Rights
By agreeing to waive $500,000 in directing fees, Lucas persuaded 20th Century Fox to let him maintain licensing and merchandising rights. Consequently, the studio missed out on billions in profits.
Darth Vader
Lucas originally wanted the iconic film director Orson Welles to voice Darth Vader, but feared that his intonations would be "too recognizable." Besides his many films, Welles is famous for his radio adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel "The War of the Worlds," which caused terrified some listeners when broadcast in 1938.
Weapons
Sound designer Ben Burtt created the lightsaber's signature buzz by combining the hum of an old film projector's motors with the interference caused by a TV on a shieldless microphone.
Brothers
"Star Wars" was originally titled "Adventures of the Starkiller, Episode One: The Star Wars." It featured two brothers: Deak and Luke Skywalker.
Choices
Al Pacino, best known for his roles in "The Godfather" and "Scarface," turned down the part of Han Solo because he found the script too confusing.
Grand Moff Tarkin
Peter Cushing's riding boots pinched his feet so much that Lucas let him wear slippers on the set. That's why you only see Grand Moff Tarkin from the knees up or strategically positioned behind a desk.
Crew
Lucas admired Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" so much he hired most of its production crew. The alums were dubbed the "Class of 2001" on the set, CBS News reports.
The Can
When the cast and crew broke for lunch, they would frequently forget that Kenny Baker was still in the R2-D2 "can" and leave him behind, according to IMDB.
Tatooine
Tatooine got its name from the Tunisian city of Tatouine, although no shooting was conducted there. Various locations in southern Tunisia stood in for the desert planet, and many of the wood-and-fiberglass structures from the movie are still in use today, mostly as tourist attractions.
Wedge Antilles
Denis Lawson, who played the starfighter pilot Wedge Antilles, is the uncle of Ewan McGregor, who portrayed a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequels.
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