183 Fun Facts About Star Wars

What is the name of Luke Skywalker's home planet?

Tatooine's two suns give Luke his famous twin-sunset moment on the desert moisture farm where his aunt and uncle raised him.

Which Star Wars line made AFI's 2005 list of 100 greatest movie quotes?

May the Force be with you ranked eighth; Lucas's 1974 rough draft had the clunkier blessing 'May the force of others be with you'.

What color is Mace Windu's lightsaber?

Mace Windu's purple blade exists because Samuel L. Jackson asked Lucas for one, so he could spot himself in the big battle scenes.

What is the name of Han Solo's ship?

George Lucas has said the Millennium Falcon's saucer shape came from a hamburger, with an olive on the side standing in for the cockpit.

Which actress played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy?

Carrie Fisher later became one of Hollywood's most sought-after script doctors, quietly polishing films such as Hook and Sister Act.

Which bounty hunter does Han Solo shoot in the Mos Eisley cantina, sparking the 'Han shot first' debate?

Lucas made Greedo fire first in the 1997 Special Edition, insisting Han was never meant to gun him down in cold blood.

Which Irish island stood in for Luke Skywalker's hideaway in The Last Jedi?

Skellig Michael's protected puffins couldn't simply be removed from shots, so the filmmakers turned them into a new creature: porgs.

Which Force power does Obi-Wan use when he tells stormtroopers, 'These aren't the droids you're looking for'?

The Jedi mind trick works only on the weak-minded: Watto shrugs it off in The Phantom Menace, and Jabba laughs at Luke's attempt.

In Return of the Jedi, what does the Emperor fire from his fingertips to torture Luke?

Force lightning nearly kills Luke until Vader throws the Emperor down a shaft and is fatally wounded in the process.

Fans nicknamed him Baby Yoda, but what is the real name of the child in The Mandalorian?

Grogu was kept out of the show's marketing and toy plans so he couldn't leak, which left no Baby Yoda toys in shops for Christmas 2019.

Mark Hamill publicly disagreed with which director's take on Luke Skywalker, then said he regretted voicing it?

Rian Johnson directed The Last Jedi; Hamill told him he 'fundamentally disagreed' with his choices for Luke, then tweeted that he regretted saying so in public.

What is the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron's signature droid companion?

BB-8 is Poe Dameron's loyal astromech droid, introduced in The Force Awakens. The spherical droid's unique design was a practical effect — a real, functioning robot was built for filming.

What is the real name of the bounty hunter known as The Mandalorian?

Din Djarin is always voiced by Pedro Pascal, but body doubles wear the helmet and armor in many scenes when Pascal is unavailable.

Which planet is the location of the Jedi Temple and the Galactic Senate?

Coruscant never appeared on screen until the 1997 Special Edition of Return of the Jedi added its citizens celebrating the Emperor's death.

Which Star Wars sound effect began with Ben Burtt striking a radio tower's guy-wire?

Blaster fire got its zap from that twanging wire, while the lightsaber hum mixed idling projector motors with interference from a TV set.

Who composed the iconic Star Wars musical score?

In 2005 the American Film Institute ranked John Williams's Star Wars score the greatest American film score of all time.

Which actor agreed to play Poe Dameron when Poe was scripted to die early in The Force Awakens?

Oscar Isaac signed on expecting Poe to die early, but the script was rewritten so Poe survives and returns later in the film.

Which actor, a former US Marine, played Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy?

Adam Driver enlisted after 9/11, but a broken sternum from a mountain-biking accident got him medically discharged before his unit deployed.

What does Luke ride across the frozen plains at the start of The Empire Strikes Back?

Han shelters a freezing Luke inside the carcass of a tauntaun overnight, until the two are rescued the next morning.

Which Mel Brooks comedy stars Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet, a spoof of Darth Vader?

After seeing Spaceballs, George Lucas sent Mel Brooks a note saying he was afraid he would bust something from laughing.

Star Wars became the highest-grossing film ever by overtaking which blockbuster?

Jaws had debuted just two years earlier, and Star Wars held the record until E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released.

On which planet does the climactic duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin take place in Revenge of the Sith?

The Mustafar duel ends with Obi-Wan leaping onto a slope and declaring 'It's over, Anakin. I have the high ground', now a lasting meme.

