George Lucas’ epic Star Wars franchise took the world by storm for its creator’s genius in visualizing an unforgettable sci-fi fantasy world. The prequels and sequels that covered decades of cinema saw stars like Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill go down in history as evergreen Hollywood actors.
While it is common knowledge that the films required a high level of technical expertise and research to bring to life, certain scenes proved to be extremely challenging for members of the cast. Fisher in particular, recalled a seriously cringeworthy segment with the huge alien Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, for which she got her revenge later.
Carrie Fisher Had the Last Laugh After This Challenging Star Wars Scene
Judging by the massive scale of George Lucas’ Star Wars saga, it goes without saying that the effort that went into bringing his ambitious ideas to life would have been nothing short of staggering. Whether it was the technical details or the production design, every member of the cast and crew gave it their blood, sweat, and tears to ensure that the end product was epic.
Princess Leia star Carrie Fisher was one actor who faced a torrid time on the sets of Return Of The Jedi in one particular scene with the intimidating Jabba the Hutt. The difficulties of this segment was elaborated upon in J.W. Rinzler’s The Making Of Star Wars (via Slash Film).
The huge alien creature Jabba the Hutt who is one of the galaxy’s most powerful gangsters, was created with four tons of clay by puppeteer Toby Philpott. In Return Of The Jedi, Fisher’s Princess Leia confronts the character in an effort to save Hans Solo, and is captured by his men.
This scene also required the actor to be chained near Jabba in a gold metal bikini that proved to be extremely uncomfortable for her to maneuver in. Recalling the huge difficulty she faced in working with this contraption, Fisher said,
This is no bikini. It was metal. It didn’t go where you went.
To make matters worse, one particularly cringeworthy scene required the celebrity to be grossly licked by the gigantic alien. Philpott who had to intricately control the puppet, revealed what took place in the book, Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga: The Official Collector’s Edition (via Games Rant), when Jabba’s tongue touched Fisher in a delicate spot.
I had stuck that horrible, gloop-covered tongue right in Carrie Fisher’s ear!
After these scenes that took many weeks to shoot, the veteran actor finally got some justice for herself. When asked if a body double could substitute her for the final showdown with Jabba in which she strangles him, Fisher stated in no uncertain terms that she would be the one to inflict this torture on him after everything she had been through (via Slash Film).
Carrie Fisher’s Revealed Her Relationship With Harrison Ford in Memoir
Hans Solo and Princess Leia’s chemistry in Star Wars was made memorable by Harrison Ford and the late Carrie Fisher. Fisher who died in 2016, wrote a memoir that brought to light many unknown truths about the star including her affair with her co-star Ford who was married at the time.
In candid confessions about the incident which allegedly happened during the filming of The Empire Strikes Back, Fisher revealed details in her memoir titled The Princess Diarist which hit the stands in 2016 (via The Hollywood Reporter).
My affair with Harrison was a very long one-night stand. I was relieved when it ended. I didn’t approve of myself. Yes, I love him. I’ll always feel something for him.
The late star went on to admit that she believed Ford had never been unfaithful to his other partners, and clearly clarified that he was not a womanizer. She believed their relationship stemmed out of personal loneliness at the time, and did not contribute in any way to his failed marriages.
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi is streaming on Disney+.
