The Empire Strikes Back

"Wampas"

Originally, Wampas were part of a major sub-plot in TESB, but numerous technical problems led to the cutting of much of the scenes that were filmed to tell this small part of the story. One of the significant elements to the entire subplot was filmed on March 30, 1979, and it could quite possibly be assumed that the technical problems involved in the filming on that day led to the elimination of that entire sub-plot. Here's an exerpt from "Once Upon A Galaxy: A Journal of The Making of The Empire Strikes Back", by Alan Arnold.:

While tests and rehersals are taking place on Stage 2 for the Bespin sequences, the unit is at work on one of the most difficult of the ice-cavern scenes.

It's the scene in which the monstrous Wampa Ice Creature thrusts its hideous claws through a cavern wall - a scene that took a very long time to set up. We knew that if it were not achieved in one take the whole thing would have to be mounted again for another try, and that would consume costly time.

But we failed to get it the first time. It just didn't work.
Sometimes, a set-up that looks good on the drawing board doesn't work visually. The film business is an amalgam of skills. It's seldom possible to direct the fault to a particular area; so many hands have made a contribution. Kersh explained: "In this scene we're trying to suggest more than will actually be seen. We need to use the audience's imagination as a means of giving color to our coloring book. It's no good just being literal in a shot like this. The effect must be one of illusion, a sleight of hand, a conjuring trick. So we're going to try again."

That's film talk, of course, as special as the industry itself. But the fact of the matter is that the concept didn't work. Wampas smashing through ice walls are not everyday events. Filmmakers contrive things that haven't happened before and are unlikely to happen again. It was a brave failure. The shot will eventually be accomplished.

"Visitors to the set today included an important group of bankers. One wonders what they would have made of this entry in the script supervisor's log: "Wrapping up. Unable to continue with this shot as wall too strong for ice monster to break through. Also, the man inside the monster suit has been there three hours and is suffering from stomach cramps."

Obviously the scene never really worked out, otherwise we possibly would have seen this plot twist in the movie. Essentially, the scenes involved the Wampas (later simplified to one Wampa) causing problems for the Rebels on Hoth, and eventually they overcome this problem by rounding them up and keeping them in a marked supply closet.

Later, when the base was being attacked, C-3PO removes the warning sticker (a scene that made it into the trailers) on the outside of the closet, leading the unsuspecting Stormtroopers inside.

Remnants of these scenes can still be found throughout the film however. In the background Too-Onebee can be seen examining a dead tauntaun that was killed by one of the wampas (a behind the scenes photo from the "Journal" below), Leia mentions "one of those creatures" in the discussion about the Imperial probe droid, and the Storm troopers can be seen approaching the supply closet with the torn off sticker.