Which ancient Sith Lord's Rule of Two dictates there can only be a master and an apprentice?

Darth Bane established the Rule of Two about 1,000 years before the films. It states there shall be only two Sith at any time, a master and an apprentice, to prevent the infighting that had previously destroyed the Sith.

Which actor plays Cassian Andor in both Rogue One and the TV series Andor?

Diego Luna kept his natural Mexican accent as Cassian, a rarity in a franchise of mostly American and British voices.

What is the name of Anakin Skywalker's Padawan in The Clone Wars?

Ahsoka Tano was assigned as Anakin's Padawan learner during the Clone Wars. Initially controversial among fans, she became one of the most beloved characters in Star Wars, later starring in her own live-action series, Ahsoka.

What substance is Han Solo frozen in at Cloud City?

Carbonite freezing was tested on Han first because Vader wanted to be sure Luke would survive it; the frozen slab became one of Star Wars' most iconic images.

Which actor played the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy?

Ewan McGregor's uncle, Denis Lawson, had appeared in the original Star Wars trilogy.

What microscopic life forms does Qui-Gon say link living beings to the Force in The Phantom Menace?

Midi-chlorians upset many fans, who felt they turned the mystical Force into a matter of biology.

Which small, teddy-bear-like creatures help the Rebels defeat the Empire on a forest moon in Return of the Jedi?

Ewoks beat the Empire's best troops with logs, rocks and rope traps, opening the way for the Rebels to blow up the Death Star's shield generator.

Which red-and-black tattooed Sith apprentice, wielding a double-bladed lightsaber, kills Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace?

Darth Maul is cut in half by Obi-Wan moments later, and still survives, returning on cybernetic legs in The Clone Wars and in Solo.

What crystal powers a lightsaber?

Kyber crystals also power the Death Star's superlaser, so in Rogue One the Empire strips them from Jedha.

Which planet is the clone army created on in Attack of the Clones?

Kamino had been erased from the otherwise complete Jedi Archives, yet Obi-Wan's hunt for a senator's would-be assassin led him there.

What is the name of the Mandalorian alloy that is nearly indestructible and can resist lightsabers?

Beskar is lightsaber-proof, and the Empire looted huge quantities of it during the Great Purge of the Mandalorians.

Who is the voice actor for Darth Vader in the original trilogy?

James Earl Jones asked to go uncredited in the first two films, calling himself 'just special effects', and was first credited in Return of the Jedi.

What does the Darksaber symbolise in Mandalorian culture?

The right to rule Mandalore: Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian Jedi, forged this black-bladed lightsaber.

What weakness let the Rebels destroy the Death Star in A New Hope?

An exhaust port to the reactor: Luke switches off his targeting computer and trusts the Force to send his torpedoes down it.

What is the name of the Imperial officer who commands the construction of the Death Star in Rogue One?

Director Orson Krennic, played by Ben Mendelsohn, first tests the Death Star's superlaser on Jedha's capital city.

In The Mandalorian, which former Imperial officer pursues the title character to seize the Force-sensitive child?

Moff Gideon, played by Giancarlo Esposito, survives the season one finale by cutting himself out of his crashed TIE fighter.

Which reprogrammed Imperial droid does Alan Tudyk play in Rogue One?

Alan Tudyk performed K-2SO on set in a Spandex motion-capture suit, walking on stilts about a foot tall to match the droid's height.

What does AT-AT stand for in Star Wars?

All Terrain Armored Transport walkers were stop-motion models, and Lucas calls the popular story that Oakland's container cranes inspired them a myth.

In George Lucas's early drafts, what was Luke's surname before it became Skywalker?

The final shooting draft was titled The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars. Lucas swapped the surname mid-production, then trimmed the title to plain Star Wars.

Which actor, passed over for Han Solo in the 1977 film, later voiced him in the Star Wars radio drama?

Perry King voiced Han in NPR's 1981 radio adaptation of Star Wars, in which Mark Hamill returned as Luke.

In Star Wars, what is a "vergence in the Force"?

An energy concentration in a person or place: Qui-Gon tells the Jedi Council he has found one in a boy.

In The Clone Wars, what species is Anakin Skywalker's Padawan?

The Togruta come from the planet Shili and are known for their striped, horn-like montrals and head-tails.

Which effects studio did George Lucas set up to create the visual effects for Star Wars?

