The wide variety of creatures in the Star Wars saga have been inspired by a number of factors, with concept artist for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Matthew Savage sharing some of the images he crafted for the film which hint at the design of the original Game Boy being used to develop Babu Frik‘s workshop. The artist pointed out how one of the computers in the droidsmith’s workshop had a green-colored screen with two red buttons and dark grey keys, mirroring the iconic design of Nintendo’s handheld system. Despite the object earning minimal screen time, fans will likely never look at the computer the same way.
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Of the many exciting elements of The Rise of Skywalker, few captured audiences’ attention quite like Babu, the lovable creature who played an integral role in our heroes’ journey. Despite his impact on the film, Babu Frik’s journey was initially quite different.
With Babu calling Kijimi home, his initial fate included his unseen death when the planet was destroyed, with a behind-the-scenes rumor claiming that it was Steven Spielberg who prevented the adorable alien from suffering such a future.
“It could be a rumor, but I believe [director] J.J. [Abrams] screened the movie for Steven Spielberg, and at the end Spielberg said, ‘What happened to Babu?’” creature effects creative supervisor Neal Scanlan shared with Empire earlier this year. “Everybody thought, ‘Oh God, what did happen to Babu?’”
Instead, audiences see Babu in the cockpit of Zorii Bliss’ ship during the final battle, which was a visual effects opportunity that wasn’t originally planned.
“We shot several other sequences,” Scanlan confirmed of the film’s finale. “The ILM guys found one, lifted out Babu and put him into Zorii’s ship at the end.”
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is currently streaming on Disney+.
Had you noticed the similarities between the computer and the Game Boy? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
