20 Things You Somehow Missed In Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Cheeky cameos, familiar-sounding Wampas, and everything else you probably missed in Episode V.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00The legendary Empire Strikes Back almost instantly became the blueprint for how to
00:04successfully build on the magic of a prior cinematic smash hit 43 years ago,
00:10taking things into far darker and often uncomfortable territory as our plucky
00:14rebel heroes continue to push back against an increasingly powerful empire. And while
00:19Episode 5 has since gone on to become possibly the most beloved Star Wars entry of all time,
00:25that still doesn't necessarily mean that each and every secret easter egg and glorious
00:29movie-making trick present in the 1980 masterpiece has been successfully frozen
00:34in carbonite for all to see. Gareth here from WhatCulture Star Wars and here are 20 things
00:39you somehow missed in Star Wars Episode 5 The Empire Strikes Back.
00:4420. Luke never fires his blaster When you can rely on something as
00:48unquestionably cool and effective as a damn laser sword, opting for a generic blaster can best be
00:54described as a somewhat uncivilised alternative. And that's an opinion Luke Skywalker seemingly
00:59shared with his one-time master Obi-Wan Kenobi, with the son of Anakin never actually firing off
01:04a blaster shot at any stage in The Empire Strikes Back. That's right, despite wandering the halls
01:09of Cloud City with his weapon ready to fire, and regularly being spotted with it on his person,
01:14not once does the Jedi in training choose to pull the trigger in the sequel.
01:1819. An elephant and seal were used for those whomper whales
01:22Throwing poor old Luke into a pretty rough spot out of the gates, Episode 5 sees the rebel hero
01:28being imprisoned by a fierce abominable snowman-like being known as a Whomper.
01:32Viciously taking down Skywalker's Tauntaun before dragging his knocked-out figure back to his icy
01:37lair, the unsettling shrieks this mountain of white terror unleashed weren't actually as alien as the
01:42monster itself. According to masterful sound designer Ben Burtt, a combination of a lion
01:47eating a cow's head, elephants erupting and a squawking sea lion all help bring to life the
01:53startling whales of the fearsome beast at various points in its showing.
01:5718. A lightsaber reversal Staying within the Whomper's freezing home,
02:01one of Luke's first real examples of him successfully using the Force comes during
02:05the moment the unlucky Jedi finds himself hanging upside down in the cave. More on that later.
02:11Skywalker is able to successfully force-pull his lightsaber and slash his way out of the ice,
02:16before chopping down his captor and making a break for it. And while you would have been
02:19forgiven for just assuming this brilliant practical effect was achieved via some expert
02:24wirework, you'd actually only be half right. Because while wires were very much used to assist
02:29Mark Hamill's epic Force yanking out of the snow, they were actually used to pull the lightsaber
02:34from his hand rather than to it. This moment was then reversed later on, meaning that you're
02:38really watching a backwards version of a lightsaber falling to the ground here. Mind blown.
02:4417. The Force is strong with upside-down Skywalker And while on the topic of an upside-down Luke,
02:50the galaxy's most reliable hero doesn't half have a habit of ending up in that rather specific
02:55position over the course of The Empire Strikes Back. Far from being a bizarre coincidence,
02:59though, the Force-sensitive protagonist's regular hanging and standing upside down
03:03can actually be linked to the way his world is somewhat flipped on its head
03:07during these particular moments. The aforementioned Hoth suspending comes during a moment when Luke
03:12is likely realising he's not as bulletproof as he felt he was post-Death Star Destruction.
