Star Wars TV Shows Behind-The-Scenes Facts
Star Wars has always been a master on the big screen, and it has found its place in TV series, too. Smaller screen, but equally big behind-the-scenes fun facts that prove movie magic is still alive and well.
Here are 26 behind-the-scenes facts from the Star Wars TV shows that are incredibly interesting:
In Andor, the entire town of Ferrix feels very tangible and real. Well, compared to other sets in the Star Wars universe, the whole city of Ferrix was built from scratch.
Throughout Andor, the showrunners displayed an array of Easter eggs in Luthen's shop, including the Sankara Stones from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
The droid character Huyang, who appears in both Ahsoka and The Clone Wars, is voiced by actor and the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, David Tennant.
In the Book of Boba Fett, actor Temuera Morrison brought his Maori heritage to the role in an interesting way. He drew inspiration from the traditional Maori dance, the Haka, for his training and fighting style with his Gaffi Stick.
Robert Rodriguez plays the Trandoshan that delivers the wookie pelt in the first episode of The Book of Boba Fett. He is also the show's executive producer and director.
Details about Darth Plagueis became uncanonized with Disney's purchase of Star Wars, but The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland used the Legends (now non-canonical) novel "Darth Plagueis" as a reference. So, the Sith Lord is still an alien Muun like the original.
Actors Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen filmed flashback scenes while wearing dots on their faces for the "de-aging" special effects.
The Kenobi series is a rare example of Director Deborah Chow serving as the sole director for the project. It was only six episodes, but it's still uncommon in most Star Wars TV projects — and honestly, TV in general.
Grogu, aka "Baby Yoda", required up to four people to make him work. That's a lot of hands to bring all that cuteness to life.
Stop-motion animation was used for a shot of the Blurrg in Season 1 of The Mandalorian. Other scenes used a blend of practical effects and CG.
In the beautifully crafted BTS special, Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, it was revealed that The Mandalorian was meticulously planned with pre-visualization before filming...the ENTIRE show. It's almost like taking time and love to prep a story pays off.
Composer Ludwig Göransson can thank Director Ryan Coogler and Lando actor Donald Glover (Solo) for the recommendation. After working with Glover closely in shows like Atlanta, Mando showrunner Jon Faveru was suggested to hire Göransson. What followed was the most iconic Star Wars score made by someone not named John Williams.
According to ScreenRant, five different stuntmen stepped in for Mando stunts throughout the show's first season. This really made the hero of the story appear to be a natural in all the different phases of his skills.
The dark saber was a practical effect. Actor Giancarlo Esposito was so intense with the legendary blade that it required multiple props after he kept breaking them. Try a stress ball, Moff Gideon!
In the show Ahsoka, we got to see one of the coolest ship designs in the Disney+ era. Ahsoka's T-6 shuttle was a model brought to life by ILM and frequently used in filming.
In Star Wars Rebels, the name of the "Bendu" character was pulled from George Lucas' original work, where he refers to Jedi Knights as "Jedi Bendu".
The Star Wars Rebels "skinny lightsaber" design was an attempt to emulate the skinniness of the lightsabers in the original trilogy and the artwork done by the G.O.A.T. conceptual designer, Ralph McQuarrie.
The Grand Inquisitor, played by Rupert Friend in the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, required a four-hour makeup process. I'd turn to the dark side, too, if I had to wake up before dawn to sit in a chair for hours while someone covers my entire face with makeup and prosthetics.
The makeup effects used for Cad Bane in The Book of Boba Fett actually allow for lip movement from the actor, which is pretty wild and looks outstanding in the final product. But I'm sure some fans were too hyper-focused on the skin coloring to care. Shocker.
The Child was simply called 'Baby' on set for the first season of The Mandalorian.
Despite the French influence on the Ghor language in season 2 of Andor, dialect coach Marina Tyndall created the language from scratch. That's dedication to the cause!
