43 Fun Facts About The Empire Strikes Back

Who directed The Empire Strikes Back?

Irvin Kershner got the job in February 1978 after Lucas considered around 100 directors, including Alan Parker and John Badham.

How many years after the original Star Wars is the film set?

Three years: the film is set in 3 ABY, three years after the Battle of Yavin that closed the original Star Wars, with the Rebels now hiding on Hoth.

On which ice planet is the Rebel base at the start of the film?

Hoth is the ice planet hiding Echo Base; an Imperial probe droid finds it and the Empire attacks with AT-AT walkers.

What creature captures Luke in the opening scenes?

A wampa, Hoth's ice creature, drags Luke to its cave; he escapes by using the Force to pull his lightsaber to his hand for the first time.

How does Han keep Luke alive overnight in the snow?

Han's line about the smell became one of the film's most quoted.

Which Jedi Master trains Luke on Dagobah?

Yoda, the Jedi Master living in exile in Dagobah's swamps, was puppeteered and voiced by Frank Oz, who also performed Miss Piggy for the Muppets.

What does Yoda lift out of the swamp to show Luke the power of the Force?

Yoda raises Luke's sunken X-wing out of the swamp after Luke fails and calls it too big; Yoda replies, 'Size matters not.'

In The Empire Strikes Back, what is wrong with the Millennium Falcon as it flees Hoth?

Its hyperdrive malfunctions, so they hide in an asteroid field, where Han and Leia grow closer.

Which bounty hunter is described as a humanoid lizard?

Bossk, a reptilian Trandoshan bounty hunter, was played in a lizard suit by Alan Harris; he stands among the hunters Vader summons aboard the Executor.

Who administers Cloud City on the gas planet Bespin?

Lando Calrissian, played by Billy Dee Williams, is Cloud City's Baron Administrator and Han's old friend who once owned the Millennium Falcon.

What is Han frozen in on Cloud City?

Carbonite: Vader has Han frozen in carbonite to test whether the process can safely imprison Luke, then hands the slab to Boba Fett.

What is Han's famous reply when Leia says 'I love you'?

'I know': Harrison Ford proposed the reply in rehearsal with director Irvin Kershner because the scripted line felt out of character for Han.

Which body part does Vader sever from Luke in their Cloud City duel?

His right hand: Vader's lightsaber takes Luke's right hand and his saber with it, moments before the 'I am your father' revelation.

Which two screenwriters are credited on the film?

Brackett died of cancer after her first draft; Kasdan was hired after impressing Lucas with Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In which Norwegian village were the Hoth scenes filmed?

Finse, a rail stop beside the Hardangerjøkulen glacier, stood in for Hoth; the crew shot there in blizzards in March 1979.

At which English studio were the interiors shot?

Elstree Studios in Borehamwood hosted the interiors; Lucas paid for a new 'Star Wars stage' there for the Dagobah and Rebel base sets.

Which Stanley Kubrick film's set fire at the studio destroyed space planned for Empire?

The Shining: a January 1979 fire on Kubrick's Overlook Hotel set at Elstree gutted a stage Empire was counting on, forcing a scramble for space.

What was the film's final production cost?

$30.5 million: the budget rose from roughly $18 million as the shoot ran over, and Lucas, financing it himself, nearly ran out of money in July 1979.

How did George Lucas primarily finance the film?

Lucas paid for the film with his own Star Wars profits plus a bank loan, keeping ownership and sequel rights; Fox only distributed it.

Which two Academy Awards did the film win?

It won Best Sound and a special Academy Award for visual effects; John Williams's score and the art direction were nominated but lost.

Roughly how much did the film gross worldwide in its original 1980 release?

About $400 million: the original run took roughly $209 million in North America and $192 million elsewhere, making it 1980's highest-grossing film.

Which actor's small percentage of the box office gross was payment for a few hours' work as Obi-Wan?

Alec Guinness returned as Obi-Wan's ghost for a brief Elstree shoot, taking a small share of the gross; an eye condition made him wary of bright lights.

Who voiced the Emperor in the original 1980 release?

