“It feels like federal level”: Decades After ‘The Empire Strikes Back’s Biggest Secret Got Leaked, Star Wars Now Goes to Extreme Lengths to Protect its Shows and Films
Although the universe of Star Wars is huge and continues to grow with each passing day, one thing that has remained unique is that the film’s producers know how to keep their secrets well protected. From the twist in The Empire Strikes Back to the upcoming Disney+ series The Acolyte, the element of surprise has been one of the major reasons for the saga’s popularity.
Viewers of the first three films will always remember the moment when Darth Vader reveals he is the father of Luke Skywalker. This reveal is one of the biggest twists in cinematic history, and the impact this revelation had surprised viewers and made The Empire Strikes Back a classic.
The Acolyte Took Precautions to Avoid Plot Leaks Like The Empire Strikes Back
During the shoot of The Empire Strikes Back, major steps were taken to make sure the twist would not leak out. It was a secret known only to Irvin Kershner, George Lucas, and Mark Hamill. During the filming of the original trilogy, David Prowse, who portrayed Vader, was not informed of these changes. He was saying another line that was later replaced by the voice of James Earl Jones.
But even after such measures, the secret was revealed two years before the start of the film. Prowse himself was said to have revealed the secret of Darth Vader being the father of Luke Skywalker during one of his public outings, and a local newspaper spoiled it for the public.
However, in the documentary I Am Your Father, Prowse revealed that he had no memory of spoiling the secret. Years later, in a Star Wars interview, Prowse was asked if he knew that he was going to be the father of Skywalker, to which he said,
No, I never said that. I just said ‘come and join me and the Dark Side’. I had no dialogue referring to Luke’s father. I have never seen a script for the Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. Everything was kept a secret because they were afraid things would leak.
In a recent interview on The Movie Podcast, Amandla Stenberg and Manny Jacinto of Star Wars: The Acolyte were asked to talk about something specific that nobody knows about the set or shooting process of Star Wars. Amandla Stenberg revealed how they were prevented from spilling secrets. She said,
On all Star Wars sets, all sides are shredded at the end of the day, and everything that we could potentially have access to is on a secret server(…) It feels like Federal level like the Lucas film server and everyone has email and password.
One other thing is the use of the word ‘Force’ is actually very like safeguarded like sometimes I think when we were kind of collaborating on scenes and rehearsing I was like ‘can we use the word like force something here’ and was like ‘no we can’t do that’.
It is quite a task to protect secretive data from exposure, especially today in the age of social media. However, the makers and producers are taking precautionary measures to the next level in order to prevent any type of leak.
The Acolyte Actors Required Map to Explore the Set
In addition to script security measures, The Acolyte team ensured that the production maintained a full-fledged Star Wars experience. In an interview with GamesRadar+, Charlie Barnett, who portrayed Jedi Knight Yord Fandar, shared his thoughts about how massive the set was,
The entirety of the sets, they were whole worlds. They built [the planet Khofar] and it became a whole ecosystem. There were rivers running through it, plants [and animals] moved in, birds living in the ceiling.
Amandla Stenberg herself stated that the forest set was so large that the cast members were given maps to help them find their way in it. She said,
I remember being in the pre-production office, and I saw the map posted up on the wall and I said, ‘Oh, is that like a canon map of what our forest looks like?’ And they said, ‘No, no, that’s a real map.’
As Star Wars keeps progressing episode after episode with its story and plot turns, the galaxy far, far away will always be a place of dreams and imagination for upcoming generations.
