Gareth Edwards directed Rogue One. A key locale in that film is called “Scarif.” Gareth and Scarif sort of rhyme. Mere coincidence? Apparently not. During a talk at SXSW, Edwards explained that he came up with the name of the gorgeous planet where the film’s big battle goes down after a coffee shop employee bastardized the spelling of his own.
This all came about, he explained, when writer Gary Whitta, who had been thinking up most of the monikers, tasked Edwards with devising one. Edwards then decided to mull it over with some coffee, and went to a ”particular, very well known” establishment. (We’re going to go ahead and guess Starbucks.) Upon receiving his beverage, he had a Eureka moment. “When they asked for my name I must have said, ’It’s Gareth,’ because they wrote, ’Scarif’ on the coffee,” he said. “I just came back and I slid the coffee cup and went, ‘It’s called Scarif.’”
The game of telephone that happens when a person orders coffee at the chain in question has resulted in some strange permutations over the years, most of which are just good for a couple chuckles. But this one was apparently wild enough to join the ranks of Hoth, Tatooine, and Alderaan.