On May 21, 1980, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back made its theatrical debut. To celebrate the classic film’s landmark 40th anniversary, StarWars.com presents “Empire at 40,” a special series of interviews, editorial features, and listicles.
This year marked 40 years of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the critically-acclaimed first sequel of the saga. While Lucasfilm was not able to celebrate Episode V as originally hoped, two new featurettes have been created for fans as a special holiday gift.
In the first featurette, you’ll see rare behind-the-scenes moments captured by the film’s documentary crew, including the frozen exteriors of Hoth, the rebel base hangar, interiors of the Millennium Falcon, Cloud City, and the film’s climactic duel between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Also included is an all-new and archival audio commentary by George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, and Lawrence Kasdan.
The second focuses on the talent and production crews keeping the Star Wars legacy alive today, as they look back at The Empire Strikes Back and share their thoughts and memories of the film that transformed the Star Wars story into a saga. This brief featurette includes humorous outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage, with all-new commentary by Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Pedro Pascal, Deborah Chow, Leslye Headland, Taika Waititi, and Diego Luna.
Watch both revealing featurettes below!
For more on the 40th anniversary of Empire, be sure to check out StarWars.com’s in-depth and fun features:
- Read a new interview with George Lucas.
- Go inside the Battle of Hoth with an oral history featuring new insights from George Lucas, Joe Johnston, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, and Ben Burtt.
- Discover a new interview with Mark Hamill.
- Learn how Boba Fett came to life in a new interview with Joe Johnston.
- Find out how artist Matt Ferguson created his stunning anniversary poster.
- Enjoy 40 memorable quotes from
- Get the recipe for Boba Fett Banana Bread Muffins.
You can find even more videos, articles, and surprises at StarWars.com’s official hub for the 40th anniversary of Empire.
