# Stupid Star Wars question - are the "humans" homo sapiens? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592 "2025-06-13T16:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/102 "2025-07-01T17:20:37Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Well, there’s [this…](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/that-time-indiana-jones-met-han-solo-in-the-strangest-star-wars-story-ever?amp) Which was never intended to be canonical. It was from the Star Wars Tales comics anthology, which had a lot of stories that were self-parody or “what if?” stories. [“A Death Star is Born” was one of my favorites](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fi-cant-stop-laughing-v0-6vezlfahtgwb1.jpg%3Fwidth%3D978%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D60dd458678a5474917fc0536525f6a60b6fce674), but it was very clearly not meant to be in continuity. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Unspoken: without calculations, could Captain Crash and crew wind up blindly hyperspacing their way to another galaxy? In the pre-Disney stuff, no. Travelling between galaxies is only possible using generation ships that will take centuries to make the journey. No one in the SW galaxy is known to have done it successfully, although there have been attempts. There was also, post-_Return of the Jedi_, a major invasion by a race called the Yuuzhan-Vong, who came from another galaxy and had a religious hatred of the Force and Force-users. All of that stuff is non-canon now that Disney owns the franchise, of course. The Disney movies almost immediately threw out the (very few\*) established rules for hyperspace travel, so who knows if inter-galactic travel is possible? It’s a crap-shoot if you can get a writer on the project who understands what a galaxy even is. \*Basically: 1. Hyperspace requires making extremely complicated calculations to arrive safely at your intended destination. 2. Hyperspace travel is not instantaneous. While the length of a trip is never specified, it’s at least long enough to play a game of space-chess, or get in a couple of introductory Jedi lessons. 3. Entering hyperspace means you’ve successfully escaped whatever was chasing you. Following someone through hyperspace requires some sort of trickery, like installing a tracking device on the ship before it jumps. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/103 "2025-07-01T17:29:12Z")
Although there are references to attempting to guesstimate a ship’s intended destination based on its trajectory pre-jump. > “Calculate every possible destination along their last known trajectory.” –_ **The Empire Strikes Back** _ ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/104 "2025-07-01T18:00:03Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The Disney movies almost immediately threw out the (very few\*) established rules for hyperspace travel, so who knows if inter-galactic travel is possible? In the Ahsoka series, a ship travels between galaxies by using a giant ring engine built from existing technology. Other characters follow by getting swallowed up by a space whale that can also travel between galaxies. The space whales originated in Rebels but I’m not sure if their ability to jump between galaxies was established there or not. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/105 "2025-07-01T22:58:47Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > In the Ahsoka series, a ship travels between galaxies by using a giant ring engine built from existing technology. It’s just an oversized version of the same thing we were shown in Episode II of the films. The Jedi Starfighter spacecraft did not have a built-in hyperspace drive, so they attached to a ring thing to make hyperspace jumps. [![](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/6/6b/Obi-Wan_hyperdrive_ring.png) ](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/6/6b/Obi-Wan_hyperdrive_ring.png) It was called a [Hyperspace Transport Ring](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Hyperspace_transport_ring). I guess the theory in _Ahsoka_ was that if you built one big enough, it could take you to another galaxy. So they built one **hundreds** of times larger. But that was a good catch; we have an example in canon of being able to travel between galaxies through hyperspace. > [@DWMarch](#): > > The space whales originated in Rebels but I’m not sure if their ability to jump between galaxies was established there or not. I don’t believe so. It was mentioned in _Rebels_ that they inspired people to develop hyperspace technology, as they were an example of how it could be achieved, much the same way that people on Earth developed mechanical flight by trying to copy how birds flew (and attaching wings to stuff). But no mention of traveling to other galaxies. I don’t know that anyone knew of their ability to travel in that manner until the events of _Ahsoka_, where a particular pod of Purrgil were observed to take an intergalactic route. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/106 "2025-07-03T21:25:32Z")
But we _do_ have two someones in Mos Eisley who _appear_ to be a human astronaut, though, obviously, it could be any number of comparable species. [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Du3t8vpV4AA2zh8.jpg) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Du3t8vpV4AA2zh8.jpg) [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwcsXpZ9Rub0VaNLo-HpOHDbYxSJTUQ3LVIWP-IVsj5Qj6tRt8E5pJUt2dWDWy0uw4oEOwAUPPYK4ikTTn_ZMPazU-y4YlHI79zDATHSJ8_Id_7eqXS7ZseHB4nEzrNelqbNRPUnWITg/s1600/Bo+Shek+22.png) ](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwcsXpZ9Rub0VaNLo-HpOHDbYxSJTUQ3LVIWP-IVsj5Qj6tRt8E5pJUt2dWDWy0uw4oEOwAUPPYK4ikTTn_ZMPazU-y4YlHI79zDATHSJ8_Id_7eqXS7ZseHB4nEzrNelqbNRPUnWITg/s1600/Bo+Shek+22.png) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/107 "2025-07-03T22:02:31Z")
