50 free Star Wars: a New Hope trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Star Wars: A New Hope trivia quiz is devoted entirely to the 1977 original, later retitled Episode IV. It covers the making of the film (George Lucas's rejected pitches, the Journal of the Whills, Luke Starkiller, the Tunisian and Guatemalan locations, the Dykstraflex camera), the casting (who turned down Han Solo and Obi-Wan, how Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker were chosen, why David Prowse lost Vader's voice), the design of the Millennium Falcon, the Death Star and the droids, and the release: 32 theatres on May 25, 1977, six Academy Awards, the Kenner empty-box Christmas and the 1997 Special Edition that made Greedo shoot first. It is written for fans who want more than 'who played Luke', with difficulty running from easy to expert, and it works as a movie-night round or a solo test. It stays inside Episode IV, so no prequel or sequel questions. Every answer was checked against a reference page before publishing, so the dates, credits and production details hold up.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On what date did Star Wars open in US cinemas?
May 25, 1977
It debuted on a Wednesday in only 32 theatres, and Lucas had specifically wanted the Memorial Day weekend.
Q 02In which year's reissue did the film gain the subtitle Episode IV – A New Hope?
1981
The 1997 Special Edition came later, with 277 enhanced shots and the notorious Greedo change.
Q 03Which 1958 Akira Kurosawa film lent narrative beats to Lucas's early treatment?
The Hidden Fortress
Kurosawa's star Toshiro Mifune was later considered for Obi-Wan but declined out of 'samurai pride'.
Q 04Lucas's unfinished two-page 1973 synopsis, whose title survives as a phrase in the saga, was called what?
Journal of the Whills
It told of CJ Thorpe, apprentice to the 'Jedi-Bendu' Mace Windy.
Q 05What was Luke's surname in the drafts before it became Skywalker during production?
Starkiller
The fourth and final draft was titled The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars.
Q 06Which studio executive greenlit Star Wars at Fox after United Artists and Universal passed?
Alan Ladd Jr.
Lucas said the executive invested in him rather than the film, having been won over by a private screening of American Graffiti.
Q 07Chewbacca was inspired by Lucas's Alaskan Malamute. What was the dog's name?
Indiana
The same dog's name was later handed to Indiana Jones.
Q 08Which actor turned down the part of Han Solo because he did not understand the script?
Al Pacino
Lucas initially resisted Harrison Ford because he was not an unknown, having appeared in American Graffiti.
Q 09Which actor was considered for Obi-Wan but was instead cast as the villainous Tarkin?
Peter Cushing
The Grand Moff destroys Alderaan while, famously, wearing carpet slippers because his boots hurt.
Q 10On top of his salary, the actor playing Obi-Wan received what share of the film's backend grosses?
2.25%
It made him wealthy later in life, even though he privately called the dialogue 'lamentable' and pushed to have Obi-Wan killed off.
Q 11Anthony Daniels wanted the C-3PO role after seeing whose concept painting of the droid?
Ralph McQuarrie's
The design itself was based on the female robot in Fritz Lang's Metropolis; Daniels won the voice role too, beating out about thirty actors including Mel Blanc.
Q 12Peter Mayhew originally auditioned for which role before his 7-foot-3 frame got him cast as Chewbacca?
Darth Vader
David Prowse, who got Vader, had himself turned down Chewbacca because he wanted to play the villain.
Q 13Why did Lucas replace the voice of the actor inside the Vader suit with James Earl Jones?
He had a West Country English accent
Q 21Where do Luke and Obi-Wan hire Han Solo and Chewbacca?
Mos Eisley
The cantina scene also absorbed exposition originally planned for a human Jabba the Hutt, who was cut for time.
Q 22Which crime lord do Han and Chewbacca leave to pay off before the Death Star attack?
Jabba the Hutt
The 1977 script had a human Jabba; the idea of making him an alien only arose during work on the 1979 re-release.
Q 23Luke's friend who leaves Tatooine to join the Rebellion, cut from the theatrical release, was named what?
Biggs Darklighter
Alan Ladd called the deleted Anchorhead scenes 'American Graffiti in outer space'; the character survives as Red Three in the trench run.
Jones went uncredited as Vader in the films until 1983, though he was credited in the 1978 Holiday Special.
Q 14How did sound designer Ben Burtt create R2-D2's beeps and squeaks?
By imitating baby noises on a synthesizer
The droid's name reportedly came from editor Walter Murch asking for 'Reel 2, Dialog 2' during work on American Graffiti.
Q 15Luke's Tatooine home was filmed at an underground hotel in which Tunisian town?
Matmata
Principal photography began at the salt flat Chott el Djerid in March 1976, with extra Tatooine scenes shot in Death Valley.
Q 16The rebel base on Yavin 4 was filmed at which Mayan site?
Tikal
Lucas picked the Guatemalan ruins after spotting a poster of them in an English travel agency.
Q 17The motion-control camera system developed for the film's effects became known as what?
The Dykstraflex
John Dykstra's team used small models and slowly moving cameras to fake enormous scale; Dykstra received a Scientific and Engineering Award for it.
Q 18The Millennium Falcon was redesigned because its first version resembled ships from which TV series?
Space: 1999
Joe Johnston had four weeks to redo it, told only to 'think of a flying saucer'; the old model became Leia's ship, the Tantive IV.
Q 19The Falcon's final shape is often said to be based on what, with the cockpit as an olive on the side?
A hamburger
In the story it is a YT-1300 Corellian light freighter, previously owned by Lando Calrissian.
Q 20Lucas first assigned the Death Star's design to which artist, a veteran of 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Colin Cantwell
The buzzing countdown before the superlaser fires was borrowed from the Flash Gordon serials.
Q 24Which filmmaker helped trim the opening crawl from six paragraphs to four sentences?
Brian De Palma
Spielberg, by contrast, liked the rough cut and blamed the others' doubts on the missing effects.
Q 25In the unfinished cut shown to Lucas's friends, what stood in for the space battles?
World War II dogfight footage
Hand-drawn arrows replaced blaster beams, and Vader still spoke with Prowse's voice.
Q 26Halfway through production the director replaced his editor with Paul Hirsch, Richard Chew and whom?
Marcia Lucas
The trio went on to win the Academy Award for Best Film Editing.
Q 27John Williams recorded the score over 12 days in March 1977 with which ensemble?
The London Symphony Orchestra
The album became the best-selling symphonic record of all time and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Q 28Whose disco version of the Star Wars theme hit number one in the US in October 1977?
Meco
Williams's own main title reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year.
Q 29How many competitive Academy Awards did Star Wars win?
Six
It lost Best Picture to Annie Hall, but Ben Burtt also received a Special Achievement Award for the alien and robot voices.
Q 30Which cast member earned the film's only acting Oscar nomination?
Alec Guinness
He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor; George Lucas was nominated for both directing and original screenplay.