The film is set approximately one year after Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.[1] The evil Galactic Empire, with the help of the villainous Darth Vader, is building a second Death Star in order to crush the Rebel Alliance. Since Emperor Palpatine
plans to personally oversee the final stages of its construction, the
Rebel Fleet launches a full-scale attack on the Death Star in order to
prevent its completion and kill Palpatine, effectively bringing an end
to the Empire. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, a Rebel leader and Jedi Knight, struggles to bring his father, Darth Vader, himself a fallen Jedi, back from the Dark Side of the mystical Force.
The film was released in theaters on May 25, 1983, receiving mostly
positive reviews. The film grossed over $475 million worldwide. Several
home video and theatrical releases and revisions to the film followed
over the next 20 years. It was the last Star Wars film released theatrically until Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace began the prequel trilogy in 1999.
Luke Skywalker, having fashioned himself as a Jedi Knight, initiates a plan to rescue the frozen Han Solo from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt with the help of Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. Leia infiltrates Jabba's palace on Tatooine disguised as a bounty hunter and releases Han from his carbonite
prison, but is caught and forced to serve as Jabba's slave. Luke
arrives a week later and allows himself to be captured, after surviving
an attempted feeding to the Rancor. Jabba sentences Luke and Han to be fed to the monstrous Sarlacc. As he is about to be put to death, Luke breaks free, receives his newly-constructed lightsaber
from R2-D2, and a large battle erupts; in the ensuing chaos, Leia
strangles Jabba to death with her slave chains, Han inadvertently
knocks Boba Fett,
the bounty hunter who captured him, into the gaping maw of the Sarlacc,
and Luke, escaping with his allies, destroys Jabba's sail barge. As Han
and Leia rendezvous with the other Rebels, Luke returns to Dagobah where he finds that Yoda is dying. With his last breaths, Yoda confirms that the evil Darth Vader
is Luke's father, that Luke must confront him again to become a true
Jedi Knight and mentions "another Skywalker". The spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi
reveals that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker and that the "other
Skywalker" Yoda spoke of is Luke's twin sister. Luke then realizes that
Leia is his sister, and this is confirmed by Obi-Wan who congratulates
Luke for his intuition while warning Luke to hide this realisation from
his conscious mind as these thoughts may be read by his enemies.
The Rebel Alliance learn that the Empire has been constructing a new Death Star,
larger and more powerful than the first. In a plan to destroy the new
weapon, Han is elected to lead a strike team to destroy the battle
station's shield generator on the forest moon of Endor,
allowing a squadron of starfighters to enter the incomplete
superstructure and destroy the station from within. Returning from
Dagobah, Luke joins the strike team along with Leia and the others. The
strike team uses a captured Imperial shuttle to get to Endor, so that
the Imperial ships they pass will think they are one of them. However,
Darth Vader senses Luke's presence on the shuttle and knows they are
Rebels, but lets them through anyway so that they will be ambushed by
the Imperial forces expecting them and lying in wait on Endor. Luke,
sensing Darth Vader's presence, fears he may be endangering the mission
by his presence.
On Endor, Luke and his companions encounter a primitive yet intelligent tribe of Ewoks
(who mistake C-3PO for a god, so that when Luke uses the force to make
C-3PO levitate, the Ewoks free Luke, Han, Chewbacca and R2D2) and form
an alliance with them. Later, Luke confesses to Leia that Vader is
their father, that she is his sister, and that he is leaving to
confront Vader one more time, believing that there is still good in
him. Leia tells Luke that she has somehow always sensed and known that
he was her brother. Luke surrenders to Imperial troops, so that they
will bring him to Vader. He then tries to convince Vader to turn from
the dark side, but Vader says it is too late for him, and so he takes
Luke to the Death Star to meet the evil Emperor Palpatine.
Palpatine reveals to Luke that his allies on Endor, as well as
Lando's flight team trying to penetrate the Death Star, are both
walking into traps. Back on Endor, the Rebels are captured by Imperial
forces, but a surprise counterattack by the Ewoks allows the Rebels to
fight back. During the strike team's assault, Lando leads the Rebel
fleet in the Millennium Falcon
to the Death Star, only to find the station's shield is still up, and
the Imperial Fleet waiting for them. As fighting between the fleets
ensue, Palpatine tempts Luke to give in to his anger and join the dark side of the Force.
