Outer Rim - Tumblr Posts
I just started reading Star Wars: Thrawn (2017) and I’m really fascinated with the attention to detail that Star Wars has when it comes to characters’ accents.
The closer to Coruscant, the more regal the accent is. For example, characters from planets in the inner core tend to have English accents. In contrast, characters from the outer rim planets tend to have American accents.
Characters like Jedi, most of which were raised on Coruscant because of the location of the Jedi Temple, tend to have English accents. However, there are exceptions, such as Anakin Skywalker. I believe Anakin has an American accent because he spent his early childhood on Tatooine, which is located in the outer rim.
Because this idea of location-based accents seemed to be created during the prequel era of Star Wars production, I didn’t expect the sequels to continue with this pattern (Seeing as they hardly cared about other canon ideas, such as the Sith Rule of Two). Surprisingly, Jakku is located in the inner core, which makes Rey’s English accent support this idea.
I know John Boyega was told to use an American accent because there were “too many” characters with English accents in the films, but this may actually support this idea also. As a low ranking stormtrooper, it is less likely that he would have a more regal accent that officers, like Hux, would have.
I also think it’s is interesting that many Imperials from mid to outer rim worlds, like Tarkin and Pryce, would hide their native accents and adopt more sophisticated English ones.
The Thrawn novel states that “Arihnda [Pryce] herself had worked very hard to get rid of her own Outer Rim accent, but she still felt very self conscious about her roots” after she recognizes Eli Vanto’s “Wild Space accent” and notes how uncomfortable he feels in the higher class Imperial gala. Pryce’s homeworld is Lothal, which is in the Outer Rim. This is also where Ezra Bridger and Ryder Azadi are from, and they don’t have regal accents.
In the novel, it is explicitly and repeated stated that Eli Vanto has a “wild space accent” and he’s even bullied for it. What do y’all think the equivalent of his accent would be to us? American? Southern (yee-haw) American? Australian?
I’d love to hear yalls thoughts about this!!😳