The Empire Strikes Backis going to open in North American theaters next week in honor of its 40th anniversary. Movie theaters are still struggling with reopening and getting customers back into the seats due to the ongoing public health crisis. Even Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipatedTenetwas not able to get people back into theaters like he and Warner Bros. thought it would. With that being taken into consideration, the second movie in the originalStar Warstrilogy is still coming back to theaters.
The Empire Strikes Backis regarded by many to be the best of the originalStar Wars moviesand its 40th anniversary screenings might get some fans back into theaters.Tenetwasn’t able to, though that might be due to some early negative and lukewarm reviews from critics and international audiences who were able to see the movie ahead of North American audiences. It will be interesting to see what happens next week, but it would not be surprising to see movie theaters have to shut their doors again in the near future.
The Empire Strikes Backhas a darker tone thanA New HopeandReturn of the Jedi, which is why a lot ofStar Warsfans gravitate towards it today. Harrison Ford originally wanted the second installment tokill off Han Solo, but George Lucas wasn’t having it. After getting frozen in carbonite and delivered to Jabba the Hutt by Boba Fett, Ford’s Solo character was rescued byLeia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Lando Calrissian. Even still, leaving fans with that kind of cliffhanger was a gamble at the time.
Rian Johnson took a lot of influence fromThe Empire Strikes Backwhen he was craftingThe Last Jedi, which was heavily divisive upon its release. However, time is already proving to be kinder to the movie that flipped the script on theStar Warsfranchise. J.J. Abrams has been accused of playing it too safe withThe Force Awakensand then accused of retconning everything Johnson accomplished inThe Rise of Skywalker. Whatever the case may be, the idea to change things up and deliver something unexpected was directly influenced byThe Empire Strikes Back.
The Empire Strikes Backwill open in North Americanmovie theatersstarting on September 25th, though early screenings will be held on Thursday, September 24th. So far, the reactions fromStar Warsfans to the 40th anniversary screenings have been mixed at best, which is to be expected. Some people are more than willing to go sit inside a movie theater currently, while others are scared at even the thought of sitting in a room with strangers for over two hours. Regardless, the movies will be screening, no matter how many people buy the tickets. You can check out the announcement above, thanks tothe official Star Wars Twitter account.
