Empire Strikes Back's Fake Twist Would Have Made Star Wars Much Darker
The act 3 plot twist in The Empire Strikes Back changed the course of the Star Wars saga, and while its secrecy was protected with a fake revelation, the trilogy could have been much darker if it was the real twist. Darth Vader’s infamous dialogue, which reveals that he is Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker, is iconic enough to be known by those unfamiliar with the Star Wars franchise, but it wasn’t simply a twist for the sake of being unexpected. Vader’s revelation completely recontextualizes A New Hope and informs some of the most dramatic and poignant moments in its sequel, Return of the Jedi. What isn’t nearly as iconic, however, is the “twist” told to Mark Hamill duringEmpire’s filming, which would have taken Star Wars in a drastically different direction.
Darth Vader’s “I am your father” line is a meaningful plot twist that isn’t fully evaluated until its sequel, Return of the Jedi. Luke learns from his mentors that Obi-Wan feels responsible for Anakin’s fall to the dark side but also sees Darth Vader as a different person than his former apprentice (a sentiment reinforced in canon and Legends Star Wars material outside of the films). With this knowledge, Luke resolves to redeem his father rather than kill him, resulting in some of the franchise’s greatest moments. Luke uses his familial attachment to his father to bring out what good remains in Vader, making Return of the Jedi a remarkably satisfying conclusion to both the original trilogy and the story of Anakin Skywalker.
Related: What If Luke Became A Jedi & Killed Vader Before Empire's Father Twist?
George Lucas and Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kirshner preserved the secrecy of the film’s major twist from even the cast, with the purported false twist being
Read more on screenrant.com
