 Princess Leia (played by Carrie Fisher) in her iconic "metal bikini" slave outfit from Return of the Jedi | |
| Designer | Aggie Guerard Rodgers [1] and Rodis-Jamero [2] |
|---|---|
| Year | 1983 |
| Type | Bikini/film costume |
| Material | Copper plate and wire, leather and silk |
Princess Leia's bikini (also known as Princess Leia's metal bikini) is an iconic costume worn by actress Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in the 1983 Star Wars film Return of the Jedi .
Costume designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers built the costume as part of the Industrial Light & Magic visual effects company, [1] along with Nilo Rodis-Jamero. [3] Rodgers said that Lucas gave her only general instructions about the scene in Jabba's palace, but wanted a special costume. She originally "wanted 25 yards of fabric to be flowing through the scene", but could not make it work. [1]
The outfit was first developed in sketches by Rodis-Jamero, assistant art director of visual effects for The Empire Strikes Back and the Return of the Jedi costume designer. [2] Rodgers said in 2006 that the costume's design was inspired by the work of science fiction artist Frank Frazetta, saying "He really loved [the female] form. The fact that [Leia's costume is] such a female sensual costume, I think is terrific." [1] Author Rikke Schubart wrote in 2007 that the final design was inspired by Fantastic Story Magazine 's cover illustrator Earle K. Bergey drawings of women in metal bikinis that served as putative armors. [4] The costume is a type that can be traced to earlier films, such as Myrna Loy’s turn as the native dancing girl in The Desert Song from 1929, Yvonne De Carlo in Slave Girl , 1947, and Maria Montez adventure films from the 1940s. [3] The bikini was also worn by stuntwoman Tracy Eddon for the film. [5] In the 1997 PlayStation game Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi , Leia wears the outfit as "Slave Leia", an unlockable playable character.
Rodgers and the staff created multiple versions of the metal bikini string to accommodate different scenes in the film, including a hard metal piece (original bronze bra by sculptor Richard Miller who is credited as "head jeweler" in the film credits) for scenes in which Fisher remained still, and a rubber outfit she and stuntwoman Tracy Eddon could wear comfortably while performing stunts. [1] The costume designers made a mold of Carrie Fisher's torso so it could be designed to a custom fit. [1] Fisher said of the material, "It was like steel, not steel, but hard plastic, and if you stood behind me you could see straight to Florida. You'll have to ask Boba Fett about that." [6] She also said the bikini is "what supermodels will eventually wear in the seventh ring of hell." [7]
Featured only in two scenes, the "Slave Leia" costume has nonetheless made Carrie Fisher an iconic sex symbol. [9] [10] The outfit has been elevated to pop culture icon status, spawning various spoofs and parodies and even a dedicated fansite. [11] Wired wrote that the only reason for the costume's fame is "no doubt that the sight of Carrie Fisher in the gold sci-fi swimsuit was burned into the sweaty subconscious of a generation of fanboys hitting puberty in the spring of 1983." [1] Noah Berlatsky argued in The Guardian for a deeper significance to the costume beyond its function as a sex symbol, stating that the outfit represents an important stage in Princess Leia's complicated relationship with Han Solo. [12] Peter W. Lee argues that the bikini connotes Leia's hopelessness and helplessness, but even in that demeaning costume she retains her dignity and remains an icon of feminism. [13]
The costume is a popular cosplay at Star Wars Celebrations and comic conventions, [9] [10] and has become a popular Halloween costume. [14] [15] [16] [17] Various celebrities have also been shown wearing the costume. Melissa Joan Hart, the star of the shows Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch , was photographed wearing the outfit during a costume party. [18] Kerri Kasem, a radio and television host, has been photographed wearing the costume. [19] Actress/model Phoebe Price wore it at the San Diego Comic-Con International in 2010. [20] Liana K, the Canadian co-host of Ed & Red's Night Party and a well-known cosplayer, appeared at 2008 Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo dressed in Princess Leia's slave girl outfit. [21] [22] Comedian Amy Schumer wore a replica of Leia's slave outfit for the August 2015 cover of GQ . [23]
With Disney's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm, merchandise featuring the costume ceased to be made, apparently in response to a Fox News segment in which parents described difficulties explaining toys featuring the costume (including a chain around Leia's neck) to their children. Fisher called Disney's decision "stupid," saying, "Tell [the kids] that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn't like it." [24]
In 2015, Fisher said "I am not a sex symbol, so that's an opinion of someone. I don’t share that", and told Daisy Ridley to "fight for your outfit. Don't be a slave like I was". [25] [26]
| Year | Work | Episode/Scene | Character/Actor | Note | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Rolling Stone | Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) | Fisher wears the costume in a photo shoot, which appears on the magazine's cover. | [27] | |
| 1983 | Star Wars comic | "Chanteuse of the Stars..." | Princess Leia | Leia dresses up in a similar costume (while wearing a blonde wig) and sings to appease a crowd; set before the events of Return of the Jedi. | [28] |
| 1996 | Friends | "The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy" | Rachel Green (played by Jennifer Aniston) | Rachel dresses up in the costume to arouse her boyfriend Ross Geller (David Schwimmer). | [1] [29] |
| 2000 | Family Guy | "He's Too Sexy for His Fat" | Slave | Worn by a slave of Jabba the Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) | |
