Pod

Stats

Model: Pod
Affiliation: Civilian
Status: A small vehicle used on Tatooine
Crew: 1 driver
Weapon: Unknown

Gasgano's Pod sent by anonymous source

The Facts

Portions of the Pod Race were seen in the trailer.



Beebo's Pod sent by anonymous source

Spy Reports

The Pods in the Pod Race are named simply with letters of the alphabet.


Pod Race Announcer Storyboard sent by anonymous source

SHABBY BLUE: 11/4/98 - Shabby Blue tells us that there are 18 pods in the race. All look uniquely different. Kenner will be making 5 of them as toys.


Pod Arena

UNNAMED SOURCE: 11/20/97 - An N64 Episode 1 game is being made right now by LucasArts, and a pod race takes place at one stage during the game. This scoop came the same day as another report shown below in the Other Unofficial Sources section.


THE BOTHAN SPY: The Bothan Spy took this picture. It is either Anakin's unfinished pod or perhaps a mold or casing for the pod.

He also told Harry Knowles the following on 9/14/97 :

You see, at the beginning of the film on Tatooine, Anakin and some others have a 'Pod Race'! (This has been confirmed to me by another source independent of this one) The above picture is Anakin's Pod, and the bit on the right is the BACK - the bit on the left is the FRONT! Yes, I know it looks backwards, but it's the truth according to the "Imperial Droid". The back of his head touches the raised 'windscreen' looking bit, and he faces towards to two fins at the left of the picture. This pod also has weird 'arms' sticking out at the front and is essentially the space equivalent of a go-cart. We all know that Lucas loves his converted cars, and these are the same sort of things but for young kids such as little Anakin!

Here's the spy's follow up:

"Yes - the pod race is like Ben Hur. It's just a bit of fun, and takes place in Mos Espa. This is another spaceport similar to Mos Eisley. Here we meet 'Watto', a character who owns a shop and has a private 'box' on Mos Espa in the 'arena'!! I believe the pod race takes place in the Mos Espa arena."


Ody Mantrell's Pod sent by anonymous source



DELTA-SOURCE: There is a pod race which occurs in the Tatooine city of Mos Espa. The race, which takes place at the Mos Espa arena, seems to be presided over by Jabba the Hutt. Anakin is one of the main contenders in the race. Delta-Source took the picture of the blue-and-silver pod at the top of the screen, and another source has confirmed that this is indeed Anakin's pod. 
Above are the Pods lined up at the race starting grid from a German film magazine.

 

Other Unofficial Sources

DIGITISER: 11/20/97 - Nick Ferguson brought to our attention a report by Digitiser, a teletext service run by Channel 4 in the U.K. "Digitiser had a report earlier in the week on the development of a PC game based on the new prequel. With a minimum of hype and hoop-la, Digitiser said that Lucasarts were working on a genre that hasn't really been done with a SW theme yet - a racing game. Apparently, one of the opening scenes of the movie involves a highly illegal race in "turbine-driven cars" out in the Tatooine desert, kind of like drag racing, I guess. The event is overseen by... Jabba the Hutt. The game has a section based around this theme."

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