CT Empire Strikes Back Wampa Attack

Yeah, that was the novel Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson.

The wampa is known as "One-Arm", and some fans refer to him as the Wampa King.

Hilarious, indeed.

 

Ah yes, that brings it back to me. Darksaber. Probably the single funniest book in the entire Legends verse, and even funnier for all of it being completely unintentional.

 

I don't know why but the Wampas in the Echo Base level of Shadows of the Empire always used to scare the **** out of me. There's also one in the Gall Spaceport level. Even from a safe distance where you could shoot it down and you know it won't get to you, they still just had this eerie menacing quality about them.

 

Same here. I think it's because you know what they can do if they come close.

 

Definitely. Once they start hacking away it's tough to shake them loose. It's also the way they walk, just that slow creep towards you, you really have to make sure not to get backed into a corner.

 

I've always wondered why Luke didn't spend the night in the Wampa cave instead of rushing out into the cold dark night.

 

The wampa still had it's other arm and was quite angry. I don't think Luke was willing to take a chance on trying to finish the wampa off.

 

And there's always the possibility that wounded, bleeding Wampa will attract fresh, hungry but totally unharmed Wampas to finish it off, and serve Skywalker a la mode as an appetising entrée.

Or heck, maybe he just panicked when a pissed off Yeti tried to kill and eat him.

 

Seeing some of the Wampa's during the Battle of Hoth would have been fun.

 

Not as hilarious as the whole concept of Grand Moff Hissa.

 

IIRC, this Wampa attack on the Rebel base was also briefly depicted in the great ESB comic adaptation w/art by the great Al Williamson.

 

Did the wampa attack make it into the ESB novelization?

 

I honestly can't remember. I haven't read the ESB novelization in about 20 years (or more). Here's some info. about this novel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Empire_Strikes_Back_(novel)

 

Thanks. It isn't listed among the differences, so I assume it didn't make it into the film.

 

I would love to see new scenes shot for a Super Special Edition of Empire with Wampas attacking, much like Vader in Rogue One, but instead of Vader there's Wampas, many of them in fact, with people dressed up in Hoth gear running from the creatures in sheer terror, with some of the soldiers getting captured, but quickly cutting away from the scene as you hear the Wampas roaring.

You could even have Vader, R2 and Threepio show up in the new scenes as well. I always wish they would have redone something like this for the 2011 blu ray set. I mean you have the technology to do these scenes and it would make the Wampas that much more scarier. I would love to see this in live action...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/px4ipme3numg9bg/97ESBFleming.jpg?dl=0

 

The title of this thread looks like it could be a movie title in and of itself.

 

I've seen the scenes and known about it all. It was some time before I realized the scene with Rebel soldiers standing around the dead tauntaun was related to it, or even knew that's what I was seeing. I prefer thinking of the wampa as being more of a threat in the outside. The deleted scenes, showing them somehow contained in a room or lumbering through the base with their full size visible, minimize their threat. The Special Edition scene is stuck in my head even though I just watch the original version.

 

I'd like to think I'd have remembered a Wampa attack if it existed. But I haven't read that since I was in Primary school.

But those Wampa deleted scenes. Yikes. Awful. Maybe I'm repressing them.

 

I haven't read ESB since the early 80's either, but I think the wampa attacks were mentioned in passing. No real details, just a kind of off-screen happening, IIRC.

 

I remember the Empire Strikes Book storybook had that shot of 21-B examining a dead Tauntaun, which I thought was strange. It wasn't until the 90's that a friend explained the deleted Wampa attacks. I think his OT laserdisk had that brief trailer shot of Threepio ripping off the sign, which was where the conversation started.

 

This looks like it had George Lucas's fingerprints all over it. Thankfully Kersh, Kurtz, the studio, or anyone with common sense, put a stop to it from being in the movie.

 

Kershner cut it not because it was an awful idea, but because the suits didn't turn out well and there were problems filming the scenes in Echo Base.

 

That was said but may not be the real reason. It's possible Kersh and others just didn't want to offend George or make public any internal creative differences.

 

The wampa scenes remind me of the ice monster in "Caveman"

 

Why wouldn't it be the real reason? Anthony Daniels confirmed that there were problems with the suits and even filming those sequences, including the wall failing to break when one of the Wampa's was to come crashing through and the guy not having his mask on, when it finally did, because he was too hot. Kershner is also on record as saying that he disagreed with showing the beast in the SE, because he thought it was better not seeing much of it. So he's not above telling Lucas what he thought. Lucas sat in on the editing of the film, first with his edit and then the collaborative edit that made the final film. He has even said that despite any issues, it was Kershner's call and if the film did well, then it was the right call.