Movie trailers these days arguably aren’t as imaginative as they once were, with most of them generally cut from the same cloth. There’s often a slow, minor key or instrumental cover of a well known song, blaring horns in the style of Inception as the footage cuts between action beats and far too much plot information given away, and they frequently culminate in a joke to end on a humorous note.
The days of booming tones beginning a promo with “in a world…” are all but over, and having the stars of the films record exuberant voiceovers is definitely a thing of the past. Luckily, then, a vintage trailer for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back has been circulating online, and it even managed to catch the attention of Mark Hamill.
The Luke Skywalker legend isn’t above making fun of himself on social media, but this time he’s having a dig at Harrison Ford’s expense, and you can see both the promo and Hamill’s reaction below.
(please ignore the part where I make a move on my sister)😚😳
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) June 4, 2021
Given Ford’s complete, utter and hilarious apathy about fielding Star Wars questions these days, it’s definitely jarring to hear so much excitement in his voice as he details what’s in store for audiences when The Empire Strikes Back arrives in theaters on May 21st, 1980, which is also a little ironic as Episode V set the template for darker sequels that Hollywood still largely adheres to over 40 years later.
Sadly, they just don’t make em’ like they used to, although it might have stopped The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker from splitting audiences down the middle if the marketing had followed the early path of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and roped in an overzealous Oscar Isaac to narrate the trailers.