Obscure Star Wars Facts Most People Don't Know
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas started filming Star Wars: A New Hope, and it spawned an entire franchise of awesomeness. Decades later, we're still learning all kinds of secrets from behind the scenes of this iconic series. Stabilize your rear deflectors as we scan the Star Wars saga for obscure facts even the Jedi Council didn't know.
IG-88 on tap
Part of the group of bounty hunters hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon in Episode V, IG-88 looked quite intimidating. At the same time, he looked rather familiar. This mechanical menace's mug was previously seen in Episode IV, in one of the least likely of places: the Mos Eisley Cantina. That's right, the same prop pieces used to create IG-88's head are scattered behind the cantina's bar. Remember, R2-D2 and C-3PO weren't allowed into the cantina (probably due to a lingering hate for the droids of the Trade Federation). Perhaps Mos Eisley is so gritty that those weren't just beverage dispensers, but the remains of IG-88's brethren.
Jango Fett hits his head
We've all seen the Star Wars blooper of the Stormtrooper accidentally walking into a door in A New Hope. George Lucas even went back to add a sound effect to the mishap during the DVD re-release of the original trilogy. Did you know that Lucas paid homage to this blooper with Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones?
After the fight between Jango Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the bounty hunter can be seen fleeing to the Slave I as a young Boba Fett is firing up its engines. During Jango's hasty retreat, you can see the ship's door closing on him as he passes, with an appropriate sound effect. Some argue that Jango didn't hit his head during this blink-and-you-miss-it moment, but we'd imagine that Lucas would've closed the door normally if he meant otherwise. Now we know where that Stormtrooper inherited his clumsiness.
Marvel gives Star Wars a hand
Phase two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is filled with superpowered tributes to The Empire Strikes Back. More specifically, all of phase two's movies has a scene of a character losing an arm, Skywalker-style. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said to CinemaBlend, "It sort of happens in every Star Wars movie, but I was sort of looking at it, 'Okay, is Phase Two our Empire Strikes Back?' Not really, but tonally things are a little different. Somebody gets their arm cut off in every Phase Two movie. Every single one."
You want proof? You got it! Tony Stark cuts off the "real" Mandarin, Aldrich Killian's arm in Iron Man 3. In Thor: The Dark World, Loki casts an illusion where it looks like he gets into a fight with his blonder, buffer brother and chops off his arm. Malekith loses his arm just before dying in the movie as well. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky returns with one less arm and even less of his memory intact. You can't forget Groot getting both of his dancing appendages axed by Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy. During the second Avengers film, Ulysses Klaue lives up to his namesake by getting his left arm severed by Ultron. Not to mention the Hulk rips off one of the Hulkbuster Iron Man suit's arms during their epic battle. Lastly, Ant-Man causes the bald baddie Darren Cross to lose his arm during his final moments before permanently shrinking down to nothingness. We guess you can say they were all—wait for it—disarmed.
Luke wasn't lying about Stormtrooper helmets
Remember that line in A New Hope when Luke says, "I can't see a thing in this helmet," and you think that explains why the Stormtroopers are all bad shots? Well, that quote wasn't exactly in the script. Mark Hamill was simply complaining to Harrison Ford after he thought the cameras stopped rolling. Surprisingly, Lucas decided to keep the line in the movie. Just be happy you weren't wearing David Prowse's hulking outfit, Luke.
The Force Awakens gets raided
We've all heard of the awesome cameos packed into The Force Awakens, but there are a lot more than you realize. According to Vanity Fair, there are cameos from the likes of Bill Hader (Superbad), Simon Pegg (Star Trek, Shaun of the Dead), Ken Leung (Lost), Greg Grunberg (Lost), Warwick Davis (who played Wicket the Ewok), and James Bond himself, Daniel Craig. For those wondering, Craig played the Stormtrooper who was Jedi mind tricked by Rey into setting her free. There are a ton of Game of Thrones cameos as well! We all know Brienne of Tarth actress Gwendoline Christie plays Captain Phasma, whose name and silver armor is a tribute to the Phantasm horror series, but there are plenty of other cameos brought in from the Seven Kingdoms. Thomas Brodie Sangster (Jojen Reed), Jessica Henwick (Nymeria Sand), Mark Stanley (Grenn), Miltos Yerolemou (Syrio Forel), and Emun Elliott (Marillion) also appear in small roles throughout the film.
Our favorite Force Awakens cameo comes in the form of the criminal gang, Kanjiklub. Fans of the Indonesian action flicks The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2 should recognize Yayan Ruhian, Iko Uwais, and Cecep Arif Rahman. That's Rama and two of his fiercest opponents from the franchise!
A star-killing history
In 2015, Mark Hamill confirmed an ongoing theory that George Lucas originally intended for the protagonists of his series to have the last name of Starkiller. Of course, Starkiller sounds a bit darker than Skywalker, so the name was eventually scrapped. LucasArts used the name of Starkiller for the protagonist in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. This video game put you in the shoes of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, who was ordered to create a small rebellion against the Empire so Palpatine would be distracted as the two tried to overthrow the Emperor, which actually lead to the creation of the Rebel Alliance.
Unfortunately, most of the lore outside of the movies and recent TV series became non-canon once Disney took control of the series. At least J.J. Abrams brought the Starkiller name back for the new Death Star. We know, we know: "it's not a Death Star." It's a Death Star that shoots multiple planets at once from a longer distance—big difference.
No credits? No problem!
We all love the iconic "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." intro text to each Star Wars movie accompanied by John Williams' iconic score, but did you ever wonder why there are no opening credits to any of the movies in the series? Think about it. Most movies have the main cast and crew's names appearing on-screen during their opening segments, but Star Wars never does that. The Directors Guild of America slapped George Lucas with a hefty fine (supposedly in the $250,000 range) for not having any opening credits. As a result, Lucas severed ties with the guild like it was a Skywalker's arm.
2Pac could've been a Jedi Master
Yes, you read that right, and no, we're not making this up. Rolling Stone reports the late, great Tupac Shakur auditioned to star as Mace Windu in The Phantom Menace. Details are obviously a bit shaky, since 2Pac was murdered in September 1996 and filming on Episode I started nine months later. Nevertheless, just imagine if "Thug Life" himself was cast as Mace Windu! 2Pac could've easily tossed aside his beef with the East Coast's rappers and started feuding with the Sith. There's already a legion of fans who believe that 2Pac survived his shooting and continued making music, so just imagine all the people who would've said Mace really faked his death at the hands of Emperor Palpatine in Episode III.
Phone home, as long as it's not Alderaan
Did you ever watch Return of the Jedi and wonder why Leia's disguised voice of Boushh the bounty hunter seems familiar? Surprisingly, Boushh's voice was done by the late actress Pat Welsh. While her list of film credits is short, you might recognize her for one other prominent role: the voice of the titular character in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The voice of that adorable, beer-chugging alien is the same as the bounty hunter disguise Leia used when threatening to suicide bomb Jabba's palace with a thermal detonator. We can't believe whose voice was talking smack to Jabba. More importantly, we're glad to find out about E.T.'s connection to the Force.