10 More Star Wars Facts You Probably Knew Deep Down

5. The X-Wing Was Inspired By A Dart

The Empire Strikes Back Yoda R2-D2 Luke Skywalker
Lucasfilm

The second you see it, you will unfortunately never be able to unsee it, folks.

It's been staring you in the face for decades, and there's even a chance you've subconsciously realised there was a connection between the Rebel Alliance's fighters and a dart whenever you were launching one at a board in your local.

And that's precisely how the designer of the legendary X-Wing, Colin Cantwell, was given the inspiration to create the unmistakable space birds many moons ago, as he would reveal in a Reddit AMA a few years ago.

Feeling it needed to look alien but still fit in with the rest of the space opera unfolding on-screen, the visual of a dart being thrown at a board within a pub back before the first Star Wars had flown into theatres gave him the OG idea, and Cantwell quickly set about forging the eternally cool spacecraft from there.

You now have permission to shout "Red Leader standing by!" before unleashing your darts during your next game at the bar.

In this post: 
Star Wars
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...