You won't believe what happened behind the scenes of Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope (1977)
Alec Guinness, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi, initially dismissed the script as "fairy-tale rubbish" but accepted the role, earning millions from a film he almost turned down.
Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) complained about acting opposite a "floating ping pong ball" due to special effects challenges.
"May the Force be with you" was never uttered by Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The film's budget exceeded $11 million, yet it grossed over $775 million globally.
Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin) found his character's boots uncomfortable, opting for slippers instead.
The Death Star swing scene was shot in a single take due to budget constraints.
The production team had difficulties finding a studio until 20th Century Fox took a chance on it. Even then, the studio had little faith in its success and gave George Lucas a smaller budget than he originally requested.
George Lucas' initial plan to adapt Flash Gordon led to the creation of Star Wars.
The character of Han Solo was originally envisioned as a green-skinned, gilled alien. However, George Lucas ultimately decided to cast Harrison Ford and rewrote the character as a human.
The name "Darth Vader" actually means "Dark Father" in German, which is fitting considering his true identity as Anakin Skywalker, father of Luke and Leia.
James Earl Jones, who provided the voice for Darth Vader, was paid only $7,000 for his work on Episode IV. He later became synonymous with the character and reprised the role in subsequent films.
The famous opening crawl of text was created using practical effects. The text was physically written on a large piece of paper and filmed to create the iconic scrolling effect.
The film's success led to a surge in demand for science fiction and fantasy movies, revolutionizing the film industry and paving the way for franchises like Star Trek, Star Wars itself, and countless others.