AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: FRIENDLY WARNINGS!

Production painting for the departure scene by Ralph McQuarrie.

The vision of his captured friends has been deliberately crafted and intensified by Darth Vader to lure Luke Skywalker to the 'City in the Clouds', and he's succeeded. Against the advice if the wise Master Yoda and the unexpected physical appearance of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke now prepares to abandon his training, jet off Dagobah and try to help his friends at Bespin. 

Now, matters are indeed worse, as depicted in this great production painting art by Ralph McQuarrie.

Ivor Beddoes storyboards for the departure scene showing Luke loading his equipment.

In filming of the scene around August 1979, Sir Alec Guinness was not yet available to play Obi-Wan Kenobi (of which contractual negotiations were still being confirmed) - his character added on during later-to-be-shot insert filming, resulting in a member of the crew voicing Kenobi's dialogue in the esteemed actor's absence. An hilarious little incident also saw Hamill sneakily bitten by a snake he was handling hen removing it from one of the X-wing fighter engines pods, the actor hilariously referring to the bite as "a little love peck"!

Luke confers with Yoda in deleted dialogue before attending his X-wing.

Luke is warned that patience is needed or he could find himself becoming 'an agent of evil'.

Luke removes a snake from the fighter engine. Behind the scenes it gave the actor 'a little love peck' bite! 

Sir Alec Guinness filmed his scenes with Irvin Kershner separately from Yoda during one day's lucratively paid filming at Elstree in September,1979. Note the lighting stand-in wearing Obi-Wan's cloak.