In the original 1977 The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas brought back all these icons (including the ghost of the one who died in the first one) for more intergalactic adventures. He also introduced a handful of new characters to the ensemble.
Some of these characters lived up to the legendary status of their peers, like Boba Fett and Lando Calrissian, but others were disappointingly one-note.
Dengar
Dengar is one of the bounty hunters whom Darth Vader hires to track down the Millennium Falcon in Empire’s second act. Subsequent Star Wars media revealed Dengar to be a Corellian human (like Han Solo) with the nickname “Dengar the Demolisher,” who started operating as a bounty hunter at the beginning of the Clone Wars.
Since his backstory was filled in later and he had no lines aboard Vader’s Star Destroyer, Dengar came off as pretty one-note in his initial appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. Plus, since he’s just a regular guy and not a humanoid reptile like Bossk, Dengar isn’t very threatening.
iral Piett
Vader’s Imperial second-in-command at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back is iral Ozzel. However, after Ozzel loses the Falcon and offers a frank apology, Vader Force-chokes him to death, says, “Apology accepted,” and promotes Firmus Piett to the position of iral.
While this mid-movie dynamic shift offered a fun twist on the formula, Kenneth Colley’s performance as Piett is ultimately a re-tread of Peter Cushing’s smarmy, overconfident Imperial bureaucrat Grand Moff Tarkin from the first movie.
Bossk
The sinister Trandoshan Bossk is introduced as one of the dangerous bounty hunters led by Boba Fett tasked with finding the Falcon for Vader. He’s one of the only bounty hunters on the team to be given some actual characterization.
In one subtle but memorable moment, Bossk is established as a sadist who enjoys intimidating people. On the bridge of Vader’s Star Destroyer, Bossk hisses at a couple of Imperial officers ing by and is shown to be amused by their frightened response. This set up the cruel, merciless, yet oddly lovable character that Bossk would eventually become.
Lando Calrissian
On the run from the Empire, Han calls upon his old frenemy Lando Calrissian in the hopes that their past disagreements are now water under the bridge and they can hide out at Cloud City. Lando initially double-crosses the Rebels but ends up having a change of heart and ing their cause.
Billy Dee Williams plays Lando as an even cooler and more charming version of Han. Lando’s cowardly betrayal of the Rebels makes him initially unlikeable, but he’s redeemed by the triple-cross that allows them to escape. By the end of the movie, he’s a welcome addition to the ensemble. Lando ended up being crucial to the Rebellion’s victory over the Empire in Return of the Jedi.
Boba Fett
Vader appoints Boba Fett to lead the bounty hunter squad to locate the Falcon. Fett doesn’t get a lot of screen time in The Empire Strikes Back, but the movie uses that screen time effectively. Vader tells him, “No disintegrations.” Any villain who needs to be told by the ruthless Darth Vader to take it easy is undeniably menacing.
Jeremy Bulloch plays Fett as a softly spoken, tough-as-nails mercenary akin to Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti western antihero “The Man with No Name.” His dark characterization is indicative of the darker tone of the movie. After Empire hit theaters, Star Wars fans couldn’t wait to get their hands on a Boba Fett action figure.
Yoda
When Ben Kenobi’s Force ghost sends Luke to the Dagobah system to train under the tutelage of a legendary Jedi warrior, he expects to find a hulking, intimidating presence who towers over him. Instead, he meets a two-foot-tall gremlin who steals his dinner and beats up his droid. At first, Luke thinks this little swamp creature will take him to Yoda; it takes him a while to realize he is Yoda.
But, of course, Yoda teaches Luke not to judge a book by its cover. He’s filled with timeless Jedi wisdom and the Force is incredibly strong with this one. Yoda lifting Luke’s X-wing out of the swamp after the young apprentice deems it to be impossible is one of the most inspirational and heartwarming moments in the entire saga.
Emperor Palpatine
Emperor Palpatine wouldn’t become the big bad of the Star Wars saga until he arrived to oversee the construction of the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. The trilogy masterfully builds up to this reveal with a namedrop in the first movie and a brief introduction via video call in the second. Since he only appears in one scene in The Empire Strikes Back to deliver exposition about “the son of Skywalker,” Palpatine wasn’t a beloved Star Wars icon straight away.
Initially, he wasn’t even played by Ian McDiarmid in his Empire Strikes Back cameo (although McDiarmid was added in the Special Edition). After McDiarmid was cast in Return of the Jedi and the Emperor finally became a major character, the actor’s unique combo of sinister and camp ensured that he lived up to the hype.
