James Bond movies are known for their distinctive title sequences, something that’s remained true since the series made its movie debut in the 1960s. Likewise, Star Wars movies also have their trademark title crawl sequences, but one fan has created something new for The Empire Strikes Back that brings the Bond-style opening to Star Wars.
The excellent title sequence homage above was created by Kurt Rauffer, who shared the video on Vimeo. It served as his thesis in college at the School of Visual Arts, and it not only takes inspiration from Bond intros, but it also uses Radiohead’s proposed theme song for the most recent Bond movie, Spectre.
“Growing up in the 90s where Star Wars was released on VHS, the franchise really sparked my imagination as a child,” Rauffer says. “It not only let me exercise my imagination but also supplied me with some of the happiest memories as I watched it with my family. After re-watching The Empire Strikes Back, I decided to use this as a chance to create a homage in the form of a title sequence. This would also serve as my senior thesis at SVA and took me the whole semester to complete.”
Noting the obvious Bond inspiration, he adds, “I really wanted to play on the concept of Luke trying to find himself and true purpose, so the music and inspiration felt fitting.”
Rauffer has promised a making-of video is on the way, but didn’t say when he’d be sharing it.