Roger Christian, the legendary set decorator for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and art director of Alien, has a deep connection to Star Wars beyond his production design. George Lucas requested a film to go out with The Empire Strikes Back, and Christian's fantasy script was commissioned on the spot, giving birth to the once-lost short film Black Angel.
The Star Wars universe is expansive, but so are the behind-the-scene stories that helped build the franchise to legendary status. It's common knowledge that George Lucas was inspired to make his fairytale-in-space in the image of Akira Kurosawa's iconic film The Hidden Fortress, implementing similar power struggles and underdog characters.
Fans are well aware that Harrison Ford wasn’t the initial choice for Han Solo, much like how Darth Vader’s true identity was kept secret from the cast and crew. However, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back holds an even more shocking story that was once lost from the space saga forever!
Roger Christian, legendary set decorator for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and art director of Alien, has a deep connection to Star Wars beyond his production design. George Lucas requested a film to go out with The Empire Strikes Back. At the time, Lucas read a fantasy script written by Christian and commissioned it on the spot, which gave birth to the once-lost short film Black Angel.
The short has since become a notorious piece of cinematic history that influenced the visual and tonal elements of the darkest installment of Star Wars. The Empire Strikes Back is one of the most beloved installments of the Star Wars franchise, and for a good reason. The sequel represents a giant tonal shift from A New Hope, following Luke Skywalker down a gloomy journey toward facing his worst fear yet — his father, Darth Vader.
The film's dark emotional content, psychologically jarring scenes, and near-tragic climax are still celebrated after forty-four years, but little is mentioned of how Lucas became inspired by his set director's short film. According to BBC, Roger Christian already had a film script ready to go when the Star Wars director asked for a film to accompany the epic sequel.
It just so happens that Christian went back to film school after working on A New Hope and wrote a feature-length story. Lucas loved the idea so much that he gave the thumbs up to Christian immediately, and the project received a 25,000-pound grant from the UK government in 1979! The Oscar-winning set decorator extracted pieces of his original story, thus creating a short titled Black Angel.
'I headed to Scotland with a crew of nine people, four actors, two trained horses, and a Volkswagon bus,' recalls Roger Christian in the introductory commentary of Black Angel. The Force is not a binary, it is a spectrum — from the serene halls of the Jedi Temple to the shadowed corridors of Sith space. Ten questions will reveal where you truly fall. Now you will too.
The Force has always known. The Star Wars universe is vast, but it's the behind-the-scenes stories that have made it legendary. George Lucas was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, and Harrison Ford wasn’t the initial choice for Han Solo.
However, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back holds a shocking story that was once lost from the space saga forever! Roger Christian, legendary set decorator for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and art director of Alien, has a deep connection to Star Wars beyond his production design. George Lucas requested a film to go out with The Empire Strikes Back.
At the time, Lucas read a fantasy script written by Christian and commissioned it on the spot, which gave birth to the once-lost short film Black Angel. The short has since become a notorious piece of cinematic history that influenced the visual and tonal elements of the darkest installment of Star Wars. The Empire Strikes Back is one of the most beloved installments of the Star Wars franchise, and for a good reason.
The sequel represents a giant tonal shift from A New Hope, following Luke Skywalker down a gloomy journey toward facing his worst fear yet — his father, Darth Vader. The film's dark emotional content, psychologically jarring scenes, and near-tragic climax are still celebrated after forty-four years, but little is mentioned of how Lucas became inspired by his set director's short film.
According to BBC, Roger Christian already had a film script ready to go when the Star Wars director asked for a film to accompany the epic sequel. It just so happens that Christian went back to film school after working on A New Hope and wrote a feature-length story. Lucas loved the idea so much that he gave the thumbs up to Christian immediately, and the project received a 25,000-pound grant from the UK government in 1979!
The Oscar-winning set decorator extracted pieces of his original story, thus creating a short titled Black Angel.
'I headed to Scotland with a crew of nine people, four actors, two trained horses, and a Volkswagon bus,' recalls Roger Christian in the introductory commentary of Black Angel. The Force is not a binary, it is a spectrum — from the serene halls of the Jedi Temple to the shadowed corridors of Sith space. Ten questions will reveal where you truly fall. Now you will too. The Force has always known
Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back Lost Short Film Black Angel Roger Christian George Lucas Behind-The-Scenes Set Decorator Art Director Alien UK Government Grant Oscar-Winning The Force Jedi Temple Sith Space
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