December has been a very good month to be a Star Wars fan. At Disney Investor Day, 11 new projects set in the universe were announced. Now, another exciting surprise comes via Good Morning America, which debuted new, never-before-seen footage, outtakes, and bloopers from The Empire Strikes Back--the clip shows the cast and crew in high spirits, goofing around, and genuinely excited for the phenomenon that Star Wars was becoming.

　　"Everybody comes back to work and everybody is sort of more enthusiastic than they were the first time," says George Lucas in the clip. "The first time, everybody was very confused by the whole thing, and didn't know they were up against. Now, they had a better picture of what it was we were making. It was fun to get started again."

　　Although this look back does reveal how spirits were high (like Mark Hamill debuting the Tauntaun dance, for example), it also documents all the uncertainties the production still faced. Hoth was awesome to behold in the film, and the official Empire Strikes Back branded snowmobiles are neat, but the intense snowstorms forced the crew to film just 20 feet from their hotel and caused massive delays out of the gate (because the trains weren't running due to the weather, Harrison Ford was delayed even making it onto location), and Lucas describes how concerns arose immediately about whether the film would ever finish on time or under budget.

　　One of the main things Hamill remembers he and audiences both appreciated about Empire Strikes Back was that it "wasn't just a carbon copy" of the first movie. But really, you should watch the video for yourself to enjoy the many surprises--and bloopers--including a number of clips of Carrie Fisher advocating for the film's dramatic potential and narrative arc.

　　All the Star Wars films are currently available to stream on Disney+.

　　David Wolinsky on Google+