On March 23, 1983, during the Cold War, President Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The program aimed to create an anti-ballistics missile system that would deter missile attacks launched against the United States, but some of the proposals were a little out there—you know, space lasers, kinetic energy weapons, and the like. These super sci-fi ideas resulted in the program being nicknamed "Star Wars" in the media. (Source)

The scene where Luke and Leia swing across the bridge may have been performed on a sound stage, but it wasn't free of peril. The gap was built thirty feet in the air, and Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher performed the stunt with the help of a harness. The shot was done in a single take to capture the actors' genuine anxiety and excitement. (Source)

Before the film's release, George Lucas invited some friends to his private screening room to show them a rough cut of the film. It was seriously rough, too, with historic WWII battle footage in place of the unfinished special effects. (Source)

Luke Skywalker went through several changes while Lucas drafted Star Wars. At different points of the writing process, Luke was a girl, a 65-year-old military general, and had the last name of Starkiller. Hardly an appropriate name for a peace-loving Jedi, is it? (Source)

Star Wars' iconic Death Star attack drew inspiration from footage of WWII dogfights. However, as the authors of Fantastic Voyages point out, the only reason WWII fighter planes can maneuver as they do is because of air friction and Bernoulli's Principle. The vacuum of outer space does not allow for either of these, meaning the X-Wings could never have banked the way they do in the film. (Source)