| 2011 | "It's a Trap!" | Lois Griffin as Princess Leia (voiced by Alex Borstein) | Worn by Lois Griffin | ||
| 2003 | Justice League | "Hearts and Minds" | Katma Tui | Worn by Green Lantern, Katma Tui, while she is undercover | |
| 2007 | Robot Chicken | "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" | Princess Leia (voiced by Candace Bailey) | Star Wars-themed special of the show Robot Chicken aired on Cartoon Network | |
| 2007 | Dancing with the Stars | Fourth season | Kym Johnson | Dancing with singer Joey Fatone to the tune of the "Star Wars main theme" | [29] |
| 2007 | Chuck | "Chuck Versus the Sandworm" | Agent Sarah Walker (played by Yvonne Strahovski) | A fake photo of Sarah in the costume is central to the storyline, and she later wears it for real. Strahovski's appearance wearing the slave bikini costume prompted Wizard magazine to rank her No. 24 of the 25 sexiest women on TV in 2008. [30] IGN gave Strahovski the top honor in a similar list. [31] | [29] |
| 2009 | Fanboys | Zoe (played by Kristen Bell) | Comedy film about a group of friends who decide to break into Skywalker Ranch to steal an early print of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | [29] | |
| 2011 | Paul | Various extras | Comedy film about an alien (voiced by Seth Rogen) who is on run from the authorities. The film makes many homages to various sci-fi films, including a scene portraying a large number of women dressed in Leia's bikini at Comic Con. | ||
| 2014 | Shantae and the Pirate's Curse | "Tan Line Island" Stage | Shantae (voiced by Cristina Vee) | In this video game, Shantae visits a desert area called Tan Line Island where she is mistaken by the locals for their princess and is forced to wear the outfit, which she refers to as a "space princess" outfit. She later finds her friends Risky, Rotty, and Sky have been forced into the same situation and they all work together to escape. Later in the game, Sky hopes to never speak of the debacle again, at which point Shantae happily puts the costume back on to Sky's dismay. | |
| 2016 | The Magicians | "Homecoming" | Stella Maeve | In a dream sequence, Stella Maeve's character is wearing a modified version of this. |
Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who was also the executive producer. The sequel to Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980), it is the third installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, the third film to be produced, and the sixth chronological film in the "Skywalker Saga". The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz.
Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main characters in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original Star Wars film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate and an agent of the Rebel Alliance. She thwarts the sinister Sith Lord Darth Vader and helps bring about the destruction of the Empire's cataclysmic superweapon, the Death Star. In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Leia commands a Rebel base and evades Vader as she falls in love with the smuggler Han Solo. In Return of the Jedi (1983), Leia helps in the operation to rescue Han from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt and is revealed to be Vader's daughter and the twin sister of Luke Skywalker.
C-3PO or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the Star Wars franchise who appears in every movie of the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, C-3PO was designed as a protocol droid intended to assist in etiquette, customs, and translation, boasting that he is "fluent in over six million forms of communication". Along with his astromech droid counterpart and friend R2-D2, C-3PO provides comic relief within the narrative structure of the films, and serves as a foil. Anthony Daniels has portrayed the character in eleven of the twelve theatrical Star Wars films released to date, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story, where the character does not appear.
Carrie Frances Fisher was an American actress and writer. Fisher played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017) — a posthumous release that was dedicated to her — and appeared in The Rise of Skywalker (2019), through the use of unreleased footage from The Force Awakens.
Bib Fortuna is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. The Twi'lek majordomo and chief aide of the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, Bib is Jabba's closest associate, succeeding him as daimyo after his death before ultimately being killed himself by Boba Fett. Fortuna first appeared in Return of the Jedi (1983), the final entry in the original Star Wars trilogy. He also appeared briefly in the prequel trilogy film The Phantom Menace (1999) and in the second season of Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2020) and The Bad Batch (2021). The character has also appeared in other Star Wars media, including novels, comic books, video games, and radio dramas.
The sarlacc is a fictional creature in George Lucas's sci-fi action saga Star Wars. It first appeared in the film Return of the Jedi (1983) as a multi-tentacled alien beast whose immense, gaping maw is lined with several rows of sharp teeth, inhabiting the Great Pit of Carkoon, a hollow in the sand of the desert planet Tatooine. After bounty hunter Boba Fett escapes from its maw in "Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land" of The Book of Boba Fett (2022) and eventually returns to retrieve his armour, the sarlacc is killed by his partner Fennec Shand in "Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm".
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy is a 2004 documentary film directed by Kevin Burns and narrated by Robert Clotworthy. It documents the making of the original Star Wars trilogy: Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983), and their impact on popular culture.
