Landspeeders are fictional anti-gravity craft used through the Star Wars movies and Star Wars expanded universe. They are depicted both in civilian and military capacities, and several versions have been merchandised as toys and models.
Landspeeders are fictional anti-gravity craft used through the Star Wars movies and Star Wars expanded universe. They are depicted both in civilian and military capacities, and several versions have been merchandised as toys and models.
Landspeeders first appear in Star Wars . Two of them—Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) X-34 and a V-35—were designed by noted special effects artist John Stears and were fitted around cars. Skywalker's landspeeder was designed and built by Ogle Design around the chassis of a Bond Bug three-wheeler car. [1] [2] [3] One of the major challenges the production crew faced was disguising the wheels to create the illusion that the craft was hovering. [4] [5] For certain shots, they shot from camera angles that masked the wheels; for long-distance shots, they used reflective material, gelatin on the camera lens, and shadow effects. A small blur could be seen under the speeder, which George Lucas called "The Force Spot" (stated in Special Edition Tape). [4] Production designer Roger Christian used an angled mirror and a broom attached to the vehicle's underside to create, at certain angles, the illusion that the craft was hovering and kicking up dust. [3] Star Wars creator George Lucas used digital technology to enhance the landspeeder effects in the Special Edition of A New Hope. [4]
Industrial Light and Magic's (ILM) Doug Chiang designed the Naboo Flash speeder with a "race car look" while the Gian speeder's appearance is ILM's response to Lucas' request that the Naboo troops have "a pick-up truck with guns." [6] [7]
The landspeeder was put on display in the exhibit Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination that moved between various museums in 2008. [8]
Within the Star Wars universe, speeder is a generic term for any "repulsorcraft" or vehicle which uses anti-gravity repulsorlift technology to hover and fly above a planet's surface. [9] Landspeeders more specifically use repulsor technology to hover just above the ground, while they cannot achieve any great height they are cheap and fast. Many different types of landspeeders exist in the Star Wars universe to fulfill a variety of roles, including for personal transport. [10]
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Luke Skywalker's X-34 landspeeder was one of fifty fictional vehicles selected for display at the Petersen Automotive Museum's Hollywood Dream Machines exhibition which focused on the most significant or important vehicles to feature in the science fiction and fantasy genre. [17] The X-34 was chosen not just for its role in the plot but also it's thematic contribution to the film. [18]
Many Star Wars fans have been inspired to build "working" full-scale replicas of Luke's X-34 landspeeder. Daniel Deutsch built a drivable replica in 2007 using parts from an electric golf cart and fiberglass molding. The replica achieved fame when it was highlighted by former 'N Sync member Joey Fatone and rapper Kanye West. [19] Celebrity YouTube inventor Colin Furze created another replica in 2019 in celebration of the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker . The only known full-scale metal model of the X-34, it was sold on eBay for £50,000, with all proceeds going to BBC’s ‘Children In Need’. [20] [21] [22]
Landspeeders have served as a source of inspiration for Star Wars fans across artistic communities. Digital artist Brad Builds created a landspeeder version of the Pontiac GTO themed around Darth Vader. [23] French photographer Renaud Marion reimagined 9 classic cars as landspeeders as part of a project called Air Cars. Reimagined models included the Porsche 356 and Aston Martin DB5. [24]
Although they operate on different principles, flying cars are often compared to Star Wars landspeeders in popular media. [25] The SkyDrive SD-03 flying car specifically was inspired in part by Luke Skywalker's landspeeder. [26]
Landspeeders have featured heavily in Star Wars merchandising since their inception. Examples includes Lego models, [27] [28] a drivable Radio Flyer toy, [29] and a cat bed. [30]
Star Destroyers are capital ships in the fictional Star Wars universe. Star Destroyers were produced by Kuat Drive Yards, later Kuat-Entralla Engineering, and serve as "the signature vessel of the fleet" for the Galactic Republic, Galactic Empire, the First Order, and the Sith Eternal in numerous published works including film, television, novels, comics, and video games.
TIE fighters are fictional starfighters existing in the Star Wars universe. Propelled by Twin Ion Engines, TIE fighters are fast, agile, yet fragile starfighters produced by Sienar Fleet Systems for the Galactic Empire and by Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems for the First Order and the Sith Eternal. TIE fighters and other TIE craft appear in Star Wars films, television shows, and throughout the Star Wars expanded universe. Several TIE fighter replicas and toys, as well as a TIE flight simulator, have been produced and sold by many companies.
The X-wing starfighter is a name applied to a family of fictional spacecraft manufactured by the Incom Corporation from the Star Wars franchise. Named for the distinctive shape made when its s-foils (wings) are in attack position, the X-wing was a class of starfighter used by the Rebel Alliance in their conflict with the Galactic Empire. It made its theatrical debut, as the T-65B model, in Star Wars (1977) as the spacecraft piloted by Luke Skywalker and the Red Squadron when Luke destroyed the Death Star. The starfighter featured extensively in the Star Wars original trilogy and in the Expanded Universe that followed, and has been merchandised as a variety of toys and models.
