The Empire Strikes Back Teaser Trailer

[Kham-Ryn Kurios]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omcxaMEGha0" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omcxaMEGha0</a>

Watch the original teaser trailer for The Empire Strikes Back, which is notable for featuring solely concept art by Ralph McQuarrie but no film footage. Among the McQuarrie paintings seen are the Rebel hangar on Hoth, Luke on a tauntaun, Darth Vader aboard a Star Destroyer, Cloud City, an Imperial probe droid, and Luke’s final duel with Darth Vader.

[James Casey]

I can imagine sitting there in 1979 ahead of, say, Quadrophenia and just thinking "Mmm, not convinced..."

I suppose in a way it's no different to the Batman teaser from the late 80s that was just the camera swooshing around a yellow canyon before pulling back and revealing the Batman logo, or various other teasers that have done the rounds... But it did look awfully cheap just to use the concept drawings. I wonder how early it was screened - whether it was even before shooting began? Would that have been common practise for the time, or just for something as highly anticipated or effects-heavy as ESB?

[Krace]

It was sort of odd to use concept drawings to lay it out, but they gave us a lot of the story, even the ending parts.  Shooting had to have started for it I would imagine.  It says coming next year.  So it was 1979 and Ep IV had been out for 2 years.  I guess they just didn't want to give away too much of the new effects for the new movie.  Guess it also could have been a thing of the times.

[Aerthias Kodoun]

Hmm... Last week they released A New Hope teaser... Then they released this one... And next weeks will probably be Return of the Jedi...

Then after that, maybe, just maybe... Star Wars Episode VII Teaser Trailer.