03:17His Dagobah headstand comes in the thick of discovering the true ways of the Force,
03:21and his Cloud City dangling swiftly follows Vader's iconic father revelation. How's that
03:26for some Force-sensitive symbolism, eh? 16. A burning Imperial pilot in space
03:32In a far more brutal instance of a Star Wars character having their world turned upside down,
03:37the 1980 classic's epic asteroid field chase comes equipped with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it
03:42reminder of just how deadly and morbidly hilarious space can actually be. With the
03:46Millennium Falcon being hunted down by a set of Imperial TIE Fighters during the sequence,
03:50one of the Empire's pilots suddenly gets a little too close to an asteroid. As the ship is well and
03:55truly destroyed, however, slowing down the footage reveals a tiny little pilot being
04:00fired from the wreckage whilst being very much on fire himself. Talk about going out in a blaze
04:05of shockingly comical glory. 15. A matte painting Bespin background
04:09Long before George Lucas got his hands on a green screen, the go-to solution for creating a larger
04:14than life or out-of-this-world background involves some incredibly gifted artists producing
04:18frequently outstanding matte paintings. And arguably some of the most impressive pop-up
04:23during the Empire Strikes Back's spell on Cloud City. Along with the unquestionably gorgeous
04:27Bespin metropolis seen behind the Millennium Falcon as it lands in the unmistakable locale,
04:32the eerie chasm within the city which plays host to Vader and Skywalker's game-changing duel was
04:36also largely brought to life through astounding paintings. Even with that knowledge in mind,
04:41though, it's still fairly hard not to get lost in a beautifully realised setting that feels
04:45about as real as the world outside your window. 14. A Doctor Who bounty hunter cameo
04:51You'd be surprised just how many props and costumes have found themselves being recycled
04:55on the big and small screen over the years. I'm likely even more shocked to discover that a piece
05:01of Doctor Who history actually managed to wiggle its way into the galaxy far, far away all those
05:06years ago. Those loyal Whovians all over the galaxy probably found themselves suffering from
05:11a bit of déjà vu when slimy bounty hunter Bosk first wandered onto the Episode 5 scene. That's
05:16because the eye-catching space suit that Trandoshan is seen sporting actually first popped up in 1966's
05:22The Tenth Planet episode from the Doctor Who series. In that episode, a similar-looking
05:27flight suit is worn by a human figure, though it isn't 100% known whether this was the exact same
05:32costume that would be later used 14 years on in The Empire Strikes Back. But at the very least,
05:38both Bosk and this Who figure shared a fondness for this type of distinct yellow jumpsuit.
05:4313. It's the only time Tatooine doesn't show up in the first six Skywalker saga films
05:48Easily ranking as the most well-known and important planet taking up a spot in the galaxy
05:53far, far away. The home of Luke and Anakin Skywalker regularly acts as the backdrop to
05:58some of the series' most iconic moments. But what tends to be lost in all of the frosty Hoth
06:02skirmishes and hand-chopping that goes down in Episode 5 is the fact that this movie actually
06:07sits as the only one within the prequel and original trilogies not to showcase a scene
06:12happening on Tatooine. And as another interesting piece of often-overlooked trivia, Tatooine's
06:17appearances in Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 9 mean that it ranks as the planet with the most
06:23appearances in the Skywalker saga too. 12. Vader and C-3PO's only original trilogy
06:29scene together happens here Speaking of Tatooine's importance
06:32within the Star Wars franchise, this was also the planet that Anakin Skywalker was
06:36ultimately revealed to have built everyone's favourite neurotic droid C-3PO on. Throughout
06:41much of the original trilogy, however, Darth Vader and his creation don't actually share all
06:46that many scenes together, with the one and only instance of the pair reuniting actually coming as
06:51Han Solo is about to be frozen in carbonite. And in a case of some fans perhaps adding their
06:56own little pieces of canon into the mix for some additional fun, the sight of Vader keeping
07:00Boba Fett from firing on a frustrated Chewbacca with C-3PO on his back has been interpreted as
07:05the Dark Lord not wanting to harm his one-time robotic pal all these years later. Because
07:10Lucas definitely had this all mapped out from the beginning, right?
07:1311. Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were drunk on Cloud City
07:17As the late, great Carrie Fisher would eventually reveal many years down the road,
07:20both herself and Harrison Ford don't do an awful lot of smiling as their Leia Organa and Han Solo
07:26respectively struggle to evade the Empire in Episode 5. But on one specific occasion,
07:31the two could very much be spotted smirking like naughty schoolkids when walking around on Cloud
07:36City. And this was mostly down to the fact the pair of party animals were still a bit drunk from
07:40the wild evening before. Said night of partying involved everything from the Rolling Stones to
07:45Monty Python's Eric Idle to what was described as a Tunisian death drink, with the end result
07:50forcing the leading stars, who hadn't slept a wink, to crack a set of still somewhat intoxicated
07:55grins when encountering Lando Calrissian for the first time in the series.
