The sandcrawler is a fictional transport vehicle in the Star Wars universe that is found on the desert planet Tatooine. The vehicle, as it appears in its major appearances in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , is 37 meters long and 18 meters tall. Only a 27-meter length of its lower hull was constructed as a set for the film. Other appearances were simulated with matte paintings and a remote-controlled model.
The design of the sandcrawler was first inspired by photographs of a NASA-designed rover created to explore alien planets. [1] It was conceived as large, old, very rusty, and having treads. [1] The front of the vehicle was envisioned to have a mouth-like scoop that lowered with hydraulics to pick up things, like a garbage truck. [1] While its original design was streamlined, it was modified to be taller and more awkward-looking. [1] The final design was created on April 5, 1975. [1]
The prefabricated movie set of the sandcrawler was shipped from England and took special effects expert John Stears and his crew four days to move it thirty miles into the Tunisian desert. [2] It was two stories tall and ninety feet long when it was fully assembled, [2] with the caterpillar tracks being almost twice as tall as a person, and covered in sand and mud to give them a "used" look. [3] The night before the scene with the Jawas was to be shot, a sandstorm blew apart the set, and it took a day to put it back together and an additional day to shoot the scene. [2] Afterwards, it was transformed into a burned-out hulk, taking another day. [2]
The construction of the sandcrawler piqued the interest of the Libyan government, who sent inspectors across the border to make sure it was not an actual military vehicle of some kind. [4]
Most sandcrawlers are homes to Jawas. They were originally constructed in Corellia for the purpose of serving as ore haulers during mining operations, and many were brought to Tatooine when it was first settled as a mining colony. When the mining industry collapsed they were abandoned and the native Jawa took them over. The number of sandcrawlers is unknown on Tatooine because most Jawa clans only meet during the annual "swap meets" when Jawa clans meet to trade with each other. Jawa clans usually worship the Sandcrawler they have inhabited for generations. The Sandcrawler is powered by eight massive turbines to power the treads which pull it over the dunes of the desert. Since repairs are not done thoroughly, sandcrawlers are liable to fail at any time. Within the Sandcrawler are a maze of tunnels, living quarters and rooms which keep spare parts, machinery and captured droids. The front of the Sandcrawler opens to form a large ramp though there are also hatches between the giant treads that provide access to and from the crawler. They are powerful enough to withstand Tusken Raiders but are no match for Imperial Stormtroopers.
The Sandcrawler first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , where R2-D2 and C-3PO were transported across the desert terrain of Tatooine. They make a cameo appearance in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace in the establishing shot for the podrace, and also appeared in the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones when Anakin Skywalker asks a Jawa leader for directions to a Tusken Raider camp. One also appeared in the post credits of a documentary on The Phantom Menace DVD. It was shown during the podrace, moving faster than and overtaking Sebulba's podracer. A Sandcrawler and Jawas are also seen in the final sequence of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when Rey arrives on Tatooine. [5] Sandcrawlers, or early predecessors, have made appearances in many Star Wars video games, such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (used by the Czerka Corporation), and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy . A digital pinball table based on Star Wars droids has a cabinet that moves and is shaped like a sandcrawler. [6]
The vehicle appears in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, in a scene where the titular character pursues a sandcrawler carrying the scavenged parts from his ship.
A 17-inch, radio-controlled toy Sandcrawler was released in 1979 as part of the original Kenner Star Wars toy line; a recolored version with a more "authentic" painted surface was issued in 2004. In 2005, Lego came out with a detailed model.
Lucasfilm's Singapore base is shaped and named after the Sandcrawler. [7] [8]
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, and Frank Oz. It is the fourth film in the Star Wars film series, the first film of the prequel trilogy and the first chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set 32 years before the original trilogy,, during the era of the Galactic Republic, the plot follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they try to protect Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo in hopes of securing a peaceful end to an interplanetary trade dispute. Joined by Anakin Skywalker—a young slave with unusually strong natural powers of the Force—they simultaneously contend with the mysterious return of the Sith. The film was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
The Star Wars space opera universe, created by George Lucas, features some dialogue spoken in fictional languages. The lingua franca of the franchise is known in-universe as "Galactic Basic", used to refer to the language of the film or work itself, be it English or a language that the work was dubbed or translated into.
