Before the internet and Morning Spoilers, how did we how did we turn the crazy wheel of fan speculation? Easy: print magazines. A crop of amazing fanzines sprung up during the height of science fiction cinema. Inside these mags were pages and pages of totally demented rumors and speculation.
Awesome, insane "Darth Vader uses the force to seduce Leia" rumors. And in a world where internet rumor can be swiftly debunked by an online publicist or a star's Twitter account, it's fun to look back into the days where crap like this was believed to be fact for months.
Thanks to a hefty session at the library by Mike Ryan from the Huffington Post we've gleaned some of the strangest rumors from one of the biggest movies of all, Star Wars. And, to be fair, if you squint and tilt your head to the side, some of these rumors are fairly accurate.
According to Ryan, one 1980s Starlog devoted an entire chunk of their issue to debunking popular Star Wars rumors. Here are some of the doozies, enjoy:
Near the climax, Han Solo crosses lightsabers with Darth Vader. Although Han doesn't really know how to use the weapon, he's doing fairly well when suddenly the light beams are "fused" together and Han's and Vader's "life forces" are intermingled. Luke has a chance to come to the rescue — but if he kills Vader, might he not kill his friend too?
Luke and C-3PO are captured by a horrendous alien (stop-motion animated, the story goes) who dumps them into a tank-like prison filled with a breathable liquid. The only way the alien can be killed (shades of Dracula) is to drive a metal stake through his heart. The only metal around, unfortunately, is C-3PO; and Luke melts the 'driod down to fabricate the weapon.
Princess Leia is captured by Stormtroopers and delivered to Darth Vader who, by use of the force, seduces her into betraying Luke and Han.
It is said that Han Solo and Chewie land on a desert planet where they meet time travelers from Earth's 13th century who are trying to fight off Stormtroopers with catapults and crossbows.
Okay, these are the very best ones because they actually came from Craig Miller from Lucasfilm. So here are some "official" bat shit rumors straight from within the old-school Lucas compound:
The Millennium Falcon passes through a time warp, and Luke, Han and Chewbacca end up fighting in the Clone Wars, side by side with Luke's father and Obi Wan Kenobi.
I think my current favorite concerns princess Leia's father. Of royal heritage, he is the nephew of the Emperor, and, rather than leading the Rebellion, he is actually a double agent. Forewarned of the Death Star's attack on Alderaan, he escaped and now sits in the Emperor's court, advising him.
We're still super grossed out by the "Vader seducing Leia" rumor. Check out the massive article over at HuffPo which also has tons of angry letters from fans furious over the rumor of Han Solo's potential death, unhappy Trekkers and tons more awesome Star Wars hypotheses from classic Starlog.