Return of the Jedi (also known as Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to The Empire Strikes Back (1980), it is the third installment in the original Star Wars trilogy and the sixth chronological film in the "Skywalker Saga". The film follows the ongoing struggle between the malevolent Galactic Empire and the freedom fighters of the Rebel Alliance. As the Rebels attempt to destroy the Empire's second Death Star, Luke Skywalker tries to bring his father, Darth Vader, back from the dark side of the Force. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and Frank Oz.
Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, and David Cronenberg were considered to direct the film before Marquand signed on as director. The production team relied on Lucas' storyboards during pre-production. While writing the shooting script, Lucas, Kasdan, Marquand, and producer Howard Kazanjian spent two weeks in conference discussing ideas to construct it. Kazanjian's schedule pushed shooting to begin a few weeks early to allow Industrial Light & Magic more time to work on the film's effects in post-production. Filming took place in England, California, and Arizona from January to .
Return of the Jedi was released in theaters by 20th Century-Fox on May 25, 1983. It grossed $374 million worldwide during its initial theatrical run, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1983. It received mixed reviews, with critics conflicted on the performances of the actors, the special effects and the action sequences, though John Williams' score was consistently praised. Later reviews have been more positive, although most critics consider the film to be the weakest of the original trilogy. Several re-releases and revisions to the film have followed over the decades, which have brought its total gross to $482 million. The United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2021. A prequel trilogy, released between 1999 and 2005, and a sequel trilogy, released between 2015 and 2019, followed.
Plot
One year after Han Solo's capture and imprisonment in carbonite, C-3PO and R2-D2 enter the palace of the crime lord Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. They were sent as a goodwill gift from Luke Skywalker, who hopes to negotiate with Jabba for Han's release. Disguised as a bounty hunter, Princess Leia infiltrates the palace under the pretense of having captured Chewbacca. She releases Han from the carbonite but is caught by Jabba and enslaved. Luke arrives to bargain for the release of his friends, but Jabba drops him through a trapdoor to be eaten by a rancor. After Luke kills the beast, Jabba decrees that he, Han, and Chewbacca will be fed to a Sarlacc, a deadly ground-dwelling creature. However, Luke retrieves his new lightsaber from , and the group of friends battle Jabba's thugs aboard his sail barge. During the chaos, Boba Fett is swallowed by the Sarlacc, and Leia strangles Jabba to death with her chains. The group escapes as Jabba's sail barge is destroyed.
As the others rendezvous with the Rebel Alliance, Luke returns to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training with Yoda, who is dying when he arrives. Before Yoda dies, he confirms that Darth Vader is Luke's father, the former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, and that there is another Skywalker. Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force spirit tells Luke that Leia is his twin sister, and that he must face Vader again to finish his training and defeat the Empire.
The Alliance learns that the Empire has been constructing a second Death Star under the supervision of the Emperor. The station is protected by an energy shield on the forest moon of Endor. Han leads a strike team, including Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca, to destroy its generator. Once on the moon, the team gains the trust of an Ewok tribe. Luke tells Leia she is his sister, and that Vader is their father. He then surrenders to Imperial troops and is brought before Vader, but fails to convince him to reject the dark side of the Force.
Luke is taken to the Emperor, who intends to turn him to the dark side. He reveals that Luke's friends on Endor and the rebel fleet are heading into a trap. On the forest moon, Han's team is captured by Imperial forces, but the Ewoks counterattack, allowing the Rebels to infiltrate the shield generator. Meanwhile, Lando Calrissian and Admiral Ackbar lead the rebel assault on the Death Star, but find its shield still active and the Imperial fleet waiting for them.
The Emperor reveals to Luke that the Death Star is fully operational and orders the firing of its superlaser, which begins destroying rebel capital ships. He tempts Luke to give in to his anger and embrace the dark side of the Force. Luke attacks him, but Vader intervenes, and the two engage in a lightsaber duel. During the battle, Vader learns Luke has a sister, and he threatens to turn her to the dark side. Luke becomes enraged and severs Vader's prosthetic hand. The Emperor orders Luke to kill his father, but Luke refuses. The Emperor then tortures Luke with Force lightning. Unwilling to let his son die, Vader throws the Emperor down a shaft to his demise, but is fatally wounded in the process. Before dying, Vader asks Luke to remove his mask in a moment of reconciliation.
After the rebel strike team destroys the shield generator, Lando leads fighter ships into the Death Star's core. He and the X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles destroy the station's main reactor, escaping before it explodes. Later, Luke cremates Vader's body on Endor before reuniting with his friends. As the Rebels celebrate their victory, Luke sees the Force spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker standing nearby.
