8. Ian McDiarmid (The Empire Strikes Back)
In theory, adding Ian McDiarmid into The Empire Strikes Back was one of those changes that makes perfect sense. At the time Empire Strikes Back was made, McDiarmid had not yet been cast as the fearsome Emperor; the part was instead played by an old woman (!) with superimposed chimpanzee eyes (!!!), with voice work done by English actor Clive Revill. Its one of the few continuity gaps in a series whose casting has remained admirably consistent. The fanboy in me misses the old woman Emperor and her creepy stare, but as I said, this is in
theory a change I can get behind, stopping up a little continuity gap. Unfortunately, when it came time to insert McDiarmid into Empire Strikes Back for the DVD release in 2004, Lucas also saw fit to tinker with the scenes dialogue, having the Emperor make direct references to Luke being the son of Anakin Skywalker." These lines were probably designed to connect the original trilogy more closely to the prequels (please God, no), but they also had the unfortunate effect of making Vader look like a
complete idiot for not realizing that
an 18 year old with force abilities whose last name is Skywalker might be his son.