Star Wars 10 Secrets Of Cloud City You Need To Know
What is Cloud City?
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 10 Secrets of Cloud City You Need To Know
00:02 10.
00:04 What is Cloud City exactly?
00:06 Cloud City resides on a gas giant called Bespin in the Enote Sector, and since this planet
00:11 is similar to Jupiter, you'd think it would be the last place in the cosmos where life
00:15 could thrive.
00:16 But as the Star Wars franchise proves, there is no world where people aren't eager to
00:20 set up civilization.
00:21 I mean, people live on Mustafar for Christ's sake.
00:24 Despite the fact that the planet isn't even solid, Bespin is a hotspot for the elite,
00:28 since it naturally produces one of the most desirable resources in the galaxy, that being
00:33 Tabarna Gas.
00:34 Because Tabarna is the central component for hyperspace travel, space weaponry, and repulsor
00:38 technology, it's coveted by virtually everyone.
00:42 When the Tabarna miners discovered then that there was a breathable atmosphere 36,000 miles
00:46 above Bespin's core, a habitable base was constructed there, called Cloud City.
00:50 Now originally Lando Calrissian hoped to govern the city without any interference from the
00:55 Empire, but when the Imperials found the planet and discovered it was mining trillions of
00:59 tons of Tabarna Gas, they immediately took over the city, hoping to use its resources
01:03 to advance the Empire.
01:06 How does the city function?
01:07 Even though we didn't get to see a lot of Cloud City, you can tell just by looking at
01:11 it that it's bloody enormous.
01:13 I mean, just look how long it took for Luke Skywalker to fall to the bottom.
01:16 It's never been specified how large the structure is, but Cloud City does consist
01:21 of 392 stories.
01:23 By comparison, the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, consists of 160 stories,
01:28 which is around 2,700 feet.
01:30 However, only the first 50 levels of Cloud City are open to the public, since the bottom
01:35 342 levels are for mining and processing precious Tabarna Gas.
01:39 However, even though the gas is a valuable commodity, it is very expensive to filter.
01:43 Also the 36,000 engines and tractor beam generators which keep the city in the air aren't cheap
01:48 either.
01:49 So to bring in some cash, Cloud City was turned into a luxury resort, and tourists can also
01:53 hire a flying car to sightsee or check out the local mines.
01:56 Put simply, it would be way out of my price range.
02:00 It was supposed to appear in the first movie.
02:02 It's common knowledge among Star Wars fans that George Lucas redrafted the script for
02:06 the original movie about 10 bajillion times, give or take.
02:10 At one point, the story was meant to focus on Samuel L. Jackson's character, Mace Windu,
02:14 and in another draft, Luke Skywalker was a 60-year-old general who trained a pupil called
02:19 Starkiller.
02:20 Lucas also considered having giant bush baby aliens in the climax for... some reason.
02:25 I dunno, this was like the 70s wasn't it?
02:27 But another alteration that the Star Wars screenplay went through was the removal of
02:30 Cloud City.
02:32 In the second draft, concept artist Ralph McQuarrie designed a floating territory, which
02:36 served as an imperial prison for Princess Leia's homeworld of Alderaan.
02:39 And even though scenes of Alderaan were meant to be filmed, they were ultimately cut.
02:43 However, Lucas loved the idea of a habitat hovering in the sky and didn't want to abandon
02:47 it.
02:48 So he repurposed McQuarrie's floating imperial prison for the sequel, and then turned it
02:52 into what we know now as Cloud City.
02:58 As Darth Vader's forces freeze Han Solo in carbonite, several small pigmen called
03:03 Ugnaughts can be seen operating the machinery in the background.
03:06 Because these creatures are merely in the background and have no dialogue, you would
03:09 assume that they're not particularly that important.
03:12 But as will become abundantly clear on this list, everyone and everything in Star Wars
03:17 has an unnecessarily complex backstory.
03:20 When Cloud City was devised, for instance, the Ugnaught tribes were brought in to work
03:23 on its construction, since they were known for performing monotonous tasks skillfully
03:27 for an extended period of time.
03:29 Because the Ugnaughts' territory as well was being taken over by the Galactic Empire
03:32 at the same time, they agreed to this deal to avoid their people being enslaved by imperial
03:37 troops.
03:38 But when Darth Vader seized Cloud City, the Ugnaughts were forced to work with the Empire
03:41 anyway against their will.
03:43 Even though these critters turned Han Solo into a popsicle and tried to melt C-3PO into
03:47 slag, the Ugnaughts aren't evil.
03:50 Like many creatures throughout the galaxy, they just do what they must to survive.
03:53 Number 6 - Who or What is Lobot?
03:56 One of the most mysterious citizens of Cloud City is Lando Calrissian's trusty aide and
04:01 personal chef, Lobot.
04:03 Despite never uttering a word, the cybernetic implants on his head help the character stand
04:07 out, making viewers curious of Lobot's purpose on Bespin.
04:11 Described originally, he was a regular human who performed battlefield calculations for
04:15 the Empire.
04:16 After meeting Lando, Lobot became a smuggler and, although he lost his original memories,
04:20 personality and even the ability to speak, became instrumental in the growth of his home
04:24 Bespin, since Cloud City's central network was implemented directly into his mind.
04:29 As a result, Lobot is tethered to the city's entire mainframe, making him arguably the
04:33 most significant person on the whole planet.
04:36 Number 5 - What's that vein that Luke hangs on?
