'THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU' - MARCH 2026 UPDATE

Only two more months to go until fans and box office receipts decide whether the unique pairing of the small screen's famous Disney+ era Star Wars heroes' transition to the big screen ultimately works...

Additional new snippets of footage in the IMAX trailers...

New merchandising stills from the movie.

Rotta the Hutt, now a gladiator!

The recent EMPIRE film magazine cover and inside shoot, exclusively taken by Robert Ascroft.

Empire’s The Mandalorian And Grogu Covers Revealed

The Mandalorian And Grogu Marks ‘A Completely Different Era Of Star Wars’

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: DARTH VADER MAKES HIS ARRIVAL...

Darth Vader makes his presence felt within the near-abandoned Echo Base on Hoth.

"(Irvin) Kershner was a real actors director. Before we started shooting Empire, he told me,"I want you to be the thinking man's Darth Vader", and really took me through things. He was lovely."

Dave Prowse - Film Review magazine Star Wars Special - 1997  

The Rebel base's shield generator has been spectacularly destroyed, and the enemy forces have mostly been wiped out by the AT-AT's and Imperial Snowtroopers. Now, the immense dark presence that is Darth Vader has arrived to oversee the final capture of Luke Skywalker and his other friends who'd prior helped in destroying the Death Star. Sadly, such a visitation and plans of revenge by the ominous Dark Lord proves too late, as the Millennium Falcon speeds off the base just in time, heading into space... 

But Vader's hunt will continue...

Vader is soon angered that the Millennium Falcon and its passengers have escaped his grip.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: TO STOP THE FALCON!

Stalled by mechanical problems, our heroes inside the Millennium Falcon rush to fix things. Meanwhile, Imperial Snowtroopers equally rush to stop the vessel within the evacuated hangar, readying their heavy-duty laser cannon at the vessel in this terrific B/W posed image.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: VADER IN DA BASE!

In the corridor near the Rebel base's Wampa pen, during filming of an ultimately deleted scene, Darth Vader (Dave Prowse) poses for some memorable publicity images alongside Imperial Snowtroopers.

A shot that appeared in the UK Look-in children's magazine promoting the release of Empire.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: WAMPA - 1, SNOWTROOPERS - 0

With C-3PO ingeniously having removed the security label from the door to the Wampa Pen, unaware invading Imperial Snowtroopers get a brief shock and an early potential casualty from one of the beasts, in a comedic visual moment, also involving Darth Vader, that didn't work, and not only stifled the drama of our heroes escape from Hoth but was also a necessary editing casualty linked to the unsuccessfully translated Wampa sub plot.

Threepio sneakily removes the Wampa pen warning sign in a now iconic deleted scene moment.

Specially posed publicity image.

Darth Vader is intrigued to know what's going on, in a deleted comedy moment that fell flat.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: ENTER THE IMPERIALS!

'Imperial troops have entered the base...'

Terrifying words for our heroes as the final stages of the evacuation of Echo Base continue, and the death-bringing forces of Darth Vader arrive, in this great cover art by comics legend Carmine Infantino exclusively created for the UK's The Empire Strikes Back Weekly comic, published in June 1980.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: IMPERIAL GROUND FORCES AT WORK!

Now released onto the Hoth surface, the Imperial Snowtroopers recce the enemy power generators in this great production painting idea for The Empire Strikes Back that sadly never made the film, as the Walkers vs ground troops instead became the singular focus of the ground conflict. Though approved by George Lucas in the film's pre production stage, the final design of the Snowtroopers was ultimately on screen- realized differently, surely due to the later influence of director Irvin Kershner, working with UK costume designer John Mollo.

McQuarrie's approved design for the Imperial Stormtrooper from George Lucas.

As seen on the battlefield in this other McQuarrie art.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: THE OTHER 'BATTLE OF HOTH'!

Imperial Snowtroopers disembark a Walker in this great art by Joe Johnston.

