Star Wars might take place in a galaxy far, far away, but many of the colorful aliens in this franchise sound like they come from right here on Earth. That’s particularly true of the Twi’leks, most of whom speak with a very specific accent. Listen closely to Aayla Secura or other Twi’leks in Star Wars and you’ll hear them speak with a distinctive French accent, something personally requested by George Lucas.
Accents Didn’t Matter Early In The Franchise
In the original Star Wars trilogy, the Twi’leks didn’t have a French accent, but this didn’t really matter because we never heard them speak in English (or, to be more precise, in Basic). The most prominent Twi’leks were Bib Fortuna, Jabba’s lackey, who speaks to the Hut in his own language, and the poor dancing girl that this crime lord feeds to his pet Rancor. Therefore, George Lucas didn’t really have to consider the proper accent for these aliens until the prequel era.
The first Twi’lek that the Star Wars guru wanted to sound French was the fan-favorite Jedi, Aayla Secura. However, Lucas didn’t have to worry about her accent at first because she didn’t have any speaking lines during the Prequel Trilogy. Like many characters in the prequels, though, her role in this franchise was expanded considerably during the Clone Wars cartoon.
Deliberate Decision Made By George Lucas
That Star Wars animation was the first time that Secura would speak out loud, and she has a noticeably French accent when she opens her mouth. According to Clone Wars executive producer and current franchise guru Dave Filoni, George Lucas personally requested for the Jedi to have a French accent. Eventually, that became standard, and other Twi’leks in this show and beyond rocked the same accent.
There’s No France In Outer Space
Of course, in the actual Star Wars universe, nobody refers to this as a French accent by name because of the general lack of both France and Earth itself in a galaxy far, far away. Instead, what we hear as a French accent is meant to represent how most Twi’leks sound when they try to speak Basic. Certain Twi’leks make an effort to ditch that accent, but it still comes out when they are stressed or experiencing other intense emotions.
Accents Of Anger
Speaking of Twi’leks in Star Wars who managed to ditch their accent, Hera Syndulla didn’t sound French in Ahsoka and only rarely rocked the accent in Rebels. It was a deliberate creative decision to have this Rebel general be one of the Twi’leks who made an effort to remove her accent, but it still comes out in moments of anger when she visits her native planet Ryloth.
It was Rebels voice actor Vanessa Marshall (a fluent French speaker herself) who decided that Hera, like many in the real world, might slip in and out of an accent when she is mad the same way that some of her Jamaican friends slip in and out of Patois while arguing. Most of the time, though, Hera has no noticeable accent, which is presumably why Mary Elizabeth Winstead didn’t sound French when playing the character in Ahsoka. If you want more of Hera with an accent, though, all you have to do is watch her younger self in The Bad Batch.
Que Sera, Sera
As Star Wars fans, we’re fascinated that Twi’leks sounding French was a direct request of George Lucas, and we’re dying to know what prompted this idea. Did he want them to channel the romance of the French Resistance during World War II, or did he just think it sounded cool? We may never know, but that’s okay…as the Twi’lek-sounding fans on our own planet might say, “que sera, sera.”
