Wednesday, 24 March 2021

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: VADER DEFEATED?

 


A vengeance-fuelled Luke Skywalker successfully defeats Vader despite his inexperience duelling with a lightsaber. And as the lifeless body of the decapitated dark lord crumples to the floor, his rolling head soon reveals a shocking truth to the boy!

Stuntman Bob Anderson in the costume during the filming of the scene.

Substituting the headless dummy that will collapse on cue.

A light weight dummy Vader constructed by costumes and the on set practical effects department would be propped up and ready to detonate, lose its head and collapse once thrashed by Mark Hamill's swinging lightsaber.


One of the Vader helmets is rolled on the floor to camera, whilst a dummy one explodes to show its shocking face underneath it.

A group of set visitors (merchandise liaisons and public guests) witnessed the filming of this sequence, which soon lead to an apparent leak to a UK national newspaper that was trying to spoil the film's plot, saying, through witness assumption, that Luke would vanquish Vader for the upcoming sequel.
 

Ivor Beddoes storyboard of Vader's helmet opened up (rather than exploding) to reveal Luke's own face underneath.


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