'The Empire Strikes Back' Almost Had An Entirely Different Ending

Mark Hamill Explains the Alternate Ending of 'Empire Strikes Back'

According to the video with Mark Hamill, the original script had a very different reveal at the end of the movie.

In this version, Darth Vader would have told Luke, "You don't know the truth. Obi-Wan killed your father."

This would have painted the wise and noble Obi-Wan Kenobi as the villain of the story, a truly shocking twist that would have subverted audience expectations.

The kind mentor that we loved would have been cast in doubt, and it would have caused an internal battle inside Luke that we had to wait a few years for the sequel to see.

Mark Hamill admitted that he thought this was a "spectacular" idea.

So why didn't it happen?

Director Irvin Kershner and producer George Lucas had a bigger secret in store, which wound up being that Vader was Luke's father.

And to prevent the real twist from leaking, they kept it a closely guarded secret, with only a handful of people aware of the true storyline.

That's why the line in the script was originally written that way.

Mark Hamill was only told about the "I am your father" line moments before filming the scene. Kershner pulled him aside and had him read the line from a piece of paper, making him promise not to tell anyone.

That crazy last-minute switch preserved the twist of the movie, and it allowed Hamill to actually act against having the revelation in real time.

Summing It All Up

So the idea of a villainous Obi-Wan is fascinating to consider, but it's hard to imagine the Star Wars saga without the emotional weight and complexity of the father-son dynamic between Luke and Vader.

I actually think they preserved the villainous Obi idea in The Last Jedi, where we learn Luke almost killed Kylo Ren while he was sleeping -- that is sort of the same initial payoff spun on its head.

This is a cool story, and it shows the thought and complexity that went into preserving a secret from the audience, and an alternate reality where they had a plan for Luke, no matter what.