Things you may not have known about Star Wars

Star Wars is an iconic franchise close to the hearts of millions of people around the world. Since 1977, George Lucas’ fictional universe has captured the imagination of both children and adults, male and female. For some, Star Wars has become an obsession and there is a genuine need for many to know all the facts about the series of films, computer games, comic books and toys. Here are some of the lesser known facts about the beloved franchise.





One of the most famous Star Wars characters, Han Solo, was not originally going to be played by Harrison Ford. The role was actually first offered to Jeff Goldblum. The actor turned the role down to appear in "Annie Hall" by Woody Allen.





Even though Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back were financially successful, the third film, Return of the Jedi, was facing difficulties receiving the green light from the studio. The studio was refusing the let the film be made until George Lucas had created a more detailed merchandising plan with more child-friendly characters to market as toys, games etc.

One of the fictional games in Star Wars called Dejarik has been brought to life by a company called "Sideshow Collectibles". The most interesting thing about this though is that the fans of the franchise have made up the rules to make the game playable, not the company.





May 4th is regarded as Star Wars Day to some of the fans. The date is taken from a play on words with the line "May the force be with you."





The title ‘Return of the Jedi’ was originally called Revenge of the Jedi. The reason for the change was after much discussion about characters, it was decided that revenge was not a character trait of a jedi. Luke Skywalker had his name changed to more child-friendly title compared to the original violent idea of Luke Starkiller.





The part of Darth Vader was played by a massive six-foot seven-inch weight lifter from Wales called David Prowes. George Lucas however, did not want his villain to have a welsh accent so for the duration of the film, he dubbed over David Prowes’ voice with James Earl Jones’.





Finally, Lucas achieved the sound of the lightsaber back in the 70s by recording the sound of a microphone being too close to a television.





You can relieve the whole Star Wars experience by watching Star Wars: The Complete Saga blu- ray and remembering all the changes that had been make to produce the final product.