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

11. The Emperor Will Be Played By Orson Welles Or Christopher Lee

What stands out reading old Starlog issues is how mystified fans were about the Emperor - mentioned only once in Star Wars, he was regardless an imposing presence fans by his very name. Some fan even felt Vader would be removed from the equation sooner rather than later, setting up the Empire had as the big bad (and, to be fair, this was Lucas' original plan).

Playing into that, Miller alluded to the character's appearance in Empire, along with some massive casting rumours:

Word has gotten around that the Emperor will make an appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. Equally persistent are the rumors that he will be played by Orson Welles... and by Christopher Lee.

At this point the film was already shot, with Elaine Baker as the character, so this was all clearly jabbing. Props for picking an actor once speculated to play Vader and another who'd star in the prequels though.