Wing Commander Movie Night: THX 1138

The Wing Commander movie club has successfully landed Air Force One! Or maybe we crashed it into the sea. This week's movie will be one everyone knows of but rarely takes the time to watch: THX-1138 (1971). THX 1138 was the first feature film directed by George Lucas who would go on to create Star Wars… so it should already be obvious why it would be of interest to a bunch of Wing Commander fans! You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.

While it's obviously going to be interesting to see the connection to something so important to Wing Commander as Star Wars, the reason for choosing the movie is a simple in-game reference: one of the characters in Special Operations 2 is credited as Mandarin #1138. This is in keeping with a long tradition of films, especially Lucas' Star Wars ones, hiding the number in various places.

Who is Mandarin #1138? She is the barely-visible character heard communicating with Admiral Rakh'rhi in the second part of Special Operations 2's intro. She's voiced by G.P. Austin who was a writer on Wing Commander II and responsible for the screenplays for Privateer, Strike Commander and others! They went on to create the game Harvester, which is fondly remembered by a very particular sort of aging gamer.

Mandarin #1138: The Morningstar Project is nearing the final stages of prototype testing.

Mandarin #1138: A squadron of test pilots is being transferred to the Concordia.

Admiral Rakh’rhi: We must have that prototype!

Admiral Rakh’rhi: Bring me this Morningstar, even if you have to spill blood to get it.

Mandarin #1138: Preferably.

Wait, she? That's right, the ultimate reveal is that the Mandarin traitor sent to "get [Rakh'rhi] the Morningstar, even if you have to spill blood to get it" is Minx. They game is intentionally misleading you by giving her a deep, male-seeming (the G in G.P. stands for Gilbert) voice to help make it seem like one of the other Morningstar pilots (Crossbones, Talon or or even Maniac) is the traitor. Of course, this can only work because of one major omission: none of Minx's other lines are voiced; you don't actually fly with her as a wingmate!

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

THX-1138 is available to purchase on the standard streaming services. The Internet Archive offers a copy of the original cut which lacks the new CG establishing shots of the readily available rental version. The run times are so close that you should be fine watching either. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.

How do we watch the movie together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!

How can I help pick future movie club movies?

The movie club movies are voted on each week by the Wing Commander Discord. The poll is typically posted 24 hours before each week's screening and the next movie is announced at the end. The choices for the poll come from a master pool of Wing Commander-related movies. If you would like to suggest a film for inclusion in that pool you can post it to this thread.