The Empire Strikes Back also known as Star Wars: Episode V is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a screenplay by George Lucas. It is the second film in the series and the fifth chronological chapter in the ‘Skywalker Saga.’ It is the sequel to Star Wars (1977).
The film is set three years after the events of Star Wars and tells the story of a war between the Emperor’s evil Galactic Empire and Princess Leia’s Rebel Alliance. Luke Skywalker studies the Force to face Darth Vader, the great Sith lord.
Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and Frank Oz are among the ensemble cast members.
After the popularity of Star Wars, Lucas hired Brackett to write the sequel. Following her death in 1978, he sketched the entire Star Wars narrative and wrote the next draught himself before enlisting the help of Lawrence Kasdan, the writer of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
To avoid the stress of directing Star Wars, Lucas delegated the task to Kershner and instead concentrated on growing his special effects company Industrial Light & Magic. The Empire Strikes Back, which was shot in Finse, Norway, and Elstree Studios in England from March to September 1979, had a number of production issues, including actor injuries, illnesses, fires, and trouble getting more money as expenses soared. The project’s budget had been set at $8 million, but by the time it was finished, it had ballooned to $30.5 million.
