Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - 34 questions

Question: This question also applies to a similar scene from Episode I. When the Rebel Forces are fleeing Hoth, why do they have to fly right in the path of the blockade? There didn't appear to be any resistance on the planet's northern and southern poles, and the lack of gravity in space shouldn't preclude them from flying their planes at a ninety degree angle once they escape the planet's gravitational pull, instead of having to fly in a path parallel to the blockade's position.

Answer: The Empire's ships are faster and more maneuverable and don't suffer speed restrictions from the atmosphere of the planet. They could easily outrun/pick off the Rebel ships as they left the protection of the planetary shield. By going directly at the Star Destroyers, they give themselves the best chance in two ways. First, they present a smaller target coming head-on. Second, by going between the ships, the Imperials risk hitting their own ships if they fire. It would also take more time to set the courses for hyperspace because of all the maneuvering.

Question: As far as I know, there were no plans for another trilogy after the first one released over 30 years ago. My question is, did Episode V always appear during the opening credits or was that added later in the special addition? If it was always apart of the credits, didn't people wonder why it was called episode V when it was the second movie? Would seem confusing.

Answer: "Episode V" was in place right from the beginning, and the "Episode IV" tag was added to Star Wars in a re-release the following year. By this point, Lucas was already talking about doing a prequel trilogy covering the rise of the Empire at some future point, with allusions to a possible sequel trilogy consisting of Episodes VII though IX to follow.

Question: So after the Falcon floats off with the garbage they look for a place to go and find Cloud City. They take off and Boba Fett follows. Later Lando says that the Empire arrived before them. How did they get there before the Falcon if Boba Fett was following the Falcon and it appears he told the Empire where they went?

Answer: The Falcon's hyperdrive doesn't work so Han and the others make the entire trip to Bespin at sub-light speed with Fett following. Once Fett figures out where the Falcon is heading, he gets off a message to Vader. Vader's ships then jump to Bespin using their hyperdrives, allowing them to arrive before the Falcon.

Question: Is it true that George Lucas will not let any Star Wars books/media reveal Yoda's species, last name, etc.?

Answer: Yes, it's quite true - for reasons that he's never explained, Lucas has always maintained a strict policy of not allowing any information about Yoda's species to be included in any publications. While he has allowed some details of Yoda's personal history to be revealed, details about the species as a whole, what they call themselves, where their homeworld is, their history and so forth, have been kept under wraps.

Question: I used to have a VHS version of this movie - I don't remember if it was the original or restored version. On the VHS, when Vader mentally speaks to Luke after the fight on Bespin, Luke calls him "Father" (before trying to talk to Obi-wan). Am I just remembering wrong, or did he really say that? If so, does anyone know why it was removed on the DVD?

Answer: Yes. When he "hears" Vader's voice, he responds, "Father." As I recall it, Vader says, "Son" and Luke responds, "Father," before saying, "Ben, why didn't you tell me."

Question: Why did Obi-wan say to Luke "You will go to the Dagobah system" as opposed to "You must go"? Was he simply giving him an order? Seems strange considering Luke was very close to freezing to death when he said it.

Answer: Obi-wan's one with the Force at this point, so, given that the Force has been shown to grant precognitive visions, he may simply have seen that Luke survives and does go to Dagobah and is telling Luke that he will go there as a statement of fact. Or it could just be a bit poorly worded.

Question: After one of the Imperial officers told Vader that the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrive had been deactivated, and then Luke and the others escaped anyway, why didn't Vader get angry? He killed a couple of officers earlier for losing track of the Falcon.

Answer: Well, he killed *one* officer (Captain Needa) for losing track of the Falcon. But all we can do is speculate... Perhaps it was the final failure, since his plan to turn Luke to the dark side didn't work. Perhaps he had second thoughts after meeting his son face to face. Perhaps Vader was concerned that if he was too aggressive, he might tip his hand that he had tempted Luke by suggesting the murder of the Emperor. Whatever the reason, Admiral Piett seems just as surprised as the audience that he wasn't executed.

Question: What is the celestial object seen at the end of The Empire Strikes Back? Is it the galaxy? Or something else?

Answer: It's a galaxy. Given the distance that the fleet would have to be away from it in order to see the whole thing like that, it seem unlikely that it's intended to be the galaxy that the saga takes place in, but another one that's relatively close to it.

Question: During the Battle of Hoth, why is the AT-AT walker suddenly easy to blow up after it has crashed? I thought their "armor was too strong for blasters."

Answer: I would say the armour is sufficiently weakened by the AT-AT collapsing on the ground for blasters to then be effective.

