Diğer kullanımları için şuraya bakın: Star Wars: Bölüm V İmparator'un Dönüşü (belirsizlik), Star Wars 5 ve İmparatorluk (belirsizlik).
"Keşke karanlığın tüm gücünü bilsen. Obi-Wan babana ne olduğunu hiç anlatmadı." "Yeteri kadar anlattı. Onu, senin öldürdüğünü söyledi." "Hayır. senin baban benim."
Film, Asi Birliği'nin Galaktik İmparatorluk'a karşı verdiği çabalar üzerine yoğunlaşmaktadır. Filmde Han Solo, Chewbacca ve PrensesLeia Organa uzay boyunca Darth Vader ve elit güçleri tarafından kovalanmaktadır. Bu sırada Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi'nin ruhundan aldığı bir önergeyle birlikte Yoda ile Jedi eğitimine başlamaktadır. Vader ile duygusal ve neredeyse ölümcül bir karşılaşmadan sonra Luke, korkunç bir gerçekle yüzleşiyor ve kaderi ile karşı karşıya gelmeli.
Yayınlanmasından sonra tartışmalı olsa da film, hayranlar ve eleştirmenler arasında serinin en popüler filmi olarak görüldü ve günümüzde en iyi filmlerden biri olmanın yanı sıra en iyi devam filmi olarak kabul edilmektedir. Değişikliklerle birlikte 1997'de ve DVD üzerinde 2004'de yeniden yayınlandı. Film Blu-ray formatında 2011Eylül'ünde yeniden yayınlandı. 1983 yılında ABD'de Ulusal Halk Radyosu'nda bir radyo adaptasyonu yayınlandı. Film, 2010 yılında ABD Ulusal Film Arşivi'nin Kongre Kütüphanesi'nde korumaya alındı.
Matte Photography Assistants — Craig Barron, Robert Elswit
Chief Model Maker — Lorne Peterson
Modelshop Foreman — Steve Gawley
Model Makers — Paul Huston, Tom Rudduck, Michael Fulmer, Samuel Zolltheis, Charles Bailey, Ease Owyeung, Scott Marshall, Marc Thorpe, Wesley Seeds, Dave Carson, Rob Gemmel, Pat McClung
Animation And Rotoscope Supervisor — Peter Kuran
Animators — Samuel Comstock, Garry Waller, John Van Vliet, Rick Taylor, Kim Knowlton, Chris Casady, Nina Saxon, Diana Wilson
Visual Effects Editorial Supervisor — Conrad Buff
Effects Editor — Michael Kelly
Assistant Effects Editors — Arthur Repola, Howard Stein
Apprentice Editor — Jon Thaler
Production Administrator — Dick Gallegly
Production Secretary — Patricia Blau
Production Associate — Thomas Brown
Production Accountant — Ray Scalice
Assistant Accountant — Glenn Phillips, Pam Traas, Laura Crockett
Production Assistant — Jenny Oznowicz
Transportation — Robert Martin
Still Photographer — Terry Chostner
Lab Assistant — Roberto McGrath
Electronics Systems Designer — Jerry Jeffress
Systems Programming — Kris Brown
Electronic Engineers — Lhary Meyer, Mike Mackenzie, Gary Leo
Special Project Coordinator — Stuart Ziff
Equipment Engineering Supervisor — Gene Whiteman
Design Engineer — Mike Bolles
Machinists — Udo Pampel, Greg Beaumonte
Draftsman — Ed Tennler
Special Projects — Gary Platek
Supervising Stage Technician — T.E. Moehnke
Stage Technicians — William Beck, Bobby Finley, Leo Loverro, Edward Hirsh, Dick Dova, Ed Breed
Miniature Pyrotechnics — Joseph Viskocil, Dave Pier, Thaine Morris
Optical Printer Component Manufacturer — George Randle Co.
