As notable as a John Wayne cameo in Star Wars would be, his appearance in A New Hope went unnoticed for 30 years, before the full details about this cameo were revealed. The Star Wars franchise is no stranger to cameos, particularly in its current TV show era, but it was quite rare to see such appearances during the original trilogy era, when Star Wars was just starting to make a name for itself. Even so, they still managed to make John Wayne a part of the very first Star Wars movie, though his role remained a mystery for years.
In fact, this role of Wayne’s in Star Wars is so mysterious that his name doesn’t even appear anywhere in the credits for A New Hope. Even Wayne’s IMDb profile doesn’t have his appearance in Star Wars listed. Despite this, Wayne’s role truly does exist, and it is an important (albeit small) part of the movie. It may not be as apparent as the role his grandson Brendan Wayne plays as one of three main Din Djarin actors in The Mandalorian, but Wayne’s legacy is now forever tied to Star Wars, and here’s how.
John Wayne’s Star Wars Cameo Is One You’d Never Have Spotted
It’s A Voice-Only Role
The gunslinging actor’s Star Wars cameo is voice-only, as his old dialogue was worked into a sequence on Tatooine. When creating the sound for the insect-like creature now known as Garindan, who acts as an Imperial informant in the Mos Eisley spaceport, the crew crafted a mix that had a buzzing sound effect to truly emulate that of a mosquito, which is what the Kubaz species in Star Wars looks like. It wasn’t until 30 years later that it was revealed this buzzing sound came from Wayne’s own scrapped dialogue for another film, meaning Wayne technically voices Garindan.
This was discovered by sound designer Ben Burtt, who had gone back to his original tapes out of curiosity. Wanting to understand how it all came together, Burtt studied his work, and he picked up on a human voice providing this buzzing voice from his synthesizer. That’s when he identified it as Wayne’s voice, saying something along the lines of “all right, what are you doin’ in this town?”
Star Wars Was Technically John Wayne’s Last Movie Appearance
It Was Released 2 Years Prior To His Death
With this in mind, Star Wars is technically Wayne’s last appearance in a movie, with his official last credit being in 1976 – one year before Star Wars was released. Wayne may not have even known that his voice was used in this movie, given the fact it was a secret for so long, but the legacy of it still stands today. Garindan’s scene has become nothing short of iconic in its own right, and adding this layer to it only makes it that much more memorable. It’s certainly a unique cameo in A New Hope, but nevertheless a memorable one.