Best recalled; Best, spotted performing in Stomp, was hired for the motion-capture performance before offering to do the voice too.

Concept artist Iain McCaig based Darth Maul's final face design partly on which figure?

Iain McCaig based Maul's final face partly on Bozo the Clown; his first sketch, briefed as 'your worst nightmare', so unsettled Lucas that he asked for the second-worst nightmare instead.

The burning Lars homestead in A New Hope echoes a scene from which John Ford Western?

The Searchers (1956) has Ethan Edwards return to find his brother's homestead burned and the family killed, a moment Lucas mirrored when Luke finds Owen and Beru's bodies.

What was Attack of the Clones' sarcastic in-joke working title?

Jar Jar's Great Adventure was the in-joke working title of Attack of the Clones, mocking the fan backlash to the Episode I character; Lucas co-wrote the final script with Jonathan Hales.

Attack of the Clones' principal photography took place at Fox Studios in which city?

Fox Studios Australia in Sydney hosted Attack of the Clones' 2000 shoot on stages recently used by Moulin Rouge!; Revenge of the Sith returned to the same studio.

Which star met with the director about playing the young Jedi lead in Episode II but declined?

Leonardo DiCaprio met Lucas about playing Anakin in Attack of the Clones but said he 'wasn't ready to take that dive', making Catch Me If You Can and Gangs of New York instead.

Which was the first Star Wars film rated PG-13?

Revenge of the Sith (2005) was the first Star Wars film rated PG-13, for sci-fi violence and intense images, chiefly Anakin burning on the lava bank; every earlier film was PG.

Footage of which erupting volcano was spliced into the Mustafar backgrounds of Episode III?

Mount Etna in Sicily erupted in late 2002 while Episode III was in production, so camera crews were dispatched to film the lava from several angles for Mustafar.

Who was originally cast to voice General Grievous in Episode III before Matthew Wood took over?

Gary Oldman was cast as Grievous but withdrew because the non-union production conflicted with his SAG membership; sound editor Matthew Wood won the part with an anonymous audition signed 'A.S.', for Alan Smithee.

Previewing Episode III at the ShoWest convention, its director called it what 'in space'?

Lucas told ShoWest in 2005 that Episode III was 'Titanic in space', a tearjerker and 'not like the old Star Wars'; it premiered out of competition at Cannes that May.

Which island off County Kerry hosted Force Awakens filming with Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley?

Skellig Michael, a UNESCO-listed monastic island off County Kerry, hosted a three-day shoot in July 2014 among its ancient beehive huts; The Last Jedi returned in September 2015.

Which Broadway composer co-wrote the cantina music for The Force Awakens?

Lin-Manuel Miranda co-wrote the cantina songs 'Jabba Flow' and 'Dobra Doompa' with J.J. Abrams after jokingly offering his services when Abrams came to see Hamilton.

Which James Bond actor cameos as a stormtrooper in The Force Awakens?

Daniel Craig, then the sitting 007, plays the stormtrooper Rey mind-tricks into releasing her; composer Michael Giacchino also appears in armor.

The Last Jedi's red-salt battle on Crait was filmed on the Salar de Uyuni in which country?

The Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia is the world's largest salt flat; the red beneath Crait's white crust was a design choice, not the real ground.

Which royals filmed stormtrooper cameos for The Last Jedi?

Princes William and Harry suited up as stormtroopers for a scene alongside Tom Hardy, but the sequence was cut from the finished film.

Laura Dern plays which Resistance vice admiral in The Last Jedi?

Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo's lightspeed ramming of the Supremacy became one of the most debated shots in the franchise.

Colin Trevorrow's unused Episode IX script was titled after which Phantom Menace musical theme?

Duel of the Fates, John Williams's choral piece from The Phantom Menace, gave Colin Trevorrow's abandoned Episode IX script its title; the draft leaked online in January 2020.

A Rise of Skywalker script that Finn's actor left in a hotel room ended up where?

John Boyega left the script under his hotel bed; it was listed on eBay for about £65, and a Disney employee recognized it as genuine and bought it before it sold.

Which composer left Rogue One, leaving his replacement about four and a half weeks to score it?

Alexandre Desplat left when reshoots pushed Rogue One's post-production into his Valerian commitments; Michael Giacchino, fresh off Doctor Strange, scored it in about four and a half weeks.

Which actor performed Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One beneath the digital Cushing likeness?

Guy Henry performed Tarkin's motion capture and voice on set; ILM mapped Peter Cushing's likeness over him, with the late actor's estate consulted throughout.

Who voices and motion-captures the reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO in Rogue One?

Alan Tudyk voiced and performed K-2SO on stilts for Rogue One; the droid's deadpan made it a fan favorite, and he reprised the role in the series Andor.

Who replaced Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as director of Solo?

Ron Howard, who had once turned down directing The Phantom Menace, took over Solo in June 2017 and reshot roughly 70% of it; Lord and Miller kept executive-producer credits.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge voices which droid in Solo?

L3-37, Lando's droid co-pilot, is voiced by Waller-Bridge; when she is destroyed on Kessel her mind is uploaded into the Falcon, explaining the 'peculiar dialect' C-3PO notes in Empire.

Woody Harrelson's Solo character Tobias Beckett was based on which literary figure?

The Kasdans modeled Tobias Beckett on Long John Silver, the charming, treacherous mentor of Treasure Island; they also cited Unforgiven and Heat, and Han shooting Beckett first mirrors the Greedo scene.

The 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special centers on Chewbacca's family celebrating which holiday?

Life Day is the Wookiee holiday the special is built around; Chewbacca's family are Itchy, Malla and Lumpy, and the special aired only once, on CBS on November 17, 1978.

Which Golden Girls star plays the Mos Eisley cantina owner in the Holiday Special?

Bea Arthur plays Ackmena, the cantina's bartender, and sings 'Goodnight, But Not Goodbye' to the tune of the cantina band theme.

The 2008 animated Clone Wars film was distributed by which studio rather than Fox?

Warner Bros. distributed the 2008 Clone Wars film, which grossed about $68 million on an $8.5 million budget and served as the pilot for the Cartoon Network series.

Who voices Rotta the Hutt, the late crime lord's grown son, in The Mandalorian and Grogu?

Jeremy Allen White, star of The Bear, voices Rotta the Hutt, Jabba's son, first seen as the infant nicknamed 'Stinky' rescued by Anakin and Ahsoka in the 2008 Clone Wars film.

In Return of the Jedi, Leia enters Jabba's palace disguised as which bounty hunter?

Boushh is the helmeted bounty hunter Leia impersonates, bringing Chewbacca in as her 'prisoner' and threatening Jabba's court with a thermal detonator before freeing Han from the carbonite.