Industrial Light & Magic began in a warehouse in Van Nuys, where Lucas's new effects team built the Star Wars shots.

What is the name of the prison where Cassian Andor is held in the Andor TV series?

Narkina 5's inmates manufacture Imperial machinery, and a post-credits scene reveals droids fitting their parts into the Death Star's firing dish.

Instead of a bigger fee to write and direct Star Wars, what did George Lucas negotiate from Fox?

Merchandising and sequel rights: Lucas took them instead of a higher fee, a deal that has earned Lucasfilm hundreds of millions from toys, games and collectibles.

In The Clone Wars, which clone captain leads Anakin Skywalker's 501st Legion troops?

Rex, designated CT-7567, is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who also voices all the supporting clone troopers in The Clone Wars.

What real-world location was used to film Luke Skywalker's desert homeworld in A New Hope?

Sets were built near Tozeur, and Luke's home is the real Hotel Sidi Driss, an underground Berber dwelling in Matmata, Tunisia.

George Lucas's Alaskan Malamute inspired Chewbacca, and its name went to which later Lucas hero?

Indiana Jones began as Indiana Smith, named after the Malamute that rode in Lucas's car like a co-pilot, the role Chewbacca plays for Han.

A travel-agency poster of which real-world ruin convinced Lucas to shoot the Rebel base on Yavin 4 there?

Tikal's Maya temples in Guatemala, which Lucas spotted on a travel-agency poster in England, stand in for the Rebels' jungle-moon base.

Whose heavily processed voice recordings were used for Garindan, the Imperial spy in Mos Eisley?

Garindan, the spy who tips off the stormtroopers, speaks through heavily synthesized archival recordings of John Wayne.

Which movie-serial hero did George Lucas try to license before writing his own space opera?

Lucas couldn't get the Flash Gordon film rights, so he invented an original space adventure instead, and it became Star Wars.

The original lightsaber props were built from old flashguns made by which camera company?

Graflex made the 1940s flashguns for its Speed Graphic press cameras, and set decorator Roger Christian found them in a London photography shop.

Which actor's likeness was digitally recreated so Grand Moff Tarkin could return in Rogue One?

Guy Henry played Tarkin on set, and Peter Cushing's face, rebuilt from archive footage and an old life mask, was digitally mapped over him.

Which Mandalorian director also voices the assassin droid IG-11?

Taika Waititi voices IG-11 and directed the season one finale, in which the reprogrammed droid walks into an ambush and self-destructs.

The ice-planet scenes of The Empire Strikes Back were shot near which Norwegian town?

Finse stood in for the Rebels' ice planet, and the crew filmed there in blizzards and temperatures far below freezing.

Where did Han Solo's famous 'I know' reply to Leia's declaration of love come from?

At Harrison Ford's suggestion during filming, Han answers Leia's 'I love you' with 'I know', and the line stayed in the finished film.

What fake title did Return of the Jedi use to disguise its production?

The tagline was 'Horror Beyond Imagination'; the crew wore Blue Harvest caps and T-shirts.

Which species did George Lucas first plan for Return of the Jedi's forest battle against the Empire?

Wookiees were Lucas's first plan, but Chewbacca's technical skills made them seem too advanced, so he created a short, primitive species instead.

Which actor played the unmasked, dying Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi?

Sebastian Shaw also played the Force ghost at the finale, until the 2004 DVD replaced him there with Hayden Christensen.

Which much-mocked 1978 TV production gave fans their first on-screen look at a Mandalorian-armored bounty hunter?

The Star Wars Holiday Special introduced the bounty hunter in an animated segment by Toronto studio Nelvana, and it has never been officially released in full.

Which chrome-armored stormtrooper commander does Gwendoline Christie play in The Force Awakens?

Captain Phasma's look began as one of the rejected designs for Kylo Ren, which the production reused for her instead.

Which stock sound effect did sound designer Ben Burtt turn into a running in-joke across the Star Wars films?

The Wilhelm scream is named after Private Wilhelm in the 1953 western The Charge at Feather River, and Burtt first slipped it into A New Hope.

Who dubbed the voice of Ray Park's horned Sith Lord in The Phantom Menace?

Peter Serafinowicz, later Pete in Shaun of the Dead, voiced the character in The Phantom Menace, and Sam Witwer took over in The Clone Wars.