A lightsaber duel between Luke and Vader erupts, during which Vader
throws his lightsaber at Luke, who is on a higher platform, and causes
the platform to collapse. It is during his search for Luke, that Vader
probes Luke's mind and learns that Luke has a sister. When Vader
suggests she would turn to the dark side instead, Luke responds with an
impassioned attack, slicing off his hand. However, realizing that his
attack is acquiring a dark character unbecoming his status as a Jedi
Knight he breaks off his attack and, despite Palpatine's goading,
spares his father and declares himself to be a Jedi. Enraged, Palpatine
begins to slowly kill Luke with Force lightning.
Unable to bear the sight of his son's torture any longer, Anakin
resurfaces and comes to Luke's assistance. He grasps Palpatine and
casts him down a reactor shaft to his death, but is mortally wounded by
Palpatine's lightning. At his request, Luke removes Anakin's mask to
look into the eyes of the pale, scarred man that is his father. Despite
Luke's promise that he will save his father, Anakin declines, saying
that Luke already has. Having seen his son with his own eyes for the
first and last time, Anakin Skywalker dies, finally at peace.
The redeemed Anakin Skywalker, portrayed by Sebastian Shaw.
Meanwhile, on Endor, the strike team, with the help of the Ewoks,
defeats the Imperial forces (after a long battle during which many
Ewoks and Stormtroopers are killed) and finally destroys the shield
generator, allowing the Rebel fleet to launch a final assault on the
Death Star. Lando leads the remaining ships deep into the station's
core and fires at the main reactor, causing it to collapse, which
slowly engulfs the Death Star in exploding flames. Luke escapes on an
Imperial shuttle with his father's body before the Death Star explodes,
and Lando escapes in the Millennium Falcon. On Endor, Han
begins to think that Leia is in love with Luke rather than him.
However, Leia tells him that Luke is her brother, relieving Han, and
they share a kiss. That evening, Luke returns to Endor and cremates his
father's body and armor on a funeral pyre. The entire galaxy
celebrates the fall of the Empire. During the Rebels' own celebration
on Endor, Luke catches sight of the spiritual figures of Obi-Wan
Kenobi, Yoda, and his redeemed father, Anakin Skywalker, who watch over
them with pride.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker: In the year since his encounter with Darth Vader in Cloud City, Luke has been training further as a Jedi. He has yet to return to Yoda on Dagobah, still in the process of rescuing Han Solo.
Harrison Ford as Han Solo:
Frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader in Cloud City, and taken to Jabba
the Hutt, Han is freed by Princess Leia, only to be sentenced to death
by Jabba the Hutt. He escapes with the group after Luke arrives at
Jabba's palace.
Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa: A former princess from Alderaan, Leia has been aiding Luke in his search for Han. It is later revealed that she is actually Luke's twin sister.
Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian:
After Cloud City was taken over by the Galactic Empire, Lando joined
the Rebel Alliance, and aided Luke in his search for Han Solo.
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO:
Luke Skywalker's protocol droid, Threepio is instrumental in
establishing friendly relations between the Rebels and the Ewoks on
Endor, who mistakenly believe him to be a god.
David Prowse as Darth Vader:
Vader has been relentlessly continuing his search for Luke, but he is
set off course when the Emperor sends him to Endor to oversee the
construction of the new Death Star and to prepare for the Rebel strike.
James Earl Jones provided the voice of Vader.
Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious: Simply known as "The Emperor",
Palpatine is the supreme ruler of the Galactic Empire and the Dark Lord
of the Sith, Darth Sidious, and has been pleased by the success of the
Imperial offensive, and the plight of the Rebel Alliance. He now plans
to destroy the Alliance with the new Death Star and turn Luke Skywalker
to the dark side of the Force.
Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker:
Luke's father, Anakin, was a Jedi Knight before being seduced by the
dark side of the Force and becoming Darth Vader. Shaw was partly
replaced by Hayden Christensen in the 2004 DVD release of the film.
Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi: Struck down by Vader on the first Death Star four years earlier, Obi-Wan continues to offer guidance to Luke as a Jedi spirit.
Frank Oz performing Yoda. After 900 years of training Jedi, Yoda finally prepares to resign his soul and becomes one with the Force.
Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles: Wedge is now the leader of Rogue Squadron,
and he prepares to aid (now General) Lando Calrissian in the fighter
attack on the Death Star. This is the only film in the original trilogy
in which Lawson's name is spelled correctly in the ending credits. In
the other films, his name is misspelled "Dennis".
Kenneth Colley as Admiral Piett: Piett, one of the few officers under Vader's command to survive his wrath, commands the Imperial Fleet at Endor from the Executor. He dies when a damaged Rebel A-Wing crashes into the Executor's bridge, causing her to collapse into the Death Star and explode.
