What he actually said was that he though the ending kind of sucked.
'"Empire committed the cardinal sin of not actually ending,” Whedon declares. “Which at the time I was appalled by and I still think it was a terrible idea. It’s a Come Back Next Week, or in three years. And that upsets me. I go to movies expecting to have a whole experience. If I want a movie that doesn’t end I’ll go to a French movie. That’s a betrayal of trust to me. A movie has to be complete within itself, it can’t just build off the first one or play variations.”'
And, I must confess, that while I like "Empire" the best of the original trilogy, I completely agree with Whedon here. It's not even a cliff-hanger in the traditional sense. Nothing has been resolved save mere survival, and things are only getting worse, which is fine — except there's no urgency about the reversal, nothing to make you take it seriously. Our team (except Han) are safe and snug. Lando and Chewie jetting off on a road trip, and Luke and Leia and the droids having a comforting hug standing in front of the picture window and ROLL CREDITS! There's no finish, just a big, relaxing pause, which is the worst of all worlds.
That doesn't mean I hate "Empire." It means I think the ending kind of sucked.
Why Whedon thinks The Empire Strikes Back was ‘a betrayal of trust’
The Empire Strikes back is considered one of the best sequels ever made. But according to Joss Whedon, it wasn’t perfect. There was one glaring issue that still bugs him to the day.
Growing up well after it was in theaters, it never bothered me, because we just popped out that tape and popped in Jedi. But the half a book/movie thing infuriates me to no end.
I totally hated the ending to Empire. When people would say it was the best of the three films I thought they were nuts because the ending was so abrupt. I recognize why the film is considered so good now, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the ending still annoys me to this day.
+Brittany Constable A good point. I've noticed with catching up on TV series (or across seasons of TV series) that being able to pop the next installment into the player … is very nice. But it does take something from whatever suspense (or, sometimes, disappointment) preceded it.
It felt like a real cliff hanger to little-kid-me. I don't think Han's plight can be minimized as peripheral — it certainly loomed large in my imagination during the years between V and VI.
A friend I took to see it complained, "It didn't end; it just stopped!" I was never terribly bothered by it; I knew the rest of the story was coming.
Sure, the rest of the story was obviously coming — but it would be like having The Two Towers end with Frodo and Sam spending the night out of the cold in a quaint but comfy little inn in Ithilien, concerned over the next steps in their journey, but meanwhile getting a rest and a cuppa, and what do you think the others are doing ROLL CREDITS! It's not just the abruptness of the ending (and it is abrupt), but that it deflates the tension.
Or, closer to series, if "A New Hope" ended with — well, we escaped to Yavin, we can catch our breath, we'll have to do something about that Death Star, don't worry we'll avenge Ben somehow ROLL CREDITS!
If it were being done today, I can see having that ending, just as is (maybe fleshed out with a bit more dialog), then close it with something dark and mysterious and threatening, either involving Boba Fett delivering Han to Jabba ("I have plans for you, Solo"), or the Vader talking with the Emperor ("Leave him to me, my Master. I know just what he'll do next.")
That's a cliff-hanger.
Empire is the best of the Star Wars movies, and the ending is perfect. I guess it is just one more reason that Joss Whedon is not my master.
Still doesn't bother me.
🙂