Nien Nunb is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, he was brought to life both as a puppet and a costumed actor during the film. Nunb was puppeteered by Mike Quinn and was portrayed by Richard Bonehill in wide shots. The character was voiced by Kipsang Rotich, a Kenyan student who spoke in his native Kalenjin, as well as in Kikuyu. Quinn and Rotich both returned for the role in the sequel trilogy, namely Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Star Wars Infinities is a graphic novel trilogy published by Dark Horse Comics from 2002 to 2004. It tells a non-canon alternate version of each film in the original Star Wars trilogy in which a point of divergence occurs and changes the outcome of the story. Each individual Infinities story is unrelated to the others and is set within the timeline of their original film.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is the film score to the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, composed and conducted by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London between January and February 1983. Again, John Williams served as producer. Herbert W. Spencer, Thomas Newman and Gordon Langford served as orchestrators. Engineer Eric Tomlinson, music editor Kenneth Wannberg, and record supervisor Lionel Newman again reprised their respective duties. The score earned another Academy Award nomination for Williams. Return of the Jedi, which is the original trilogy's shortest score, was only released on a single-LP instead of a double-set like the Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back soundtracks before it.
The modern bikini first appeared in 1946, and since then it has become a part of popular culture. It is one of the most widely worn women's swimsuits, used for swimming and in a variety of other contexts. Today, bikinis appear in competitions, films, magazines, music, literature, and video games. Despite the availability of more revealing glamour wear, bikini modeling remains popular and can still create controversy. Portrayals of the bikini in popular culture led, to a large extent, to its acceptance by Western society at large. In 1960, Brian Hyland's pop song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" inspired a bikini-buying spree. The white bikini worn by Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No has been cited as one of the most famous bikinis of all time. By 1963, the movie Beach Party, starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, led a wave of films that made the bikini a pop-culture symbol. Playboy first featured a bikini on its cover in 1962. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue debuted two years later. This increasing popularity was reinforced by its appearance in such contemporary films as How to Stuff a Wild Bikini featuring Annette Funicello and One Million Years B.C. (1966) featuring Raquel Welch. Raquel Welch's fur bikini in One Million Years B.C. became a famous moment in cinema history. Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Gina Lollobrigida and Jane Russell further helped the growing popularity of bikinis. Pin up posters of Monroe and Mansfield, as well as Hayworth, Bardot and Raquel Welch distributed around the world contributed significantly to the popularity of the bikini.
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character and major antagonist in the Star Wars franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a one-ton puppet portraying him in Return of the Jedi. He was originally supposed to first appear in Star Wars (1977) as a stop motion character with Declan Mulholland as his stand-in. Jabba was later added into the film as a CGI character when it was re-released in Special Edition in 1997. He also appears in the prequel movie The Phantom Menace. The character is a large slug-like creature based on annelid worms and originally designed as an apelike figure.
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in The Holiday Special (1978), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983). Ford returned to the role for The Force Awakens (2015), as well as a brief cameo in The Rise of Skywalker (2019). In the spin-off film Solo (2018), a younger version of the character is portrayed by Alden Ehrenreich, while in the animated series Forces of Destiny (2017–2018), the character is voiced by Kiff VandenHeuvel and A. J. Locascio.
Evidence of bikini-style women's clothing has been found as early as 5600 BC, and the history of the bikini can be traced back to that era. Illustrations of women wearing bikini-like garments during competitive athletic events in the Roman era have been found in several locations, the most famous of which is at Villa Romana del Casale.
Fan service, fanservice or service cut is material in a work of fiction or in a fictional series that is intentionally added to please the audience, often sexual in nature, such as nudity. The term originated in Japanese in the anime and manga fandom, but has been used in other languages and media. It is about "servicing" the fan—giving the fans "exactly what they want". Fan service can also refer to other stories that contain visual elements.
Padmé Amidala 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 activist in the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, then later dies while giving birth to twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé serves as the catalyst in driving him to the dark side of the Force and becoming Darth Vader.
"It's a Trap!" is a direct-to-video special of the animated series Family Guy which later served as the double-episode season finale of the ninth season and is the final part of the series' Star Wars parody trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It is named after the phrase uttered by Admiral Ackbar in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi. The home video was first released on December 21, 2010, and the episode later aired on Fox in the United States on May 22, 2011.
Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi is a television documentary, first broadcast on CBS in 1983. It is a look behind-the-scenes of the creation of the various alien creatures from the third Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi, which was released that year. The documentary was presented by Star Wars actors Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams, and directed by Robert Guenette who had directed the previous television specials The Making of Star Wars (1977) and SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a 2019 American epic space opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. Produced by Lucasfilm and Abrams' production company Bad Robot Productions, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017), and the final episode of the nine-part "Skywalker saga". Its ensemble cast includes Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams. Set one year after The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker follows Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron as they lead the Resistance's final stand against Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and the First Order, who are aided by the return of the Galactic Emperor, Palpatine.
Cobb Vanth, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the 2015–2017 Chuck Wendig novel trilogy Aftermath, he is a former slave who has used the Mandalorian armor of Boba Fett to bring order to Tatooine "Freetown" Mos Pelgo in the five years after the events of the 1983 film Return of the Jedi. Throughout the trilogy, Cobb faces off against the Red Key Raiders mining collective, the Tusken Raiders, and a krayt dragon, and while successful in defeating the former is unable to find the latter.