Warwick Davis as Wicket: An Ewok who leads Leia and eventually her friends to the Ewok tribe.
Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett:
A bounty hunter who, after capturing and delivering Han Solo to Jabba
the Hutt, stays on at the crime lord's palace and engages in the battle
above the Sarlacc. As Boba Fett is about to kill Luke Skywalker, Han
Solo accidentally activates Fett's jetpack, which goes haywire and
sends Fett into the mouth of the Sarlacc.
Kenny Baker was originally cast as the Ewok Wicket, but was replaced by 11-year-old Warwick Davis after falling ill with food poisoning
on the morning of the shoot. Davis had no previous acting experience
and was cast only after his grandmother had discovered an open call for
dwarfs for the new Star Wars film.[2]
With The Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas fought and won his battle for independence from Hollywood; as with the previous film, Lucas personally funded Return of the Jedi.[2] Having quit the Directors Guild of America during post-production of The Empire Strikes Back, it was no longer possible for Lucas to hire his long-time friend Steven Spielberg as director.[2][3]David Lynch, with a Best Director nomination for the 1980 film The Elephant Man, was approached by Lucas to helm Return of the Jedi, but he declined as he believed the film would be more Lucas's vision than his own.[citation needed] David Lynch instead directed Dune.[4]David Cronenberg was also offered the chance to direct the film, but he declined the offer to make Videodrome and The Dead Zone instead.[5] Lucas eventually chose Welsh director Richard Marquand. Some reports have suggested that Lucas was so heavily involved in the shooting of Return of the Jedi that he could be considered a second or a co-director. It is likely that he directed much of the second unit
work personally as the shooting threatened to go over schedule; this is
a function Lucas had willingly performed on previous occasions when he
had only officially been producing a film (e.g. Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, More American Graffiti).[6] Lucas himself has admitted to being on the set frequently due to Marquand's relative inexperience with special effects.[2] Although the working relationship between Lucas and Marquand was said[who?]
to be bad, Lucas has insisted that the opposite was true and praised
Marquand for being a "very nice person who worked well with actors".[7] Marquand did note that Lucas kept a conspicuous presence on set, joking, "It is rather like trying to direct King Lear—with Shakespeare in the next room!"[8]
The screenplay was written by Lawrence Kasdan and Lucas (with uncredited contributions by David Peoples and Marquand), based on Lucas' story. Kasdan claims he told Lucas that Return of the Jedi was "a weak title", and Lucas later decided to name the film Revenge of the Jedi.[2]
Unusually, the screenplay itself was not created until rather late in
pre-production, well after a production schedule and budget had been
created by Kazanjian and Marquand had been hired. Instead, the
production team relied on Lucas's story and rough draft in order to
commence work with the art department. When it came time to formally
write a shooting script, Lucas, Kasdan, Marquand, and Kazanjian spent
two weeks in conference discussing ideas; Kasdan used tape transcripts
of these meetings to then construct the script.[9] The issue of whether Harrison Ford
would return for the final film arose during pre-production. Unlike the
other stars of the first film Ford had not contracted to do two
sequels, and since the second film Raiders of the Lost Ark had
made him an even bigger star. Ford suggested that Han Solo be killed
through self-sacrifice. Kasdan concurred, saying it should happen near
the beginning of the film to instill doubt as to whether the others
would survive, but Lucas was vehemently against it and rejected the
concept.[2] Yoda was originally not meant to appear in the film but Marquand strongly felt that returning to Dagobah was essential to resolve the dilemma raised by the previous film.[9]
The inclusion led Lucas to insert a scene in which Yoda confirms that
Darth Vader is Luke's father because, after a discussion with a
children's psychologist, he did not want younger moviegoers to dismiss Vader's claim as a lie.[7] Many ideas from the original script were left out or changed. For instance, the Ewoks were going to be Wookiees,[10] the Millennium Falcon would be used in the arrival at the Forest moon of Endor instead of the Death Star attack, and Obi-Wan Kenobi would return to life from his existence in the Force.[11]
Gary Kurtz, who worked with George Lucas on The Empire Strikes Back,
revealed in 2010 that the ongoing success with Star Wars merchandise
and toys led George Lucas to reconsider Lucas' idea to kill off the
character of Han Solo during action on Endor. Luke Skywalker was also to have walked off alone and exhausted like the hero in a Spaghetti Western but these ideas were dropped and replaced with a happier ending by Lucas to encourage higher merchandise sales.[12]
Filming began on January 11, 1982 and lasted through May 20, 1982, a schedule six weeks shorter than The Empire Strikes Back. Kazanjian's schedule pushed shooting as early as possible in order to give Industrial Light & Magic
(ILM) as much time as possible to work on effects, and left some crew
