Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Chosen answer: In the Special Edition, when Vader makes contact with Emperor Palpatine after bringing the ship out of the asteroid belt, It is Palpatine that informs Vader that Luke is the son of Anakin Skywalker, to which Vader replies, "How is that possible?"

Question: In this movie we see a shot of a mechanical arm placing Darth Vader's helmet onto his head. But in ROTJ, removing Vader's helmet & mask made him die according to Luke. Is this because in ROTJ it was his helmet *and* his mask being removed, while in ESB it was just his helmet?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: Removing the mask alone would not make Darth Vader die. He stil had breathing help built into his suit. Vader was already dying when Luke took his mask and helment off in ROTJ, due to injuries sustained by Luke and the Emperor's force lightning. Anakin (Vader) just wanted to see his son Luke with his own eyes, before he died.

Mark English

Question: If George Lucas had a false page in the script to fool everyone into thinking that Obi-Wan killed Luke's father, then how did he get round the scene between Luke and Vader later (where Luke actually calls Vader 'Father')?

Answer: Everything after the false ending page was hidden from Mark Hamill and the rest of the cast. The scene where Luke calls Vader "father" was filmed after Hamill had already found out the real truth that Vader is Luke's father.

Mark English

Question: Before contacting the Emperor, Vader tells Admiral Piett to move the ship out of the asteroid field for the transmission. But if the Emperor was able to contact Piett, why not just contact Vader directly? Despite the asteroid field.

Answer: We don't know that the Emperor spoke to Piett directly. He might be relaying a message that the Emperor gave to another ship/location.

Question: On Cloud City, why did Vader surprise Han and the others in a dining room? Lando says that the Imperials arrived before Han's group. But they've had time for Leia to change clothes, change her hair style, and for her to ask people about C3PO when he is missing.

Answer: No answer is given. Maybe Vader needed more time to negotiate with Lando and wanted to ensure the group would feel "safe" and then be caught off guard. It's more about plotting, though. The scene is constructed to build suspense and doubt. Han thinks the friendly and charming Lando is trustworthy, but Leia is wary, especially after C3PO disappears. The group, and the audience, are lulled into believing Lando is an ally, then are taken by surprise when Vader is revealed and Lando's true character and motive is exposed.

raywest

Question: I know that Jeremy Bulloch played both Boba Fett and Sheckil, but I read that someone else was supposed to play Sheckil before Bulloch replaced him. Who was initially supposed to play Sheckil before Bulloch took his place?

Answer: There doesn't seem to be any info on who the actor was that was cast to play Sheckil. The only information I could find was that the original actor didn't show up on the day of shooting, and Bulloch replaced him at the last minute. He was probably a minor actor who mostly worked in bit parts and as an extra.

raywest

Question: I read somewhere that Boba Fett's actor, Jeremy Bulloch, got his line wrong and instead of saying "Put captain Solo in the cargo hold" he said "Put captain cargo in the Solo hold." Is this true?

Answer: Yes, it is. He said so in a Reddit AMA in 2014. Rolling Stone mention it in an online article.

Catwalk

Question: When this movie was filmed, had George Lucas already decided that Luke and Leia would be brother and sister? If so, has he commented on the scene with their kiss?

Answer: It is unknown whether or not Lucas planned for Luke and Leia to be brother and sister when Empire Strikes Back was filmed. Early drafts of the screenplay make it clear that not only are Luke and Leia not brother and sister, but Darth Vader is not Luke's father. Luke does have a sister in these drafts but it isn't Leia, she is an unseen character named Nillith. At some point, obviously the script was changed to make Vader Luke's father and references to Luke's sister were completely removed. George Lucas has never commented on the kiss.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Yes, it has been revealed in a new book. Yoda thought Luke was impatient and prone to anger, making him not unlike Anakin.

Audio problem: When Luke says, "Now all we gotta do is find this Yoda, if he even exists," if you look closely, his mouth never moves.

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Trivia: This was the only movie in the Star Wars series until Episode VII in 2015 without a scene on the planet Tattooine.

Xofer

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