‘The Empire Strikes Back’ Director Irvin Kershner Had Perfect Retort to Those Who Disliked Sequel’s Dark Ending

Ryan Parker
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The legendary director Irvin Kershner had zero patience for those who took issue with The Empire Strikes Back’s dark ending.

The second chapter in the Star Wars trilogy, released this day in 1980, was quite gloomy compared to the conclusion of 1977’s A New Hope — and that is exactly how the late Kershner wanted it.

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In an unearthed interview alongside Empire producer Gary Kurtz done at the time of the film’s release, Kershner was asked if multiple endings were filmed and if he had a reaction to some viewers’ dislike of the somber ending.

“This was the ending,” the director began, before laying out how A New Hope ended on a “triumphant” note, so some viewers expected that to happen again in his sequel. And therein lies the problem.

“The heroic figures of the first one don’t exist in this one because, in this one, they’re lucky to have survived this dastardly creature called Lord Darth Vader,” Kershner explained. “And to just have survived is to get pretty far in this life sometimes. And that’s why I feel they say they’re not as satisfied.”

Continued Kershner, “Well, if you don’t expect the triumphant ending, then you’re perfectly well satisfied. If you expect it, then you’re not. And it’s the same in life. If you expect certain things to happen, they never will happen the way you expect them. I always expect the unexpected.”

Kershner died in 2010 at the age of 87. Kurtz died in 2018. He was 78.

Watch the unearthed interview below.

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