Cell Block 1138
From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.
Cell Block 1138 was allegedly a detention area aboard the first Death Star. When Luke Skywalker discovered that Princess Leia Organa was being held in Detention Block AA-23, he convinced the smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca to help him rescue the Princess. The two Humans, wearing stormtrooper armor, "escorted" Chewbacca, a Wookiee to AA-23.
When Shann Childsen, the officer in charge of the detention block inquired as to where they were taking Chewbacca, Skywalker answered that he and Solo had been ordered to transfer the Wookiee from Cell Block 1138 to Detention Block AA-23. Sensing that something was amiss, Childsen decided to check in with his superiors. Sensing that they could no longer further their deception, Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca opened fire on the detention block staff.
Technically, it's not known if Cell Block 1138 actually existed. It is possible that it was a random improvised name that Luke thought up quickly, hoping the officer he talked to would not bother to check.
[edit] Behind the scenes
Luke Skywalker was originally to say the bogus "prison transfer" was to be from "'…cell block…' and then then lots of letters and numbers," according to Mark Hamill (based upon the dialogue in the novelization, the original designation may have been "TS-138", or according to the Marvel comic adaptation, TX-138). When it came time to shoot the scene, Hamill decided to replace the original name of the cell block with "1138", a reference to director George Lucas's first feature-length film, THX-1138. Lucas was initially not impressed by Hamill's improvisation and told the actor "Don't do that." However, the reference was eventually included in the theatrical release of Star Wars
[edit] Appearances
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novel
- Star Wars radio drama
- Star Wars 3: Death Star (Mentioned only)
