George Lucas Changed Empire Strikes Backs Ending In 1980 (But No One Noticed)

George Lucas Changed Empire Strikes Back’s Ending In 1980 (But No One Noticed)

George Lucas made a lot of changes to the Star Wars movies after their release, but Empire Strikes Back was altered while it was still in theaters.

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George Lucas Changed Empire Strikes Backs Ending In 1980 (But No One Noticed)

The Empire Strikes Back is one of the most popular and critically-celebrated films of the Star Wars franchise, but George Lucas felt a change was necessary way back in 1980, when the film was still in theaters. Empire is best remembered today for its dark tone, the introduction of iconic characters like Yoda, Boba Fett, and Lando Calrissian, and its unforgettable final reveal that Darth Vader is Luke’s father. All of these aspects were, of course, present in the original release.

Lucas had made similarly last-minute changes before this point, with small audio alterations made to A New Hope (then known only as Star Wars before being, yes, changed in re-release) while it was still in theaters. But his reputation as a tireless revisionist wouldn’t truly emerge until the 1997 Star Wars Special Edition releases, which made clear replacements of and additions to most aspects of the original trilogy’s special effects. These would be followed by similar efforts in subsequent years, with even the prequel trilogy being changed as it moved to home video.

This first, theatrical change to The Empire Strikes Back appears at the very end of the film, after Luke narrowly escapes from Cloud City (h/t StarWars.com). It consists simply of three new shots showing the exterior of the Rebel medical frigate which provides Luke with his new hand. The first of these features a few Rebel starships flying past the frigate, while the second shows the Millennium Falcon, carrying Lando and Chewbacca, docked beneath it. After an interior look at the cockpit, the third new shot pans away from an outside view of the Falcon to peer into a window of the medical bay where Luke is being treated alongside Leia, C-3PO, and R2-D2. Originally, the film cut from a wide view of the fleet directly to the cockpit, then straight to the inside of the medical bay, leading to Lucas’s concern that audiences might be slightly confused as to where the two groups were in relation to one another if they weren’t given more context.

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George Lucas has endured persistent criticism for the repeated alterations made the Star Wars films under his supervision. While The Empire Strikes Back has been less significantly altered than A New Hope or Return of the Jedi, it has been subjected to, among other things, casting changes when Ian McDiarmid and Temuera Morrison were inserted as Emperor Palpatine and Boba Fett, respectively. However, it’s easier to consider the additional exterior shots as part of the proper film, both because they came so early in its life and because they are relatively unobtrusive, being neither a needless exhibition of CGI nor a marked narrative change like the infamous shootout between Han Solo and Greedo.

From a cynical perspective, even three very brief shots could be interpreted as an omen of the unnecessary additions to come. But the change, regardless of necessity, demanded a very brisk turnaround from the crew, who believed that their work on The Empire Strikes Back was long since finished, only to be recalled three weeks before wide release. With that in mind, this also serves as a reminder of the vast number of people required to create films like these, and of just how much hard work goes into fulfilling even the smallest creative choices.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-wars-empire-strikes-back-lucas-ending-change/

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