R2-D2 or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical Star Wars films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, an astromech droid, is a friend to C-3PO, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. R2-D2 and his companion C-3PO are the only characters to appear in every theatrical Star Wars film, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).
Tatooine is a fictional desert planet that appears in the Star Wars franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first seen in the original 1977 film Star Wars, and has to date featured in a total of six Star Wars theatrical films, three live-action television series, and two animated series.
Watto is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, featured in the films The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. He is computer-generated and is voiced by voice actor Andy Secombe. He is a mean-tempered, greedy Toydarian, and owner of a second-hand goods store in Mos Espa on the planet Tatooine. Among Watto's belongings are the slaves Shmi Skywalker and her son; Anakin. He acquires them after winning a podracing bet with Gardulla the Hutt, and he puts them both to work in his store. Anakin demonstrates an incredible aptitude for equipment repair, and Watto decides to profit from it by having the boy fix various broken equipment in the store. He eventually loses Anakin in a podracing bet with Qui-Gon Jinn when he bets on a competitor, Sebulba, who is defeated by Anakin.
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 main antagonist in the sequel film trilogy, while they and Luke serve as supporting characters. Shmi, Padmé, and Han are the only members who are not Force-sensitive. The Skywalker bloodline, alongside the Palpatine bloodline, are the two bloodlines that are the strongest with the Force.
Tusken Raiders are a fictional alien race in the Star Wars franchise. They first appeared in Star Wars (1977).
Banthas are fictional creatures in the Star Wars franchise. They are large, quadrupedal mammals with long, thick fur, and are first seen in the film Star Wars (1977), where they are used as beasts of burden by Tusken Raiders on the planet Tatooine. They have since been featured in several other Star Wars works, including the Special Edition version of Return of the Jedi (1983), the prequel films The Phantom Menace (1999) and Attack of the Clones (2002), and the television shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett, as well as video games and books.
The Max Rebo Band is a fictional alien pop music band in the Star Wars franchise, first appearing in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi as in-house performers for crime lord Jabba the Hutt. The lineup originally seen in the film consists of the blue-skinned Ortolan organist Max Rebo, a plump Kitonak woodwind player named Droopy McCool, and the Pa'lowick lead singer Sy Snootles, while additional members were inserted into the later-edited Special Edition of the film. A great deal of further information about the band and the personal histories of its members is found in various literature of the now-noncanonical Star Wars Expanded Universe.
The Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization was written by Terry Brooks and published on April 21, 1999, by Del Rey. It is based on the script of the film of the same name and released with multiple covers, including Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Queen Amidala.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 action-adventure video game released by LucasArts and based on the film of the same title. The game is set in several different settings seen within the film. The game is set during the timeline of the film, with players taking on the role of Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and several other characters from the film. Each playable character has a unique weapon and ability. The game features open environments to explore at the player's leisure, and dozens of non-player characters with unique dialog.
Lego Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 is a 2009 comedy short film directed by director Peder Pedersen and produced by M2Film for Lego and Cartoon Network in collaboration with Lucasfilm.
Star Wars: In Concert, previously referred to as Star Wars: A Musical Journey, is a series of concerts featuring a symphony orchestra and choir, along with footage from the Star Wars saga films displayed on a large LED screen at three stories tall. The screen is set to live performances of the Star Wars score composed by John Williams. The first performance took place in The O2 Arena in London, England and was attended by approximately 20,000 fans. The first North American tour started in Anaheim, California on October 1, 2009, and the second and most recent North American tour ended in London, Ontario on April 14, 2015. The concert series was scheduled to return sometime in 2016, but has since been delayed.
Ryder Windham is an American science fiction author who has written more than 60 Star Wars books, including novels, comics, and reference books. He has also written junior novelizations for Indiana Jones films. Since 1993, he has been working on Star Wars projects either by himself or with other authors. His reference book Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide spent three weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list in 2005.
"Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land" is the premiere episode of the American streaming television series The Book of Boba Fett. It follows Boba Fett and Fennec Shand attempting to gain control of Jabba the Hutt's criminal empire after his death in Return of the Jedi (1983). The episode is set in the Star Wars universe, sharing continuity with The Mandalorian and other spin-offs such as Ahsoka. It was written by the series' showrunner Jon Favreau and directed by Robert Rodriguez.
