SALT LAKE CITY — Star Wars fans have probably watched the Cantina scene more times than they can count.
But there are some items of trivia about that scene they’ve probably never heard of.
At Salt Lake Comic Con 2017 on Thursday, Tom Spina, a Star Wars designer and founder of Regal Robot, and Pablo Hidalgo, creative executive and member of the Lucasfilm Story Group, spoke openly about trivia from the Cantina scene.
“I assume you are all Star Wars fans,” said Bryan Young to the crowd, who cheered wildly.
The two artists explained how they often review the Cantina scene to see possible moments, Easter eggs and trivia items they may have missed. They call the process “Cantinaology.”
“(We are) obsessed, mystified of the galaxy far, far away,” Spina said.
Here’s a quick breakdown of trivia they revealed in their speech.
- The crew made the dewback monsters — ridable creatures on the planet Tatooine — from rhinoceros taxidermy bodies. The early ones had a fin on top, but those went away sometime during production, Spina said.
- Spina said people often believe the Jawa characters are wearing masks and robes. In reality, they’re people with tape holding their eyeballs in place.
There were two other cantina sets, according to Spina. There was the one in Tunisia, where the Tatooine scenes were filmed, and there were two separate ones, including one for reshoots and one where the band in the Cantina performs.
- The alien character Greedo was originally a “peapod” man and based off an alien creature from a green pea commercial, Spina said.
- Although some may have missed it, the walls of the Cantina were littered with animal heads, according to Spina. He showed images that reveal a crocodile head hanging out on an upper-left wall and a saber-toothed cat skull on the back wall. There are also a shark fin and a seal head on the walls.
- The film cast people from a talent agency called “The Uglies,” according to Spina. It was a talent agency for people who could fit the description of “ugly.”
A shot from the Cantina scene. | YouTube Screenshot
- The crew referred to one character as “Guy Behind a Jug,” who is literally behind a jug in every photo of the scene, according to Spina and Hidalgo.
- Actress Jenny Cresswell played Han Solo’s girlfriend in the original cut of the film. In a black-and-white cut, which is available on the Blu-ray edition, Solo gets up to leave and she walks away behind him. But these scenes were cut out of the final version of the movie.
- Hidalgo said most of the alien creatures were people wearing masks. They also wore gloves that had monsterlike skin that would peel away during filming.
A shot from the Cantina scene. | YouTube Screenshot
- There are logos throughout everything, including a flying meatball logo. Why would the company that makes helmets make cups? “Buy a helmet, get a cup,” Hidalgo joked.
- The Jabba in the Marvel comics was not the real Jabba. It was a totally different character than what we now know as Jabba, Hidalgo said. (You can see that version of Jabba here.) This was done because George Lucas couldn’t settle on what he wanted Jabba to look like, so Marvel moved ahead without him. Hidalgo said jokingly (and seriously) that the writers later revealed that the comic book version was Jabba’s accountant.
- There’s a character who smokes hookah. He was labeled in the script as a “mutant,” Hidalgo said, showing that mutant characters existed in the Star Wars universe.
- Actor George Stock played three roles. He was in the Cantina as a background character and he was with the Rebel Alliance at the end of the movie to award medals, Hidalgo said. One shot in the movie catches him with a cigarette in his hand.
A shot from the Cantina scene. | YouTube Screenshot