Camera And Movement Design — Jim Beaumonte
Special Optics Designer — David Grafton
Special Optics Fabrication — J.L. Wood Optical Systems
Optical Supervisors — Phillip Feiner, Chris Bushman
Film Restoration Supervisor — Pete Comandini
Color Timer — Robert J. Raring
Negative Continuity — Ray Sabo
Negative Cutter — Bob Hart
Special Edition Digital Remastering Provided By Skywalker Sound A Lucas Digital Ltd. Company
Film Restoration Consultant — Leon Briggs
Optical Restoration — Pacific Title
Film Restoration By — YCM Laboratories
Industrial Light And Magic
Visual Effects Supervisor — Dave Carson
Visual Effects Producer — Tom Kennedy
Computer Graphics Supervisor — Tom Hutchinson
Visual Effects Art Director — George Hull
Visual Effects Editor — Michael McGovern
Color Timing Supervisor — Bruce Vecchitto
Visual Effects Coordinator — Lisa Todd
Digital Effects Artists — Don Butler, Michael Conte, Howard Gersh, Marshall Krasser, Tia Marshall, Stuart Maschwitz, Julie Neary, Ken Nielsen, Eddie Pasquarello, Ricardo Ramos, Tom Rosseter, Lawrence Tan, Paul Theren, Hans Uhlig, Li-Hsein Wei, Ron Woodall
Digital Matte Artists — Ronn Brown, Eric Chauvin, Brian Flora, William Mather
3d Matchmove Artist — James Hagedorn
Digital Paint & Roto Artists — Lisa Drostova, Heidi Zabit
Chief Creature Maker — Howie Weed
Model & Creature Makers — Carol Bauman, Don Bies, Giovanni Donovan, Wendy Morton, Anne Polland, Mark Siegel, Steven Walton
Sabre Group Supervisor — Daniel McNamara
Sabre Artists — Rita Zimmerman, Chad Taylor, Mary McCulloch, Grant Guenin, Caitlin Content
Software Research And Development — David Benson, Jim Hourihan, Zoran Kacic-Alesic, Florian Kainz, Jeff Yost
Digital Scanning Supervisor — Joshua Pines
Digital Scanning Operators — Randall Bean, Michael Ellis, Earl Beyer
Negative Supervisor — Doug Jones
Negative Line-Up — Andrea Biklian, Tim Geideman
Projectionist — Tim Greenwood
Digital Plate Restoration — Melissa Monterrosa, Mike Van Eps, Wendy Hendrickson
Assistant Visual Effects Art Director — Alex Laurant
Assistant Visual Effects Editor — John Bartle
Video Editor — Angela Leaper
Animatic Artist — Jonathan Rothbart
Digital Effects Technical Assistants — Okan Ataman, Peter Chesloff, Joshua Levine, Dawn Matheson, Daniel Shumaker
Digital Effects Resource Assistant — Daniel Brimer
Visual Effects Production Staff — Julie Creighton, Joshua Marks
Video Assistants — Dawn Martin, Wendy Bell
Production Engineering — Ken Beyer, Ken Corvino, Gary Meyer
Aerial Camera System By Wesscam Camera Systems (Europe)
Aerial Cameraman — Ron Goodman
Assistant — Margaret Herron
Helicopter Supplied By Dollar Air Services Limited
Pilot — Mark Wolfe
Cloud Plates Photographed With Astrovision(c) By Continental Camera Systems Inc.
Snow Vehicles Supplied By Aktiv Fischer
R2 Bodies Fabricated By White Horse Toy Company
Special Assistance From Giltspur Engineering And Compair
Photographed On The Hardengerjekulan Glacier, Finse, Norway And At Emi - Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, England
Music Recorded At Anvil Studios, Denham, England
Re-Recording At Samuel Goldwyn Studios, Los Angeles, California
Special Visual Effects Produced At Industrial Light And Magic, Marin County, California
Legends tam adaptasyonları Roman · Storybook (1980) · Book-and-record · A Pop-Up Book · Classic Star Wars · Mighty Chronicles Classic Star Wars book-and-tape · A Storybook (1997) · The Empire Strikes Back Read-Along Golden Book · Genç romanlaştırması · Read-Along Storybook and CD The Empire Striketh Back (canon dışı)
Legends kısmi adaptasyonları: The Hoth Adventure · Meltdown on Hoth · I Want to Be a Jedi Choose Your Own Star Wars Adventure · (Non-canonical)
Canon tam adaptasyonları Golden Book · The Power of the Dark Side · The Film Novel (Fransızca) · So You Want to Be a Jedi? Genç romanı (Güncellenmiş versiyon) · The Empire Strikes Back (Fransızca) · Disney Die-Cut Classics Epic Adventures (iptal edildi)
Book-and-record · Classic Star Wars book-and-tape · Read-Along Storybook and CD · 1980 Coloring Book · 1982 Coloring Book · Mix or Match Storybook · Activity Book
Sahne arkası
The Art of · The Making of · Notebook A Journal of the Making of · Portfolio · Sketchbook · · Official Collector's Edition
Canon adaptasyonları: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight · In Pictures: The Original Trilogy · The Original Trilogy Stories The Power of the Dark Side · Treasury: The Original Trilogy · 5-Minute Star Wars Stories · The Chewbacca Story A Leader Named Leia · 5-Minute Star Wars Stories Strike Back · Read-Along Storybook and CD Collection The Skywalker Saga · Star Wars Unfolds · The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem
Çizgi romanlar
The Movie Adaptations · LINE Webtoon · The Original Trilogy – A Graphic Novel
Video oyunları
LEGO Star Wars II (Canon dışı; Game Guide) · Disney Magic Kingdoms (Canon dışı)
Aktivite kitapları
Ultimate Sticker Book
Sahne arkası
Chronicles · Annotated Screenplays · Empire Building · Behind the Magic (CD-ROM) · Storyboards · Costumes Archives
Rehber ve referans kitapları
The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook · Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition · 20th Anniversary Commemorative Magazine · Complete Trilogy Scrapbook · Best of Star Wars · The Visual Dictionary (Complete, New Edition) · Incredible Cross-Sections (Complete) · Who's Who · Complete Vehicles · In 100 Scenes · 100 Defining Moments · Best of Insider
Diğer ürünler
Original Soundtrack Anthology · LEGO Classic Star Wars · Customizable Card Game: Special Edition Limited · Hasbro's Original Trilogy Collection