members dubious of their ability to be fully prepared for the shoot.[13] Working on a budget of $32,500,000,[14] Lucas was determined to keep the budget from skyrocketing the way it had done on The Empire Strikes Back. Producer Howard Kazanjian estimated that using ILM (owned wholly by Lucasfilm) for special effects saved the production approximately $18,000,000.[14]
However, the fact that Lucasfilm was a non-union company made acquiring
shooting locations more difficult and more expensive, even though Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back had been big hits.[2] The project was given the working title Blue Harvest
with a tagline of "Horror Beyond Imagination." This disguised what the
production crew was really filming from fans and the prying eyes of the
press and also prevented price gouging by service providers.[2]
The first stage of production started with 78 days at Elstree Studios in England,[13]
where the film occupied all nine stages. The shoot commenced with a
scene later deleted from the finished film where the heroes get caught
in a sandstorm as they leave Tatooine.[8] (This was the only major sequence cut from the film during editing.)[9] While attempting to film Luke Skywalker's battle with the rancor beast, Lucas insisted on trying to create the scene in the same style as Toho's Godzilla
films by using a stunt performer inside a suit. The production team
made several attempts, but were unable to create an adequate result.
Lucas eventually relented and decided to film the rancor as a
high-speed puppet.[2] In April, the crew moved to the Yuma Desert in Arizona for two weeks of Tatooine exteriors.[8] Production then moved to the redwood forests of northern California near Crescent City where two weeks were spent shooting the Endor forest exteriors, and then concluded at ILM in San Rafael, California for about ten days of bluescreen shots. One of two "skeletal" post-production units shooting background matte plates spent a day in Death Valley.[13] The other was a special Steadicam unit shooting forest backgrounds from June 15–17, 1982 for the speeder chase near the middle of the film.[15] Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown personally operated these shots as he walked through a disguised path inside the forest shooting at one frame per second.
By walking at about 5 mph (8 km/h) and projecting the footage at 24
frame/s, the motion seen in the film appears as if it were moving at
around 100 mph (160 km/h).[2]
John Williams composed and conducted the film's musical score with performances by the London Symphony Orchestra. Orchestration credits also include Thomas Newman. The initial release of the film's soundtrack was on the RSO Records label in the United States. Sony Classical Records acquired the rights to the classic trilogy scores in 2004 after gaining the rights to release the second trilogy soundtracks (The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones). In the same year, Sony Classical re-pressed the 1997 RCA Victor release of Return of the Jedi
along with the other two films in the trilogy. The set was released
with the new artwork mirroring the first DVD release of the film.
Despite the Sony digital re-mastering, which minimally improved the
sound heard only on high-end stereos, this 2004 release is essentially
the same as the 1997 RCA Victor release.[16]
The infamous teaser poster titled Revenge of the Jedi by Drew Struzan
Meanwhile, special effects
work at ILM quickly stretched the company to its operational limits.
While the R&D work and experience gained from the previous two
films in the trilogy allowed for increased efficiency, this was offset
by the desire to have the closing film raise the bar set by each of
these films.[14]
A compounding factor was the intention of several departments of ILM to
either take on other film work or decrease staff during slow cycles.
Instead, as soon as production began, the entire company found it
necessary to remain running 20 hours a day on six day weeks in order to
meet their goals by April 1, 1983. Of about 900 special effects shots,[13] all VistaVisionoptical effects remained in-house, since ILM was the only company capable of using the format, while about 400 4-perf opticals were subcontracted to outside effects houses.[17] Progress on the opticals was severely retarded for a time due to ILM rejecting about 100,000 feet (30,000 m) of film when the film perforations failed image registration and steadiness tests.[13]
The original teaser trailer for the film carried the name Revenge of the Jedi,[18]
and a teaser poster created by Drew Struzan containing this title has
since become a rare collector's item. Of note are the lightsaber colors
on the teaser poster: Luke is seen wielding a red lightsaber while
Vader wields a blue one.[19]
However, a few weeks before the film's premiere, Lucas changed the
title, saying "revenge" could not be used, as it is not a Jedi concept.[2] The 2005 prequel trilogy film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith later alluded to the dismissed title of Revenge of the Jedi.[20]
Return of the Jedi's theatrical release took place on May 25,
1983. It was originally slated to be May 27, but was subsequently
changed to coincide with the date of the 1977 release of Star Wars: A New Hope.[14]
With a massive worldwide marketing campaign, illustrator Tim Reamer
created the iconic and distinctive image for the movie poster and other
advertising. At the time of its release, the film was advertised on
posters and merchandise as simply Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, despite its on-screen "Episode VI" distinction. The original film was later re-released to theaters in 1985.
