25 Interesting Star Wars Facts

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published February 15, 2024

Mythologist Jospeh Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars. Campbell essentially argues that the hero's journey is universal. Lucas then grafted Luke onto this narrative structure._[5]
Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film, The Hidden Fortress, inspired George Lucas. Lucas loved that the two lowest characters in Kurosawa's film told the story from their point of view, and he adopted that style for Star Wars in the form of the two droids._[4]
Obi-Wan Kenobi was originally supposed to survive his battle with Darth Vader. However, his death allowed him to become a guiding presence to Luke on his journey._[13]
George Lucas hired make-up supervisor Stuart Freeborn to create Chewbacca's costume. Freeborn had worked on the "Dawn of Man" sequence in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Lucas originally wanted Chewie to be part monkey, dog, and cat._[14]

The line "I have a bad feeling about this" is in every Star Wars movie

Even though George Lucas wanted Christopher Walken or Kurt Russell to play Han Solo, he ultimately decided on Harrison Ford, after he hired him to merely feed lines to auditioning actors._[3]
Frank Oz, the famed puppeteer, voiced Yoda. He was denied an Oscar, however, because the Academy ruled that puppeteers are not actors._[4][14]
Yoda's name was originally Buffy. It was then changed to "Minch Yoda" and then to "Yoda." Originally, Yoda was going to be played by a monkey, but after hearing how difficult monkeys were on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey, they decided to use a puppet._[15]
Chewbacca's voice was a mix of bear, lion, walrus, and badger sounds._[12]
Darth Vader's suit would cost about $18.3 million in real life. His suit would require an augmented reality helmet, prosthetic legs and left arm, a base suit similar to NASA's space suits, mechanical breathing devices, and modified voice synthesizer._[6]
According to George Lucas, everyone except Steven Spielberg thought Star Wars would be a complete flop. When Spielberg said the movie would be "the biggest movie of all time," everyone in the room thought "poor Steven."_[11]

In the Star Wars book From a Certain Point of View, Yoda wants Leia, not Luke, to be the Skywalker he trains

The word "Yoda" is Sanskrit for "warrior."_[5]
Some asteroids in The Empire Strikes Back we actually spray-painted potatoes._[16]
John Williams received his 50th Oscar nomination for scoring The Force Awakens._[12]
The first time Anakin saw Padme, he asked if she were an angel. Later, when he discovered she was the queen, he was disappointed that she had lied to him._[8]
Star Wars is the second-highest grossing movie franchise of all time, after Marvel Cinematic Universe._[7]
Famous actors who auditioned for the role of Han Solo were Kurt Russell, Christopher Walken, Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, Chevy Chase, and James Wood._[8]
Liam Neeson was so eager to be in The Phantom Menace that he agreed to do the film before he even read the script._[9]
The word "Jedi" is derived from the Japanese words jidai geki, which means "period adventure drama," which is a Japanese soap opera set during the samurai days._[11]
George Lucas was so certain that Star Wars would flop that he went to Hawaii with a friend instead of going to the premier. His friend was Steven Spielberg, and on that trip, they came up with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)._[8]
Harrison Ford was paid $25 million for his role in The Force Awakens. This is in contrast to the $10,000 he received for Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)._[10]
Chewbacca was modeled after George Lucas's dog, Indiana._[11]

Jackson said the "Bad MF" light saber was a gift

Samuel Jackson, who is famous for saying a specific naughty word, has a light saber with the word BMF on it._[1]
The laws of physics are less strict in the Star Wars universe, which makes it easier to have creative plot lines._[2]
According to Shmi Skywalker, Anakin did not have a father. He was conceived by the force itself as part of the "chosen one" prophecy._[8]
All nine Star Wars films are collectively known as the "Skywalker Saga."_[8]

Year (Before the Battle of Yavin: BBY) *When Luke blew up the first Death Star	Event

Star Wars Timeline
~ 900 BBY	The birth of Yoda.
~ 200 BBY	The golden age of the Jedi; the High Republic and the Jedi Order are at their zenith.
~ 100 BBY	The High Republic falls.
~ 41 BBY	Anakin Skywalker is conceived by the Midi-chlorians and his mother, Shmi.
~ 32 BBY	C-3PO and R2-D2 meet for the first time. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi discover Anakin Skywalker and save him from slavery.
~ 22 BBY	Anakin slaughters an entire village of Tusken Raiders in revenge of his mother's death. Padme becomes attracted to Anakin. Count Dooku chops off Anakin's arm in a duel. Anakin and Padme marry in secret. The Clone Wars begin.
~ 21 BBY	A young Boba Fett infiltrates a Republic Star Destroyer to take revenge on Mace Windu.
~ 20 BBY	Savage Opress discovered the presumed-dead former Sith Lord Darth Maul. Construction of the Death Star begins.
~ 19 BBY	The Dark Side wins over Anakin, who becomes Darth Vader. Palpatine delcares himself emperor, and the Galactic Republic becomes the Galactic Empire. Obi-Wan defeats Vader in a duel, leaving him dependent on a life-support suit. Padme dies giving birth to twins. Obi-Wan and Yoda go into hiding.
~10 BBY	Han Solo meets Chewbacca.
~ 9 BBC	Obi Wan comes out of hiding to search for Princess Leia, who has been captured.
0 BBC	Darth Vader captures Princess Leia. Luke Skywalker meets C-3P0 and R2-D2 and takes Death Star plans hidden in R2 to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke begins Jedi training and meets Han Solo and Chewbacca. Princess Leia is rescued. Darth Vader kills Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke destroys the Death Star.
3 ABY	Luke Skywalker begins formal training with Yoda on Dagobah. Darth Vader captures Han, Leia, and Chewbacca. Han Solo is frozen in carbonite and Boba Fett delivers him to Jabba the Hutt. Darth Vader chops of Luke's hand and reveals that he is Luke's father.
4 ABY	Han Solo is rescued. Princess Leia kills Jabba the Hutt. Darth Vader turns from the Dark Side, saves his son, and kills the emperor.
5 ABY	Ben Solo is born. Han Solo helps Chewbacca liberate Kashyyyk from Imperial rule.
5-9 ABY	Boba Fett escapes from the Sarlacc pit and becomes immersed in the Tuskan Raider culture.
35 ABY	In a battle, Kylo Ren and Rey, with all the fallen Jedi, overthrow Palpatine, and he is disintegrated. Rey buries Luke and Leia's lightsabers on Tatooine, where two suns set. Balance is restored.