Clive Revill voiced the hologram Emperor in 1980, with Elaine Baker's face under the hood; the scene was re-shot with a new actor for the 2004 DVD.

Which makeup artist was chiefly responsible for building the Yoda puppet?

Stuart Freeborn, Lucasfilm's makeup chief, sculpted the Yoda puppet, modeling its face partly on his own and on Albert Einstein's.

In Leigh Brackett's first draft, who was Luke's sister?

A brand-new character: Brackett's draft gave Luke a separate twin sister, Nellith, on another world; Lucas only made Leia the sister while writing Return of the Jedi.

What was novelist Alan Dean Foster hired to write in case Star Wars flopped?

Its success meant Lucas could aim far bigger for the real sequel.

Which Rebel pilot, played by Denis Lawson, appears on Hoth?

Wedge Antilles is Lawson's role; his nephew Ewan McGregor later played Obi-Wan.

Which Imperial admiral, played by Michael Sheard, is choked by Vader for exiting hyperspace too close to Hoth?

Admiral Ozzel, played by Michael Sheard, is Force-choked for dropping out of hyperspace too close and alerting the Rebels; Kenneth Colley's Captain Piett is promoted on the spot.

To whom is the frozen Han to be delivered for a bounty?

Jabba the Hutt: Boba Fett takes the carbon-frozen Han to the crime lord on Tatooine to collect the bounty, setting up Return of the Jedi's opening.

Why does Luke leave Dagobah before finishing his training?

He has a vision of Han and Leia in pain in a city in the clouds and leaves to save them, despite Yoda and Obi-Wan warning that it is a trap.

In which year did the Library of Congress add the film to the National Film Registry?

2010: the Library of Congress selected The Empire Strikes Back for the National Film Registry that year, 21 years after the original Star Wars entered in 1989.

How much did the 1997 Special Edition re-release gross in North America?

$67.6 million: the 1997 Special Edition's North American run, part of the trilogy re-release that also returned Star Wars and Return of the Jedi to cinemas.

What is Jeremy Bulloch's second role in the film besides the armoured bounty hunter?

An Imperial officer restraining Leia: Bulloch, who wore the Boba Fett armor, also appears unmasked as the officer holding Leia back as she warns Luke it is a trap.

Which studio distributed the film on its May 21, 1980 release?

Twentieth Century-Fox distributed the film, which opened on May 21, 1980; Lucasfilm financed it and kept creative control.

In The Empire Strikes Back, whom does Luke reach out to through the Force while hanging beneath Cloud City?

Leia hears him and turns the Falcon around; Lucas changed the script from having Obi-Wan's ghost answer.

Which Rebel general commands Echo Base on Hoth?

General Rieekan, played by Bruce Boa, runs Echo Base and orders the evacuation once the Imperial fleet arrives over Hoth.

How many Grammy Awards did John Williams win for the score?

Two: at the 1981 Grammys Williams won Best Instrumental Composition and Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture for the Empire score.

Billy Dee Williams said what two things about Lando gave him room to develop the character?

His cape and Armenian surname: Williams said the flowing cape and the Armenian-sounding name Calrissian gave him room to build Lando as a suave rogue.

Why was Jeremy Bulloch hired to play Boba Fett without an audition?

The costume fit him: Bulloch, half-brother of associate producer Robert Watts, was offered Boba Fett when the armour proved to fit; the top-heavy suit made balancing hard.

Who voiced Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back's original release, remaining uncredited until 2000?

Jason Wingreen's lines were dubbed over for the 2004 re-release by Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett.

Which stunt double portrayed Darth Vader in Luke's climactic lightsaber duel in The Empire Strikes Back?

Bob Anderson, a British Olympic fencer who choreographed the duels, wore the Vader suit for the fight scenes; Mark Hamill revealed it in a 1983 interview.

Which actor replaced the original hologram Emperor in the 2004 DVD re-release?

Ian McDiarmid had performed the role since Return of the Jedi in 1983.

Which rock star ended a 1980 concert riding on the shoulders of someone dressed as Darth Vader?

Freddie Mercury was carried onstage on the shoulders of a Darth Vader-costumed roadie during Queen's 1980 US tour, a moment captured in a famous photo.