In 1997, for the 20th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars (retitled Star Wars: A New Hope), Lucas released The Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition. Along with the two other films in the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi was re-released on March 14, 1997 with a number of changes and additions,
which included the insertion of several alien band members in Jabba's
throne room, the replacement of music at the closing scene, and a
montage of different alien worlds celebrating the fall of the Empire.[21] According to Lucas, Return of the Jedi required fewer changes than the previous two films because it is more emotionally driven than the others.[7] The changes have caused controversy among the fans as some believe that they detract from the films.[22]
Although a critical and commercial hit, grossing more than $475 million worldwide,[23]Return of the Jedi
has, in the decades that followed, been considered by many critics and
fans to be a slightly lesser achievement than its predecessors.[24][25][26] At Rotten Tomatoes, Return of the Jedi's 78% approval rating is surpassed by The Empire Strikes Back (97%), A New Hope (94%), and the final film of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith (80%).[24]
Contemporary critics were largely complimentary. In 1983, movie critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four,[27] and James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk described Return of the Jedi as "a magnificent experience."[28] The film was also featured on the May 23, 1983 TIME magazine cover issue (where it was labeled "Star Wars III"),[29] with the reviewer Gerald Clarke saying that while it was not as exciting as the first Star Wars film, it was "better and more satisfying" than The Empire Strikes Back, now considered by many as the best of the original trilogy.[30]Vincent Canby, who enjoyed the first film and despised the second, felt that Return of the Jedi was the worst of all three.[31] According to Rotten Tomatoes, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune was somewhat critical of the film, stating that it "Lack[s] the humanity and richly drawn characters that brighten Star Wars."[24] However, Siskel later gave Return of the Jedi thumbs up on the television show Siskel & Ebert during the release of The Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition,
saying: "This is my least favorite of the three episodes. That doesn't
make it bad, the others are just a lot better." Siskel went on to
praise the opening sequence at the Sarlaac pit and the chase sequence
involving speeder bikes, but he states his dislike for the closing
scenes involving the Ewoks.[32] The New York Post's Rex Reed negatively reviewed the film, stating "Let's not pretend we're watching art!"[24]
At the 56th Academy Awards in 1984, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett received the "Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects." Norman Reynolds, Fred Hole, James L. Schoppe, and Michael Ford were nominated for "Best Art Direction/Set Decoration". Ben Burtt received a nomination for "Best Sound Effects Editing". John Williams
received the nomination for "Best Music, Original Score". Burtt, Gary
Summers, Randy Thom, and Tony Dawe all received the nominations for
"Best Sound". At the 1984 BAFTA Awards, Edlund, Muren, Ralston, and Kit West won for "Best Special Visual Effects". Tippett and Stuart Freeborn
were also nominated for "Best Makeup". Reynolds received a nomination
for "Best Production Design/Art Direction". Burtt, Dawe, and Summers
also received nominations for "Best Sound". Williams was also nominated
"Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or
Television Special". The film also won for "Best Dramatic Presentation"
at the 1984 Hugo Awards.[33]
While the action set pieces—particularly the sarlacc battle
sequence, the speeder bike chase on the Endor moon, the space battle
between Rebel and Imperial pilots, and Luke Skywalker's duel against
Darth Vader—are well-regarded, the ground battle between the Ewoks and Imperial stormtroopers remains a bone of contention.[34]
Fans are also divided on the likelihood of Ewoks (being an extremely
primitive race of small creatures armed with sticks and rocks)
defeating an armed ground force comprising the Empire's "best troops".
Lucas has defended the scenario, saying that the Ewoks' purpose was to
distract the Imperial troops and that the Ewoks did not really win.[7]
The original theatrical version of Return of the Jedi was released on VHS and Laserdisc several times between 1986 and 1995,[35]
followed by releases of the Special Edition in the same formats between
1997 and 2000. Some of these releases contained featurettes; some were
individual releases of just this film, while others were boxed sets of
all three original films.
