…his at USC, to helm The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the second installment in the original series. With Lucas relegating his contribution to the basic plot, Kershner made arguably the best of the series’s original three films. He then turned to the blockbuster James Bond franchise with Never Say Never…

…with the Star Wars sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) and with the Indiana Jones series, in which he starred as an adventurer-archaeologist. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and its sequels Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and…

…Kenobi in Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983). Despite this newfound popularity, however, Guinness hated his role in these movies, later stating in an interview that he had encouraged George Lucas to kill off his character: “I just couldn’t go on speaking…

…episodes in the original trilogy, Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi (1983).

Irvin Kershner directed Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (1980), lauded by some as the greatest of the entire Star Wars series. The Empire Strikes Back took the audience to the front lines of the war between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire, greatly expanding the…