We are already familiar with the numerous changes made to the original Star Wars trilogy, starting in 1997 with the Special Editions. While A New Hope and Return of the Jedi saw a lot of improvements to the original theatrical releases of the films, The Empire Strikes Back was infamously left relatively untouched, save for a series of scenes George Lucas added at the end of the film, where Darth Vader slowly walks to his shuttle and returns to his star destroyer, to explain how he got from Bespin to the star destroyer between scenes.
That one change was masterfully done, and there was definitely room for additional changes elsewhere, so here are the TOP FOUR scenes that SHOULD have been added to Empire Strikes Back, but for some reason, weren’t.
The Battle of Hoth
Who could forget the memorable opening battle between the Empire and the Rebels on Hoth? In the original film, Darth Vader orders the ground assault on the Rebel base shortly before the first AT-AT can be seen over the snow-capped horizon of Hoth. After General Veers informs the dark lord that he can shortly begin his landing, we don’t see Vader again until later when he is on the ground, leading the incursion into Echo Base. But how did Vader get down there? If Lucasfilm had any brains when they were making the Special Edition, they would have included a scene where Vader walks from the bridge of the Executor to the shuttle bay, and then gets on board a shuttle, and then flies the shuttle down to Hoth, and then gets out of the shuttle, and then walks to Echo Base.
The Emperor’s message
Empire is also the first movie where we get to see the gnarled visage of Emperor Sheev Palpatine. While the 1997 Special Edition and the subsequent 2004 Blu-Ray release gave a much needed face-lift to the Emperor’s hologram, audience members are still left scratching their heads when Vader is informed that he is receiving a message from the Emperor while standing on the bridge, but in the next scene, is in a completely different room talking to Palpatine. How did he get there? A lot of questions could have been answered if Lucas simply filmed a few scenes with Vader walking through the corridors of the Executor to his private chambers, since it wouldn’t make sense for Vader to take such a private message in public — even amongst his most trusted generals.
An Imperial presence on Bespin
As the Millennium Falcon blasts off to Bespin, we can see in the Special Edition that Lucas smartly included extra footage of Boba Fett tracking Han Solo on his course to “safety,” but then we hear nothing more of this development until Vader magically shows up in Lando’s dining room. So what happened? Did Boba Fett get on the phone and tell Vader what he found? Did Vader show up with a small Imperial detachment to the small cloud mining facility and threaten a full blown occupation if Lando didn’t comply and betray his friend? Did he then go and wait in the dining room until Han Solo and Leia showed up and were totally surprised by his presence? We can only imagine, because those dunderheads at Lucasfilm didn’t include it in the movie.
Getting worse all the time
In a film filled to the proverbial brim with unforgettable lines, one scene that stands out is Vader’s final confrontation with Lando Calrissian. After taunting the beleaguered administrator and friend of Han Solo, Vader then gets on an elevator and leaves the scene. Now, I know what you’re thinking — where did he go? But unlike most fans, I am well versed in the art of cinema, and understand full well that elevators are a visual cue for moving places, and thus we don’t need to see how Vader then goes to his hotel room to take a nap before the big carbon freezing later in the afternoon. When we finally do cut back to Vader walking into the carbon freezing chamber later on, however, he should take a nice, long stretch, and maybe even give a little bit of a yawn, as a subtle wink to the audience as to where Vader has been this whole time while off screen.
Can you think of any other walking scenes that should have been added to the original trilogy? Were there any other movies that showed a character in one room in one scene, and in another room in another scene, that just didn’t make sense? Post a comment below and let me know what you think!
