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Cheeky cameos, familiar-sounding Wampas, and everything else you probably missed in Episode V.
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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 rebel
00:15heroes 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
00:29moviemaking trick present in the 1980 masterpiece has been successfully frozen in carbonite for all
00:35to see. Gareth here from WhatCultureStarWars and here are 20 things you somehow missed in Star Wars
00:41Episode 5 The Empire Strikes Back. 20. Luke Never Fires His Blaster
00:46When you can rely on something as unquestionably cool and effective as a damn laser sword,
00:52opting for a generic blaster can best be described as a somewhat uncivilized alternative. And that's
00:57an opinion Luke Skywalker seemingly shared with his one-time master Obi-Wan Kenobi,
01:02with the son of Anakin never actually firing off a blaster shot at any stage in The Empire Strikes
01:07Back. That's right, despite wandering the halls of Cloud
01:10City with his weapon ready to fire and regularly being spotted with it on his person, not once
01:15does the Jedi in training choose to pull the trigger in the sequel.
01:1819. An Elephant and Seal Were Used For Those Whomper Whales Throwing poor old Luke into a pretty rough
01:24spot out of the gate, Episode 5 sees the rebel hero being imprisoned by a fierce abominable snowman-like
01:30being known as a Whomper, viciously taking down Skywalker's tauntaun before dragging his knocked-out
01:36figure back to his icy lair. The unsettling shrieks this mountain of white terror unleashed weren't
01:41actually as alien as the monster itself. According to masterful sound designer Ben Burtt,
01:46a combination of a lion eating a cow's head, elephants erupting and a squawking sea lion,
01:52all help bring to life the startling wails of the fearsome beast at various points in its showing.
01:5718. A Lightsaber Reversal Staying within the Whomper's freezing home,
02:02one of Luke's first real examples of him successfully using the Force comes during the
02:06moment the unlucky Jedi finds himself hanging upside down in the cave, and 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 wirework,
02:25you'd actually only be half right. Because while wires were very much used to assist Mark Hamill's
02:30epic force yanking out of the snow, they were actually used to pull the lightsaber from his hand
02:35rather than to it. This moment was then reversed later on, meaning that you're really watching a
02:39backwards version of a lightsaber falling to the ground here. Mind blown.
02:4417. The Force Is Strong With Upside Down Skywalker
02:47And while on the topic of an upside down Luke, the galaxy's most reliable hero doesn't half
02:52have a habit of ending up in that rather specific position over the course of the Empire Strikes Back.
02:58Far from being a bizarre coincidence though, the Force-sensitive protagonist's regular hanging
03:02and standing upside down can actually be linked to the way his world is somewhat flipped on its head
03:07during these particular moments. The aforementioned Hoth's 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.
03:26How's that for some Force-sensitive symbolism, eh?
03:2816. 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.
03:46With the Millennium Falcon being hunted down by a set of Imperial TIE Fighters during the sequence,
03:51one of the Empire's pilots suddenly gets a little too close to an asteroid.
03:54As the ship is well and truly destroyed, however, slowing down the footage reveals a tiny little
03:59pilot being fired from the wreckage whilst being very much on fire himself.
04:03Talk about going out in a blaze of shockingly comical glory.
04:0615. A Matte Painting Bespin Background
04:09Long before George Lucas got his hands on a green screen, the go-to solution for creating
04:14a larger-than-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 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
04:36duel was also largely brought to life through astounding paintings. Even with that knowledge
04:41in mind, though, it's still fairly hard not to get lost in a beautifully realised setting
04:45that feels about as real as the world outside your window.
04:4714. 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, and likely even more shocked to discover that
05:00a piece of Doctor Who history actually managed to wiggle its way into the galaxy far, far away
05:05all those years ago. Those loyal Whovians all over the galaxy probably found themselves
05:10suffering from a bit of déjà vu when slimy bounty hunter Bosk first wandered onto the Episode 5 scene.
05:16That's because the eye-catching spacesuit the Trandoshan is seen sporting
05:19actually first popped up in 1966's The Tenth Planet episode from the Doctor Who series.
05:25In that episode, a similar-looking Windak flight suit is worn by a human figure,
05:30though it isn't 100% known whether this was the exact same costume that would be later used
05:3414 years on in The Empire Strikes Back. But at the very least, both Bosk and this Who figure
05:39shared a fondness for this type of distinct yellow jumpsuit.
