George Lucas has never hid the fact that he often toyed with the idea of making a Star Wars sequel trilogy. Whatever Lucas may or may not have planned for his Return of the Jedi follow-ups, that door closed the day Disney purchased Lucasfilm Ltd. and added to its library the most iconic space fantasy franchise in history. But thanks to Lucasfilm's Pablo Hidalgo, we now have a slightly better idea of what story Lucas might have told had things gone differently. Hidalgo is a member of the Lucasfilm Story Group and the author of Star Wars: Fascinating Facts - Story, Lore & History From the Greatest Galaxy. Among the many bits of trivia and insider info revealed in the book, Hidalgo makes the surprising revelation that Lucas would have killed off Luke Skywalker in his version of Episode VIII. Perhaps Lucas' trilogy wouldn't have been so different from Disney's trilogy after all. Check out the slideshow below or scroll down to learn more about this and the other surprising pieces of Star Wars trivia revealed in the new book. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=george-lucas-would-have-killed-luke-skywalker-and-other-weird-star-wars-facts&captions=true"]
While some Star Wars fans are still sore about director Rian Johnson's decision to kill off Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, things may well have gone that direction even if George Lucas were behind the camera. Hidalgo points to Lucas' 2012 story treatment for Episode VIII and reveals that Lucas' vision of the sequel also involved Luke meeting his end. Hidalgo writes, "Years before The Last Jedi began development, the treatment left behind by George Lucas in 2012 also had Episode VIII be the one wherein Luke Skywalker would die."
That's not the only similarity between Lucas' sequel trilogy plans and the one we actually got. Hidalgo also reveals that Lucas' trilogy would have revolved heavily around the hero's journey of a young Force-sensitive woman. Lucas originally wrote her as a 14-year-old girl named Taryn, with later treatments changing the name to Thea or Winkie (?!?). Hidalgo even hints Lucas' sequels may have revolved around this heroine seeking out a missing, disillusioned Luke Skywalker, with Lucas apparently drawing comparisons to Captain Willard's hunt for Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (a film Lucas was once attached to direct, as it happens).
The phrase "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" is an indelible part of the Star Wars mythos, but the story wasn't always set in the distant past. According to Hidalgo, a very early draft of the Star Wars screenplay from 1973 instead placed the timeline as "the 33rd Century, a period of civil wars in the galaxy." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/kotor-3-why-it-should-happen-now"]
One page reveals that, because The Force Awakens and the animated series Star Wars Rebels entered production around the same time, Lucasfilm considered linking the two projects through a common planet. While that idea was eventually abandoned, the original plan was for Jakku and Lothal to be the same world. Hidalgo also reveals Lothal was inspired by Sice, a grassy planet Lucas once envisioned as being the homeworld of the Rebel Alliance in Return of the Jedi.
Screenwriter Leigh Brackett featured a very unusual back-story for Lando Calrissian in her first draft of The Empire Strikes Back. As Hidalgo reveals, the draft features Lando introducing himself as a clone and a member of the Ashardi family. Apparently Lando's great-grandfather was so vain he created many perfect duplicates of himself rather than start a family the old-fashioned way.
One segment of the book includes a script excerpt of Episode IV's cantina scene. One interesting deviation from the filmed version is that Luke's surly attackers, Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba, are joined by a third rodent-like creature who is killed by Obi-Wan's lightsaber.
While some have criticized The Force Awakens for its similarities to A New Hope, the movie almost featured an actual Death Star rather than just the Death Star-inspired Starkiller Base. Early on, JJ Abrams envisioned a sequence where the ruins of the second Death Star are seen on a watery world. Obviously, that idea was later repurposed for The Rise of Skywalker.