07:5910. Boba Fett's face is briefly glimpsed While he may have grown into one of the most adored
08:04figures in the galaxy on the back of his rather mysterious live-action debut in The Empire
08:09Strikes Back, in reality the reveal of precisely who was hiding underneath that iconic Mandalorian
08:14helmet actually went down under fans' very noses in Episode 5. Brought to life by Jeremy Bullock
08:20during his original trilogy days, the actor behind Boba Fett actually rocked up without a mask on
08:24Cloud City, playing Galactic Empire Lieutenant Shekel, as Leia tries to warn Luke that he'd
08:30wandered into a TRAP. This wasn't always the plan though. Bullock simply stepped in late on in the
08:35wake of the original Shekel actor suddenly not being available to shoot on the day.
08:399. No special effects were needed for Hoth's blizzard
08:43Episode 5 may not boast the sort of relentless CGI and special effects pumped into the galaxy
08:48throughout the prequel trilogy, but the brilliant minds behind the various alien planets, technology
08:54and characters found in The Empire Strikes Back still threw their fair share of mind-blowing
08:58technical feats into the sequel. However, when it came time to shoot the relentlessly snowy
09:02sequences on Hoth involving the Rebels trying to fight off both the incoming Empire and some
09:07seriously treacherous weather, that latter element didn't really require any digital or
09:12practical wizardry at all. So the next time you take in the moment involving Luke Skywalker trying
09:17his best to keep from freezing to death post-Whomper Escape, do so with the knowledge of
09:21Mark Hamill being genuinely and rather cruelly dumped in the middle of a legit snowstorm,
09:26while the rest of the cast and crew watched on from the comfort of a night-warm hotel
09:30with a cup of joe. 8. Alcatraz helped bring a Vader moment to life
09:35It turns out that none other than the most famous prison facility on the planet helped
09:40create one of the most intimidating big bads in the galaxy's many unsettling moments.
09:44When listening to the sound of the doors on Vader's Star Cruiser slam shut during Episode 5,
09:49what you're actually hearing is the noise of an entire block of Alcatraz cell doors slamming with
09:54the flicking of one big ol' switch. This was reportedly captured by Lucas himself during a
09:59visit to the notorious prison, and it definitely helped add some extra real-world terror to the
10:04already formidable spacecraft. 7. Ralph McQuarrie's Hoth walk-on
10:08Concept designer and all-round legendary illustrator Ralph McQuarrie's fingerprints
10:13are all over the Star Wars universe. And not just that, but McQuarrie himself also managed
10:18to land a cheeky cameo showing during Episode 5, too. Walking in front of one of the matte
10:22painting backgrounds that he helped bring into being, the brilliant artist takes on the small
10:27cameo role of General Fahl McQuarrie on Hoth. See what they did there? Also, this brief rebel-based
10:32shot came equipped with sneaky appearances from fellow concept artist Joe Johnston, Harrison
10:37Ellenshaw and Michael Pangrazio. 6. A potato asteroid field
10:42Jumping back into the perilous moment involving Han Solo and the gang trying to keep from getting
10:46blown to pieces by some incoming TIE fighters amidst a field of asteroids, said floating rocks
10:51in space actually weren't all that they initially seemed in some cases. As noted by some of the
10:56brilliant minds behind everything from the Millennium Falcon to the humongous space rocks
11:00in question, when trying to land on a design for these asteroids, the team finally decided on a
11:06look that someone quickly pointed out looked similar to a potato. Without missing a beat,
11:10it was soon decided that throwing a bunch of actual spuds into the distant background of
11:14the asteroid belt would be the worst idea in the world. So if you look closely enough,
11:19you'll definitely catch a few floating taters threatening to collide with the Falcon.
11:235. Boba Fett is never mentioned by name From the very second he showed up in the
11:28middle of a collection of unsettling bounty hunters on Darth Vader's Star Destroyer in
11:32The Empire Strikes Back, most instantly found themselves gripped by the Beskar-sporting badass
11:37that is Boba Fett. That being said, those who hadn't sat through the debacle that was the
11:41Star Wars Holiday Special, gone mad over the newest must-have Star Wars action figure beforehand,
11:46or chosen to stick around for Episode 5's end credits, would have been forgiven for having
11:50next to no clue who this not-exactly-talkative masked figure actually was. Why? Well, because
11:56Fett's name isn't actually said at any point in The Empire Strikes Back, with his first big-screen
12:01mention by name surprisingly coming in E.T. the Extraterrestrial two years later.
