Star Wars legend Mark Hamill has weighed in on the last-minute change made to the ending of The Empire Strikes Back.
Released in cinemas 42 years ago, this second chapter of the ‘Skywalker Saga’ almost climaxed with a bruised-up Luke Skywalker having his new robotic hand tended to by medical droid 2-1B – the wires and prosthetic gore on full display – before chatting to Lando Calrissian and Chewie about saving Han Solo (via StarWarsAficionado).
After much deliberation from the creatives, though, the medical bay imagery was dialed down while the Jedi goes on to observe Lando and the Wookie blasting off into space in search of Han.
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Over on Twitter yesterday (March 8), the history behind this was being debated by fans, with one individual questioning Hamill directly: “Mark, did you guys re-shoot the Medical Bay scene at the end of Empire after principal photography had already wrapped?”
The actor soon responded with a series of Empire stills and this explanation: “Filmed 4 months after we wrapped principal photography on #ESB, it wasn’t a ‘re-shoot’, it was an added scene.
“Concerned about the downbeat ending and thorough defeat of the protagonists, they wanted to add an uplifting moment of hope and rejuvenation to reassure the audience.”
Related: Star Wars legend Mark Hamill reveals what he took from What We Do In The Shadows set
If you like Star Wars conspiracy theories, Hamill himself addressed one of the strangest out there this time last year.
Read all about the ‘Bigger Luke’ phenomenon right here.
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