MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU Fantastic Franchise Facts from the Star Wars Universe

In honor of Star Wars day, we have assembled some of our favorite facts about one of the greatest movie franchises in history. The die-hard Star Wars fan will probably know most of these, but for those of us that don’t have the time to cosplay obscure bounty hunters, here are eight facts about the Star Wars franchise that you can amaze your friends with.


The First Rebel – George Lucas
The now famous opening scroll to start each movie was originally against the rules. Lucas ended up in hot water with the Directors Guild and eventually quit the organization. Lucas wanted to jump right into the action, not have a long opening credit sequence. He stuck to his guns and ended up paying a fine. (image from Star Wars Wikia)



Put Some Pants On
Studio execs originally had their undies in bundle because Chewbacca wasn’t wearing any. Remember, it was 1977. Things were different back then. Studio execs were actually concerned that Chewbacca wasn’t wearing any clothes, except for his bandolier. Really? What about Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo? Or Donald Duck? Supposedly, there were sketches of Chewbacca wearing lederhosen. Can you imagine? (image from Star Wars Wikia)


Hoth – Where Everybody Knows Your Name
John Ratzenberger, far better known as Cliff Clavin from Cheers fame, makes a cameo in The Empire Strikes Back. He is a rebel officer – Major Derlin in the Hoth base. (image from Daily Trendsetter.com)



Han Solo Almost Died 32 Years Earlier
Rumors have it that in the original outlines for Return of the Jedi, everybody’s favorite smuggler had completed his last Kessel Run. Han dies and the rebellion was a mess. Instead, we got Ewoks and a familiar storyline 32 years later. (image from Star Wars Wikia)


Growing and Losing Toes
Beyond his incredible powers of the force, Yoda has the ability to grow and lose digits. In The Empire Strikes Back and Revenge of the Sith, Yoda has four toes. But in The Phantom Menace, he only has 3. (image from Star Wars Wikia)


E.T. Made It Home or at Least to the Galactic Senate
In Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, you will see delegates from E.T.’s homeworld in the senate. The name of the planet they represent is Brodo Asogi. One of the delegats is named Grebleips. Which if you spell that backwards, you get the surname of a familiar director. (image from Star Wars Wikia)



Han Solo Was Originally Going to Be Played by Somebody Else
It’s hard to imagine anybody but Harrison Ford playing the iconic character. Originally, however, a cast of male leads were reading for the role, including Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Jack Nicholson and Christopher Walken. George Lucas had his friend Harrison Ford, whom he worked with on American Graffiti, read the lines with the potential male leads. Good thing George realized that he had the right man for the job all along. (image from YouTube video of Kurt Russell's actual audition)



It Was a Man’s Galaxy
In the original trilogy, all of the pilots were men. The screenplay had some women pilots, but on film, it’s all men. (image from BoardGameGeek)


Attack of the Clones Was Almost Bye, Bye, Bye
The boy band ‘N Sync originally had cameo’s in Attack of the Clones. Rumors are unclear if Justin Timberlake was actually part of it, but we will never know since the scene ended up on the editing room floor. There are more rumors, however, that some of the ‘N Sync boys are in the "First Battle of Geonosis" scene. Just like the mysteries of the universe, we may never know. (image from People)

Achievements in this Article

Play Star Wars Battlefront (2015)

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Play Star Wars: Battlefront

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Play Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Read Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 1: Vader

Watch Star Wars: A New Hope

Watch Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

Watch Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Watch Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Watch Star Wars: Rogue One

Watch Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Watch Star Wars: The Phantom Menace