By Pete Vilmur
"This Is No Cave!"
The space slug, whose exterior we see for all of a few seconds in The Empire Strikes Back, is probably one of the most memorable life forms introduced in the saga's first sequel, trumped only by the surprise revelation of a little green Jedi Master.
The entire asteroid-crater-turned-space-worm scene actually came together with just a few props and an improvised set, enhanced with some select sound effects, editing, and musical score. When combined, the sequence provides a necessary reprieve from the driving action of the asteroid chase, and a rare opportunity for Han and the Princess to share a romantic moment in the Falcon's hold.
We've scoured three decade's worth of interviews and behind-the-scenes discussions to put together a handful of passages about the space slug sequence, which George Lucas once confessed "worked better on the page than how it finally turned out." It's likely many fans would respectfully disagree.
(Editor's note: This is the second entry in our new "Empire Chronicles" series. Check out the first -- AT-AT Walker -- here.)
George Lucas, Story and Executive Producer
"This scene in the snake's mouth worked better on the page than how it finally turned out. It's a very hard concept to pull off. I think it works, but I always expected it would get a laugh when the ship flies out of the creature's mouth. As it turns out, most people are astonished, and slightly confused, I think. We never really got the reaction we were looking for at the end of this scene. It was based on a mythological motif..."
— The Empire Strikes Back DVD commentary (2004)
Mary Henderson, author of Star Wars: The Magic of Myth
"When Han and Leia leave Hoth, they are chased by Imperial Star Destroyers. Han escapes by piloting the Falcon into an asteroid field and then into a cave on one of these giant rocks. Unknowiningly, he has set the ship down in the stomach of a giant space slug. Once again, Lucas has woven into the story the imagery of consumption and of the journey into the belly of the beast... Han, Leia, Chewie, and See-Threepio have been swallowed whole, just as Jonah was swallowed by the whale."
— Star Wars: The Magic of Myth (1997)
John Knoll, author of Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days
"Undoubtedly the least expensive set built for The Empire Strikes Back, the space slug interior was created by laying black Visqueen plastic on the floor of the Echo Base hangar, draping black curtains around the Millennium Falcon, and clouding the space with a fog of dry ice."
— Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days (2005)
Laurent Bouzereau, author of Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays
"The scene with 'large leathery creatures with yellow eyes' attacking the Falcon inside the cave on the asteroid first appeared in the second draft [of the script]. In the fifth draft the yellow eyes became 'something like a soft suction cup' that attaches itself to the windscreen of the Falcon; Leia, not Han as in the movie, says that they look like some kind of 'mynock,' and Threepio explains that they usually travel in groups of five."
— Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays (1997)
Irvin Kershner, Director
"The mynocks were just pieces of plastic on fishing poles. You'll notice that I cut away from them very quickly because they didn't look great."
— Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays (1997)
Michael Matessino, author
"In the momentary safety of the cave, the Falcon is suddenly attacked by bat-like creatures, prompting Han and the others to investigate. Emerging into the foggy environnment, [composer John] Williams uses strings, celeste, harp, and synthesizer to generate the appropriate mystery."
— The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition Soundtrack liner notes (1997)
Lukas Kendall, author
"There are also a few atmospheric moments in Empire that benefit enormously from silence... Williams scored the entire 'this is not a cave' sequence in the asteroid field, not just the second half, but the initial moments have a wonderful creepiness and atmosphere with just the subtle effects of the ship, a brilliant use of sound."
— Film Score Monthly (Jan Feb 1997)
The Blade Newspaper
"The task of [Foley Editors Scott] Hecker and his stepfather, Bob Rutledge: to create the sounds of [Han] and the others walking about on the monster's tongue... 'We wanted to create the sound, the feeling of slime,' according to Hecker, a native of Akron. 'We used about 25 pounds of pure beef fat in giant slabs and dozens of raw eggs...I was slipping and sliding all over the place. After eight hours the place smelled horrible, and it was a real mess. But it was a lot of fun, too.' For [Han's] footsteps on the monster's tongue, Hecker wore hard-heeled boots. For Chewbacca's footsteps, a softer sound was required. Hecker then wore knee-high moccasins."
— The Blade (newspaper), Toledo, Ohio (Aug 9, 1981)
Irvin Kershner
"Some of the best stuff was simply grabbing a hand-held camera and shouting, 'Left, right' and the actors throw themselves to the left and throw themselves to the right and the camera moves in the opposite direction. That's what we did in the scene where the Millennium Falcon is in the bowels of the giant worm."
— Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine #11 (Spring 1990)
Cinefex
"More than fifty takes of the slug [puppet] were done over a period of a week, probably giving it record status for a throw-away scene. Phil Tippett covered the slug armature with an exterior of his own design, and Jon Berg puppeteered the first version for a number of takes."
— Cinefex #3 (Dec 1980)
Doug Beswick, Stop Motion Technician
"It worked like a hand puppet -- a return spring mechanism would close the jaws. You could stick your hand through the neck and grab it like a handgun or pistol grip. It was pretty heavy."
— Cinefex #3 (Dec 1980)
Lorne Peterson, Chief Model Maker
"As the Falcon desperately tries to race out of the tunnel, the slug's jaws begin to snap shut, bringing its enormous incisors into view. Its hinged jaws -- which I created -- were about four-and-a-half feet across. I sculpted the first five teeth in clay, which we then used to create molds in order to produce multiples. We cast them from a plastic urethane with a translucent ivory quality to it, which didn't require additional painting. As it turns out, these five-inch-tall teeth made great gifts for the celebrities or industry guests who would visit us in the Model Shop. We would cast a tooth for them and write "Star Wars" on the bottom, giving the visitor what was certain to be an odd conversation piece."
— Sculpting a Galaxy (2006)
Ken Ralston, Effects Cameraman
"On Empire, I shot a lot of gag footage... I built my own space slug out of an old sock and made a terrible stupid-looking puppet. So there's this shot looking down, it's in the movie, where you're looking at the surface of the asteroid and there's a couple of TIE ships above it...What's not in there is the very last moment when you get to the last crater, this gigantic stupid sock puppet comes out and attacks one of the ships...we were on the night shift so we spent nine months six nights a week on The Empire Strikes Back."
— Star Wars: The Definitive Collection laserdisc commentary (1993)
