Picture of Yoda

Did You Know…. St. Maarten Is A Star Wars Destination?

Fun fact: St. Maarten has a Star Wars museum. For fans of the series often a known fact; for laymen something to explore on island as they might not have associated a sun soaked Caribbean island with Chewbacca, Han Solo and his lot. We will give you some guidance below on how this odd fun fact came to be. Visit this lovely Philipsburg museum and  may the force be with you!

 

The Year Nick Maley Came To St. Maarten

 

Clearly, as Star Wars fans would want us to say it, this story started a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Well before Nick Maley and his wife Gloria arrived on St. Maarten in 2007.

 

British creative artist Nick Maley worked on 66 movies, and only 3 of those were star wars movies. It was the three George Lucas movies however that made Maleys fame. He amongst others created the looks of Yoda and worked with fellow creative Stuart Freeborn on “the Mos Eisley cantina” scene, depicting a wild collection of alien types visiting a bar in space. It is also this Tunesian decor that inspired the museum entry on Front Street. Whereas the Mos Eisley cantina scene might not have been as crucial a scene for the trilogy storyline, it was one for the creative and diverse artwork involved.

 

St. Maarten Star Wars Museum

 

His work would bring Maley an Emmy Award nomination. In 2007, he started exhibiting his collection in a new museum on St. Maarten.

 

With “That Yoda Guy Movie Exhibition”,  Maley opened a not for profit museum to give back: profits are put to good use. Not just original Star Wars creatures, documents and paraphernalia are on display and in some cases for sale, but also his work on other movies like Hellraiser, Alien and Superman.

 

 

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