It's not easy being a wampa. You're furry and pretty cute, and all you want is a nice frozen treat after a long, hard day hunting tauntauns on Hoth. You get yourself a snack and stick him to the ceiling for later, and what happens? He escapes! You did that work for nothing, and now you're dead. As it turns out, it wasn't exactly easy for the people playing the wampa in "Star Wars: Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back," both the original and the shots added for the special edition release of the film. (Des Webb played him in the original and Ilm computer graphics modeler Howie Weed -- who has the nickname "wampa sir" -- in the special edition.)
According to "Star Wars Insider" issue #33 from 1997, the original plan for the wampa shots had to be abandoned because of the physical difficulties, the stilts, the snow, and...
According to "Star Wars Insider" issue #33 from 1997, the original plan for the wampa shots had to be abandoned because of the physical difficulties, the stilts, the snow, and...
- 12/27/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
Despite numerous stuffies, toys, and webcomics making wampas seem cuddly and cute, when "Star Wars: Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back" first came out, the fluffy white monster was pretty scary. A denizen of the ice planet Hoth where the Rebels have a base, a wampa sneaks up on Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and captures him. He sticks Luke's feet to the ceiling of his cave with ice and saves him as a snack for later. As it turns out, the wampa costume itself was pretty difficult to deal with, according to a 2013 issue of "Star Wars Insider." It was also uncomfortable to wear and move in, leading to a scene that ended up being left out of the finished film, as was detailed in the book "The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Enhanced Edition)" by J.W. Rinzler.
Though the wampa scene we did see gave...
Though the wampa scene we did see gave...
- 11/25/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
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