Star Wars lost precursor Black Angel uploaded to YouTube 34 years after first screening

The short was only ever shown in 400 British cinemas when released

A still from the Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back short Black Angel

34 years ago, millions of fans around the world were prepping their lightsabers for one of the greatest sequels ever released, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Instead of X-Wings and Tie Fighters, however, horses and ruined castles filled the screen. Had George Lucas gone insane and turned the space opera into a medieval drama?

No. Unbeknownst to fans, they would have to wait a little longer before cinema screens rolled that iconic yellow lettered crawl, as in 400 British theatres a half hour film sat between them and seeing Luke Skywalker again.

Roger Christian, an almost complete unknown at the time, had been commissioned by Lucas to direct the short, titled Black Angel, to show just before his own movie. With a budget of $25,000, Christian, who had previously worked with Lucas on the original Star Wars, headed to Scotland to film the mystical precursor.

It caused quite a stir amongst fans, with one, director John Boorman, going on to show the film to his entire crew before the filming of his King Arthur tale, Excalibur.

Black Angel was never released on any other format, withheld from VHS copies of Star Wars, and for many years the negatives were thought to have been lost in a studio move.

Luckily, in December 2011, they were rediscovered and the first screenings since its original releases were shown at Mill Valley and Glasgow film festivals.

Once again, fans began talking about it, and now the short has been fully restored and uploaded to YouTube for all to watch, along with the announcement that some ‘very exciting news’ will be coming 2 June.

A full length picture in the works? We don’t know, but for now you can enjoy the film in all it’s glory right here, right now.