Star Wars: 14 Crazy Rumours Lucasfilm Started About The Empire Strikes Back In 1980

2. Leia's Father Is The Emperor's Assistant

In a bid to lend legitimacy to these planted theories, Miller penned a response letter that "responded" to some of the ideas, but also threw out a few more, making it look like Starlog had trawled a bunch of sources. These included Mick Jagger doing the score for Empire, Spielberg directing Star Wars 3 and this major plot twist:

I think my current favorite concerns Princess Leia's father. Of royal heritage, he is the nephew of the Emperor, and, rather than leading the Rebellion, he is actually a double agent. Forewarned of the Death Star's attack on Alderaan, he escaped and now sits in the Emperor's court, advising him.

It's obviously a big lie, although does serve as fan prep; it sets up the idea of the series canon being altered with a major, galaxy-shattering parental twist in Empire.