12:064. Captain Wedge Antilles tied Luke as the deadliest figure on show
12:10Though it was admittedly nowhere near as deadly as the episode that came before it
12:14– you know, the one that saw a planet get destroyed – The Empire Strikes Back did
12:17still involve a grand total of 46,987 beings, being taken out at various stages in the tale.
12:25What likely will come as a rather significant shock to those who have regularly consumed the
12:29grittier follow-up to A New Hope, however, is precisely which on-screen figure is responsible
12:33for the tied-most kills in Episode 5. According to List of Deaths' wiki, alongside the supposed
12:39hero of the day Luke Skywalker, none other than Captain Wedge Antilles can claim to being the
12:44deadliest presence in the 1980 hit. Both rebel men killed 43 individuals each,
12:49sitting a significant way above Chewbacca's third-place total of seven. So much for being
12:54the good guys, eh? 3. Kids actually played rebel extras
12:58Potatoes weren't the only unexpected element sneakily chucked into Episode 5's action. During
13:02the moments that play out within the rebels' base on the snowy world of Hoth, many a child was
13:07actually dressed up as a rebel soldier and worker scurrying around in the background.
13:11This was done in order to help enhance the feeling of the hangar being far bigger than
13:15it actually was when shooting. And it worked a treat, to be honest, with it being rather difficult
13:19to spot that those troopers and freedom fighters in the distance were actually little more than
13:23kids playing dress-up. And who wouldn't love the chance to run around on a Star Wars set all day,
13:28right? 2. Rebels use bubble wrap for… reasons
13:32As seen during the shots of Luke and Wedge trying to disable the formidable 8080s on Hoth
13:37or AT-AT if you're that kind of person, both rebel murderers can actually be found sporting
13:41random sheets of bubble wrap on their seatbelts. Was this actually some sort of alien material
13:46capable of ensuring the pilots would be safe from harm should they crash land into the tundra below?
13:51Possibly. But it's more likely this was little more than a cheap way to add some detail to an
13:56otherwise bland-looking prop on the day. Bubble wrap was also found on the seatbelts of the
14:00Millennium Falcon too, with Star Wars lover and director Rian Johnson opting to leave it there
14:05when guiding Episode 8 onto the big screen. 1. Yoda's hut was made from his escape pod
14:10After first encountering the quirky alien lifeform on the swampy planet of Dagobah in Episode 5,
14:16Luke is invited into Yoda's hut for a bite to eat, before finding out that he's actually conversing
14:21with the powerful Jedi Master he's been searching for. What many likely didn't realise during this
14:26and the numerous other moments spent inside of Yoda's home, though, is that said hut is actually
14:30partially made up of parts from the escape pod that brought him to the planet all those years
14:35ago. As revealed in a Revenge of the Sith deleted scene, Yoda landed on the planet strong with the
14:40Force in an E3 standard Starship lifeboat. He would then go on to live in the ship for a time
14:45before it began to degrade, and was ultimately consumed by the swamp a year into his exile.
14:50So Yoda decided to forge a new home, one that came equipped with some of the materials he could
14:54salvage from the broken down pod slash home. He even powered his new gaff using the lifeboat's
14:59backup power supply. But as impressive as the Jedi Master's ability to improvise and evolve
15:04to his surroundings may be, it's definitely difficult to look at his home the same way
15:08after realising it likely serves as a painful constant reminder of the world he left behind
15:12post-Order 66. And that's our list! Know of any other things people somehow missed in Star Wars
15:17Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back? Let us know all about them in the comments section right down
15:22below and do not forget to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
15:26Also if this kind of stuff strikes a chord with you, then please head on over to WhatCulture.com
15:30and find some more fantastic articles just like the one this video you're watching right this
15:34second is based on. I've been Gareth from WhatCulture's Star Wars, may the force be with
15:37you as always, thanks so much for watching this lovely video today and hopefully I'll
15:41see your pretty pretty faces very very soon. Bye bye!