The second season of Andor entailed the build of 140 sets, 24 filming locations, more than 700 costumes, the creation of 152 creatures and 30 droids, and well over 4,100 VFX shots supervised by ILM.
And finally, the martial arts in The Acolyte were some of the best fighting we have seen in the Disney-era Star Wars, and it checks out. They brought several martial arts styles to bring the fight scenes to a whole new level while blending them with light saber duels.
What is your favorite Star Wars TV show? Comment below and why!
Check out all the Star Wars shows here on Disney+.
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Los Angeles Times
19 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘Ironheart's' Riri Williams is unapologetic. Head writer Chinaka Hodge is too
For Chinaka Hodge, it's important that Riri Williams is unapologetic. Comparing the young engineering prodigy to the billionaire tech CEO and Avengers founding member Tony Stark, the head writer and executive producer of Marvel's 'Ironheart' says she wanted her show's lead character to share some of that brash confidence to speak her mind yet still feel grounded. 'I wanted her to be unapologetic about her intellect,' says Hodge during a recent Zoom call. 'I wanted her to be unapologetic about the people she hung out with — that they would look and feel like the America we inhabit. 'It was really important to me to make a character that didn't just feel like a superhero in a skirt [but someone with] real dimension, real depth and real challenges and concerns,' she added. Out now on Disney+, 'Ironheart' follows Riri (portrayed by Dominique Thorne), a 19-year old MIT student introduced in the 2022 film 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,' as she finds herself back in her hometown of Chicago. After getting whisked away to Wakanda to help save the day, Riri is more driven than ever to complete her own version of a high-tech Iron Man-like suit to cement her legacy. But unlike Tony or the Wakandans, Riri doesn't have unlimited resources to do so, which leads her to make some questionable decisions. 'She's incredibly reverent of Tony Stark [being] ahead of her, but her path is not the same as his,' says Hodge, who can relate to Riri having 'no blueprint' for her journey. 'How to empower your idea without resource, without changing your morals, is a really difficult road, and that's basically where we put Riri for the life of the series.' Compared to most of her Marvel Cinematic Universe counterparts, Riri is a fairly new character. 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'One of the most important things about Riri [is] how she feels like me and my mom and other women who lean into their brains,' she says. Fans of Ironheart from the comics will recognize that elements of Riri's characterization and backstory draw upon what has been established in the books, but Hodge notes that they were not beholden to those storylines in terms of whom the teen could encounter on the show, regardless of the timeline or dimension. Hodge's learning curve, however, did include discovering the different levels and types of magic that exist in the broader Marvel universe, as well as potential storylines getting derailed because it fell under another character's purview. Though she is still a teen genius, the Riri in the series is slightly older than in the comics. Hodge also describes this Riri as more of an antihero because she has the potential to land on either side of the hero/villain line based on the choices she makes. 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Travel + Leisure
21 minutes ago
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It's not an official merch item, but it does have an adorable set of ears that I always associate with Mickey, of course. It's small, so it fits easily into my purse and sometimes into my pocket. It's also convenient once night falls because it has an LED light. This little fan packs a lot of power, and it comes with a rechargeable battery. It comes with three speeds (low, medium, and high), so it's prepared to cool you off on even the hottest Disney days. A cooling towel isn't a want on a super-hot day in Disneyland—it's a need! You want to have a cooling towel, plus at least one back-up if the forecast is predicting high temperatures. This cooling towel multi-pack has four high-quality options so you can share or keep extras on hand for future hot days in the park. If you want to pack minimally and pick one up when you get there, keep in mind that cooling towels are sold in the park, but they will be expensive. Also, you might not find them right when you need them. 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Casetify cases are high in quality and have protected my phone even after several drops at the park. Love a great deal? Sign up for our T+L Recommends newsletter and we'll send you our favorite travel products each week.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Is the Bezos, Sánchez wedding about love or money? That's the wrong question.
