Sometimes, all it takes for creative inspiration is a loud espresso machine that leads to one of the strangest names ever written on a Starbucks cup. According to an interview with CNN (that is worth the full read), the intense pressure of adding to the Star Wars canon for director Gareth Edwards was relieved by a Starbucks barista, who bungled his name for an order by calling him “Scarif.”
Not only is this an incredible story that will be echoed by Star Wars fans throughout time, it makes you wonder about a barista who thinks people are walking around ordering venti americanos with the name Scarif. Who would name their kid “Scarif?” Probably someone out there, now that they know it can work as an actual name.
Anyway, here’s Gareth Edwards, telling the strange story behind naming the planet that holds the Death Star’s schematics:
“Yeah, so as a director you’re like, ‘I want to get my name in there,’ but how do you do it? Gary was writing and he was naming loads of things. At one point he said, ‘It’s your turn to name something, Gareth.’ I was really looking forward to this. I’m like, ‘OK, this is a big deal. I’ve got to pick a good name.’ I was like, ‘What do you want me to name?’ He said, ‘The end planet.’ The whole third-act thing. I was like, ‘OK, let me think about it. OK, give me a moment.’
I go over to get a coffee from Starbucks. I’m thinking, ‘What could be the name? It could be this. Maybe we could use that?’ Then at the very end, she gives me the drink and they must have asked my name and I must have said, ‘It’s Gareth,’ but they heard ‘Scarif.’ They wrote Scarif on the cup and I was like, ‘That sounds like Star Wars.’
I went back in and I just give it to Gary and went, ‘It’s called Scarif.'”
The only direction this can go now that we know the etymology of Scarif is for Star Wars fans to go full-on right wing protest-mode and start requesting their Starbucks orders through the name “Scarif.” That, or maybe start a T-shirt line that parodies this whole, weird revelation.
(Via CNN)