Sure, he looks _human_, and probably is human, just like Leia, Luke, Han, Obi-Wan, etc. That’s not an astronaut suit though. It’s a British atmospheric flying suit. It was used for flying in high altitudes within the Earth’s atmosphere. [![](https://www.scottbouch.com/f-aircrew-flight-equipment/aea-bwt-windak-full-pressure-suits-helmets-02.jpg) ](https://www.scottbouch.com/f-aircrew-flight-equipment/aea-bwt-windak-full-pressure-suits-helmets-02.jpg) Another picture: [![](https://www.scottbouch.com/f-aircrew-flight-equipment/aea-bwt-windak-full-pressure-suits-helmets-01-b.jpg) ](https://www.scottbouch.com/f-aircrew-flight-equipment/aea-bwt-windak-full-pressure-suits-helmets-01-b.jpg) And that doesn’t identify him as being from Earth any more than someone wearing pants or a hooded cloak would. The films demonstrate people wearing all kinds of clothing and gear similar to Earth stuff. Heck, many of the “blasters” were standard Earth firearms with extra stuff glued to them, like the Stormtrooper rifles which were modified Mk4/L2A3 machine guns. Han Solo’s iconic Blastech DL-44 is a German Mauser C96 “Broomhandle” with a couple of parts moved around. The same gun was used in the earlier Frank Sinatra film _Naked Runner_ and can be seen on the movie poster. [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2NiZTIzOTAtOWZlNS00YTBlLTgwMmEtMmIxNDZmNWFlNzUyXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2NiZTIzOTAtOWZlNS00YTBlLTgwMmEtMmIxNDZmNWFlNzUyXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg) They cut off part of the scope and put it on the end of the barrel, otherwise it’s essentially the same gun. [![](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/4/40/HanSolosModifiedDL44HeavyBlasterPistol-CGSWG.png) ](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/4/40/HanSolosModifiedDL44HeavyBlasterPistol-CGSWG.png) As for where the suit came from, it was originally used in an episode of Dr. Who, and made another appearance in the next film _Empire Strikes Back_, this time worn by the infamous Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk. [![](https://external-preview.redd.it/VGsl_BEWZRZkTX-O8sfagiXMDIa1VZFRmK7ktvcry20.jpg?auto=webp&s=98fa9aa9aef1035aa33043a71e37446240a6effd) ](https://external-preview.redd.it/VGsl_BEWZRZkTX-O8sfagiXMDIa1VZFRmK7ktvcry20.jpg?auto=webp&s=98fa9aa9aef1035aa33043a71e37446240a6effd) George Lucas must have really thought that suit was cool to use it in multiple scenes in different films. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/108 "2025-07-03T22:10:38Z")
The vest is standard issue for all Star Wars pilots. > **[Flight suit](https://www.google.com/share.google?q=iQsYZKWdFUufplN0T)** > > Flight suits, also spelled as flightsuits or otherwise known as jumpsuits, were a type of outfit worn by pilots. They were worn in junction with flight helmets.\[1\] Due to the dangerous nature of some piloting occupations, some starfighter pilots wore... ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/109 "2025-07-03T22:16:14Z")
That link is funny! “X-wing pilot suits are pressurized!”! Sure they are, wookiebuddy! Just another unwanted example of the fact the laws of physics are totally different in their universe. I’m beginning to form a theory that the far far away galaxy is really really tiny and all the characters are like ant sized. Stars are 20 feet apart. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/110 "2025-07-03T22:33:16Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > The vest is standard issue for all Star Wars pilots. The vest part, sure. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > “X-wing pilot suits are pressurized!”! Sure they are, wookiebuddy! Just another unwanted example of the fact the laws of physics are totally different in their universe. Also the dogfights in space that ignore inertia and transmit sound in a vacuum! Obviously you can completely imitate every moment of a WWII aerial battle and put it in space because that’s how it would work. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/111 "2025-07-03T22:41:52Z")
(Hence my saying they _appear_ to be human, but obviously any species could be in the helmeted suit. In fact, there are several species that will die if they breathe oxygen. For example: Kel Dor, Gand, Morseerians and Celegians) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/112 "2025-07-03T22:46:49Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The simplest (but least easy for me to swallow) explanation is that God created humans (everywhere) in his own image. I am trying to think of a major sci-fi or even fantasy series, be it TV or the big screen, where the lead race (and the lead protagonist natch) was NOT indistinguishibly human. Oh, you have your Teal’cs and Spocks and Chewies as sidekicks, sure, but the lead is _always_ an O’Neill, Kirk, or Luke. OF COURSE it’s to ensure audience identification, but it seems like it’s another Unbuilt Trope, a wasted opportunity, tho I am sure such an effort would bomb… > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > But, AFAIK, there has not ever been a canonical Star Wars story which has attempted to make any connection between the “humans” in the Star Wars galaxy, and we humans on Earth. I’ve lurked on this thread until now, but when you think about it for more than a few microseconds, the above really IS mind-blowing. While I’ve come to appreciate SW for what it is, at the time, being the hard core SF geek that I was, I definitely looked down on the original 3 for quite a number of years. The almost total lack of worldbuilding depth…the simple hoary cliches such as the Bad Guys Can’t Aim Worth a Toot…but that was never really the focus of the entire series at all, was it? Unusually Uninteresting Idea. Note I complained about the film Yesterday for not truly exploring what a Beatles-less world would have looked like 50 years after the fact. I am guessing at least some non-canonical/fanfic works _have_ explored the connection? Maybe a crossover with heh Battlestar Galactica? [Maybe someone can clue me in on Feather Boy from the comic upthread…] ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/113 "2025-07-03T22:47:53Z")
