A rough draft of the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back, based on George Lucas' story, was written by Leigh Brackett, the prolific and talented screenwriter and science-fiction novelist who died in March 1978, shortly after completing the draft. Following her death, Lawrence Kasdan was brought in to do the final draft. An impressive new writing talent, he has also written the screenplay, Raiders of The Lost Ark, based on another George Lucas story, which is to be filmed this year with Steven Spielberg directing.
The key specialists on the new picture include several who had worked on Star Wars. Robert Watts became associate producer, Norman Reynolds production designer, Paul Hirsch film editor, Ralph McQuarrie design consultant, Stuart Freeborn make-up supervisor, John Mollo costume designer, and John Williams again wrote the musical score. Of these, Williams, Reynolds, and Mollo had been honored with Academy Awards for their work on Star Wars. Newcomers include Peter Suschitzky, BSC, Director of Photography, and Brian Johnson, who supervised the mechanical special effects during principal photography and later joined forces with Richard Edlund and Dennis Muren, supervising the creation of special effects at Industrial Light and Magic.
The young heroes of Star Wars resumed their roles in the continuation: Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as Han Solo, and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa.
Also returning were Anthony Daniels, who had made so unique a contribution to Star Wars with his interpretation of the character, C-3PO; David Prowse as Darth Vader, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca; and Kenny Baker as R2-D2.
The company was then complete—with one important exception, Sir Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi. When the picture started shooting, Guinness was still recovering from an eye operation and his availability was in doubt. It was not until almost the end of shooting that it was confirmed that he would appear, reflecting no only an improvement in his health but also his desire to continue his involvement in the Star Wars saga.
Two new characters have been added to the entourage. Billy Dee Williams has been cast as Lando Calrissian, the charismatic boss of a mining colony in space.
Frank Oz, who is famous for his "Muppet Show" characterizations on television, appears as Yoda, an entirely new creation which is expected to be one of the most talked-about debuts of the year.
To accommodate the picture at Elstree, where all eight existing stages were used, an additional facility was built. The studio lacked an appropriate stage, and one was needed for the most elaborate of the interiors. When completed, it became one of the largest stages in the world and an important new facility for the film industry in Britain. Foundation work was finished before the winter of 1978/79 locked the country in a grip of ice. It was to prove one of the worst winters on record, and its length and severity delayed the completion of the new stage. Nevertheless, scenes on both the ice planet and the jungle planet were eventually shot in it. The dimensions of what is now called the Star Wars stage are 250 feet long by 122 feet wide by 45 feet high, adding up to an overall capacity in excess of one-and-a-quarter million cubic feet, large enough to accommodate a soccer game, the biggest of the interior sets nevertheless required a 30 foot extension to it!
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