advertisememt

Top 5 Star Wars Myths

Top 5 Star Wars Myths
VOICE OVER: Ashley Bowman
Written by Michael Wynands

“Luke… I am Your Father”. Wait… that's not how it went?! Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Myths. In today's instalment we're counting down the Top 5 Myths About Star Wars.

Despite being arguably the biggest franchise in this galaxy or any other, Star Wars still bears its fair share of popular misconceptions.

Special thanks to our users Odyssey_2001, Daniel Fong, and MikeMJPMUNCH for submitting the idea on our interactive suggestion tool: WatchMojo.comsuggest

Written by Michael Wynands

Top 5 Myths About Star Wars

“Luke… I am Your Father”. Wait… that’s not how it went?! (No, I am your father). Welcome to WatchMojo’s Top 5 Myths. In today’s instalment we’re counting down the Top 5 Myths About Star Wars.

Despite being arguably the biggest franchise in this galaxy or any other, Star Wars still bears its fair share of popular misconceptions.

#5: George Lucas Had Mapped Out A Full 12 Films From The Start

There’s no denying that George Lucas has had plenty of ideas for Star Wars films. He allegedly wanted to do a droid-centric spin-off. A Wookiee one too! But the legendary 12 film myth doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. It’s true that Lucas provided an outline for a sequel trilogy to Disney, but it seemingly came together over time. In an interview with Total Film, he had clearly stated “There will definitely be no Episodes VII-IX. That’s because there isn’t any story... I never thought of anything!” A handwritten note from George Lucas reveals that at one point, he considered A New Hope as Episode VI. According to producer Gary Kurtz, they also debated calling A New Hope Episode III, IV or V.

#4: Luke Accidentally says “Carrie” Instead of “Leia”

Filmed on a reported budget of just 7 million dollars, it’s easy to see how a myth like this could gain traction. After all, they clearly couldn’t afford reshoots… How else could you explain them leaving in that stormtrooper hitting his head? While movie fans love to catch continuity errors and general goofs that manage to sneak into the final cut of films… this particular botched line is nothing but wishful hearing, enabled by a bit of rushed delivery courtesy of Mark Hamill in the overdubbing process. The line being spoken, according to Hamill himself, is “There she…”, as in “there she is”. Said quickly with background noise during a hectic scene, it’s certainly phonetically similar... but that’s all.

#3: The Wampa Was Introduced As An Explanation For Luke’s Facial Changes

In 1980, that fresh-faced boy from Tatooine returned looking significantly weathered. Shortly after filming A New Hope, Mark Hamill was in a car accident that fractured both his nose and right cheek. The film proved a success, two more were greenlit and Mark’s face recovered. But his money-maker was never the same. The Wampa attack may seem too convenient to be a coincidence, but that’s just what it was. According to George Lucas, the Wampa was written to satisfy the need for something “suspenseful at the beginning while the Empire is looking for them.” He felt that Luke’s role in the rebellion would be enough to justify the facial changes. The planned wampa attack just helped “even more”.

#2: George Lucas Actually Directed The Return of the Jedi

There’s no shortage of mystery surrounding Return of the Jedi. The use of a production name, “Blue Harvest”, led people to wrongfully believe that Lucas had filmed a secret horror film and then abandoned it. Producing the original Star Wars trilogy took a lot out of George Lucas, and so for the second and third instalment, he handed over the directorial reins to other individuals. Richard Marquand was selected, but being relatively inexperienced with such major productions, it’s been said that Lucas guided him throughout the process. He did not, however, take over. Marquand may have rubbed some actors the wrong way, or even Lucas himself, but ultimately, he directed the film. Just listen to him direct C-3P0!

#1: Darth Vader Was Always Luke’s Father


And so we come full circle. There’s perhaps no more damning piece of evidence against the whole 12 film outline myth than this simple fact: when shooting A New Hope, George Lucas hadn’t yet decided that Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker were one and the same. Many casual fans think Obi-Wan was always meant to be speaking metaphorically when he told Luke that Vader killed the boy’s father. But the truth is… that jaw-dropping revelation was only added to the second draft of the Empire Strikes back script. Luke was actually meant to meet his father as a force ghost, while Darth Vader was still alive. Surprising as it may be, one of the greatest reveals in cinema history was an afterthought!
Comments
advertisememt