#The Empire Strikes Back Bloopers & Never-Before-Seen Footage Revealed for 40th Anniversary

Newly unearthed behind-the-scenes footage from The Empire Strikes Back reveals never-before-seen footage, outtakes, and bloopers. Even after 40 years, Lucasfilm is still finding stuff for hardcore Star Wars fans to check out in their vault. This time, they were able to track down 7 minutes of footage from the making of the second installment in the original trilogy, which features Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew, and others. Hamill even shows off a new dance to celebrate his Tuantuan friend while filming in the harsh and freezing temperatures.

EXCLUSIVE: I’m excited to share rare & never-seen footage, outtakes & bloopers from #StarWars “The Empire Strikes Back”! Amazing moments with Harrison & Carrie, plus @HamillHimself‘s “Tauntaun Dance”. A gift to you from my favorite Lucasfilm elves. #ESB40https://t.co/3Rfe1qyr2i

— Clayton Sandell (@Clayton_Sandell) December 15, 2020

The new footage from The Empire Strikes Back footage features Mark Hamill speaking about the end of the movie. The actor notes that he was excited about the sequel because it was not a carbon copy of the original, which features the now infamous cliffhanger ending. Darth Vader is revealed to be Luke’s father and Han Solo is frozen in Carbonite and taken away by Boba Fett. The story took some big chances and it all proved to be worth it by the time the movie opened in theaters.
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George Lucas can also be seen in the new footage from The Empire Strikes Back. The franchise creator talks about how hard the beginning of the production was because of the harsh weather conditions they were forced to film in. The production started in Norway at the very beginning of 1979, where they encountered the worst winter storm in over 50 years. Harrison Ford wasn’t even able to make it to the set for the first week due to the heavy snow. The video makes the production look miserable, but everybody seems to be having a decent time, while even joking around.

When A New Hope was being filmed, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and crew had no idea what they were making, according to George Lucas. However, they knew exactly what they were in for when The Empire Strikes Back started production up. All of the special effects and things that were not present on the set started to make a lot more sense to the cast and crew, who were able to see Lucas’ vision come to life just 2 years prior. Lucas decided not to direct the sequel and Irvin Kershner take on the project instead.

The Empire Strikes Back became the highest-grossing movie of 1980 with $440 million. The sequel was originally met with mixed reviews from critics and fans, but it is now hailed as the best installment in the Star Wars saga and one of the greatest movies ever made. Since its original release, The Empire Strikes Back has grossed over $550 million worldwide. In addition, the Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker storyline is often regarded to be one of the best plot twists of all time. You can check out the newly unearthed footage from The Empire Strikes Back above, thanks to Clayton Sandell’s Twitter account.

Topics: Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back