There are so many memorable moments in The Empire Strikes Back but one stands out the most. In the climactic fight scene between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, the Sith Lord chose to reveal that he was actually (gasp!) Luke's father. But why did the villain decide to tell the truth during that moment? Star Wars creator George Lucas admitted that he initially wanted to wait a little longer for the revelation but realized this was the best time to drop the plot twist on the audience.
Lucas recently spoke to Empire in celebration of his film's 40th anniversary and he revealed that Vader's secret was supposed to be a major part of the third movie. However, Lucas reconsidered this while working on the second draft for Empire Strikes Back and thought of dropping the truth bomb on Luke at a time when he couldn't truly trust Vader just yet.
"I conceived it so that you would not know if Vader was lying or telling the truth," Lucas shared. "You have to have an escape hatch for kids psychologically so they can deny it."
It's important to remember that Lucas re-wrote several key elements in the original Star Wars trilogy several times so it would make sense that things weren't immediately revealed. Nevertheless, the direction he took with Empire would eventually lead to the prequel films that focused on how Luke's father ended up becoming Vader in the first place.
The Empire Strikes Back celebrated its 40th anniversary on May 21.
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