As an addendum to our original post about the “Vader is Luke’s father” spoiler appearing in the April 1978 issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors, Star Wars author Ryder Windham recently sent us a heads-up on another instance of this spoiler showing up in early 1978:
“Earlier today, I found myself perusing the first issue of Future magazine, cover date April 1978,” says Windham. “The issue has a ‘Databank’ feature for ‘News Items from the World of the Present’ on pages 6-7, and includes this entry for Star Wars…”
“In the realm of the Wars, George Lucas has approached all of the original film’s principals, including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Dave Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker. Noted SF author Leigh Brackett has been approached with the task of writing the screenplay for the big-budgeted sequel. One of the key elements in the second script may be the origin of the Dark Lord, Darth Vader. One version of his life being considered for the forthcoming production will reveal a young, handsome Darth turning rogue Jedi, killing Luke Skywalker’s father and being pushed into a pool of molten lava by avenging angel Ben Kenobi. Darth is so badly scarred that he dons his black armor forever. It serves as a combination exoskeleton and walking iron lung. The second version portrays Darth as being, in reality, Luke Skywalker’s father. After a psychological trauma, Luke’s father succumbs to the darker nature of The Force and allows all that is good within him to die. And rising from the ashes of his soul is Darth, the arch-foe of all that is righteous. Whatever Vader’s fate in the as-yet-embryonic script, the film began pre-production in London in January.”
The first scenario mentioned – the one where Vader is pushed into molten lava by Kenobi – was likely lifted from a Rolling Stone interview with George Lucas in 1977. The source for the second scenario – the father one – is uncertain, unless the reporter was within earshot of Prowse’s comments recorded at the October 1977 Horror Elite Convention (and referenced in our original post).
In any case, that cat was out of the bag by April ’78, although it fortunately didn’t get picked up by the mainstream media, allowing the Dark Lord’s identity — as Kenobi says — to remain safely anonymous until 1980.
Tags: Retro
and ultimately both ‘rumors’ are true… so the prequels were thought out all along, eh?
Very interesting ! It was indeed the future they saw
so I suppose that the first ending of vader would be the end of skywalker in episode 3?
wow! what a major spoiler that must have been for the early star wars fans back then!
Spoliers! Even without the net, we have ‘em. Haha
That was interesting…it shows that Lucas had the whole story thought out prior to the 1977 film.
I am pretty sure that I first encountered the notion that Vader was Luke’s father in the Marvel UK’s “Star Wars Weekly” comic.
In an issue published at around the time of the comic’s first anniversary – early 1979 – the editor reported on a meeting that he had with George Lucas. At this meeting, Lucas had said that he had considered the idea of making Vader Luke’s father but had then discarded it. So when the revelation was made in “Empire”, I wasn’t too surprised.
Does anybody else else remember this? Does anybody have a copy of this issue? It would be nice to have my memories confirmed or denied.
As great as the Anakin is Vader storyline is, the alternate where Vader murders Luke’s father would have been just as good. With that version we’d have a truly evil Vader, because let’s face it, while he is the villain he’s really not that evil… Who wouldn’t want to force choke somebody every now and then?
I like the orginial, but that would be interesting.
Lol! I knew that the prequels were planned out all along, but I had no idea that there were spoilers back in the stone age!! Rofl! (Jk, jk! I’m only 15, so that seems like forever ago.
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Yes, George always intended to have Vader’s turning involve a lava pit.
Wow, I never knew that Empire was spoiled in ‘78 but then, I wasn’t born until sixteen years later and I didn’t really really get into Star Wars until early ‘07.
I rather like the original scenario that they actually published though.
I remember i was 9 years old and me and my friends argued endlessly if vader been lukes father was true, i was certain this couldn´t be. It was util return of the jedi i embraced the idea, Darth Vader was really lukes father. I thank god i didnt knew anything about spoilers in 1978 in mexico, This question kept me awake many nights and i enjoyed it.
So for all those nay sayers and prequel haters -repent! The whole story had been outlined and even discussed in the media way ahead of time and Lucas true to his word, has not swayed from his original broad vision. For the record I love all 6 films, each has its own pros and cons but overall the saga is so well made that NOTHING has yet come even close.
Thought out my cybernetic right foot! If it was soooo thought out-why are they using Darth as a first name rather than a title……
Also why was “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye by Alan Dean Foster “approved” by Lucas- when it definitely had Luke and Leia romantically involved….
George, you did good movies-be happy with that and don’t try to make it some god-like vison of an entire universe……
Not just the prequels were planned out in advance but the third trilogy also which was released by Lucas to be made into novels which are just as awesome as the rest. It was rumored that he had plots for 9 movies and began with the middle three.
One of the other Luke’s father speculations that was going around when I was a kid was that Boba Fett was actually Lukes father, which was proven false with Return of the Jedi.
Also in Splinter of the Minds Eye, there is an attraction between Luke and Leia, which is also carried over into Empire Strikes Back. Remember it isn’t until Jedi that Luke even finds out he has a sister. All of the novels had to be approved by Lucas and follow a plot line he has always had. Probably the only thing that deviated from that plot was the West End Games role playing game and maybe some of the comic strip plots.
Well duh!, lucas had the whole story in his head the whole time, but realized the technology wasn’t there yet.
I just found and purchased an origional magazine, Little Shoppe of Horrors #4. I read the article. It was great. Seeing this in print from a Star Wars perspective is incredible. We had evidence two years in advance DV was Lukes father. It is so cool to own this piece of Star Wars history. It would be like knowing the Berlin wall was coming down in advance (excuse the hyperbole) it is pretty cool.
Seems like simple misdirection to hide it all it to me. On the Empire of Dreams DVD, he says the story was always about the father and the twins, but the father wasn’t always Vader. He said he moved people around in the backstory to write the final screen play which is now episode 4. That in fact does all add up. And when you watch Alec Guiness tell Luke that Vader killed him, the scene is set to look like a lie. You can see it in his face. I don’t know what the direction was on set, but he had to say something about you aren’t telling him the whole truth. And since Empire Strikes Back in 1980 was called Epsisode 5, he knew he would do it someday.