Very good point, at least for the suit with a full helmet. > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > While I’ve come to appreciate SW for what it is, at the time, being the hard core SF geek that I was, I definitely looked down on the original 3 for quite a number of years. The almost total lack of worldbuilding depth…the simple hoary cliches such as the Bad Guys Can’t Aim Worth a Toot…but that was never really the focus of the entire series at all, was it? Unusually Uninteresting Idea. I’m a huge SW fan but I think your complaint is 100% valid. Lucas was only looking to do space opera, which isn’t generally very in-depth. That genre focuses on melodrama with characters and everything else is just a backdrop. We didn’t really get much depth about the Galaxy until “Expanded Universe” stuff came out later (which to my knowledge was from people other than Lucas). While much of that ended up being dropped and isn’t canon, a lot still made it in and has become part of the story. I think it makes for a richer environment, but again, I am very much a Star Wars nerd. I suspect many of my favorite things from the franchise didn’t even come from Lucas. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/114 "2025-07-03T22:53:47Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > While I’ve come to appreciate SW for what it is, at the time, being the hard core SF geek that I was, I definitely looked down on the original 3 for quite a number of years. Well, yeah. As noted (probably by me) earlier in this thread, and in other SW threads over the years: it’s space opera, and a fantasy/fairy tale story, where the good guys have swords which look like laser beams, and magic is called “the Force.” Because it’s set in space, with spaceships, laser-like weapons, etc., it may _look_ like SF, but in truth, it’s not really science-y at all. > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I am guessing at least some non-canonical/fanfic works _have_ explored the connection? Maybe a crossover with heh Battlestar Galactica? I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if such fanfics exist. But, anything that was licensed by Lucasfilm (with the exception of intentionally non-canonical things like the aforementioned _Star Wars Tales_ comics series) haven’t touched on it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/115 "2025-07-03T23:09:51Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if such fanfics exist. The Star Wars/Transformers crossover fanfics are a thing… ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/116 "2025-07-03T23:16:31Z")
Star Wars is like Porn. You can pair it with anything in a Google search and come up with thousands of results. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/117 "2025-07-03T23:31:35Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I am trying to think of a major sci-fi or even fantasy series, be it TV or the big screen, where the lead race (and the lead protagonist natch) was NOT indistinguishibly human. I kind of want to make a case for various PLANET OF THE APES outings… ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/118 "2025-07-03T23:39:33Z")
There was some too speculative even to be called non-canon proposed backstory linking Star Wars humans with people from 25th century Earth: > **[Alien Exodus](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Alien_Exodus)** > > Alien Exodus was the proposed title for the first book in a trilogy of Expanded Universe novels by Canadian science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer. Unlike the Bantam Spectra novels that were being published at the time, these novels would have been... ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/119 "2025-07-04T00:06:17Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > George Lucas must have really thought that suit was cool to use it in multiple scenes in different films. Or he already had it, and a costume you already have is cheaper than one you have to make. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/120 "2025-07-04T00:12:39Z")
Very, very possible. And it’s also faster. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/121 "2025-07-04T00:41:47Z")
Somewhere I have a restraining bolt applicator that I bought at a flea market more than 30 years ago. Never had a droid to restrain, though. [![](https://i.imgur.com/ZLxkoFl.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/ZLxkoFl.jpeg) > **[Radio Shack torch](https://www.weldingweb.com/threads/710587)** > > I remember drooling over these hanging on the rack at > Radio Shack when I was a kid(maybe 9 or 10),thinking how cool they were. > So I couldn’t turn it down. Like a lot of things I couldn’t > turn down,now I don’t know what to do with it. > Probably never... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592.md?page=7)