Why does C-3PO have a huge dick? This is behind one of the biggest secrets of the ‘Star Wars’ saga

Early on, George Lucas understood merchandising not only as a way to make a lot of money from “Star Wars,” but also as a way to publicize his saga, which was still in the making, in the first place. He entered into an agreement with the company TOPPS, previously best known for its baseball trading cards. Beginning in 1977, the company released special cards featuring the “Star Wars” characters around the release of the very first “Star Wars” movie, now known as “A New Hope.”

A card from the fourth series quickly became famous: card number 207 depicting C-3PO. Because this apparently shows the famous protocol droid with a huge erection:

So does C-3PO have a penis that we never saw during the entire film series? No of course not. Bee The image is a printing error that was only noticed after it had been circulating in stores for a long time. The image was edited in a later reissue of the trading card series. C-3PO’s base disappeared.

But this did not prevent the creation of myths surrounding the original motif. The card is still popular with collectors. It regularly changes hands on Ebay for a three-figure sum – and it’s only not higher because there are a ton of copies and there are always new offers. The trading cards were not particularly limited and were marketed in large numbers.

But how did this map come about in the first place? Was someone joking? Maybe a resourceful artist retouched something dirty? Or maybe there was a C-3PO with a huge boner on set? It is a mystery that has concerned many: Lucasfilm, C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels and also those responsible at card company TOPPS.

The Power Joke Theory by Harrison Ford of TOPPS

Gary Gerani was responsible for the “Star Wars” series at the card company TOPPS. He selected all images to be printed on trading cards. In the 2016 book ‘Star Wars Galaxy: The Original Topps Trading Card Series’, he not only talks about the work that allowed him to read the script for ‘Star Wars’ in advance, but he also looks back on it. chapter.

He claims that the obscene part of the photo simply slipped through his fingers at the timewhen choosing which photos to use for cards. He didn’t notice until long after the card went on sale, there were complaints and his boss called him to ask what the hell had happened.

There was only one way he could explain it. The stars on set were messing around, and maybe Harrison Ford took a nice photo with the stiff droid and through some mistake it ended up in the official photo library. Meanwhile, Gerani no longer believes in his theory about a joke by Ford and Co…

Lucasfilm’s Broken Costume Theory

The company behind ‘Star Wars’ itself published a possible explanation for the cult photo on the official ‘Star Wars’ website in 2007. According to Lucasfilm, this is certainly not a nasty joke through post-production. The original negatives also show the standard. You can also rule out that the stars are messing around because it’s really a photo from the official photographer (and not Harrison Ford). So there was probably a flaw in the C-3PO suit. Some of it probably came loose and fell awkwardly into this position – just before the photo was taken.

It’s now the prevailing theory, with even a well-known C-3PO cosplayer supporting it. He explained in 2021 that this case made sense to him due to its many replicas of the original costume. Because the suit is so inflexible, numerous changes have been made to the crotch area to create mobility for appropriate scenes. As a result, the suit broke more often at this point. He therefore assumes that the plastic around the hip was broken, causing it to protrude slightly. If you look closely, you will see that the stand does not come from the center, but rather from the side. But the crack, together with a reflection, gives the impression that it is an erect penis.

The Oil Bath Plus Manipulation Theory by Anthony Daniels

The actor who was in the costume explained in 2019 how exactly the costume error occurred. But he doesn’t want this to be seen as the only cause. Noisy Anthony Daniels The photo was taken shortly after the C-3PO was in the oil bath. During filming, the liquid used for this seeped into all the spaces between him and the costume legs. The ‘underpants’ part of his costume consisted of two parts, one in the front and one in the back, which were connected with gold-colored tape. This came loose due to the oil, the two parts jumped apart and a hole was created. Additionally, the warm liquid caused the plastic to expand, causing something to pop out.

However, Daniels can’t imagine that he was really as big as in the photo. He is therefore still convinced that the enormous phallus itself can be traced back to a TOPPS employee who saw the existing bulge caused by the oil bath and artificially enlarged it massively – which Gerani very credibly and clearly denies. It’s also hard to imagine him risking his dream job for such a joke.

It’s not just the wrong photo that is in demand

So it can be assumed that there really is a material error – probably related to the filming of the oil bath scene. And no one noticed this – only on the set when the photography was taken (there were no digital cameras then) and when Gerani later selected the images.

As mentioned, when TOPPS was notified of the obscene image, they replaced it. At the end of 1977, an edition of the so-called Series Four with the new version of the accompanying card went on sale. Since the Series Five with all-new ‘Star Wars’ trading cards was released in 1978, the Series Four has not been released again. This led to the funny side effect that the corrected copy is considerably rarer than the standard version of trading card #207, which was previously printed over an extended period of time.

“Star Wars” collectors will have to spend a little more money for both. However, higher prices are still paid for the well-known stand print. After all, he’s just more popular…