I am Princess Leia!

Wondery+ Only
Inside Star Wars

Casting begins for Star Wars. Carrie Fisher wins a role, runs into the rain, and shouts to the heavens: “I am Princess Leia!” George Lucas doesn’t want Harrison Ford in the cast, but it just so happens Harrison's building a door all week and is in the right place at the right time. Mark Hamill awakens on Robert Englund’s couch just in time to find out about “the perfect role” for him - with dialogue that is absolutely befuddling. The men inside R2D2 and C3PO come to terms with the extraordinary discomfort of their costumes - and their dislike for each other. Alec Guinness hates science fiction “fairy-tale rubbish” and considers Lucas to be “a touch boring.” Meanwhile Lucas is plowing his own money into Star Wars and still has no green light from Fox. That’s when he faces a choice: Either make the movie for half of what he needs or Star Wars will be shut down.

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hosts & Guests

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada