DELETED SCENE: PROBOT vs WAMPA!

The ice planet Hoth is not only dangerous for its inhospitable weather conditions, but also for the deadly creatures that reside there. For example, the deadly Wampa, who prey on and attack from their snow camouflage anything they think they can eat. Unfortunately, one such wild beast becomes easy prey to another type of creature, an Imperial Probe Droid, which finds its icy lair and soon destroys it before moving on in its search for any signs of human Rebel activity.

A storyboard to a deleted scene from The Empire Strikes Back that was partially filmed on location in Norway with the Probot prop back in March 1979 (the Wampa likely changed to a rodent). The scene can also be found in the original Donald Glut novelisation of the film, released in 1980.

CLASSIC McQUARRIE: SENTINELS OF HOTH!

With their heavy weaponry and regular Tauntaun patrols, the Rebels maintain constant vigilance across the blue-tinted Hoth landscape, ready for action, in this lovely Thailand poster art from 1980 promoting The Empire Strikes Back, using the great Production Painting work of Ralph McQuarrie that helped make the film such a uniquely different entity to the original Star Wars.

It was an image that was also adapted and used in the Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon Marvel Comics adaptation of the iconic saga entry.  

GOODBYE, BRIAN JOHNSON...

Brian Johnson at work for ILM with the impressive Star Destroyer model newly built for The Empire Strikes Back.

STAR WARS AFICIONADO was sad to near of the passing (this past May) of the legendary British special effects talent, and Academy Awrd winner, Brian Johnson. Having worked for the likes of Gerry Anderson (on his beloved Supermarionation series) and the legendary Stanley Kubrick (on 2001), Brian was contacted in 1975 by George Lucas and Gary Kurtz to handle the effects work on the original Star Wars but was then unavailable due to his ongoing epic commitment to the visually iconic Space:1999 TV series. Thankfully, he would be available to work on the practical UK effects (and be at ILM supervising model filming duties/adding various contributions) for The Empire Strikes Back, where his long-time experience would surely prove invaluable to Lucas (whom Johnson greatly admired at that time) and his team. 

It was extremely disappointing that Johnson's work on the saga was overlooked in Lawrence Kasdan's documentary series chronicling ILM and its evolving team/s several years back, but his quality work, not just on Star Wars but all the other productions he so importantly contributed to, lives on.

At the ILM model shop with Lorne Peterson, Marc Thorpe and others.

BEHIND THE SCENES: BUILDING DAGOBAH!

Potential filming in either the Florida swamps or the Phillipines, so as to represent the 'Bog World' of Dagobah, proved too problematic and potentially dangerous for The Empire Strikes Back's production team, who instead elected to make the strange and atmospheric environment within the UK and Europe's largest all-new soundstage at Elstree - the aptly crowned Star Wars Stage, during July 1979.

The end results seen on the screen were more than spectacular and memorable.

EPISODE V: THE DISINTEGRATOR!

The slightest sound heard on his receptors can mean potential conflict for Boba Fett, unwilling to let his prize in carbon frozen Han Solo be taken away from him as he makes his way to Slave 1 and departure to Tatooine, in this super close-in image of the character from The Empire Strikes Back.

Jeremy Bulloch interview:

https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-identities-jeremy-bulloch-interview

Though The Mandalorian continues to be a fun series (and hopefully a fun movie experience, too!), it was a great shame that the originally planned Boba Fett standalone film never happened. Though the project has since been allegedly 'debunked' by Kathleen Kennedy, remember when this news first came out? And the Celebration convention preview alongside Rogue One?

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-boba-fett-movie-is-happening-james-mangold-direct-1113273

CLASSIC ART: FORGING AN 'EMPIRE'!

Acclaimed artist Martin Ansin's stunning works covering the Star Wars saga have been published worldwide, and they continue on with this gorgeous piece covering the excitement, action and drama of The Empire Strikes Back.

REMEMBERING CARRIE...

As the Tenth Anniversary of her sad parting from us approaches next year, Star Wars Aficionado continues to remember our immortal Carrie Fisher and her never-to-be-forgotten, enduring portrayal of Princess Leia Organa, as seen here in this lovely colourised posed image from The Empire Strikes Back.

CLASSIC ART: MIX AND MATCHING!

Light and darkness have never been pitted against each other more in the Star Wars saga than in The Empire Strikes Back, especially between Luke Skywalker and his relentless pursuer in the evil Darth Vader. The two characters, with other support, are well established in this fine Wayne Douglas Barlowe art for the US Random House published Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back Mix and Match story book, released in  1980.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: MEANWHILE, ON THE COMEDY VARIETY SHOW PLANET!

Taking their first steps on a comedy variety show planet!

Frank Oz helped bring the magic of Yoda to the Star Wars saga, so it was only fair that the compliment was returned back to him, Jim Henson and the Muppet Show, as Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and the remote controlled Artoo Detoo made an hilarious special appearance on the UK/international comedy hit during 1980, filmed at the nearby ITC Elstree Studios. Hamill, notably, would get to stretch his comedy muscles in a double role (himself and Luke Skywalker) alongside Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and the legendary Miss Piggy, give a notable 'Gargling Gershwin' rendition, and even indulge in a little bit of musical variety!

Hamill and Daniels rehearse the finale with Kermit.

Luke and Threepio discuss the bizarre universe they are in!

Mark/Luke with his new porky Princess!

Original preview press cutting, from the files of the Kurtz/Joiner Archive.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: A UNIVERSE OF DRAMA AND ADVENTURE...

The long-running commercial artist John Alvin's work on the original Star Wars films have become highly beloved and respected over time. None more so than the super 1995 work he did for the films on their uncut VHS release before the debut of the Special Editions, of which all the key successful character ingredients for The Empire Strikes Back would be well represented.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: THE DUEL BEGINS!

The moment has finally come for Luke Skywalker to face his demon, as personified by the brutal presence in the Dark Side of the Force that is his nemesis, Darth Vader, the man/creature who helped wipe the Jedi Knights out of existence and whom supposedly killed his father. This duel will not just be a test of Luke's skill, but also his character, physical and psychological strengths. He'll need all of that not just to stay alive against such an experienced and lethal duellist, but also for the disturbing and shocking revelation that the Sith Lord will impart to him at the worst possible time...

Superb Marvel Comics art by the legendary Daredevil writer/artist Frank Miller back in 1980, celebrating one of the The Empire Strikes Back's greatest and most intense-to-watch sequences.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: THE CARBON FREEZE NIGHTMARE!

The superb Carbon Freeze Chamber set designed by Norman Reynolds.

Darkness falls within the once beautiful Cloud City on Bespin, as our captured Rebel heroes face the worst of times under the brutal auspices of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, amidst his shocking plans to ensnare Luke Skywalker. But first off, as a trial run to the young Jedi's planned destiny at the captured hands of the fearsome Emperor, Han Solo must be put into a carbon freeze prison...

Ever loyal to his friends, Chewbacca must protect Leia in Han's absence.

Boba Fett and Darth Vader make their mark in this chilling sequence.

A last goodbye?

Leia prepares for the worst...

Han is prepared for Carbon Freeze by an Ugnaught.

The classic scene, which generated humour and sadness.

"It gave George pause. He had not written the scene with a laugh. But the laugh opens you up emotionally. You don't have another emotional outlet in that scene."

Harrison Ford on "I know" - Starlog interview - Issue 35, 1980

The terrifying process begins, as Chewbacca and Leia witness the fate of Han Solo...

The Carbon Frozen Solo is hauled up.

The shocking reveal...

"When the cast of Solo in carbon freeze was created the first time, he was standing straight up, looking normal. That's what the prop department thought I wanted. I said, 'No, he's got to be looking like he is fighting to get out; he has to look like he is in agony.' So we changed it to the way it looks in the film."

Irvin Kershner - Star Wars - The Annotated Screenplays - 1997

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: 'HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY' ISSUES...

