(Credit: Lucasfilm)
One of the key secrets to success for movie franchises likeThe Lord of the RingsandHarry Potter is to boast a wide range of characters and offer fans the chance to champion their favourite in the roster. Star Wars triumphs in this regard. No franchise has ever delivered the same great breadth of personalities as George Lucas’ space opera. It is undoubtedly the most expansive and robust universe ever to grace the screen. From the feature films to the spin-offs, in their different guises, Lucas delivered a remarkable quantity of memorable characters.
Even mentioning the staples of the original trilogy, such as Luke Skywalker, Leia, Han Solo, Darth Vader or Chewbacca, and some of those that made the prequels tick, like Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon Jinn or Anakin, does not begin to scratch the surface. The list of our beloved space friends and foes feels almost endless.
Of course, the heroes of the Star Wars universe are what stand out most clearly in the collective memory. Still, for every hero, there’s a villain just as brilliantly nefarious. The Emperor and Darth Vader rank among the greatest on-screen villains of all time, with Count Dooku, Darth Maul and Jabba the Hutt also wicked Shakespearean-styled baddies.
Although it has largely been undone now, one of the most notable aspects of the evil side of the Star Wars universe – particularly in the original trilogy – was that all members of the fascistic Empire spoke in a posh English accent. From The Emperor to Grand Moff Tarkin, with the notable exception of the booming voice of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader, all of the head honchos of the Empire spoke in this unnerving way. Following suit, the leaders of the extremist First Order in Disney’s trilogy also talk in this form.
But why is this? Director Irvine Kershner deliberately cast British actors as the high-rank imperials for The Empire Strikes Back to mirror the composition of the American revolution, with the rebels mostly Americans. In short, the Galactic Empire was a riff on expansionist Imperial Britain, with the likes of Grand Moff Tarkin literally being endowed with the voice of the British Empire.
Adding to this is that accents are still a vital part of the make-up of British society. This posh pronunciation is key to distinguishing where someone stands in the class system. Even today, received pronunciation is the sound of power in all areas of British culture and is widely heard in politics and the media. Elsewhere, it’s almost a given that bosses of big businesses and banks communicate in received pronunciation.
Interestingly, Stars Wars Wookieepedia has renamed received pronunciation as ‘Coruscanti’. It is defined as “what some would consider a superior accent”, frequently used in “propaganda broadcasts, rebel satire, and [by] the Imperial elite.”
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