Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back Storyboard To Film Comparisons

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back remains one of the most revered films in both geek and pop-culture, and it's back at the forefront of discussion again, thanks to the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Rogue One's darker tone has invited the inevitable comparison to Empire as Star Wars fans debate and rank each film in the expanding canon. However, it seems that Empire remains king (for now), and in the video below you can see how the best entry of the Star Wars saga created one of its most iconic moments.

Posted by Glass Distortion, the video compares storyboards of The Empire Strikes Back's famous "Luke vs. Vader" (dream? hallucination, vision?) sequence to the shots that director Irvin Kershner included in the final cut.

NEXT: Dark Knight Storyboard and Film Comparison

The most interesting thing about the storyboards is how they depict Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker; being a sequel, the storyboard artist(s) would know what Hamill looked like, but that drawing is a bit less flattering than some actors would prefer.

Other than that, it was interesting to see how the reveal of Luke's own face in the decapitated Vader head mask looked on storyboard. That moment is a signature rough editing cut in the theatrical version of the film - in storyboard, the explosive reveal seemed to be a bit more grand.

If you haven't seen Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, definitely make that your next life goal.

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