VOTD: Look Back On The Legacy Of ‘Empire Strikes Back’ With ‘The Mandalorian’ Filmmakers & More
Lucasfilm is making one final push to celebrate the 40th anniversary ofStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Backwith a series of videos looking back at the making of theStar Warssequel that changed everything. Earlier this week, a batch of outtakes and unused footage from the filmarrived online, and now a new featurette has the filmmakers fromThe Mandalorianand other upcomingStar WarsTV shows reminiscing about the legacy of the sequel, from favorite moments to the most influential scenes.
The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Video
Complete with a bookend from Lucasfilm PresidentKathleen Kennedy, thisEmpire Strikes Back40th anniversary featurette is chock-full of rarely seen footage from theStar Warssequel. There are alternate line readings, deleted scenes, outtakes, and more behind-the-scenes footage that gives us a new perspective on the movie that we’ve seen dozens of times. In particular, I was surprised by the alternate line from Han Solo after C-3PO tells him about the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field.
Adding to this nostalgic look backThe Empire Strikes Backis commentary fromThe Mandaloriainexecutive producerDave Filoniand the show’s directors likeTaika Waititi,Bryce Dallas Howard, andDeborah Chow. Series leadPedro Pascalalso chimes in along withRogue OneandAndorseries star/executive producerDiego Luna. Plus,Leslye Headland, executive producer of the recently announcedStar WarsseriesThe Acolytepops in a few times as well.
Honestly, I could watch an entire documentary featuring the various cast and crew members from the long history and future eras ofStar Warstalking about each of the films in the original trilogy like this. Obviously plenty has been said aboutStar Warsover the years, but it’s always fascinating to hear what means the most inside the minds of the folks who have brought their own filmmaking sensibilities into the saga.
There are likely more videos aboutThe Empire Strikes Backon the way, as we wrap up 2020. This should have been a year were we really celebrated the anniversary of one of the greatest sequels of all time in a grand fashion, complete with convention panels, theatrical screenings, and more. But the coronavirus pandemic ruined all those plans. Maybe next year we can make up for it and pretend it’s just the 40th anniversary all over again. After all, we likely won’t be getting any newStar Warsprogramming until the third season ofThe Mandalorianarrives at Christmas next year (thoughStar Wars: The High Republic is on the way), so we’ve got plenty of time to fill.
