Behind-The-Scenes Secrets From The Star Wars Universe

International Connections

Despite not taking place on Earth, or anywhere near it, the Star Wars films were heavily influenced by Earth cultures. The Jawa language spoken in the films is based on the Zulu language. The language Ewoks speak has some Tagalog thrown in. The planet of Tatooine was filmed in Tunisia, where some of the sets still remain to this day. In fact, some of the buildings are in use by Tunisian natives.

In contrast, the ice planet of Hoth was filmed in the Scandinavian country of Norway at the Hardangerjøkulen glacier. Star Wars, despite taking place in a galaxy far, far away, is quite the international film franchise.

From Star Wars to (Almost) Real Wars

While on location in Tunisia, the Star Wars film crew almost caused a real war or at least a major international incident. The set of Tatooine caused some issues with the Libyan government during filming. A Jawa sandcrawler was parked on set, near the Tunisian-Libyan border, drawing some concern.

The Libyan government was worried that the sandcrawler was, rather than being a film prop, some sort of massive military vehicle. Fearful that Tunisia was preparing for an attack, the Libyan government threatened Tunisia with military mobilization. The problem was solved by asking George Lucas to move the Jawa sandcrawler further from the border.