From the great Why Is This Interesting newsletter comes this item from Elliot Aronow, editor of the minor genius substack:
“As blockbuster storylines go, The Empire Strikes Back is a bit of an outlier. Our big hero Luke fails physically, spiritually, and psychologically in his training with Yoda. All of his friends get captured by the Empire. His dad chops off his hand. The “happy ending” is just that he and his rebel buddies live to fight another day. This is not exactly a recipe for shifting action figures, lunch boxes, and pajamas. So how did such a dark and psychologically rich sequel to one of the most profitable, kid-friendly movies of all time get made? Why would a Hollywood studio green light this?
The answer is that they wouldn’t. No studio agreed to make The Empire Strikes Back as George Lucas had envisioned it, so Lucas bet on himself, kept the merchandising rights, and financed the entire thing on his own. The result? The Empire Strikes Back was the highest grossing film of 1980, earning over $400 million worldwide. It won Oscars and Grammys, and is now considered the prime example of a sequel that surpassed its predecessor. Not only has it come to be regarded as the best film in the entire Star Wars series, it’s often included in round-ups of the greatest films ever made.”