10 Origins Of Star Wars Props You Won't Believe
8. IG-88 Began Life As Part Of The Distillery At The Mos Eisley Cantina
Star Wars was a massive success, so when it came time to make the sequel, there was a lot more money available to be spent. That didn't stop the prop and set designers from scrapping old items to create something new. After all, why spend money on something new when you can reuse something on-hand?
There's a particularly noteworthy scene in Empire that introduces the world to the galaxy's most notorious bounty hunters. These include Boba Fett, Bossk, 4-LOM, Dengar, Zukuss, and of course, IG-88. The deadly droid is a fan-favorite, thanks to his sleek and frightening visage, which is somewhat familiar.
That's because it started as a drink dispenser at the Mos Eisley Cantina. Well, before that, it was part of a Rolls-Royce jet engine, but in Star Wars canon, it was a drink dispenser! There weren't a ton of modifications made to it either, save for the red eyes and facial protrusions.
The design worked, and it stuck around as the franchise evolved. When IG-11 showed up in The Mandalorian, his head was designed in much the same way. There are a few modifications, but at its core, IG-11's head came straight out of a Rolls-Royce Derwent MK9 engine.