The epic Battle of Hoth had many incredible action/visual moments to savour, but there were other intriguing ideas and planned geography for the conflict ultimately not used during the shaping of the sequence during its pre-production art and storyboarding phase. Some of the more graphic violence of the boards were not considered for filming (notably illustrations showing battle-retreating Rebel Soldiers being crushed to death by Walker feet!).

Early concept art by Joe Johnston for the Battle of Hoth, when it was originally to have had Imperial Tanks in conflict rather than Walkers.

Snowtroopers rush across the surface in a great unfilmed storyboard by Joe Johnston.

Repelling Imperial invaders!

Here's a further selection of intriguing art pieces to enjoy...

UK film talent Ivor Beddoes ideas for the movement and geography of the battle sequence.
 

A second Beddoes idea is pinned to the walls at Elstree during 1978/79.

Luke is trapped in the snow amidst a battlefield of dead soldiers, in an idea from Ivor Beddoes, working on action ideas for Irvin Kershner at Elstree.

Rebel Soldiers assist in blasting away at a fallen Walker in this storyboard idea.

Unused ground level idea of Rebel solders retreating from the Walkers legs, an action moment that was likely cut for being too ambitious and optically tricky to effectively realize.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: FROM THE ENEMY'S VANTAGE POINT!

Image: Kurtz/Joiner Archive.

The trusted leader of the Walkers ground battle on Hoth against the Rebels, General Veers knows that it won't be long before the enemy force attacking them will fall to overwhelming opposition.

Costume reference photo of Julian Glover in his battle command outfit.

On a minimalist set - literally a futuristic back wall, with a drop down periscope of sorts - built at Elstree, actor Julian Glover, having won the part of Veers thanks to his neighbour in TESB producer Robert Watts, would deliver the majority of his battle scenes dialogue perfectly, even if the popular actor had no clue what he was actually talking about in the context of the film. Though one line, "Target the main generator", would hilariously use-up sixteen takes before Glover remembered it properly!

UK actors Paul Jericho and Ian Liston played the Walker cockpit pilots at Elstree.

Costume reference test images taken between filming. 

The forward cockpit shot angles were filmed separately with an unknown performer as General Veers, most likely in the UK, as one ILM storyboard would indicate in July 1979.

Regular background artist Chris Parsons would cameo as a Snowtrooper alongside Veers in the film's first viewing of that Stormtrooper type.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: RETURN OF THE SITH LORD!

'I'm going to make you the thinking man's Darth Vader!'

Words that were surely sweet music to enthusiastic Dave Prowse's fully-opened ears, from The Empire Strikes Back's inspiring new director Irvin Kershner, as the British actor/body building champion returned to act/inhabit the world's greatest screen villain (and children's ultimate 'Boogeyman') in Darth Vader, who'd become more character-nuanced, more deadly, more spiteful, and less able to tolerate incompetent fools gladly than ever before, to the delight of audiences worldwide. In the three-year story timeline between movies, Vader is resolve-hardened in destroying the Rebel Alliance, with a particular interest turned obsession in finding the young hero Luke Skywalker, the Dark Lord of the Sith assembling a mighty Imperial Star Destroyer 'Death Squadron' and launching thousands of probe droids across the galaxy to find the Force abilities pilot who destroyed the Death Star.

Giving orders for attack from his Super Star Destroyer meditation chamber.

Vader with his loyal Imperial officer Admiral Piett (Kenneth Colley).

Leading from the front with his Snowtroopers in capturing Echo Base. 

Another one bites the dust in this posed publicity image.

Vader brings in the bounty hunters to search for the Millennium Falcon.

Capturing Han Solo at Bespin, and all before dinner!

Conspiring with Boba Fett (John Morton, for one filmed scene), watched by a helpless Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams).

Ominously awaiting Luke Skywalker's arrival into his trap!

Vader soon overwhelms the not-fully-trained Luke Skywalker.

'I am your father!'

Awaiting the next fateful meeting with Luke Skywalker....