Which future star played Sabé, Queen Amidala's decoy handmaiden, in The Phantom Menace?

Keira Knightley was cast for her close resemblance to Natalie Portman; even the two actresses' mothers struggled to tell them apart in full make-up.

Attack of the Clones was among the first feature films to be shot entirely in what format?

Sony and Panavision developed a new camera so Lucas could shoot Attack of the Clones entirely on high-definition digital video.

Which real volcano's eruption was filmed for the lava-planet backdrops of Revenge of the Sith?

Mount Etna happened to erupt during production, so camera crews filmed it and spliced the footage into the planet's backgrounds.

Which famous director served as a 'guest director' on the climax of Revenge of the Sith?

Steven Spielberg worked on animatics for parts of the climactic duels, including Yoda versus the Emperor, before Lucas reworked every scene in editing.

Which two directors were fired from Solo: A Star Wars Story and replaced by Ron Howard?

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were let go with weeks of the shoot left, after clashing with Lucasfilm over creative control.

In Solo, which droid's navigation data, uploaded into Han's ship, helps him survive the Kessel Run?

L3-37 was torn apart during a droid revolt on Kessel, but her star maps were uploaded into the ship's computer, so she lives on inside it.

Han Solo's ship was redesigned because its original shape resembled a ship from which TV series?

Space: 1999's Eagle Transporter looked almost identical, so the original model was reworked into Princess Leia's blockade runner, the Tantive IV.

Who wrote the first-draft screenplay of The Empire Strikes Back before Lawrence Kasdan took over?

Leigh Brackett, a veteran science-fiction writer, died of cancer weeks after delivering her draft, and Lucas kept her screen credit as a tribute.

Which rebel extremist does Forest Whitaker play in Rogue One?

Saw Gerrera chooses to stay behind when the Death Star fires on Jedha City, and he dies in the blast.

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

Lando Calrissian lost the ship in a sabacc rematch after Han secretly swiped the card Lando kept up his sleeve to cheat.

Which child actor played young Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace?

Jake Lloyd was only ten, and Mark Hamill later said he was still angry about the way fans and critics treated the boy.

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?

Emperor Palpatine went decades without a first name until James Luceno's novel Tarkin finally revealed it as Sheev.

In A New Hope, which planet does the Death Star destroy with its superlaser as a show of power?

Alderaan is destroyed even after Leia gives up a location for the rebel base; Grand Moff Tarkin fires anyway to show what the station can do.

Who directed The Empire Strikes Back (1980)?

Lucas handed the director's chair to his former USC teacher Kershner and produced the film himself.

On which swamp planet does Luke seek out Yoda for training in The Empire Strikes Back?

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

In The Empire Strikes Back, what does Darth Vader reveal to Luke about how the two of them are related?

He is his father, yet the actor in the suit spoke a decoy line on set, and only a handful of people knew the real one.

Which ice planet hosts the Rebel base at the start of The Empire Strikes Back?

Hoth's Norway location was hit by snowstorms so severe that some scenes were shot just outside the crew's hotel.

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

Green: Luke's new blade was blue in early trailers and posters, but was switched because blue was hard to see against the bright desert sky.

Which bounty hunter carries off the frozen Han Solo at the end of The Empire Strikes Back?

Boba Fett hauls his frozen prize away in his ship, Slave I, to collect the bounty a crime lord has placed on the smuggler.

What is Padmé Amidala's home planet?

Naboo, where Padmé was elected queen at 14, is also the home planet of Palpatine, who represented it in the Galactic Senate.

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

Yellow: after burying Luke's and Leia's lightsabers in the sand, Rey ignites the saber she built from a section of her old staff.

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 at the end of the Clone Wars?

Order 66 worked through a chip implanted in every clone trooper, which Palpatine triggered with a spoken command.

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.

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

Liam Neeson played Qui-Gon Jinn, and 23 years later he returned as the character's Force ghost in the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale.

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

Gungans live in underwater cities, and in the film's climax their army joins Queen Amidala's fight against the droid invasion.

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

J.J. Abrams initially turned the job down, and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan helped talk him into directing it.

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 Princess Leia, 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.

Which Force Awakens hero was a First Order stormtrooper who defected?

Finn got his name when Poe Dameron shortened FN-2187, a number that nods to Leia's Death Star cell in the original film.

