Before Luke Skywalker (Fictogram guest #844) became a household name, the film that introduced him nearly collapsed under its own ambition. George Lucas's 1977 space opera Star Wars was beset by problems from the very start, and almost nobody involved believed it would work.

Filming in Tunisia for the desert planet Tatooine was a disaster. The region experienced its first major rainstorm in years, flooding sets and delaying the schedule. Extreme heat battered the crew, and the mechanical R2-D2 units broke down constantly, requiring endless repairs. Anthony Daniels, trapped inside the C-3PO suit, could barely see or move, and the costume cracked on the first day of shooting. Back at Elstree Studios in England, things weren't much better. The British crew found the project bizarre and treated it with open skepticism. Lucas, a quiet and introverted director, struggled to communicate his vision and clashed with the more traditionally minded crew members.

The special effects were another headache entirely. Industrial Light & Magic, the company Lucas founded specifically for the film, burned through nearly half its budget in the first year with very little usable footage to show for it. Fox executives grew increasingly nervous. An early rough cut screened for friends was met with near-universal disappointment, with only Steven Spielberg predicting it would be a hit. Lucas, exhausted and convinced he had a flop on his hands, left the country rather than attend the premiere. The rest, of course, is history.

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