What If Empire Strikes Back Were Made In The 50s?

Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader lightsaber dueling in The Empire Strikes Back
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

It’s a slow news day so let’s have a little fun with fan videos. I discovered this one surfing around earlier in the morning, a video put together out of clips from 1950s science fiction films and repurposed to illustrate what Empire Strikes back would have looked like if it were shot thirty years earlier, when sci-fi on the big screen was just beginning to take shape.

They’ve actually done a pretty masterful job of splicing it together. All the particulars are the same but layered in that 50s style. Luke Skywalker has become Luke Starkiller, Leia has turned into a screamer, and C3PO seems to have boobs. It’s also now in 3D. Yep, that’s right. James Cameron didn’t invent it last year. 3D has been around for a long time. But otherwise this is the Empire Strikes Back you know with bigger fonts and cheesier effects. If you’re a Star Wars fan or just a fan of classic science fiction it’s worth a look. I suspect that even in the 50s, Han shot first. Watch:

Josh Tyler