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 fleet of Star Destroyers 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.

What is the name of the tropical planet that 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 as the voice of Darth Vader?

Orson Welles was considered, but Lucas decided a voice that famous would be too recognizable coming out of the mask.

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

He is killed by his son: Han calls Kylo Ren by his birth name and begs him to come back, but Ren kills him with his lightsaber.

Which Jedi Council member belongs to the same never-named species as Yoda?

Yaddle sat on the Jedi Council beside Yoda in The Phantom Menace, yet their species still has no official name.

Which Japanese director made The Hidden Fortress, a major influence on Star Wars?

Akira Kurosawa told the story through two bickering peasants, and George Lucas based R2-D2 and C-3PO on them.

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

Jango Fett's price included an unaltered clone to raise as his son, who grew up to become 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.

In Return of the Jedi, what beast does Luke kill after being dropped through a trapdoor in Jabba's palace?

The Rancor's death so enrages Jabba that he sentences Luke, Han and Chewbacca to be fed to the Sarlacc instead.

What creature nearly swallows Han Solo's ship in an asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back?

A space slug: the cave where Han hides his ship, infested with mynocks, is really its gullet.

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

Bespin's Cloud City is run by an administrator whom Vader forces to hand Han over; he then helps Leia and Chewbacca escape.

What color is the double-bladed lightsaber that kills Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace?

Red: the Sith apprentice wields a double-bladed saber, and Obi-Wan cuts him in two moments after Qui-Gon falls.

The Rebels' climactic ground battle in Return of the Jedi, to knock out the Death Star's shield generator, is fought where?

Endor's forest moon hid the shield generator, and the Emperor had leaked word of the station to lure the Rebel fleet into a trap.

Who co-wrote the Attack of the Clones screenplay with George Lucas?

Jonathan Hales, a veteran writer for Lucas's television work, came in for the third draft, which was finished days before filming began.

What sarcastic working title did Attack of the Clones use as an in-joke about fan reaction to Episode I?

The joke title 'Jar Jar's Great Adventure' hid a much smaller role, yet it is Jar Jar's Senate speech that hands Palpatine emergency powers.

In Attack of the Clones, which shapeshifting bounty hunter fails to assassinate Senator Amidala?

Zam Wesell is a shape-shifting Clawdite, and she is shot with a saberdart before she can name who hired her.

Which long-dead Jedi Master is credited with ordering the Republic's clone army?

Sifo-Dyas commissioned the army in secret, but the Sith had him murdered and quietly took over the project.

On which planet does the arena battle at the end of Attack of the Clones take place?

Geonosis's arena rescue becomes the first battle of the Clone Wars when Jedi and the new clone army arrive.

Which Jedi Master beheads a bounty hunter during the arena battle in Attack of the Clones?

Mace Windu takes off the bounty hunter's head with one swing, while the hunter's young son watches.

In Attack of the Clones, which people does Anakin slaughter after his mother dies in their captivity?

Tusken Raiders had held Shmi Skywalker captive, and Anakin later confesses the massacre to Padmé, an early step toward the dark side.

Which body part does Anakin lose to Count Dooku's lightsaber at the end of Attack of the Clones?

His right arm is lost here, and Lucas has called the saga a poem that rhymes: Luke loses his hand to Vader in the middle film of the original trilogy.

Which boy band's members filmed Attack of the Clones cameos that were later cut?

NSYNC: some members filmed Jedi cameos, and though the scenes were cut, a fleeting glimpse reportedly survives in the film.

Which film out-grossed Attack of the Clones in North America in 2002, a first for a Star Wars film?

Spider-Man was 2002's top domestic earner, while Attack of the Clones still finished fourth worldwide that year.

Which performer voiced Yoda and operated his puppet before Attack of the Clones made him fully digital?

Frank Oz, also the Muppet performer behind Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear, kept voicing Yoda after the switch to CGI.

In which nightclub do Obi-Wan and Anakin capture Padmé's would-be assassin in Attack of the Clones?

The Outlander Club scene hides two cameos: Anthony Daniels and Ahmed Best, appearing out of their C-3PO and Jar Jar costumes.

Who became president of Lucasfilm when George Lucas sold the company, and produced the new films?

Kathleen Kennedy received Lucas's own sequel story treatments during the sale, but they were later discarded.

