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The ''Millennium Falcon'' is a fictional spacecraft in the ''''. The ''Falcon'' also appears in a variety of Star Wars Expanded Universe materials, including books, comics, and games. ORIGIN AND DESIGN According to ''Star Wars'' creator '' prompted Lucas to change the ''Falcon'' The full-scale ''Millennium Falcon'' built for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' was created in a hangar by Marcon Fabrications in Pembroke Dock, west Wales. It weighed almost 23 tons and used Compressed Air Hover Pads for movement around the set. Half of the ''Falcon'' was used for ''Return of the Jedi'' DEPICTION Solo won the fast ship from fellow rogue Lando Calrissian in a game of Sabacc .2 In ''A New Hope'', Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker charter the ship to deliver them, C-3PO , R2-D2 , and the stolen Death Star plans to Alderaan . Skywalker appraises the ship as "a piece of junk", but the vessel's smuggling compartments conceal the group when the Death Star captures it. Solo seemingly abandons the Rebels before they attack the Death Star, but his return in the ''Falcon'' allows Skywalker to destroy the space station. Solo flies the ''Falcon'', with Chewbacca, Leia, and C-3PO aboard, to elude the Imperial Starfleet in ''The Empire Strikes Back''. They take refuge at Cloud City , where Darth Vader captures Solo and freezes him in carbonite. Calrissian helps the others escape and, at the film's end, he and Chewbacca set out aboard the ''Falcon'' to rescue Solo. Calrissian again flies the ''Falcon'' during the climax of ''Return of the Jedi'', leading the Rebels' successful attack on the second Death Star. The Falcon is often connected to the Kessel Run, a pathway from Kessel past the Maw Black Hole Cluster used by smugglers to transport precious Glitterstim Spice .3 Solo in ''A New Hope'' brags that the ''Falcon'' made the Kessel Run in "less than twelve Parsecs ", referring to his ability to move the ship closer to the Maw's black holes and therefore cut the distance traveled. On the ''A New Hope'' DVD Audio Commentary , Lucas comments that, in the ''Star Wars'' universe, traveling through hyperspace requires careful navigation to avoid stars, planets, asteroids, and other obstacles.Commentary track on ''A New Hope'' DVD Since no long-distance journey can be made in a straight line, the "fastest" ship is the one that can plot the "most direct course", thereby traveling the least distance. Solo's twelve-parsec Kessel Run is depicted in ''Rebel Dawn'' by A. C. Crispin .4 In a Dark Horse Comics issue, "The Kessel Run," the Kessel Run that Solo mentions is a scam that Lando uses to win money back from Solo after losing the ''Falcon'' to him. Lando and his friends trick Solo into thinking if he did the Kessel Run quickly, he would gain notoriety among smugglers. Ultimately, it is a scam and a kind of initiation for new smugglers. CULTURAL IMPACT ''. Many toys have been made of the ''Falcon'', including a Transformers version of the ship.6 A LEGO version of the ''Falcon'' with over 5,000 pieces was, at the time of its release, the largest LEGO kit in production.7 Kenner , Hasbro , and Micro Machines have all released ''Millennium Falcon'' toys. SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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