Star Wars is undoubtedly one of the most popular movie franchises of all time. The first Star Wars movie ‘A New Hope’ was released in 1977, and more than ten movies have since followed. Despite the massive popularity of the movies, the studio hasn’t always been too careful with its props. We find out what happened to the original Death Star from Star Wars: A New Hope.
The History Of The Death Star
The story of the original Death Star prop begins in 1977, California. Many of the props from the movie were stored at Dollar Moving and Storage facility. The unit was rented by the studio, however, once filming was completed the studio stopped paying rent and everything in storage was discarded.
Doug was an employee who worked at the storage facility at the time. He recalled some of the items being retrieved by the crew, with the rest thrown away. Doug and other employees at the facility placed the majority of items into dumpsters. However, Doug saved a few pieces from going in the trash. This included the Death Star model and two large surface pieces from the Death Star trench sequence.
Doug kept the Death Star on display at his home in California for about a decade. When Doug moved to Missouri in 1988 he stored the Death Star at his mother’s antique shop. Todd Franklin, a huge star wars fan and collector, drove by the shop and was immediately convinced that it was the original Death Star.
The antique store where the Death Star model was found.
Todd took a few days to research before going back to try and acquire the piece. He even rang Lucasfilm and was told by employees that the Death Star had been destroyed, not knowing Doug has kept the piece for himself. However, after going back to acquire the piece, he found the Death Star had been sold to the owner of a country and western music show called ‘Star World’.
The model remained on display in the lobby at Star World for several years. And it appeared that Todd missed the opportunity of a lifetime by not purchasing the Death Star the day he saw it. However, Todd’s luck would eventually change, when Star World closed its doors in 1993.
Todd, his brother Pat, and friend Tim, all headed over to Star World to see if the Death Star was available. When they arrived, everything had been liquidated, except the Death Star. The Death star sat in the corner, being used as a trash can, filled with rubbish inserted in the hole from the missing radar dish. The three purchased the Death Star on the spot.
The Death Star model missing the satellite dish, the hole once filled with trash.
Todd, Pat, and Tim shared ownership of the Death Star model and enjoyed showing it off to people in their living room for years. Todd and Pat’s grandmother even made a replica radar dish from cardboard to complete the look. During this time they even contacted Lucasfilm to see if they wanted to buy the Death Star from them. Lucasfilm wrote back to say they were not interested in purchasing it.-
Where Is The Original Model Today?
In 1999 the three decided it was time to sell the Death Star. Gus Lopez, a Star Wars collector, purchased the Death Star and had it shipped to his home in Seattle. Gus was living in a small apartment with his wife and didn’t have the space for the large Death Star model, and so for a year, it remained in storage.
A year or so later, Gus and his wife moved house, and so the Death Star found a new home. Although Gus has owned the Death Star for two decades, it hasn’t remained in his home the entire time. It was loaned to the EMP Museum in Seattle for five years alongside their extensive sci-fi memorabilia.
The Death Star on display at the EMP Museum.
The museum hired a model maker to create a new radar dish. The original, made by Todd’s grandmother, was sent back to them for sentimental reasons. Having the Death Star on display gave many fans the chance to see it, with the museum giving it top billing.
After five years on display, the Death Star returned to Gus’ home. The Death star model has remained there since, now behind plexiglass.
The Death Star at Gus’ home in Seattle.