The book includes fact sheets for most of the major starship classes that appear in the movies. The X-Wing page is especially revealing, as we learn the Empire originally commissioned the X-Wing design. However, it turns out Palpatine preferred cheap, disposable fighters tethered to a larger command ship rather than the more expensive, lightspeed-capable X-Wing. He may have come to regret that choice after realizing how many TIE Fighters the Rebels shot down. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/06/star-wars-squadrons-multiplayer-review"]
Frank Oz is notable for performing two of the most iconic puppet characters in Hollywood history - Yoda and Miss Piggy. Hidalgo relays an anecdote about Mark Hamill's experience on the set of The Empire Strikes Back. Early on, Oz refused Hamill's request to perform Miss Piggy's voice, only to surprise Hamill later on during filming by pulling out the Miss Piggy puppet and insulting the swampy Dagobah set.
Hidalgo reveals that Anakin's age is one of the main plot elements Lucas wrestled with when writing The Phantom Menace. Various treatments depicted Anakin as anything from a young child to a teenager. But ultimately, Lucas decided nine-years-old was the ideal age to illustrate how profoundly the loss of his mother would affect Anakin. But weirdly enough, this means Anakin is a mere 45-years-old when he redeems himself in Return of the Jedi.
Darth Vader instantly became an iconic villain thanks to his terrifying mask and inhuman breathing. While Revenge of the Sith finally revealed how and why Anakin Skywalker acquired the mask, it turns out the mask had a very practical inspiration in A New Hope. Concept artist Ralph McQuarrie designed a mask for the character after he and Lucas envisioned an early scene where Vader jumps through the vacuum of space to board Princess Leia's ship.
If you've ever wondered how aware Lucas is of the online backlash to the prequel trilogy, the answer is - probably more than we think. When Lucas began writing Episode II he used the placeholder title "Jar Jar's Great Adventure." That joke title survived even through the early animatic process.
Niantic's wildly popular mobile game Pokemon Go debuted in 2016, right when production was in full swing on The Last Jedi. Hidalgo reveals Johnson was an avid player, and Kelly Marie Tran helped the crew play a prank on Johnson by pretending to find a wild Pikachu located outside the studio.
Along with a script excerpt featuring Episode 1's podracing sequence, the book reveals that many of Anakin's racing rivals were modeled directly after famous Hollywood celebrities. For instance, Ratts Tyerell is modeled after Joe Pesci and Teemto Pagalies is a combination of Nathan Lane and Dom DeLuise.
Asajj Ventress is a major character in both versions of the Clone Wars animated series, but it turns out she could have been the main villain of Episode II. The book includes an early concept sketch showing that Palpatine's second apprentice might have been a female Sith Lord wielding a curved lightsaber. But when Christopher Lee signed on, Count Dooku was born and the character design was repurposed for The Clone Wars. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/13/new-star-wars-animated-series-the-bad-batch-coming-to-disney-plus-ign-now"]
Hidalgo reveals that Maz Kanata's diminutive frame and beady eyes were inspired by a woman named Rose Gilbert, an English professor who taught both director JJ Abrams and designer Rick Gilbert. Maz was even nicknamed "Rose" during the development of The Force Awakens.
Many Star Wars fans are probably aware Lucas included a nod to his first film, THX-1138, in the original Star Wars. But did you know there's a different "1138" cameo in each of the original trilogy movies? Return of the Jedi's cameo was especially subtle, as even Lucasfilm employees didn't spot it until some time in the 2000's. It turns out Leia's Boushh helmet has the numbers printed on the side.
The scene where Kylo Ren finally shows his face to Rey is one of the key moments in The Force Awakens, but that unmasking almost happened a lot sooner. Only during the editing phase did Abrams decide Ren's face should remain hidden until that scene, which required the ILM team to digitally paste Ren's helmet over Adam Driver's head in certain shots.