05:4213. 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 far, far away.
05:54The home of Luke and Anakin Skywalker regularly acts as the backdrop to some of the series' most iconic
05:59moments. But what tends to be lost in all of the frosty Hoth skirmishes and hand-chopping that goes
06:04down in Episode 5 is the fact that this movie actually sits as the only one within the prequel and
06:10original trilogies not to showcase a scene happening on Tatooine.
06:14And as another interesting piece of often-overlooked trivia, Tatooine's appearances in Episodes 1, 2, 3,
06:194, 6, and 9 mean that it ranks as the planet with the most appearances in the Skywalker Saga 2.
06:26Number 12. Vader and C-3PO's only original trilogy seen together happened here.
06:31Speaking of Tatooine's importance within the Star Wars franchise, this was also the planet that Anakin
06:36Skywalker was ultimately revealed to have built everyone's favourite neurotic droid C-3PO on.
06:41Throughout much of the original trilogy, however, Darth Vader and his creation don't actually share
06:46all that many scenes together, with the one and only instance of the pair reuniting actually coming
06:51as Han Solo is about to be frozen in carbonite. And in the 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 3PO on his back has been interpreted as the
07:05Dark Lord not wanting to harm his one-time robotic pal all these years later. Because Lucas definitely
07:11had this all mapped out from the beginning, right?
07:13Number 11. 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, both herself and
07:21Harrison Ford don't do an awful lot of smiling, as their Leia Organa and Han Solo respectively
07:26struggle to evade the Empire in Episode 5. But on one specific occasion, the two could very much be
07:32spotted smirking like naughty school kids when walking around on Cloud City. And this was mostly
07:37down to the fact the pair of party animals were still a bit drunk from the wild evening before.
07:42Said night of partying involved everything from the Rolling Stones to Monty Python's Eric Idle to
07:47what was described as a Tunisian death drink, with the end results forcing the leading stars who
07:52hadn't slept a wink to crack a set of still somewhat intoxicated grins when encountering
07:56Lando Calrissian for the first time in the series.
07:59Number 10. Boba Fett's face is briefly glimpsed
08:02While he may have grown into one of the most adored figures in the galaxy on the back of his
08:06rather mysterious live-action debut in The Empire Strikes Back, in reality the reveal of precisely
08:11who was hiding underneath that iconic Mandalorian helmet actually went down under fans' very noses
08:17in Episode 5. Brought to life by Jeremy Bullock during his original trilogy days, the actor behind
08:22Boba Fett actually rocked up without a mask on Cloud City, playing Galactic Empire Lieutenant
08:27Shekel, as Leia tries to warn Luke that he'd wandered into a trap. This wasn't always the plan though,
08:33Bullock simply stepped in late on in the wake of the original Shekel actor suddenly not being
08:38available to shoot on the day.
08:39Number 9. 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, thank heavens, but the brilliant minds behind the various alien
08:52planets, technology and characters found in The Empire Strikes Back still threw their fair share
08:57of mind-blowing technical feats into the sequel. However, when it came time to shoot the relentlessly
09:02snowy sequences on Hoth involving the rebels trying to fight off both the incoming Empire
09:07and some seriously treacherous weather, that latter element didn't really require any digital
09:12or practical wizardry at all. So the next time you take in the moment involving Luke Skywalker
09:17trying his best to keep from freezing to death post Whomper escape, do so with the knowledge
09:21of Mark 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 nice warm hotel close
09:30by with a cup of joe.
09:32Number 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
09:54with the flicking of one big ol' switch. This was reportedly captured by Lucas himself
09:58during a visit to the notorious prison. And it definitely helped add some extra real-world
10:03terror to the already formidable spacecraft.
10:06Number 7. Ralph McQuarrie's Hoth walk-on
10:08Concept designer and all-round legendary illustrator Ralph McQuarrie's fingerprints are all over the
10:13Star Wars universe. And not just that, but McQuarrie himself also managed to land a cheeky
10:18cameo showing during episode 5 too. Walking in front of one of the matte painting backgrounds that he
10:24helped bring into being, the brilliant artist takes on the small cameo role of General Farl McQuarrie on Hoth.