Question: During the Battle of Hoth, why do the AT-AT Walkers have to land so far away? Couldn't a big ship just come right down close and destroy the base?

Answer: They specifically had to come in under the deflector shield and destroy the generator before any ships could come in. That's why Vader doesn't show up until after the generator is taken out.

Question: When Han and Lando meet for the first time after a while in the Cloud City, Han gets a rude welcome from Lando. Was Lando's rudeness a veiled warning to Han to leave, since Darth and the troopers were waiting for him?

Answer: The rude welcome was just a way for Lando to "mess" with his old friend. It would have been suicide for Lando to get Han to leave knowing Vader and Company were waiting for all of them.

Question: Could someone please explain to me exactly how the Millennium Falcon is being flown. It appears to swoop in such a way like someone is steering it, but no one on board seems to be doing much more than pressing the odd button here or there. And it can't be autopilot because it seems to be doing exactly what those on board want. So does anyone know?

Answer: Han has the control board in front of him - he has everything he needs to fly the ship to hand. We never get a particularly good look at the console, so we don't know precisely what format the controls are presented in, but that's what he's using.

Question: Was there any reason why Vader had Han "tortured" with a machine? Han later tells Leia and Chewbacca that he wasn't even asked any questions. I know that Vader is scary, but would he want to waste time by just toying with Han and not even questioning him?

Answer: Vader is not interested in extracting information from Han Solo, nor is he wasting time; he is using Han as bait to lure Luke Skywalker into his trap. Vader knows that Luke will sense Han's agony through the Force and will try to rescue Han and the others.

Question: Why was Darth Vader so intent on finding the Millennium Falcon if Luke wasn't even on it? Not only that, how could he even sense it at all, if it was only Luke's presence he could feel through the Force? Was he actually sensing Leia but mistaking her for Luke?

Answer: There are two options with regard to the Falcon; either Luke's on-board, in which case Vader needs to track it down to capture him, or he isn't, in which case the people who are on-board will be excellent bait to draw Luke into his trap. Either way, he needs to find the ship. Jedi can sense the presence of living beings, not just other Force sensitives, so there's no particular reason why he shouldn't be able to sense the Falcon's crew. There's no particular indication that he's mistaking Leia's force sense for Luke's - if he was, then he'd immediately realise his mistake and, in all likelihood, that she's his daughter when he met up with her later in the film. Which he doesn't.

Question: Why does Boba Fett have a braid of blonde hair on one of his shoulders?

Answer: Those are Wookiee scalps he has collected in his years as a bounty hunter. He wears them as a "badge of honor", to prove that he is capable of taking down even very dangerous opponents in single combat.

Question: Approximately how long does Luke train with Yoda on Dagobah?

Answer: It's never made clear. The only rough indication of time is that, when discussing which system to hide out in, Han comments that Bespin is a long way but that he thinks they can make it, which suggests a flight of considerable duration. Given that we're talking about two different star systems (Anoat and Bespin), even if those stars are unusually close together, without the hyperdrive operational, the flight must be reckoned of the order of some months. This would also tie in with Yoda apparently having taught Luke a considerable amount despite considering him too old and too set in his ways to learn properly.

Question: Does anyone know a website that details all the changes made in the special editions?

Question: Is there supposed to be some kind of trivia when C3P0 says the odds of surviving are 725 to 1, 3720 to 1?

Answer: No, they're just numbers.

Question: How come it takes such a long time for the Super Star destroyer to be able to catch the Millennium Falcon in the tractor beam? In episode 4 when Millennium Falcon is captured by the Death Star, it is caught in the tractor beam immediately, and from a much greater distance. I understand the plot requires the Millennium Falcon to escape, but this seems a bit illogical.

Answer: The sheer size of the Death Star and its colossal power generators would allow it to have a much more powerful tractor beam than any capital ship would be capable of supporting, giving it much greater range. The Millenium Falcon was caught quickly because they were unaware of what they were approaching - by the time they realised, they were already captured. With the Star Destroyer, they're aware of its presence and can take steps to avoid a tractor beam lock-on.

Question: Why does Yoda seem so "childish" when Luke first meets him in the swamp? I mean in comparison to Episode III when he seemed much wiser. Is there any reason for this?

Answer: Yoda was testing Luke. Luke was looking for a great Jedi warrior and expected to find this great man or creature, not a short, little, funny, "weak", creature. Yoda knew Luke must get past preconcieved ideas and conceptions of what it takes to be and become a Jedi. Luke failed this initial test.