Spoiler alert: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding seems to be the opposite of what happens in the new movie 'Materialists.' This column contains spoilers for the movie "Materialists." As Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and one of the richest people in the world, marries Lauren Sánchez in Venice, Italy, in late June at a purported cost of more than $20 million, I keep thinking about the old debate over marrying for love or money. In Disney movies, fairy tales and romantic comedies like the newly released "Materialists," storytellers peddle a common plot: Desirable woman is faced with a poor suitor and a rich suitor. Oh no! Whom should she choose? Since I divorced years ago, I've dated a lot. Even in our era of sexual equality, choosing between love or money still seems tricky. But is it really? Bezos and Sánchez: 'Materialists' come to life − almost It's hard to talk about the Bezos-Sánchez wedding without mentioning wealth. Bezos, 61, enjoys an estimated net worth of $263.8 billion. After he divorced MacKenzie Scott − they were married for 25 years − Bezos began publicly dating Sánchez in 2019. The divorce settlement made Scott one of the wealthiest women in the world. This time around, Bezos, according to Fortune magazine, has insisted on an ironclad prenuptial agreement with Sánchez, 55. I have no idea whether Sánchez, a former TV journalist who has released her first children's book, is marrying for love or money. And I hope all of the parties involved find and enjoy lifelong love. After I saw "Materialists" on the eve of Bezos' glamorous nuptials, though, I pondered the dilemma portrayed in the movie − whether to pick the rich handsome guy or the less-well-to-do handsome guy. Audiences have taken to social media to complain about the film's bizarre ending. As a mom of daughters, I didn't care for it, either. Throughout the movie, New York City matchmaker Lucy (played by Dakota Johnson) vows to marry a wealthy, established "unicorn." Despite reconnecting with her angry, immature ex-boyfriend John (played by Chris Evans), whom she had dated for five years, she begins seeing Harry (played by Pedro Pascal), a potential client who falls in love with her. It turns out that Harry is everything Lucy says she wants and everything John is not: wealthy, kind and intelligent. Harry isn't as wealthy as Bezos, but he owns an expensive penthouse in Manhattan and has a driver. He's that coveted unicorn. Yet Lucy doesn't choose Harry, and she makes that decision in a traumatic moment. Lucy had set up a female client with a potential suitor who appeared perfect, but she later finds out that the client was sexually assaulted on the date Lucy arranged. Lucy feels guilty and begins to question her clients' dating preferences, including those involving income. I rolled my eyes when the film ended with Lucy returning to John, a 37-year-old wannabe actor who lives in a dilapidated apartment with roommates. John has little to offer her, but Lucy chooses him because he's poor and that seems to be noble. The Bezos-Sánchez wedding, meanwhile, seems to be the opposite of "Materialists." He has enough money to make all of her dreams come true. Yet, she may still love him for who he is, not what he's worth. Is it OK to marry for love and money? I was surprised to see a modern rom-com try to flip the script on love and money, but fail spectacularly. The movie had such an opportunity to promote a teachable moment for men and women who are looking for love. Like many women, Lucy longs for an equal partner who could provide financial security, even though she also works. She doesn't try to say she could do it on her own, which in this era of "girl power" feminism is brave. As a single mom, I've also experienced those feelings while dating. A 2022 Life Happens survey found that financial security is one of the top three most attractive traits in a partner, along with a sense of humor and intelligence. Women, especially, desire the security that money can bring. It's not about being a "gold digger." I have learned while dating that a steady income suggests other positive characteristics about a person. Those include being disciplined, responsible and having a strong work ethic. Like Lucy, I've been on dozens of first dates in recent years. I've met a lot of great men − good, hardworking and kind men like Harry do exist. When a woman finds someone like that, she must love herself enough to trust and love him. Women can reject toxicity and choose someone who is emotionally healthy and good. That is the kind of empowering message that Hollywood should be offering women. Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.
