Star Wars-related short film being remade as feature-length medieval epic

Roger Christian

This title sequence wasn't seen by audiences between the early 1980s and 2013.

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To think, there was a time before castles, swords, dragons, and magic dominated the world's biggest film and TV franchises. When that kind of geekdom was nowhere near a badge of pop-culture honor, we had to make the most of our limited options—particularly the limited option that was Black Angel.

The 22-minute short film, made in 1980, preceded The Empire Strikes Back's theatrical screenings in certain countries. Its medieval story—drenched in moody, Scottish landscapes and Arthurian inspirations—was soon lost to the world when its original negatives seemingly disappeared lost. But what a difference a few decades makes. The negatives were rediscovered in 2011 just as Tolkien fever had swept the world, and the film was posted to YouTube in its newly remastered form last month.

Now, Black Angel's creator has pushed forward with an ambitious plan: to remake the medieval short as a feature-length film, complete with actors Rutger Howard (Blade Runner) and John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings trilogy) on board.

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