LEGO Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Out LEGO Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Out is a television special based on the Star Wars theme that aired on Cartoon Network on September 26 , 2012 . The special follows Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader as they deal with too much and too little recognition respectively . It was written by Michael Price , who also worked on . It was released on DVD March 26 , 2013 with a new minifigure , Darth Vader with his " Employee of the Month " medal . Synopsis . The movie begins just after the rebels destroy the Death Star . Luke Skywalker and Han Solo fly back to the rebel base on Yavin IV , where Princess Leia Organa is briefing the rebel troops . She says that , since the rebels destroyed the Death Star , the Empire is probably planning a counter - strike , so all the rebels should evacuate to their secret base on Hoth . As they do this , Luke , R2 - D2 , Han , and Leia will attack a Stormtrooper base on Naboo , with Han and Leia gathering Ankura Warriors and Luke and R2 - D2 finding the base ' s location . As they all leave hurriedly , which causes Leia to lose her hair briefly , they leave behind C - 3PO , who is devastated until he finds out that Chewbacca and the Millennium Falcon have also remained behind . Han and Leia left to greet Boss Nass and the Ankura Warriors that would be assisting them . Luke finds the Stormtrooper base , but as he tries to contact Han and Leia regarding its location , his location is given away by some young girl fans of his . He tries to flee from them , one of his attempts being to wear a Darth Vader costume , though this fails and he is forced to flee the planet . Meanwhile , Darth Vader confronts his officers on a Star Destroyer , one of which assures him that he sent probe droids to track Skywalker , though the Skywalker that the droids were tracking was Anakin Skywalker , Darth Vader . In anger , Vader tries to execute this officer , but Admiral Piett taunts the one in trouble , leading to a fight which Vader puts an end to . Later , Emperor Palpatine arrives and plans to rebuild the Death Star out of LEGO pieces with Darth Vader and Darth Maul , whom Vader is surprised and upset to hear has returned . Maul and Vader soon develop a sibling rivalry , and Vader jumps at the opportunity to leave and hunt down the Millennium Falcon , which had left Yavin IV after C - 3PO misinterpreted a message Luke had sent him as a cry for rescue . While flying , Luke ' s X - Wing Starfighter and Darth Vader ' s TIE Advanced almost collide , resulting in Vader crash - landing on Tatooine and Luke crashing into a Star Destroyer , where , still in his Darth Vader costume , is mistook by the Imperials on the ship for Darth Vader . On Tatooine , Vader is captured by Jawa s , who attach droid pieces to him and attempt to sell him . Vader , however , uses the force to free himself , turn the Sandcrawler into a playground and construct a podracer to escape on . On Naboo , Leia , Han , and the Ankura warriors go to Luke ' s last destination , finding the Stormtrooper base and planning a surprise attack , only for Chewbacca and C - 3PO to crash land the Millennium Falcon on them , alerting the Stormtroopers and starting a battle , resulting in the heroes being forced to surrender . However , Luke arrives in his Darth Vader costume and orders the Stormtroopers ' AT - AT Walkers to destroy the Stormtrooper base . He then attempts to leave with the " prisoners " , but Darth Vader arrives , unmasks Luke and starts dueling with him , while the Ankura warriors , Han , and Leia , with the help of an X - Wing Starfighter , fend off the Imperials . Darth Vader is about to reveal that he is Luke ' s father , but C - 3PO convinces Luke ' s young fans to annoy Vader instead by showing them a picture of Anakin Skywalker , forcing him to flee before he can tell Luke . Luke and his friends then leave the planet , taking out an Imperial Star Destroyer sent after them in the process . Palpatine discovers that while Maul had been in charge of building the new Death Star , he had made it look like himself , which Darth Maul thought was " awesome " , much to Palpatine ' s horror . Vader , attempting to escape his fans , flies into the " Darth Star " , destroying it , and the debris hits the Star Destroyer ' s view - ports , creating a vacuum that sucks Darth Maul into space . Overjoyed at Darth Maul ' s disappearance and the destruction of Maul ' s Death Star , Palpatine hugs Vader and praises him . Soon , in the style of the awards ceremony at the end of " Star Wars Episode IV : A New Hope " , Palpatine awards Vader the " Employee of the Month " award , and when Darth Vader ' s fans catch a glimpse of Vader ' s face beneath his mask , they are no longer crazed over him and chase after Darth Maul instead . Overjoyed with the recent turn of events , Vader pats the back of one of the Stormtroopers standing attention at the event , inadvertently causing all of the Stormtroopers to fall over like dominoes . Palpatine cries , " Vader ! " angrily , ending the movie .