Rare Empire Cast Interview Surfaces

Welcome to a look Inside The Holocron. A collection of articles from the archives of *starwars.com no longer directly available.

(*Archived here with Permission utilising The Internet Archive Wayback Machine)

A newly resurfaced 1980 Empire Strikes Back press‑junket interview captures the cast at a pivotal moment in the saga’s history, offering candid reflections, production insights, and a rare glimpse into the atmosphere surrounding the film’s release. Preserved through archival diligence, the footage provides an authentic snapshot of the era and deepens our understanding of how the cast viewed their roles as the Star Wars phenomenon accelerated.

Rare Empire Cast Interview Surfaces

On the heels of the recent early Mark Hamill interview we discovered a couple weeks ago, starwars.com contributor Bob Miller sends a heads up on another rare interview – or set of interviews – from a press junket surrounding the 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back.

Recently posted from the archive of reporter Bobbie Wygant, this lost interview, which appears to have occurred at the 20th Century Fox Studios press event in early May, 1980, includes some rare conversations with Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Dave Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, and director Irvin Kershner.

Some of the highlights include Hamill discussing his newborn son, Nathan, who he jokes might be available for the role of an “eight-year-old” Luke for the prequels (well, he got the age right, but was a generation off!). Another treat is the rare dual interview with Harrison Ford and Anthony Daniels, who we’ve rarely seen interviewed together. Dave Prowse also has some detailed information regarding the Darth Vader masks used on Star Wars and Empire, and how they are different (Vader historians take note!).

Most amusingly, though, interviewer Wygant closes with the tease that if Lucas continues with all nine chapters of his Star Wars saga, “the Force may be around until 2001!”