3 Unbelievable Facts About THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK



The Empire Strikes Back remains the single greatest sequel in geek history (even though Joss Whedon would say otherwise), but in the process of making this lightsaber tossing affair, a few crazy ideas almost made it into the film. I’m talking REALLY crazy. As in, one of these horrendous ideas would’ve completely ruined the flick, another actually slipped into the first run but was later retconned, and while one other would actually have been a completely badass addition. But, without any further ado, I present to you 3 Unbelievable facts about The Empire Strikes Back

A MONKEY IN A MASK WAS CHOSEN TO PLAY YODA

That’s right. Before Jim Henson garnered the enviable role of “Yoda Creator”, George Lucas and pals decided to cast a monkey in an alien-styled mask as the venerable Jedi. A monkey in a mask, folks.

Realizing how absolutely idiotic this plan was, a staffer who experienced immense trauma at the hands of 2001: A Space Odyssey‘s simian thespians, warned Lucas of the horrors of primates.

EMPEROR PALPATINE WAS PLAYED BY A WOMAN

Remember how Emperor Palpatine resembled a Neanderthal in that holographic scene from The Empire Strikes Back? The character barely resembled Ian Mcdiarmid’s iteration of the baddie, which led many to wonder if a different actor portrayed Palpatine in TESB. Well, not only was it a different actor, it was a lady actor to boot! Elaine Baker, wife of the lead make-up designer, bore a few unsightly prosthetics to bring Palpatine to life. And although she did a lovely job transforming the Sith Lord from script to film, thank sweet Jedi Jesus that George Lucas recast the role.

 

A WAMPA ARMY ALMOST ATTACKED THE REBELS ON HOTH

If you saw The Empire Strikes Back in theatres, then you’ll remember that the Wampa (or alien abominable snowman, as we’ve termed him) wasn’t all that terrifying. In fact, he was only shown in short snippets, and never in a full body shot. At the time, the big fluffy suit was too off-kilter for a single actor to wear, so the director decided to only shoot a single body part at a time.

Well, due to those limitations, Lucas was forced to cut an extended battle sequence from the flick, which would’ve featured a horde of angry Wampa badasses would storming the Rebel Base, damaging the Millenium Falcon in the process. That particular conflict would have provided a sensible reason for the Falcon’s hyperdrive problems, which they instead pinned on the ship’s age and Han’s shoddy workmanship.