Fittingly, the book closes with an anecdote about the challenge of including the late Carrie Fisher in The Rise of Skywalker. Hidalgo notes that Fisher herself seems to have eerily predicted her posthumous role in the form of a dedication to Abrams in her memoir The Princess Diarist, as she thanks Abrams for putting up with her in two movies. Abrams himself notes that he had only worked with Fisher once at that point, but now believes it was exactly the sort of knowing joke she would have made. For even more Star Wars trivia, check out 40 facts you might not know about A New Hope. And while you're at it, find out what to expect from the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special and find out how Marvel just connected Darth Vader to the events of The Rise of Skywalker. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
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How Lucas Envisioned Luke Skywalker's Fate
While some Star Wars fans are still sore about director Rian Johnson's decision to kill off Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, things may well have gone that direction even if George Lucas were behind the camera. Hidalgo points to Lucas' 2012 story treatment for Episode VIII and reveals that Lucas' vision of the sequel also involved Luke meeting his end. Hidalgo writes, "Years before The Last Jedi began development, the treatment left behind by George Lucas in 2012 also had Episode VIII be the one wherein Luke Skywalker would die."Rey's Early Origins
That's not the only similarity between Lucas' sequel trilogy plans and the one we actually got. Hidalgo also reveals that Lucas' trilogy would have revolved heavily around the hero's journey of a young Force-sensitive woman. Lucas originally wrote her as a 14-year-old girl named Taryn, with later treatments changing the name to Thea or Winkie (?!?). Hidalgo even hints Lucas' sequels may have revolved around this heroine seeking out a missing, disillusioned Luke Skywalker, with Lucas apparently drawing comparisons to Captain Willard's hunt for Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (a film Lucas was once attached to direct, as it happens).Not So Long Ago?
The phrase "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" is an indelible part of the Star Wars mythos, but the story wasn't always set in the distant past. According to Hidalgo, a very early draft of the Star Wars screenplay from 1973 instead placed the timeline as "the 33rd Century, a period of civil wars in the galaxy." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/kotor-3-why-it-should-happen-now"]How The Force Awakens and Rebels Were Almost Connected
One page reveals that, because The Force Awakens and the animated series Star Wars Rebels entered production around the same time, Lucasfilm considered linking the two projects through a common planet. While that idea was eventually abandoned, the original plan was for Jakku and Lothal to be the same world. Hidalgo also reveals Lothal was inspired by Sice, a grassy planet Lucas once envisioned as being the homeworld of the Rebel Alliance in Return of the Jedi.Lando Was Almost a Clone
Screenwriter Leigh Brackett featured a very unusual back-story for Lando Calrissian in her first draft of The Empire Strikes Back. As Hidalgo reveals, the draft features Lando introducing himself as a clone and a member of the Ashardi family. Apparently Lando's great-grandfather was so vain he created many perfect duplicates of himself rather than start a family the old-fashioned way.Dr. Evazan's Lost Partner
One segment of the book includes a script excerpt of Episode IV's cantina scene. One interesting deviation from the filmed version is that Luke's surly attackers, Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba, are joined by a third rodent-like creature who is killed by Obi-Wan's lightsaber.The Force Awakens Almost Had a Death Star
While some have criticized The Force Awakens for its similarities to A New Hope, the movie almost featured an actual Death Star rather than just the Death Star-inspired Starkiller Base. Early on, JJ Abrams envisioned a sequence where the ruins of the second Death Star are seen on a watery world. Obviously, that idea was later repurposed for The Rise of Skywalker.The Empire Commissioned the X-Wing
The book includes fact sheets for most of the major starship classes that appear in the movies. The X-Wing page is especially revealing, as we learn the Empire originally commissioned the X-Wing design. However, it turns out Palpatine preferred cheap, disposable fighters tethered to a larger command ship rather than the more expensive, lightspeed-capable X-Wing. He may have come to regret that choice after realizing how many TIE Fighters the Rebels shot down. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/06/star-wars-squadrons-multiplayer-review"]Miss Piggy Visited Dagobah