10:30See what they did there? Also this brief rebel based shot came equipped with sneaky appearances
10:34from fellow concept artist Joe Johnston, Harrison Ellenshaw and Michael Pangrazio.
10:39Number 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 brilliant
10:57minds behind everything from the Millennium Falcon to the humongous space rocks in question,
11:01when trying to land on a design for these asteroids, the team finally decided on a look
11:06that someone quickly pointed out looked similar to a potato. Without missing a beat, it was soon
11:11decided that throwing a bunch of actual spuds into the distant background of the asteroid belt
11:15wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. So if you look closely enough, you'll definitely catch a
11:20few floating taters threatening to collide with the Falcon. Number 5. Boba Fett is never mentioned by name.
11:26From the very second he showed up in the middle of a collection of unsettling bounty hunters on
11:30Darth Vader's Star Destroyer in The Empire Strikes Back, most instantly found themselves gripped by
11:35the Beskar sporting badass that is Boba Fett. That being said, those who hadn't sat through the
11:40debacle that was the Star Wars Holiday Special, gone mad over the newest must-have Star Wars action
11:45figure beforehand, or chosen to stick around for Episode 5's end credits, would have been forgiven for
11:50having next to no clue who this not exactly talkative masked figure actually was.
11:55Why? Well because Fett's name isn't actually said at any point in The Empire Strikes Back,
12:00with his first big screen mention by name surprisingly coming in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial two years later.
12:06Number 4. 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, you know,
12:14the one that saw a planet get destroyed. The Empire Strikes Back did still involve a grand total of 46
12:20,987
12:21beings being taken out at various stages in the tale. What likely will come as a rather significant
12:27shock to those who have regularly consumed the grittier follow-up to A New Hope however,
12:31is precisely which on-screen figure is responsible for the tied most kills in Episode 5.
12:36According to List of Deaths Wiki, alongside the supposed hero of the day, Luke Skywalker,
12:40none other than Captain Wedge Antilles can claim to being the deadliest presence in the 1980 hit.
12:46Both Rebel men killed 43 individuals each, sitting a significant way above Chewbacca's third place
12:52total of seven. So much for being the good guys, eh?
12:55Number 3. Kids Actually Played Rebel Extras
12:57Potatoes weren't the only unexpected elements sneakily chucked into Episode 5's action. During the
13:03moments that play out within the Rebel's base on the snowy world of Hoth, many a child was actually
13:07dressed up as a Rebel soldier and worker scurrying around in the background. This was done in order
13:12to help enhance the feeling of the hangar being far bigger than it actually was when shooting.
13:17And it worked a treat to be honest, with it being rather difficult to spot that those troopers and
13:21freedom fighters in the distance were actually little more than kids playing dress-up. And who
13:25wouldn't love the chance to run around on a Star Wars set all day, right?
13:28Number 2. Rebels Use Bubble Wrap For... Reasons
13:31As 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 when
14:05guiding Episode 8 onto the big screen.
14:08Number 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 realize during this and
14:26the numerous other moments spent inside of Yoda's home though, is that said hut is actually partially
14:31made up of parts from the escape pod that brought him to the planet all those years ago. As revealed
14:36in a Revenge of the Sith deleted scene, Yoda landed on the planet strong with the force in an E3
14:41standard starship lifeboat. He would then go on to live in the ship for a time before it began to
14:45degrade and was ultimately consumed by the swamp a year into his exile. So Yoda decided to forge a
14:51new home, one that came equipped with some of the materials he could salvage from the broken down
14:55pod slash home. He even powered his new gaff using the lifeboat's backup power supply. But as impressive
15:01as the Jedi Master's ability to improvise and evolve to his surroundings may be, it's definitely
15:06difficult to look at his home the same way after realizing it likely serves as a painful constant
15:10reminder of the world he left behind post Order 66. And that's our list, know of any other things
15:16people somehow missed in Star Wars Episode 5 The Empire Strikes Back? Let us know all about them in the
15:21comments section right down below and do not forget to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're
15:25at it. Also if this kind of stuff strikes a chord with you then please head on over to whatculture
15:30.com
15:30and find some more fantastic articles just like the one this video you're watching right this second
15:34is based on. I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, may the force be with you as always,
15:38thanks so much for watching this lovely video today and hopefully I'll see your pretty pretty faces very
15:43very soon. Bye bye!
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