Original scene with Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker (above), retouched version with Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker (below)
On September 21, 2004, the Special Editions of all three original
films were released in a boxed set on DVD (along with a bonus disc). It
was digitally restored and remastered, with additional changes
made by George Lucas. The DVD also featured English subtitles, Dolby
Digital 5.1 EX surround sound, and commentaries by George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher. The bonus disc included documentaries including Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
and several featurettes including "The Characters of Star Wars", "The
Birth of the Lightsaber", and "The Legacy of Star Wars". Also included
were teasers, trailers, TV spots, still galleries, and a demo for Star Wars: Battlefront.
With the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which depicts how and why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side of the Force, Lucas once again altered Return of the Jedi
to strengthen the relationship between the original trilogy and the
prequel trilogy. The original and Special Edition versions of Return of the Jedi featured British theatre actor Sebastian Shaw playing both the dying Anakin Skywalker and his ghost. In the DVD release, Shaw's portrayal of Anakin's ghost is replaced by Hayden Christensen, who portrayed Anakin in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The change drew further fan criticism directed toward Lucas (as well as a lampoon in an episode of Family Guy.[21])
All three films in the original Star Wars trilogy have since
been released, individually, on DVD. These versions were originally
slated to only be available from September 12, 2006 to December 31,
2006, although they remained in print and were packaged with the 2004
versions again in a new set on November 4, 2008.[36]
Although the 2004 versions in these sets each feature an audio
commentary, no other extra special features were included to
commemorate the original cuts.
A Blu-ray Disc version of the Star Wars saga has been announced for release in 2011 during Star Wars Celebration V. A deleted scene from Return of the Jedi
was confirmed to be included for the Blu-ray version, in which Darth
Vader communicates with Luke via the Force while he is assembling his
new lightsaber just before he infiltrates Jabba's palace.[37] On January 6, 2011, the release was announced for September 2011 in three different editions.[38]
On September 28, 2010, it was announced that all six films in the series will be stereo converted to 3D. The films will re-release in chronological order beginning with The Phantom Menace in late 2012. Return of the Jedi is scheduled to re-release in 3D in 2017 and will coincide with the 40th anniversary of the franchise.[39]
The novelization of Return of the Jedi was written by James Kahn and was released on May 12, 1983, thirteen days before the film's release.[40]
It contains many scenes that were deleted from the final cut as well as
certain assertions which have since been superseded by the prequel
trilogy. For example, Kahn writes that Owen Lars is the brother of Obi-Wan Kenobi, while in Attack of the Clones
he is instead shown to be the stepbrother of Anakin Skywalker. When
Leia is captured by Jabba, instead of him saying "I'm sure" to her
warning of her powerful friends, he says, "I'm sure, but in the
meantime, I shall thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of your company."
Additionally, instead of simply licking his lips as seen in the movie,
he is described as planting "a beastly kiss squarely on the Princess's
lips." Later, the Force spirit of Obi-Wan reveals that he was able to
hide Luke and Leia from Anakin because he did not know that his wife
was pregnant when he "left," presumably when he became Vader. A facet
of the story which was made more clear in the novel was the confusion
which overtook the Imperial forces upon the death of Palpatine, who
ceased to be the guiding will animating the Empire. It also further
supports the events depicted in all post-Return of the Jedi fiction.
A radio drama adaptation of the film was written by Brian Daley with additional material contributed by John Whitman and was produced for and broadcast on National Public Radio
in 1996. It was based on characters and situations created by George
Lucas and on the screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The
first two Star Wars films were similarly adapted for National Public Radio in the early 1980s, but it was not until 1996 that a radio version of Return of the Jedi was heard. Anthony Daniels returned as C-3PO, but Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams did not reprise their roles as they had for the first two radio dramas. They were replaced by newcomer Joshua Fardon as Luke Skywalker and character actor Arye Gross as Lando Calrissian. John Lithgow voiced Yoda, whose voice actor in the films has always been Frank Oz. Bernard Behrens returned as Obi-Wan Kenobi and the late Brock Peters reprised his role as Darth Vader. Veteran character actor Ed Begley, Jr. played Boba Fett. Edward Asner also guest-starred speaking only in grunts as the voice of Jabba the Hutt. The radio drama had a running time of three hours.[41]
Principal production of the show was completed on February 11, 1996.
Only hours after celebrating its completion with the cast and crew of
the show, Daley died of pancreatic cancer. The show is dedicated to his memory.
The cast and crew recorded a get-well message for Daley, but the
author never got the chance to hear it. The message is included as part
of the Star Wars Trilogy collector's edition box set.
^Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett. Fox Home Entertainment, 2005
