One of the vital putting modifications is that Luke Skywalker, ultimately depicted as a younger man eager for an escape from his boring desert residence, was initially a a lot older character. Luke Skywalker was to be an older navy man, presumably referred to as again into motion by the brand new riot. The journey might need been the identical, however instructing an older character about how the warfare has developed is kind of a special idea than a younger man studying concerning the vastness of the galaxy for the primary time. For a lot of drafts, Luke’s title was some variant of “Annakin Starkiller,” and a few early drafts even noticed the character as a lady.
The Darkish Facet of the Pressure additionally as soon as had a extra colourful title. It was initially referred to as the Bogan, which, to this creator’s ear, is way extra evocative than merely calling it “the Darkish Facet.” The Gentle Facet of the Pressure, in the meantime, appears to have all the time remained the identical.
Han Solo, the dandyish and none-too-trustworthy smuggler, was ultimately a really human-looking character performed by Harrison Ford. In Lucas’ unique model, Han Solo was meant to be an area alien that seemed very very similar to a frog. Whereas one would possibly be capable to image such a factor utilizing trendy CGI or movement seize, or maybe in cel-animated type a la “Heavy Metallic,” making a frog alien in live-action in 1977 would have required know-how that wasn’t fairly but out there. Han Solo’s sidekick, Chewbacca, was all the time going to be tall, however wasn’t all the time sasquatch-adjacent. Some early idea artwork by Christopher McQuarrie noticed the character as hairless and carrying a tunic, however Lucas ultimately discovered the sudden inspiration behind Chewbacca, particularly his personal canine.