The Empire Strikes Back (radio)

The Empire Strikes Back is a ten-part radio adaptation of the film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. It is the second of the Star Wars radio dramatizations adapting the original trilogy. The radio drama first aired on National Public Radio in the United States on February 14, 1983, as part of its program NPR Playhouse.

The drama followed on the success of the first radio series, Star Wars (1981), which had broken NPR's records for audience size and engagement. As with its predecessor, George Lucas sold the rights for one dollar in a deal that gave NPR access to all the sound effects and music from the film. Most of the leading crew returned from the first drama: scriptwriter Brian Daley, director John Madden, sound engineer Tom Voegeli (who was also credited as co-director), and casting and production coordinator Mel Sahr. Nearly all members of the Star Wars radio cast with roles to reprise returned for The Empire Strikes Back, including film actors Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels. Joining the cast were Billy Dee Williams, who reprised his role as Lando Calrissian, and John Lithgow, who played Yoda.

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