Stephen Lane shares a closer look at the ILM made Luke Skywalker Force Jump Puppet, based on a Kenner 12″ action figure from Star Wars, as used in the Carbon Freezing Chamber scenes of The Empire Strikes Back, up for auction at Propstore this December.
A Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) Force-jump puppet from Irvin Kershner’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. During the first lightsaber confrontation between Luke and Darth Vader (David Prowse) in Cloud City, Vader knocked Luke down into the carbonite freezing chamber, where Han (Harrison Ford) had been tragically frozen shortly before. Luke used the Force to quickly leap out of the chamber before Vader could freeze him.
The Empire Strikes Back was the highest grossing film of 1980 and is considered by many Star Wars fans to be the highpoint of the series. It won two Academy Awards.
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) – which did the effects work on the first film before disbanding – was reformed by George Lucas for the sequel and given a permanent residence in San Rafael, California, its home until 2005. The team won a Special Achievement Academy Award for the film’s groundbreaking visual effects, but not every effect needed to be complicated. To achieve Luke’s Force jump, ILM simply used a puppet, which was shot at ILM and composited into the film.
This puppet is a modified Kenner 12″ Luke Skywalker action figure released following the first film. The costume is constructed from pieces of tape, coloured to match the costume worn in the scene. The puppet is finished with an elaborately detailed belt, including a miniature holster.
The back of the puppet features a hole which allowed it to be suspended on a rig during production. The hole is now used to display the puppet on a custom-made display. Dimensions (puppet): 34 cm x 10 cm x 7 cm (13.5″ x 4″ x 2.75″)
A printed still of this lot is also included with its sale.
Estimate: £50,000 – 100,000
The Propstore Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction will take place in London between December 5th and 7th, find out more here — happy hunting!
