2. The Emperor’s New Look
Another change made to The Empire Strikes Back was done to improve continuity between trilogies. George Lucas made some of the changes to the Original Trilogy with the purpose of tying them in with the prequels.
While substituting Sebastian Shaw for Hayden Christenson was certainly not a popular choice, there are arguments that can be made for its inclusion. But that’s not the one we’re going to talk about. Another switch that makes irrefutable sense was the inclusion of Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor.
A variety of elements made up the Emperor’s brief holographic appearance in the original 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back. Marjorie Eaton physically portrayed the character, with chimpanzee eyes composited over her own to create a more uncanny appearance. The voice was provided by New Zealand actor Clive Revell.
For the DVD release of the Special Editions in 2004, the Emperor was replaced with Ian McDiarmid, the actor who portrayed him in Return of the Jedi and all three prequel films. McDiarmid filmed the new footage during production of Revenge of the Sith. As a result, his appearance isn’t entirely consistent with the next film.
Regardless, there’s no real argument for keeping the original Emperor, beyond nostalgia. The Emperor’s initial appearance in Episode V is the only time he looked like that. Keeping it that way would’ve simply confused newer audience members.
This change reinforces continuity and creates a more streamlined experience for binging the saga.