Lucasfilm declared its old Expanded Universe non-canon and rebranded those stories under what name?

Legends is the banner for the older books, comics and games, set aside so the sequel trilogy would not be bound by them.

Which 1991 Timothy Zahn novel opened the Thrawn trilogy and topped the NYT bestseller list?

Heir to the Empire launched the trilogy that introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade and is widely credited with reviving the franchise in the 1990s.

Which Marvel editor-in-chief said Star Wars comic sales saved the company financially in 1977-78?

Jim Shooter credited former editor-in-chief Roy Thomas with getting the Star Wars deal done, despite doubts inside Marvel.

Which publisher held the Star Wars comics licence for over two decades after Marvel's original series ended?

Dark Horse Comics ran dozens of titles, from Tales of the Jedi to Knights of the Old Republic, until the licence returned to Marvel in 2015.

Which actor was first cast as Wicket the Ewok but was replaced after getting food poisoning?

Kenny Baker, the man inside R2-D2, fell ill, so 11-year-old Warwick Davis, a newcomer to film acting, got the part.

In which US state were Return of the Jedi's forest battle scenes filmed?

California's redwoods near Smith River stood in for the forest moon, and the speeder-bike chase was shot by the Steadicam's inventor walking slowly through the trees.

Return of the Jedi's opening day beat which film's single-day gross record?

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan had held the single-day gross record, and Jedi went on to become the highest-grossing film of 1983.

Which director, fresh from an Oscar nomination for The Elephant Man, did Lucas approach for Jedi?

David Lynch told Lucas he should direct it himself and made Dune instead, so the job went to the less experienced Richard Marquand.

Makeup artist Stuart Freeborn modelled Yoda's face on his own features and on which scientist?

Albert Einstein's features were borrowed in the hope that they would make Yoda look intelligent. Freeborn blended them with his own face when he designed the character for The Empire Strikes Back.

Which creatures in The Last Jedi were invented to disguise real puffins on the filming island?

Porgs exist because conservation law stopped the crew from keeping the protected puffins out of shot. Turning the birds into aliens proved easier and cheaper than erasing them digitally.

Which droid does The Phantom Menace reveal was built by nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker?

C-3PO was put together by the boy who grows up to be Darth Vader. Anthony Daniels has played the fussy protocol droid in all nine films of the Skywalker saga.

Which James Bond actor makes an uncredited cameo as a stormtrooper in The Force Awakens?

Daniel Craig never shows his face: he plays a helmeted trooper. Composer Michael Giacchino and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich also hide under the white armour in the same film.

Which toy company, long limited to in-house designs, made Star Wars its first licensed theme?

Lego had built only its own designs for decades before Star Wars and Winnie the Pooh became its first licensed lines. The Star Wars deal has since been extended as far as 2032.

In Attack of the Clones, what does Anakin tell Padmé is 'coarse and rough and irritating'?

Sand 'gets everywhere', Anakin goes on. He has reason to know: The Phantom Menace shows him growing up as a slave on a desert planet.

Which star of The Bridge on the River Kwai played Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977's Star Wars?

Alec Guinness earned an Academy Award nomination for the part. He also negotiated a share of the film's royalties that left him, in his own words, with 'no complaints'.

Which Darth Vader theme was first heard in The Empire Strikes Back, not in 1977's Star Wars?

The Imperial March makes its entrance on low piccolos as the Empire sends probe droids across the galaxy to hunt for Luke Skywalker. Vader got through the whole first film without his signature tune.

Which actor, also Saruman in The Lord of the Rings, played Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones?

Christopher Lee enjoyed a late career revival as both villains at once. He returned to Dooku in Revenge of the Sith and voiced him in the animated film The Clone Wars.

Which actress, later an Oscar winner for Black Swan, played Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequels?

Natalie Portman began filming the part in 1997 while she was still in high school. It was her first big-budget production, and it made her internationally known.

Which Canadian, picked from about 1,500 candidates, played Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones?

Hayden Christensen won the role after Leonardo DiCaprio turned the film down. He came back to play Anakin two decades later in the series Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Which actress, called a 'total unknown' when cast, played Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy?

Daisy Ridley's casting echoed the 1977 original, whose leads were also little-known actors. Her great-uncle Arnold Ridley played Private Godfrey in the British sitcom Dad's Army.

