5 Interesting Behind The Scenes Facts About ‘Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back’
Image Source: IMDB
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is easily one of the best films in the original trilogy. It has everything you could ever want in a movie! We meet Lando for the first time, get the iconic “No, I am your father” line, and we have Luke not only meeting Yoda but also training with him. This movie is 100% iconic, and it is a shame that due to it being from the 1980’s people don’t really talk about the behind-the-scenes facts about the film! So, let’s take a look at five interesting behind-the-scenes facts.
5. Iconic Improvising
Image Source: IMDB
One of the best parts of the film is when Han is about to be frozen and he and Leia exchange the iconic “I love you” “I know” lines. It turns out that originally Han was supposed to say “Just remember that, cause I’ll be back”. Thankfully, Harrison Ford fought for the right to improve the line instead, and we got his “I know” response. This was a much better fit for his character and is one of his most memorable lines.
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4. DIY
Image Source: IMDB
George Lucas wanted to avoid having to share creative rights for this film, so he decided to finance the entire $22 million film himself. Using a bank loan and profits from the first Star Wars film, he created The Chapter II Company, which helped to minimize the risks of funding his own film. This was especially useful when they needed to increase the budget after the set for Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining burnt down. He made the money back at the box office and was able to split the profits with his employees.
3. Original Drafts
Image Source: IMDB
In original drafts of the film, not only was Anakin Skywalker not Darth Vader, but Leia wasn’t Luke’s sister! The original draft of the film had the Force ghost of Anakin appearing to Luke and informing him that he had a sister named Nellith whom he had hidden and had trained as a Jedi. This was changed once it was decided that Anakin would be Darth Vader and Leia was his sister. Now that we have so much content exploring the fall of Anakin, it would have been a shame if they had chosen a different character to become Vader.
2. Keep it Secret!
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By now, everyone knows that iconic “No, I am your father” line, but this was actually kept secret from the cast and crew until the film’s premiere. George Lucas told Mark Hamill in secret so that he would know how to react, but aside from Luke and Vader, no one else in the cast knew. Most of the cast thought that the line “No, Obi-Wan killed your father” was the film's twist, so they didn’t ask any questions. During the premiere, Harrison Ford leaned over to Hamill and whispered, “Hey kid, you didn’t f—ing tell me that” after watching the scene.
1. No More Han?
Image Source: IMDB
Most Star Wars fans know that Harrison Ford had been asking for his character to be killed off since the original trilogy. What many of you might not know is why this movie ends with Han frozen in carbonite. It is now an iconic scene, but it was originally done because the producers didn’t know if Ford would agree to return for Return of the Jedi since he had not signed a contract for the film like Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. Freezing Han in carbonite was a way for the producers to leave their options open in case he didn’t return.
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is currently available to stream on Disney+.
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Source(s): ScreenRant
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