10 Mind-blowing Star Wars Facts

Which Star Wars character was almost gender-swapped, which one was almost a monkey and what was a close-kept secret?

- Brandon Specktor

1 LUKE SKYWALKER WAS ALMOST A GIRL

A long time ago (January 1975, to be exact) a fledgling screenwriter named George Lucas was working on the second draft of an epic sci-fi space opera.

Of the many, many problems with this clunky script that would eventually become Star Wars: A New Hope, one that seemed easily fixed to Lucas was the serious lack of female characters. So, Lucas did something radical: He rewrote his story’s main character, Luke Starkiller, as an 18-year-old girl. But a few months later, with Lucas’s next draft, Starkiller was a boy again.

2 NOTABLE NOISES

The sound of Darth Vader’s breathing was recorded by putting a microphone inside a scuba-diving regulator; Chewbacca’s signature Wookie gargle is a combination of bear, walrus, lion and badger sounds. The sound of Vader’s pod door closing in The Empire Strikes Back is reportedly the sound of a whole block of prison cell doors slamming shut.

3 THE OPENING TEXT CRAWL TOOK 3 HOURS TO SHOOT