Fun with Carrie and Gary in April, 1979.

Often seeming frail and acting erratically with the start of studio filming in London, Carrie Fisher's building drugs addiction off camera would become a serious health concern for the production team during The Empire Strikes Back. With such a delicate subject to broach to the mood-changeable Fisher, George Lucas is unable to get producer Gary Kurtz (at times acting on set as an unofficial kind of 'chaperone' to the actress) nor the film's unofficial shadow producer in Howard Kazanjian to converse with her about the problems. Thankfully, Marcia Lucas ultimately comes to her husband's rescue, cleverly using a screening of Fisher's dailies footage as Leia to subtly highlight her personal problems. The results are successful, with Fisher's health, improved weight and onscreen performance better by the mid-point of the film's shoot.

Make-up artist Kay Freeborn always found Carrie a mercurial figure on set.

Fisher was always fascinated by film camera technique during the shoot.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: INTRODUCING LANDO... KADAR?!

Super-smooth, with a smile like a supernova: introducing Billy Dee Williams as Baron Lando Calrissian, leader of Bespin's Cloud City realm. 

“He’s a very charming, cavalier, roguish character- he’s very much like Han. I think the difference between them is that Han in a pinch will use his guns and Lando will charm his way out of a situation.”

Billy Dee Williams interview - Starlog magazine - 1980

Originally starring life in George Lucas's storyline for Star Wars II as Lando Kadar, the Baron Administrator of Cloud City was originally a tougher, though charismatic, rival to Han Solo in many ways, of which respected actor Yaphet Kotto, who has just finished playing one of the lead parts in Fox’s other sci-fi hit then currently in 1978 production, Alien, is offered the role. Kotto turns Lando down, allegedly because of typecasting worries in the sci-fi genre - that it might be difficult for him to find work afterwards. 

"How ya doin' you old pirate?!" A warm greeting for Lando's old rival, Han Solo, at Cloud City.

With Lando beginning to evolve a few months later into a smoother type of character to the one previously created (soon conceived as an alternate version of what Han would be like had he not hooked up with the Rebellion), Lucas and Kershner look towards a different type of actor for the role. Billy Dee Williams, born and raised in New York City, where he studied at the Actors Workshop under the tutelage of Paul Mann (before receiving a scholarship to the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design, where he won many awards, including the Hallgarten award for painting - an interest which he continues with to this day, alongside his acting), is soon right at the top of Irvin Kershner’s thoughts to play the new Lando (the actor having also been considered at one point to play Han Solo back in George Lucas’s 1975’s screen tests - the young Lucas prior impressed with his performance alongside Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues), seeing so many of Calrissian’s charming, adventurous traits in the actor. Visiting Williams at his US home, Kershner, after several hours discussing numerous topics (including European-Western philosophy) tells Billy Dee about the role and offers it to him, without the need for a screen test. Instantly falling in love with the name Lando Calrissian (a surname which is actually of American origin), and liking his character description, Williams accepts the role and will soon be on his way to London for costume tests and filming (though given an incomplete script at that time) by April 1979.

Interviewed in the Star Wars Office at Elstree Studios by French cameraman/interviewer Michel Parbot, for documentary/publicity footage. 

The first officially released photo of Billy Dee Williams as Lando, from the first teaser trailer for TESB. Image composition: Chris Baker.

Early costume concept for Lando Kadar by Ralph McQuarrie, back when Yaphet Kotto was originally being considered for the role in 1978.

Various early costume designs by John Mollo, as showcased by Star Wars Insider magazine back in 2020.

The striking TESB posed cover for Williams' acclaimed autobiography from a few years ago.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: INTRODUCING A BOUNTY HUNTER...

Ready to take the bounty, Boba Fett, as special art personified by his visual co-creator, Joe Johnston. 

