A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… Imagine that, after seeing the famous letters printed on the screen, there follows a movie of… 6 hours! And no, we don’t mean putting all the classics together in one: ‘A New Hope’, episode IV of ‘Star Wars’, had many lives. It was made into a comic book twice (the second time with the original script as Lucas had it in mind), into a video game… And, of course, into a radio show. The story of the radio ‘Star Wars’ transports us to other times… and, why not, gives us a little nostalgia. Why deny it.
Microphones ready, and action!
In the early 80’s it was still not so common to recover movies on VHS and watch them over and over again, so novelizations, comic book adaptations and audiodramas were still selling like hot cakes to remember that movie you enjoyed so much at the cinema. That’s why in 1981 the original ‘Star Wars’ team (well, Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels) got together to make every Jedi’s dream come true: a 13-part radio version of the first film.
Not exactly, of course: some parts of script sketches were used, deleted scenes were added and even new ones were written. Everything was used to fill 5 hours and 56 minutes of the Rebels’ fight against the Empire and Lord Darth Vader. In fact, the first two episodes took place even before the beginning of the movie: in one we saw Luke Skywalker‘s day-to-day life at his aunt and uncle’s farm and in another we learned how Leia got hold of the Death Star plans.
The rest of the story was more or less like the original, but with added scenes and more context. From March 2 to May 25, 1981, the show aired on NPR (National Public Radio) with direction by John Madden (who would later go on to film and win the Oscar for ‘Shakespeare in Love’) and original music by John Williams. Regarding the actors, Carrie Fisher was replaced by Ann Sachs and Han Solo by Perry King, who would win the Golden Globe just two years later. The compilation edited by NPR, however, would have a flaw: it would be called ‘The New Hope’ instead of the title we know now.
The show was such a success that in 1982 the play was repeated with ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, although this time it “only” lasted 10 episodes and a total of 4 hours and 22 minutes. Once again, Mark Hamill would reprise his role and so would Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian. Finally, there was a version of ‘Return of the Jedi’ of 6 episodes and 3 hours and 12 minutes in which Hamill would not repeat as Luke Skywalker: it was recorded in 1996 and was not so popular. Who calls Daisy Ridley in case she wants to do a podcast of ‘The Last Jedi’?
