How ‘Star Wars’ almost started a real-life conflict between Tunisia and Libya
Few film franchises can rival the longevity and cultural impact of Star Wars. Over the years, it has grown far beyond a film series, becoming a multimedia juggernaut with unparalleled influence. In fact, the cultural reach of George Lucas’ creation once risked escalating into an actual armed conflict—though not one involving starfighters.
There is a library of tales from the production of each of the original six films, but for the original Star Wars, Lucas used Tunisia as the real-world shooting location for the home planet of protagonist Luke Skywalker, Tatooine.
A rocky and ostensibly desert planet well known across the broader universe it may be, but before anybody knew what Star Wars was, it was important to get every detail just right, including the location. In constructing the practical props for filming, one in particular caused a rumble in the local area.
The hulking Sandcrawler was a point of contention for both Tunisia and Libya as a result of how much it resembled a heavily armoured vehicle used for war. Having an unstable relationship at the time, the presence of what appeared to be a war vehicle in the shared lands between borders was something that neither country was comfortable with, and it raised tensions dramatically over the course of the shoot.
With outside political tensions already in play between the nations, there was a genuine concern that the Sandscrawler was a legitimate weapon of war being deployed by Tunisia in preparation for invasion efforts when it was spotted lumbering across the desert in its partially constructed form.
In order to smooth over any potential tensions that could further fan the flames of discontent between Tunisia and Libya, and because Lucas couldn’t prove to the latter that he was making a sci-fi movie to assuage Gaddafi’s warnings that he was ready to escalate matters if production on the unnamed vehicle wasn’t immediately halted, the Tunisian portion of the Star Wars shoot ended early with reshoots taking place in the much more palatable surroundings of California’s Death Valley.
While Lucas was able to successfully return to Tunisia for future instalments of the series and bring Tatooine back to the forefront, it was probably done with at least a little apprehension or worry about what might happen.
For as long as the Star Wars series has continued, shocking reports like these offer a broader context to a series that may have very well died in its infancy if it wasn’t for some quick diplomacy. Looking at how the movie changed the face of cinema, it’s bizarre to know that the production of what would end up being one of the most influential films of all time had such a unique obstacle.
In an era where most of the odd architecture in Star Wars is enhanced through the use of CGI, there’s a unique charm to the unruly physical elements of the first instalment, even if it could have inadvertently launched an all-out war.