Which Chilean-born actor plays the helmeted title bounty hunter in the series The Mandalorian?

Pedro Pascal was called 'a classic movie star' by the show's creator, with the presence to play a man largely hidden under a helmet. His family fled Chile when he was nine months old.

Which Iron Man director created The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars television series?

Jon Favreau already had a Star Wars credit: he voices Pre Vizsla, leader of the Mandalorian Death Watch, in the animated series The Clone Wars.

Which toy maker, lacking Star Wars figures for Christmas 1977, sold a mail-in certificate instead?

Kenner's 'Early Bird Certificate Package' could be posted back and redeemed for four figures. Its licence was signed too late in the year to stock the shelves in time.

Han Solo's boast about the Kessel Run in Star Wars treats which unit of distance as a time?

Parsec is a length of about 3.26 light-years, so finishing in 'less than twelve' of them is no speed record. Solo: A Star Wars Story later explained the boast as a shorter, riskier route.

Which faster-than-light engine keeps failing on Han Solo's ship in The Empire Strikes Back?

Hyperdrive sends a ship into another dimension, hyperspace, where objects can travel faster than light. R2-D2 finally repairs the faulty one in time to escape Vader's Star Destroyer.

Which hooded scavengers capture two droids and sell them to Luke Skywalker's uncle in Star Wars?

Jawas roam the desert in Sandcrawlers, huge abandoned mining vehicles, fixing up scrap to resell. Locals regard them as swindlers and thieves.

Which drink, later said to come from banthas, does Luke Skywalker's aunt pour in 1977's Star Wars?

Blue milk has since become a real drink, sold to visitors at Disney's Galaxy's Edge theme park lands. It also turns up again in Rogue One.

In Return of the Jedi, Jabba the Hutt orders Luke, Han and Chewbacca fed to which pit creature?

Sarlacc victims, the prisoners are warned, will be slowly digested over a thousand years. The 1997 Special Edition added a beak and extra tentacles to the creature's mouth.

Which ice creature hangs Luke Skywalker from its cave ceiling in The Empire Strikes Back?

Wampa lairs double as larders: the beasts hang their kills from the ceiling until they are ready to eat. Luke escapes by using the Force to pull his lightsaber free.

Which cyborg villain wields four lightsabers at once against Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the Sith?

General Grievous owes his hacking cough to George Lucas, who had bronchitis during production and recorded some of the coughs himself.

Anakin's podrace against Sebulba in The Phantom Menace mirrors the chariot race in which epic film?

Ben-Hur lends more than the race: the celebration that closes The Phantom Menace closely resembles a Roman parade from the 1959 epic.

Which winged junk dealer owns the enslaved Anakin Skywalker until losing a bet with Qui-Gon Jinn?

Watto tries to call the wager off after losing, and only gives in when Qui-Gon threatens to tell the Hutts that he is double-crossing.

Which enslaved mother does Anakin leave behind to train as a Jedi in The Phantom Menace?

Shmi astonishes Qui-Gon Jinn by telling him that her son had no father at all.

Which First Order ruler, performed by Andy Serkis, is killed by Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi?

Snoke dies when Ren uses the Force to cut him in half with a lightsaber. Serkis began playing him before anyone had settled what the character was going to look like.

Which moisture farmer raises Luke Skywalker and is killed by stormtroopers hunting two droids?

Owen Lars is played in the 1977 film by Phil Brown. Joel Edgerton took over as the younger farmer in the prequels and returned to the role in the series Obi-Wan Kenobi.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Leia calls Han Solo a 'stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking' what?

Nerf herder stung less than the rest of the insult: Han objects only to being called scruffy-looking. The phrase later gave an American rock band its name.

Which forested home planet of Chewbacca's species is invaded in Revenge of the Sith?

Kashyyyk's limestone peaks were filmed in Phuket, Thailand. Early drafts even placed a 10-year-old Han Solo on the planet, but the part was never cast.

Which ancient former pirate, played by Lupita Nyong'o, offers Rey a lightsaber in The Force Awakens?

Maz Kanata runs a tavern in a castle on the planet Takodana. The films never explain how she came by Luke Skywalker's weapon, lost in The Empire Strikes Back.

Which planet, filmed on Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni salt flats, stages The Last Jedi's final battle?

