Described by its creators as a “cross between a bear and a potato” a rancor encounter is certainly not something you want to gamble on surviving on a dark night. We were first introduced to the five metre tall reptilian beasts in Return of the Jedi. Jabba the Hutt kept one in a pit beneath his palace, and tossed it snacks in the shape of anyone who rubbed him up the wrong way.
Of course, when Luke Skywalker was dubbed dish of the day, there was only ever going to be one winner, and we were left with images of the broken-hearted rancor handler mourning the demise of his pet.
Betting on a win when you battle the rancor
The variety of online games inspired by famous film franchises is one of the biggest developments the industry has seen in recent years, from betting sites to first person shooters. So whether you are playing at the William Hill live casino on one of the Star Wars inspired slot games or getting down and dirty with the rancor in Galaxy of Heroes or the LEGO Star Wars game, there are numerous opportunities to follow in Luke’s footsteps and take on the beast.
Before you send the poor thing to its maker, you might at least want to know a little more about it, so here we have assembled some behind-the-scenes rancor facts.
1) It’s not a man in a costume
The original notion was to create a rancor body suit, into which an actor could zip himself up. The idea was that one actor would control the body, and there would be others controlling each of the arms. Unfortunately, the effect was that the rancor moved as if it had just had a particularly good night at the local pub, and Luke would have been more inclined to take it for a cup of coffee and a kebab than engage it in battle.
The revised plan was to create what was effectively a hand puppet, around 18 inches high, and this is what you see in most of the action sequences. There was then a life-sized hand created for the scene when the rancor grabs Luke. This meant the pit scene had to be shot on two different scales, then matched up to create a seamless effect.
2) Its bite is worse than its bark
The guttural growl the rancor utters is pretty terrifying, so it might come as a surprise to know that the sound was actually a recording of the Sound Director’s pet Dachshund growling, reduced to a much lower pitch. Perhaps Luke should have just tried throwing a stick for it.
3) Rancors need to moisturise
It’s not easy being slimy all day. To keep its oozing looks, the rancor puppet’s skin was constantly being sprayed with water by its team of attendants. The drool was created using glycerine.
So next time you are doing battle with a rancor in your favourite Star Wars game, perhaps you will spare a thought for the adorable puppet, the cute Dachshund and the team of skin care specialists behind the beast before you send it into oblivion!