04:40 After Vader famously defeated Luke Skywalker and lopped off his hand, the young Jedi jumped
04:44 down the airshaft, seemingly plummeting to his doom.
04:47 Even though Luke looked like he had no chance of surviving, he just happened to land on
04:51 a perfectly placed vein, where he was rescued by his companions.
04:55 Now most first-time viewers had the exact same thought upon seeing this moment.
04:59 Why is there a freaking weather vein just out there?
05:02 But as all Star Wars fans know, everything has a backstory.
05:06 Selesh's crumb has a backstory, Han Solo's jacket has a backstory and yes, even the weather
05:11 vein has a backstory.
05:13 First off, it's actually not a weather vein, I've been wrong this whole entry, it's
05:16 actually a gas processing vein.
05:18 These instruments are designed to filter, stabilise and store Tibanna gas, as you probably
05:22 have guessed, and they are positioned at the bottom of Cloud City, since that is where
05:25 the mineral is the most potent.
05:26 So yeah, that's right, George Lucas gave a backstory to a piece of metal to justify
05:31 a plot convenience.
05:33 There were some significant changes in the special edition.
05:36 In 1997, Lucasfilm released the first of several special editions of the original Star Wars
05:41 trilogy.
05:42 Even though fans did appreciate seeing the classic movies in perfect quality with crisp
05:45 sound, they were also horrified to learn that George Lucas had made some absolutely unnecessary
05:50 changes.
05:51 I mean, why he thought the world wanted to see Psy's Snoogles perform a music solo
05:54 in Return of the Jedi is just...well that's anybody's guess isn't it?
05:57 Despite viewers grumbling, several changes in the Empire Strikes Back were quite welcome.
06:01 While our heroes are running around the corridors in the original version, for instance, it
06:05 was obvious that the actors were just on a soundstage.
06:08 But in the special edition, digital effects were used so the walls in the background were
06:11 replaced with windows showing off the futuristic landscape of the city.
06:15 Even though many changes in the special edition are totally, totally irritating, these little
06:19 tweaks are acceptable since they make the scenes more distinctive without ever feeling
06:23 too distracting.
06:25 The actors were drunk in their Cloud City scenes.
06:28 While filming The Empire Strikes Back, Carrie Fisher stayed at one of Eric Idle's flats
06:33 for five whole months.
06:34 And when the Rolling Stones came over, Fisher invited her co-star Harrison Ford over because
06:39 hey, who doesn't want to party with Keith Richards?
06:41 Even though Fisher was allergic to alcohol and Ford wasn't much of a drinker apparently
06:45 either, they knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and so got absolutely
06:49 smashed with the legendary musicians and the Monty Python comedian throughout the night.
06:53 The following morning, Fisher and Ford headed straight to the set and filmed the scene where
06:57 their characters arrive in Cloud City for the first time.
07:00 Since they hadn't slept a wink, because why would ya, Fisher and Ford were completely
07:04 drunk while performing their scenes.
07:06 And considering they consumed a beverage known as the Tunisian Death Drink, it's probably
07:10 no surprise that it took a while for the effects to wear off.
07:14 What is that running man doing?
07:16 After watching the Star Wars films a dozen times, you might notice tiny details in the
07:19 background that you would never give a second thought to upon your first viewing.
07:23 Such an example occurs in The Empire Strikes Back when multiple Imperial workers dash through
07:27 Cloud City after the Rebel forces take over.
07:30 Although a lot is going on in this scene, some eagle-eyed viewers only had one question
07:35 in their mind.
07:36 Why is there a guy in the background holding an ice cream maker?
07:39 Well despite appearing for just a split second, this character, Will Roe Hood, has a backstory
07:44 because of course he does.
07:45 He was working on the Harbinger Star Destroyer but was asked to evacuate after the Rebel
07:50 Alliance hijacked the facility.
07:51 Grabbing whatever valuables he could find, Will Roe stuffed them into a container called
07:55 a Comptono, aka the ice cream maker, and then just fled.
07:59 Of course, this container became so iconic that it has actually been implemented into
08:03 other Star Wars properties, including recently The Mandalorian.
08:06 Number 1 - A Cloud City May Actually Be Possible
08:10 As entertaining as the Star Wars universe is, we all know that it's just pure fantasy,
08:14 right?
08:15 Right?
08:16 Well, maybe not entirely.
08:18 And even though a city hovering in the clouds sounds like utter fiction, astrophysicists
08:22 suggest otherwise.
08:24 According to NASA researcher Jeffrey Landis, a floating cloud city could exist over an
08:28 inhospitable world like Venus.
08:31 Despite the fact that it snows metal and rains acid on Earth's neighbouring planet, the
08:34 atmosphere just above Venus is surprisingly tolerable for human life to thrive.
08:39 And because the sun's second closest planet is overstuffed with floating gases like nitrogen
08:43 and oxygen, the idea of keeping a city in the air isn't that far-fetched, at least
08:47 according to Landis.
08:48 So, the next time you hear someone tell you that Cloud City is completely ridiculous and
08:52 it doesn't make any sense, well, set them straight.
08:54 So that's our list, why don't you guys think down in the comments below, did you know all
08:58 of these facts about Cloud City, and are there any really interesting ones I missed off here?
09:03 While you're down there as well, could you please give us a like, share, subscribe, and
09:05 head over to What Culture Star Wars for more lists like this on the regular.
09:09 Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thank you so much for watching, and I'll see
09:12 you soon.
09:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]