Crait's abandoned base becomes the Resistance's last refuge after Vice Admiral Holdo stays behind on their fleeing ship as a decoy.

Which cartel, led by Viceroy Nute Gunray, blockades Padmé Amidala's planet in The Phantom Menace?

Trade Federation leaders then invade, and try to force the fourteen-year-old queen to sign a treaty that would make their occupation legal.

In Return of the Jedi, many of which spies are said to have died to expose the second Death Star?

Bothans owe their fame to that single line, which is their only mention in the films. In the wider lore, espionage is the species' leading profession.

Which Rebel leader, seen only briefly in Return of the Jedi, became a lead in Andor?

Mon Mothma was first played by Caroline Blakiston, who joked that she was in Star Wars 'only for twenty-six and a half seconds'. Genevieve O'Reilly took over the role in Revenge of the Sith.

Which Rebel pilot, played by Denis Lawson, alone survives the attack runs on both Death Stars?

Wedge Antilles spoke with another actor's voice in the 1977 film, where David Ankrum dubbed his lines. Lawson returned to the role for a cameo in The Rise of Skywalker.

Ben Burtt built the lightsaber's hum from television interference and which machine's idling motor?

A film projector's interlock motor supplied the steady hum. Burtt stumbled on the second layer by accident while hunting for a buzzing, sparking sound to add to it.

Which English studio, saved from closure by the booking, housed the sets of 1977's Star Wars?

Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire went on to host the film's sequels, and The Shining was shot there too.

Which European coastal city doubled as the casino resort Canto Bight in The Last Jedi?

Dubrovnik hosted the shoot for a week in 2016. The Croatian city is even better known on screen for its years as a Game of Thrones location.

Star Wars was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar but lost to which Woody Allen comedy?

Annie Hall took the top prize even though many people, including its own co-writer Marshall Brickman, had expected Star Wars to win.

Which Italian lake's Villa del Balbianello served as Padmé's retreat in Attack of the Clones?

Como's lakeside villa was digitally disguised, with computer-generated imagery replacing the building's real exterior. Casino Royale filmed at the same house four years later.

Which concept artist's paintings helped George Lucas persuade 20th Century Fox to fund Star Wars?

Ralph McQuarrie's work was held in such esteem that Lucas made sure many shots in the finished film reproduced the paintings exactly.

Which science fiction author ghostwrote the Star Wars novelization credited solely to George Lucas?

Alan Dean Foster did more than adapt the script: he fleshed out the galaxy's history, species and technology. He later novelized The Force Awakens under his own name.

Which actor voiced the Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back until the scene was redone in 2004?

Clive Revill, a New Zealand-born actor, supplied only the Emperor's voice, not his face. He was also the first voice of Alfred in Batman: The Animated Series.

Which Olympic fencer doubled for Darth Vader in the lightsaber duels of The Empire Strikes Back?

Bob Anderson 'was the man who actually did Vader's fighting', Mark Hamill revealed in 1983. He had fenced sabre for Great Britain at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Which Super Star Destroyer serves as Darth Vader's personal flagship in The Empire Strikes Back?

Executor meets its end in Return of the Jedi, when a Rebel fighter crashes into its bridge and the giant ship plunges into the Death Star.

Which ship carrying Princess Leia is captured by a Star Destroyer as 1977's Star Wars opens?

Tantive IV also closes Rogue One, whose final scenes show the stolen Death Star plans reaching the ship with Leia aboard.

Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, the cantina band in 1977's Star Wars, belong to which species?

Bith musicians went unnamed on screen: spin-off stories later supplied the species, the band's name and the title of its famous tune, 'Mad About Me'.

Which Star Wars alphabet, named after its first two letters, is used to write Galactic Basic?

Aurebesh takes its name from the letters aurek and besh. The 2004 DVD release went back and replaced the original trilogy's Latin lettering with it.

Which Samurai Jack creator directed the Star Wars: Clone Wars micro-series for Cartoon Network?

Genndy Tartakovsky won longer episodes after George Lucas learned he was involved: Lucas and his son were fans of Samurai Jack. The series itself was developed in two weeks.

Which director made Rogue One, the first stand-alone Star Wars film, after his Godzilla reboot?

Gareth Edwards walked away from the Godzilla sequel in an amicable split so that he could work on smaller projects, and later made The Creator.