George Lucas hated Harrison Ford’s “I know” line in ‘Empire Strikes Back’
Though people are quick to dismiss George Lucas’ science fiction series Star Wars as mere blockbuster fodder, it is mentioned among the finest movies ever made for a reason. Revolutionising contemporary Hollywood, the movie took inspiration from world cinema to create a postmodern masterpiece that would change the lives of millions, no less director George Lucas and lead stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.
The second film in the original trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, is considered to be the best of the entire franchise, largely thanks to its epic climax, which sees villain Darth Vader announce to Jedi Luke Skywalker, “I am your father”. Though, whilst in the eyes of thousands of fans and critics, it remains a near-perfect movie, Lucas himself wasn’t all that pleased with one particular scene.
In a conversation with Vanity Fair, The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner recalled the biggest argument he had with Lucas on set, revealing that there was much contention around the moment when Han Solo (Ford) responds with “I know” when Princess Leia (Fisher) tells him, “I love you”.
“Han Solo’s response in the script was, ‘I love you, too,’” Kershner recalls, explaining, “I shot the line, and it just didn’t seem right for the character of Han Solo. So we worked on the scene on the set. We kept trying different things and couldn’t get the right line. We were into the lunch break, and I said to Harrison try it again and just do whatever comes to mind”. Eventually deciding to simply reply, “I know,” Kershner and Harrison thought nothing of the change until they were approached by Lucas.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute. That’s not the line in the script,” Kershner recalled Lucas saying, flustered by the last-minute change. Fighting his corner, the director responded, “‘I love you, too’ was not Han Solo’ Han Solo was a rebel. George felt that the audience would laugh…We sat in the room, and he thought about it. He then asked me, ‘Did you shoot the line in the script?’ I said yes. So we agreed that we would do two preview screenings once the film was cut and set to music with the line in and then with the line out”.
The fate of the now iconic line hinged on the preview screening, but even before then, Harrison Ford recalled in a separate interview that Lucas went “apeshit” at the change in the script, saying, “I think it’s fair enough to say he went apeshit. He thought it was horrible and that it would get a bad laugh’.
Sitting next to the writer and executive producer for the screening, Ford recalled, “I was obliged to sit next to him when he tested it for the first screening. There was a laugh, but it was a laugh of recognition, and so he generously let it stay in the movie”.
Chuffed with Lucas’ approval, Kershner added, “When the film was over, people came up and said that is the most wonderful line, and it worked. So George decided not to have the second screening”.