AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: JUST HANGING AROUND!

Captured and held suspended as 'food storage' in the Wampa cave, Luke Skywalker uses the Force, in his first major onscreen practical application of his unique ability, to retrieve his nearby lightsaber and make an earthly return. And just as the Wampa can be heard approaching!

Luke surveys his surroundings and looks for his fallen lightsaber.

Originally, in an early script, the voice of his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi was to have been subtly heard giving Luke the encouragement needed to use his abilities in retrieving the saber, but this was ultimately dropped, though the idea did make it into the novel adaptation by Donald F. Glut and the Marvel Comics adaptation of 1980.

Norman Reynolds production design for Luke in the Wampa cave.

Height/size reference of the Wampa cave.

Hamill in partial costume rehearsal for the scene with Irvin Kershner.

Hamill in a break between filming.

Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky holds on to Hamill as he reaches out to his lightsaber for filming.

Using his lightsaber to escape the ceiling snare.

The skeletal remains of a dead Tauntaun make effective set dressing in the cave.

Having spent several highly uncomfortable days hanging upside down- though aided and safely supervised by Stuntmen Peter Diamond and Colin Skeaping, Mark Hamill would be less than thrilled at having to re-film most of the sequence anew a short time later, this time second unit directed by Gary Kurtz.

Gary Kurtz and a second unit handle re-shoots of the Wampa Cave sequence.

The Wampa (Des Webb) approaches the upside down Luke in an unused angle. 

Peter Diamond and Colin Skeaping assist Hamill between takes.

No longer wearing the location filming-used stilt feet for the Elstree filming, Des Webb takes a break on the cave set, which was reduced in size to make the creature look even bigger on film.