"George (Lucas) wanted a new trooper. The original idea behind Boba Fett was that he was going to be an army of super troopers. There was going to be 40,000 of these guys. He's sort of a bad guy but he's not on the Empire's side and he's not on the rebels' side. He's like a free agent, and he goes around the galaxy arresting people and bringing them back to justice or bringing them back to Jabba the Hutt or whoever. He's a mercenary. He'll do anything for money, and his outfit, the way he looks, should reflect that."

Joe Johnston, on the conception of the greatest Star Wars saga bounty hunter, Boba Fett, who debuted in live action form within the drama of The Empire Strikes Back.

Empire at 40 | Designing an Icon: Joe Johnston on the Journey to Create Boba Fett | StarWars.com

Fett on a speeder bike, in another original art piece by Joe Johnston.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: BOUNTY HUNTER ASSEMBLY!

On the command deck of his Super Star Destroyer, much to the irritant of the Imperial Officers under his command, Darth Vader has put the call out to the deadliest group of Bounty Hunters in the galaxy to search for the Millennium Falcon and its occupants. Amongst them, and at the very top of the tree in his chosen specialist field of 'business', the totally lethal and resourceful Boba Fett, soon to be a legend of the Star Wars universe.

Left to right: Dengar (Moray Bush), IG-88 (a prop operated by UK Effects technician Bill Hargreaves), Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch), Bossk (Alan Harris), 4-Lom (Chis Parsons) and Zuckuss (Cathy Munroe).

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: THE KISS, AND THE SECOND ONE TOO...

She has seemingly resisted his charms with biting come backs and an aggressive air, but now, seeking refuge inside a massive asteroid whilst repairing the damaged Millennium Falcon, Princess Leia Organs can't help but start falling in love with that charming scoundrel Han Solo... 

The Scoundrel and the Princess...

The scene in rehearsal. Note Anthony Daniels only in the required top half of his costume for one take/angle.

"It's like in the 1930's films with Fred and Ginger fighting up to the last reel. It's Bogart and Bacall, Tracey and Hepburn. It's two independent people, quarrelling and fighting, and then they neck. That's what it is. It's romance in celluloid. Seriously though, I believe both characters are far more dimensional in The Empire Strikes Back..."

Carrie Fisher on Han Solo and Princess Leia - interviewed by Alan Arnold, Unit Publicist - 1979

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: WHEN VALLEJO MET 'STAR WARS'!

From escaping near death on the frozen realms of Hoth, to facing the trials and tribulations of becoming the first of an eventual new Jedi Order, The Adventures of Luke Skywalker and his galactic friends have never been better realised than during the chapter that is The Empire Strikes Back, as art rendered in these great concept pieces by the acclaimed Peruvian-American talent Boris Vallejo, for an eventual 1980 Coca-Cola poster promotion that would soon be a sell-out and become iconic. 

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: THE MAGIC OF YODA!

900 years old and as wise as ever: the inimitable Yoda.

“I wanted for him to be the kind of character you can find in fairy tales and mythology. A character that is usually a frog or a needy old man. In his path the hero sees this poor, insignificant person. The lesson the hero must learn is that he had to respect everybody beyond their physical appearance, since there may be the key to his success. He's a weird creature with a froggish look, half a meter tall. I wanted the public to see him as a funny creature, not as the most powerful of all the Jedi. I was looking for the opposite of anyone you would expect, since the Jedi based their beliefs in a philosophical idea, instead of a physical concept.” 

George Lucas on Yoda - 1997 interview

Inside Yoda's small home interior at Elstree, Lucas observes a dummy version of the character manipulated by Oz. 

Oz confers with Lucas, Kershner and Kurtz about the puppet.

The detailed puppet created by Stuart Freeborn and his team, though another was also created by Nick Maley and equally used on screen.

Oz manipulates the puppet with his small team at Elstree during August/September 1979.

Mark Hamill's acting skills help bring further believability to the character of Yoda, especially in this important scene with Luke, which also features the spectral voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Continuity Polaroids taken for reference.

With the film's release from May 1980 onwards, Yoda's visage is no longer a secret, with a special press release and photos sent out fully introducing the unique new character to the saga.