3 Fun Millennium Falcon Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About

If you are a member of the massive community of die-hard Star Wars fans, then you know exactly what the Millennium Falcon is. If you don’t know what she is (yes, Star Wars characters and fans alike refer to the spacecraft as a female), then all you have to do is look up images of her on the web — we’re pretty sure that you have already laid eyes on her somewhere and somehow at least once in your lifetime.

This article talks about not the Millennium Falcon per se, but 3 really fun and interesting things about her. Keep on reading whether you are a Star Wars fan or not as it’s going to be a thrilling ride!

She was Designed After a Very Common Unhealthy Food

Each time that you come across the Millennium Falcon, does it seem like your mouth is suddenly filled with saliva and your stomach is rumbling uncontrollably? Maybe it’s because the spacecraft, without you knowing it, is reminding you of a fast food joint staple: a hamburger.

Well, it doesn’t really come as a surprise since it is said that the design of the iconic starship was inspired by a partially eaten burger of George Lucas himself that he placed down on the table where an olive on a toothpick was! It sounds insane but this is the story of how the Millennium Falcon got its design. If you don’t believe it, just simply searchMillennium Falcon images on Google to know what we mean.

Actually, the Millennium Falcon had an earlier boxy design. However, a lot of people commented that it kind of looked like the spacecraft from another sci-fi TV show from Britain called Space 1999. This is why the Millennium Falcon’s design underwent an overhaul, and rumor has it that it only took one day for it to have a new look.

We can all recognize a hamburger the moment that we spot one, and this is probably why we can all recognize the Millennium Falcon as soon as it makes its presence known on the big screen. Indeed, in the galaxy, she’s the fastest hunk of junk, just like the inspiration for her design!

Many Different People Owned Her Through Her Life

Initially, the Millennium Falcon was owned by Lando Calrissian. He made his debut in The Empire Strikes Back which was released in 1980, and he was introduced as an old buddy of Han Solo. Eventually, the rounded spacecraft became the possession of Han himself, winning it as a bet in a game of Sabacc.

Then her ownership went to Chewbacca, or Chewie to his closest friends. In the entire history of the Millennium Falcon, it was Chewbacca who owned the ship for the most years.

Eventually, the Millennium Falcon went into the hands of a bunch of thieves — she was first stolen by a crook named Gannis Ducain, and then she was snatched from him by the Irving Boys, which consisted of brothers Toursant Irving and Vanver Irving. Later on, she was taken from them by the cold-blooded junk boss of Jakku, Unkar Plutt.

But the seemingly never-ending journey of the Millennium Falcon from one owner to the next didn’t end there. The time came when Rey, a mechanic and a pilot who once thought of the spacecraft as garbage, stole her from Unkar Plutt, who eventually returned her to Han.

However, at the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was released in 2015, Han gave the Millennium Falcon back to Rey as a gift, with a bonus co-pilot in the form of Chewbacca.

Her Extraordinary Sound is From an Ordinary Source

There is only one thing that’s just as iconic as the looks of the Millennium Falcon, and it’s none other than the sound that she makes each time she springs into action. If you pay close attention to it, you might think that the FX guys behind it designed some sophisticated audio software just to be able to come up with her sound.

Believe it or not, the sound she makes is just the noise that the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 creates. Not familiar with it? The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is a 1965 small commercial plane that could accommodate 80 to 135 passengers only.

So what made the sound produced by the said airplane worthy of being the signature sound given off by the Falcon Millennium? Well, in terms of sonics, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 made a sound as any airplane would, but what it had that others didn’t was a twin-engine.

In order for the futuristic sound of the Millennium Falcon to be achieved, the noise that each of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9’s engines made was played a little out of sync — just pay YouTube a visit and check out video clips of the Millenium Falcon while taking off or during the flight to have an idea of what we’re talking about.

And by the way, the unmistakable sound of the Millennium Falcon is just one of the few sounds that could be heard in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ teaser. That’s because all the other sounds could be easily recognized by fans, thus it would spoil surprises if they made it to the teaser.

Just Before You Go

Did you enjoy reading the 3 fun facts about the Millennium Falcon? If so, please share this article on your various social media sites before you go so that your family members and friends, whether die-hard Star Wars fans or have never seen any Star Wars movie or TV series episode, may get to check them out as well!

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