Lost STAR WARS Theatrical Short BLACK ANGEL to Get Feature Film Adaptation
A few weeks ago the lost short film that screened with The Empire Strikes Back, Black Angel, found its way online and fans went wild for it. The 34-year-old fantasy short was directed by Roger Christian, and it was really quite fantastic.
That 1980 short is now getting a feature film adaptation, and Christian is returning to write and direct it! He is an Oscar-winning art director who worked on films such as Star Wars and Alien, and this will be the first time he’s directed a feature-length movie.
When talking to THR about the project, he said:
“It’s my passion project, has been for 35-36 years. I guess ‘patience is a virtue’ is a true saying.”
The story follow a Crusade-era knight on a quest to defeat an evil force to free a captured maiden. The film was shot in Scotland on a budget of only $38,000. The upcoming film will have a budget of around $15 million, and it will star Rutger Hauer (Hobo With a Shotgun) and John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings). When talking about the actors, the director said:
“These kind of faces fit into this ancient world so well, they’re powerful actors and I need that.”
The director went on to explain his goal with the film:
“I can make a huge epic film with that. I’m going down and dirty, I want the audience to smell the blood and the sweat and the tears. I’ll be doing fights in mud and rain.”
I’m 100% on board, and I hope he is able to give audiences just that. I think I’m way more excited about this project than I should be. It’s a great story, though. It's also pretty damn cool that after all of these years this has all finally come together for Christian.
If you haven’t watch the short yet, click here to check it out.