This Once-Lost Film From a Star Wars Legend Was ‘The Empire Strikes Back’s Dark, Fantastic Opener

The Star Wars universe is expansive, to say the least, but so are the behind-the-scene stories that helped build the franchise to legendary status. It’s common knowledge that George Lucas was inspired to make his fairytale-in-space in the image of Akira Kurosawa‘s iconic film The Hidden Fortress, implementing similar power struggles and underdog characters. Fans are well aware that Harrison Ford wasn’t the initial choice for Han Solo, much like how Darth Vader’s true identity was kept secret from the cast and crew. However, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back holds an even more shocking story that was once lost from the space saga forever!

Roger Christian, legendary set decorator for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and art director of Alien, has a deep connection to Star Wars beyond his production design. George Lucas requested a film to go out with The Empire Strikes Back. At the time, Lucas read a fantasy script written by Christian and commissioned it on the spot, which gave birth to the once-lost short film Black Angel. The short has since become a notorious piece of cinematic history that influenced the visual and tonal elements of the darkest installment of Star Wars.

‘Black Angel’ Was Supposed to Accompany the Beginning of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’

Image via 20th Century Fox

Hailed as one of the greatest sequels in the film industry, The Empire Strikes Back is one of the most beloved installments of the Star Wars franchise, and for a good reason. The sequel represents a giant tonal shift from A New Hope, following Luke Skywalker down a gloomy journey toward facing his worst fear yet — his father, Darth Vader. The film’s dark emotional content, psychologically jarring scenes, and near-tragic climax are still celebrated after forty-four years, but little is mentioned of how Lucas became inspired by his set director’s short film.

According to BBC, Roger Christian already had a film script ready to go when the Star Wars director asked for a film to accompany the epic sequel. It just so happens that Christian went back to film school after working on A New Hope and wrote a feature-length story. Lucas loved the idea so much that he gave the thumbs up to Christian immediately, and the project received a 25,000-pound grant from the UK government in 1979! The Oscar-winning set decorator extracted pieces of his original story, thus creating a short titled Black Angel. “I headed to Scotland with a crew of nine people, four actors, two trained horses, and a Volkswagon bus,” recalls Roger Christian in the introductory commentary of Black Angel.

The film marked Chrisitian’s directorial debut, and he was lucky enough to shoot with leftover rolls of film from Empire at several never-before-seen locations in Scotland, states USA Today. The production was filmed in seven days and took place in September and October, the most beautiful time in the Highlands, which gave Black Angel its surreal and magical backdrop. To accentuate the power of myth, Christian was inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky‘s concept of connecting to the subconscious. Set in a mythic, medieval world, the 25-minute short follows Sir Maddox (Tony Vogel), a medieval knight who journeys to rescue a young maiden (Patricia Christian) from an evil sorcerer, the Black Angel. This dark and moody tale draws heavily from Arthurian legends, with striking, majestic visuals and an otherworldly atmosphere that made it unique in its day.

In 1980, The Empire Strikes Back was released in theaters worldwide, but Black Angel was only shown before the main feature in select cinemas across Europe and Australia. The short caused quite a buzz back then, enamoring John Boorman, who showed it to his Excabliur crew. Tragically, Rank Laboratories, the company that stored Christian’s masters, went bankrupt and threw everything away, states Screen Daily. Because of this, Black Angel was never seen by an American audience. Christian did have his own copy, but it was “degraded.” Black Angel disappeared for decades, becoming almost mythical among Star Wars fans and film historians alike.

The Original ‘Black Angel’ Negative Was Miraculously Found and Restored 20 Years Later

Just like its legendary story, Black Angel‘s negative was miraculously found like a fairytale. Per Screen Daily, in 2011, by pure luck, an archivist rediscovered the short in the Universal Studios archives. “The neg turned up about a year and a half ago by sheer destiny. Rank Laboratories, who had the negative, kept them in WW2 bunkers outside London because they said it was perfectly dry and secure,” boasts Christian. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the once-lost short was restored by the Bay Area Visual Effects Society and Emeryville frame-by-frame and went on to be screened at the Mill Valley Festival and Glasgow Festival.

After its global release, Black Angel triggered a critical frenzy. The relic’s restoration allowed new audiences to witness this forgotten gem and to connect its obvious ties to the darker, more mature aesthetic of The Empire Strikes Back. George Lucas also utilized Christian’s step-printed style in the slowed-down fight scenes between the Black Angel and the knight. The slow-motion fight sequence with Luke and Darth Vander uses the same technique. Beyond its association with Lucasfilm, Black Angel became influential in its own right. The ethereal cinematography and haunting score echoed themes of chivalry, otherworldliness, and a struggle against dark forces, said to impact the visual palette of Ridley Scott‘s Legend, whom Christian worked with in the past and can be seen in many fantasy films afterward.

The restoration and revival of Black Angel has allowed modern cinephiles to appreciate this once-forgotten piece of Star Wars history. In 2015, Roger Christian announced his intention to make the legendary short into a feature-length film. Speaking to EW, Christian revealed his plans to finance the Black Angel feature independently with a goal of $15 million. He later launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $100,000, setting eyes on filming in Hungary, Belgium, and Morocco. The campaign raised $177,010, though production still has not begun on the movie. The latest update came in a comment from Christian in 2024, where he said he expected filming to begin after setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I feel like Luke staring at the two twin suns and there’s your destiny ahead of you and you have to take it or not—the same as Arthur pulling the sword out. I reckon I’ll pull the sword out,” the filmmaker said to EW. Black Angel‘s blend of ancient myth, heroism, and dreamlike scenery has solidified its place as a cult classic, touching the hearts of fans and renowned directors who admire fantasy and medieval storytelling. Today, the once-forgotten short, Black Angel, stands as a monument to Roger Christian’s imaginative artistry and as a piece of Star Wars “lost and found history.”

Black Angel is available to watch on the film’s official YouTube page.

Black Angel

Release Date

May 21, 1980

Runtime

25 Minutes

Director

Roger Christian

Writers

Roger Christian

Cast

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  Patricia Christian

  Maiden

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