Back in 1980 during its original theatrical run, The Empire Strikes Back was accompanied by a short film from Oscar-winning art director Roger Christian (Star Wars) entitled Black Angel, which was thought lost until it was discovered gathering dust in Universal’s archive in 2013.
Well, Christian has now announced that the short is set for a full length feature adaptation, having secured $15 million in financing and attracted both Rutger Hauer and John Rhys-Davies to star.
“It’s my passion project, has been for 35-36 years,” Christian tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I guess ‘patience is a virtue’ is a true saying. I can make a huge epic film with that [budget]. I’m going down and dirty, I want the audience to smell the blood and the sweat and the tears. I’ll be doing fights in mud and rain.”
Black Angel is set for an eight-week shoot in Scotland, and will centre on a Crusade-era Knight who sets out on a quest with a sorcerer and princess to defeat the Black Angel, commander of the Demon King’s forces.
You can watch the original Black Angel short here…
Originally published June 4, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