Frank Oz is notable for performing two of the most iconic puppet characters in Hollywood history - Yoda and Miss Piggy. Hidalgo relays an anecdote about Mark Hamill's experience on the set of The Empire Strikes Back. Early on, Oz refused Hamill's request to perform Miss Piggy's voice, only to surprise Hamill later on during filming by pulling out the Miss Piggy puppet and insulting the swampy Dagobah set.Anakin's Fluctuating Age
Hidalgo reveals that Anakin's age is one of the main plot elements Lucas wrestled with when writing The Phantom Menace. Various treatments depicted Anakin as anything from a young child to a teenager. But ultimately, Lucas decided nine-years-old was the ideal age to illustrate how profoundly the loss of his mother would affect Anakin. But weirdly enough, this means Anakin is a mere 45-years-old when he redeems himself in Return of the Jedi.The Significance of Vader's Mask
Darth Vader instantly became an iconic villain thanks to his terrifying mask and inhuman breathing. While Revenge of the Sith finally revealed how and why Anakin Skywalker acquired the mask, it turns out the mask had a very practical inspiration in A New Hope. Concept artist Ralph McQuarrie designed a mask for the character after he and Lucas envisioned an early scene where Vader jumps through the vacuum of space to board Princess Leia's ship.Episode II's Original Title
If you've ever wondered how aware Lucas is of the online backlash to the prequel trilogy, the answer is - probably more than we think. When Lucas began writing Episode II he used the placeholder title "Jar Jar's Great Adventure." That joke title survived even through the early animatic process.Rian Johnson Played Pokemon Go
Niantic's wildly popular mobile game Pokemon Go debuted in 2016, right when production was in full swing on The Last Jedi. Hidalgo reveals Johnson was an avid player, and Kelly Marie Tran helped the crew play a prank on Johnson by pretending to find a wild Pikachu located outside the studio.Designing Anakin's Podracing Opponents
Along with a script excerpt featuring Episode 1's podracing sequence, the book reveals that many of Anakin's racing rivals were modeled directly after famous Hollywood celebrities. For instance, Ratts Tyerell is modeled after Joe Pesci and Teemto Pagalies is a combination of Nathan Lane and Dom DeLuise.Asajj Ventress' Movie Origins
Asajj Ventress is a major character in both versions of the Clone Wars animated series, but it turns out she could have been the main villain of Episode II. The book includes an early concept sketch showing that Palpatine's second apprentice might have been a female Sith Lord wielding a curved lightsaber. But when Christopher Lee signed on, Count Dooku was born and the character design was repurposed for The Clone Wars. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/13/new-star-wars-animated-series-the-bad-batch-coming-to-disney-plus-ign-now"]How Maz Kanata Was Born
Hidalgo reveals that Maz Kanata's diminutive frame and beady eyes were inspired by a woman named Rose Gilbert, an English professor who taught both director JJ Abrams and designer Rick Gilbert. Maz was even nicknamed "Rose" during the development of The Force Awakens.A Very Well-Hidden THX-1138 Cameo
Many Star Wars fans are probably aware Lucas included a nod to his first film, THX-1138, in the original Star Wars. But did you know there's a different "1138" cameo in each of the original trilogy movies? Return of the Jedi's cameo was especially subtle, as even Lucasfilm employees didn't spot it until some time in the 2000's. It turns out Leia's Boushh helmet has the numbers printed on the side.Re-Masking Kylo Ren
The scene where Kylo Ren finally shows his face to Rey is one of the key moments in The Force Awakens, but that unmasking almost happened a lot sooner. Only during the editing phase did Abrams decide Ren's face should remain hidden until that scene, which required the ILM team to digitally paste Ren's helmet over Adam Driver's head in certain shots.Carrie Fisher May Have Predicted Episode IX
Fittingly, the book closes with an anecdote about the challenge of including the late Carrie Fisher in The Rise of Skywalker. Hidalgo notes that Fisher herself seems to have eerily predicted her posthumous role in the form of a dedication to Abrams in her memoir The Princess Diarist, as she thanks Abrams for putting up with her in two movies. Abrams himself notes that he had only worked with Fisher once at that point, but now believes it was exactly the sort of knowing joke she would have made. For even more Star Wars trivia, check out 40 facts you might not know about A New Hope. And while you're at it, find out what to expect from the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special and find out how Marvel just connected Darth Vader to the events of The Rise of Skywalker. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.Continue reading...