Kuat RZ-1 A-wing Interceptor are starfighters in the Star Wars franchise. Designed and manufactured by the Kuat Systems Engineering, they are depicted as fast but fragile interceptors of the Rebel Alliance, conceived for high-speed surgical strikes, deep reconnaissance and escort fighter duty.
Rogue Squadron is a starfighter squadron in the Star Wars franchise. Many surviving members of Red Squadron, the Rebel X-wing attack force that Luke Skywalker joins during the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars (1977), later join Rogue Squadron. The squadron appears in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as Rogue Group.
The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the Star Wars franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes lightsaber skills. Luke Skywalker, his twin sister Princess Leia Organa, and their father Darth Vader are central characters in the original Star Wars film trilogy. Darth Vader, in his previous identity as Anakin Skywalker, is a lead character in the prequel film trilogy and so is his wife and the twins' mother Padmé Amidala; while his mother Shmi is a minor character in the first and second films respectively. Leia and Han Solo's son, Ben Solo, renamed himself Kylo Ren and is the central antagonist in the sequel film trilogy. Shmi, Han, and Padmé are the only members who are not Force-sensitive.
Speeder bikes and swoop bikes are small, fast transports that use repulsorlift engines in the fictional Star Wars universe. Return of the Jedi includes a prominent speeder bike chase; speeders and swoops also appear in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, the animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and the Star Wars expanded universe's books, comics, and games.
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a 1996 multimedia project created by Lucasfilm. The idea was to create a story set between the films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release without actually making a film. The venture was intended to reinvigorate interest in the franchise ahead of the theatrical Special Editions of the Star Wars trilogy released the following year.
Yavin is a fictional planet in the Star Wars galaxy. It first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars and is depicted as a large red gas giant with an extensive satellite system of moons. The hidden military base of the Rebel Alliance is located on its fourth moon, Yavin 4.
Star Wars is an action game based on the 1977 film of the same name. It was released by Victor Musical Industries for the Family Computer in Japan on November 15, 1991 and by JVC Musical Industries for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in November 1991 and in Europe on March 26, 1992. An official mail order "Hint Book" was available for the game upon its release.
The Tantive IV Alderaan Diplomatic Envoy is a fictional spaceship in the Star Wars film series. Designed by the Corellian Engineering Corporation (CEC), the highly modified CR90 corvette is designed to be utilitarian, durable, modular, with its simplistic interiors featuring subtle luxury for Alderaan officials. It was used by Leia Organa in the original Star Wars film and was the first vessel audiences saw when Star Wars premiered in 1977. Other CR90 Corellian corvettes, which share the Tantive IV's design, appear in Return of the Jedi and in the Star Wars expanded universe's books, comics, TV series, and games.
A hover car is a personal vehicle that flies at a constant altitude of up to few meters above the ground and used for personal transportation in the same way a modern automobile is employed. The concept usually appears in science fiction.
Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker is the novelization of the 1977 film Star Wars, ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, but credited to George Lucas. It was first published on November 12, 1976, by Ballantine Books, several months before the release of the film. In later years, it was republished under the title Star Wars: A New Hope to reflect the retroactive addition of a subtitle to the film in 1981.
All Terrain Walkers are armoured fighting vehicles from the Star Wars universe that traverse the landscape on mechanical legs. They are used by the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire, and the First Order for ground assault, reconnaissance or transport. Throughout the saga walkers have played a pivotal role in the fate of characters and the outcome of battles. Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) is responsible for their animation and design, often using models, stop-motion animation, and relevant matte paintings to depict their presence in the films.
Darth Sidious, also known by his public persona name Sheev Palpatine, is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Initially credited as the Emperor in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, Sidious was officially introduced in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi. He serves as the main antagonist of the nine-film Skywalker saga, in which he is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid.
Padmé Amidala Naberrie is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, appearing in the prequel trilogy portrayed by Natalie Portman. First indirectly mentioned in Return of the Jedi, she is introduced in The Phantom Menace as the teenage Queen of Naboo, and after her reign, becomes a senator and an anti-war spokesperson in the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker then later dies while giving birth to twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé plays a part in and serves as the catalyst in driving him to the dark side of the Force and becoming Darth Vader.
The Millennium Falcon is a fictional starship in the Star Wars franchise. Designed by Joe Johnston for the movie Star Wars (1977), it has subsequently appeared in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Additionally, the Falcon appears in a variety of Star Wars spin-off works, including books, comics, and games; James Luceno's novel Millennium Falcon focuses on the titular ship. It also appears in the 2014 animated film The Lego Movie in Lego form.
