George Lucas Weighs in on Keeping Darth Vader Twist a Secret in 2020

One of the biggest surprises in cinematic history was the Darth Vader reveal in Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, where fans learned that the Sith Lord was actually Luke Skywalker's father. However, in the modern age, reveals or details like these could easily leak, ruining the experience for some. That said, would the Darth Vader twist have worked in 2020?

"I think it might have!" Lucas told StarWars.com when asked if the ending would have been kept a secret. "Because the thing about it is I didn't tell anybody — anybody — about it. And it wasn't in any of the scripts."

Lucas said the reveal wasn't in the "story treatments" and that he was the only one who knew about it. Heading to filming the scene, Lucas said only director Irvin Kershner knew about the details, with actor Mark Hamill just learning about it on set "so he could react appropriately."

While spoilers could easily make their way online in this day and age, Lucas thinks the secret would have still worked. The people who knew about it were limited aside from the three, including James Earl Jones, the sound booth mixers, and editors. Of course, once the film has arrived in theaters, it would be inevitable for the twist to come out somehow. "I think, in this era now with the internet the way it is, it's very hard to have surprises in a movie," Lucas added. "And I don't think you could do it today."

While there have been several spoilers leaked prior to movies getting released - such as Han Solo's death or Kylo Ren getting redeemed in The Rise of Skywalker - thankfully, there is one twist that wasn't spoiled: Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian.

What are your thoughts on Lucas' comments? Tell us in the comments below!

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