Cast
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker: A Jedi in training, a pilot in the Rebel Alliance, the son of Darth Vader and the twin brother of Leia Harrison Ford as Han Solo: A rebel general and the captain of the Millennium Falcon Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa: A leader of the Rebel Alliance, the twin sister of Luke and the daughter of Darth Vader Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian: The former administrator of Cloud City, Han's friend, and a rebel general Anthony Daniels as C-3PO: A humanoid protocol droid Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca: Han's Wookiee friend and the co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon Kenny Baker as R2-D2: An astromech droid Paploo: An Ewok who aids the Rebels on Endor Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor: The ruler of the Galactic Empire and Darth Vader's master Frank Oz as Yoda: A centuries-old Jedi Master who trained Luke David Prowse / James Earl Jones as Darth Vader: A former Jedi and Luke and Leia's father, as well as the Emperor's disciple Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker: The unmasked Vader who also appears as a Force spirit Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi: The deceased Jedi mentor of Luke who continues to guide him as a Force spirit Toby Philpott, Mike Edmonds, David Barclay (puppeteers) and Larry A. Ward (voice) as Jabba the Hutt: A slug-like alien crime lord who purchased the carbonite-frozen Han from the bounty hunter Boba Fett
The cast also includes Michael Pennington as Moff Jerjerrod, Kenneth Colley as Admiral Piett, Michael Carter as Bib Fortuna (voiced by Erik Bauersfeld, who was uncredited), Denis Lawson as Wedge, Tim Rose as Admiral Ackbar (also voiced by Bauersfeld, again uncredited), Dermot Crowley as General Madine, Caroline Blakiston as Mon Mothma, Warwick Davis as Wicket W. Warrick, Tony Cox as Widdle 'Willy' Warrick, Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett, Femi Taylor as Oola, Annie Arbogast as Sy Snootles, Claire Davenport as Fat Dancer, Jack Purvis as Teebo, Mike Edmonds as Logray, Jane Busby as Chief Chirpa, Malcom Dixon and Mike Cottrell as Ewok Warriors, and Nicki Reade as Nicki. Additional Imperial officers are portrayed by Adam Bareham (Stardestroyer Controller #1), Jonathan Oliver (Stardestroyer Controller #2), Pip Miller (Stardestroyer Captain #1), and Tom Mannion (Stardestroyer Captain #2). Mark Dodson provided the voice of Salacious Crumb, but was uncredited.
Production
Development Following the commercial success of The Empire Strikes Back, a second Star Wars sequel was swiftly put into production. As with Empire, Lucas personally financed Return of the Jedi, but chose not to direct the film himself. Irvin Kershner, the director of Empire, declined to return for Jedi. Although Lucas' first choice for director was Steven Spielberg, their separate feuds with the Directors Guild of America led to Spielberg being banned from directing the film. Lucas approached David Lynch, who had recently been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for The Elephant Man (1980). Lynch declined, believing that Lucas should direct the film since Star Wars was his creation.
Lucas offered David Cronenberg the chance to direct, but he turned down the offer, as he preferred to direct films he had written himself. Lucas also considered Lamont Johnson, the director of The Last American Hero (1973), before finally choosing Richard Marquand. Lucas was on set frequently because of Marquand's relative inexperience with special effects; Marquand joked that directing Jedi was like "trying to direct King Lear – with Shakespeare in the next room!" Lucas praised Marquand's kindness and his ability to work with actors.Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carrie Fisher. Fox Home Entertainment, 2004.
The screenplay for Jedi was based on a story by Lucas. The script was written by Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan, who allegedly told Lucas that Return of the Jedi was a weak title. Kazanjian echoed Kasdan's concern, and the title was changed to Revenge of the Jedi soon after. The screenplay was not finished until late in pre-production, well after a production schedule and a budget had been created, and after Marquand had been hired, which was unusual for a film. Instead, the production team relied on Lucas' story and his rough draft of the script to guide their early work. When it came time to write a shooting script, Lucas, Kasdan, Marquand and Kazanjian spent two weeks in conference discussing ideas; Kasdan used tape transcripts of these meetings to construct the script.
The question of whether Harrison Ford would return for Return of the Jedi arose during pre-production. Unlike Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, Ford was not contracted for two sequels, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) had made him an even bigger star. Kazanjian said that Han was frozen in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back because the filmmakers were unsure whether the character would return. He also claimed that Lucas did not expect Ford to return, and that Han was initially not in the script. However, Kazanjian—who also produced Raiders of the Lost Ark—ultimately convinced Ford to return.
Ford felt that Han should die through self-sacrifice in Jedi. Kasdan agreed, and said it should occur near the beginning of the third act, to make the audience wonder whether the other protagonists will survive. Gary Kurtz, who produced Star Wars and Empire but was replaced by Kazanjian for Jedi, said that Han died in an early version of the script. Kurtz has suggested that one reason Lucas may have rejected the idea of Han dying was that it would not be good for merchandising. Kurtz also has claimed that an early script ended with the rebel forces in tatters, Leia grappling with her new duties as a queen, and Luke walking off alone "like Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti Westerns".