Released in cinemas 42 years ago, this second chapter of the ‘Skywalker Saga’ almost climaxed with a bruised-up Luke Skywalker having his new robotic hand tended to by medical droid 2-1B – the wires and prosthetic gore on full display – before chatting to Lando Calrissian and Chewie about saving Han Solo.
After much deliberation from the creatives, though, the medical bay imagery was dialed down while the Jedi goes on to observe Lando and the Wookie blasting off into space in search of Han.
Over on Twitter, the history behind this was being debated by fans, with one individual questioning Hamill directly: “Mark, did you guys re-shoot the Medical Bay scene at the end of Empire after principal photography had already wrapped?”
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The actor soon responded with a series of Empire stills and this explanation: “Filmed 4 months after we wrapped principal photography on #ESB, it wasn’t a ‘re-shoot’, it was an added scene.
“Concerned about the downbeat ending and thorough defeat of the protagonists, they wanted to add an uplifting moment of hope and rejuvenation to reassure the audience”.
Source: Men’s Health
