''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American
epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements
Epic or EPIC may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and medi ...
space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...
film directed by
Richard Marquand
Richard Alfred Marquand (22 September 1937 – 4 September 1987) was a British film and television director active in both US and UK film productions, best known for directing 1983's ''Return of the Jedi''. He also directed the critically accla ...
. The screenplay is by
Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Edward Kasdan (born January 14, 1949) is an American filmmaker. He is the co-writer of the ''Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''The Force Awakens'' (2015), and ''Solo: A Star Wars Stor ...
and
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
from a story by Lucas, who was also the executive producer. The sequel to ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' (1977) and ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' (1980), it is the third installment in the
original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, the third film to be produced, and the sixth chronological film in the "
Skywalker Saga
The ''Star Wars'' media franchise, franchise involves multiple live-action and animated films. The film series started with a trilogy set ''in medias res'' which was later expanded to a trilogy of trilogies, known as the "#Skywalker Saga, Skyw ...
". The film stars
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...
,
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
,
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...
,
Billy Dee Williams
William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thirt ...
,
Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 ''Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and h ...
,
David Prowse
David Charles Prowse (1 July 1935 – 28 November 2020) was an English actor, bodybuilder and weightlifter. He portrayed Darth Vader (voiced by American actor James Earl Jones) in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy and a manservant in Stanle ...
,
Kenny Baker,
Peter Mayhew
Peter William Mayhew (19 May 1944 – 30 April 2019) was a British-American actor. He was best known for portraying Chewbacca in the ''Star Wars'' film series. He played the character in all of his live-action appearances from the 1977 origin ...
and
Frank Oz
Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker.
He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...
.
Set one year after ''The Empire Strikes Back'', the
Galactic Empire
Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fantasy and science fiction, particularly in works known as 'space operas'. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of s ...
is constructing a
second Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves to e ...
to exterminate the
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic (colloquial: Rebel Alliance; the Rebellion; the Alliance; or the Rebels) is a fictional stateless interstellar coalition of republican dissidents, imperial defectors, revolutionary factions and anti-imperial ...
. With intel that the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
will be onboard, the Rebel fleet launches a full-scale attack on the Death Star in hopes of both destroying it and the Emperor. Meanwhile, Rebel hero
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
, now a
Jedi Knight, struggles to bring his father,
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
, back to the light side of
the Force
The Force is a metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the '' Star Wars'' fictional universe. "Force-sensitive" characters use the Force throughout the franchise. Heroes like the Jedi seek to "become one with the Force", matching their personal wi ...
.
Following Lucas and Kasdan's discussion on making ''Return of the Jedi'', the film went into production.
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
,
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
and
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...
were considered to direct the project 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
Howard G. Kazanjian (born July 26, 1942) is an Armenian-American film producer best known for the '' Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Return of the Jedi'', as well as the '' Indiana Jones'' movie '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. ...
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
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
more time to work on the film's effects in post-production. Filming took place in England, California, and Arizona from January to .
The film was released in theaters on May 25, 1983. It grossed $374 million during its initial theatrical run, becoming the
highest-grossing film of 1983. Overall, the film was well-received by critics, with strong praise going to the special effects and action sequences, performances, John Williams' score, and emotional weight. While retrospective reviews have remained positive, ''Return of the Jedi'' is widely considered to be the weakest film in the original trilogy. Several re-releases and revisions to the film have followed over the decades, which has also brought its total gross to $475 million. The United States
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
selected it for preservation in the
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
in 2021.
Plot
A year after
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...
's capture,
C-3PO
C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to as ...
and
R2-D2
R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...
are sent to crime lord
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a Character (arts), fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a ...
's palace on
Tatooine
Tatooine () is a fictional desert planet that appears in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first ...
in a trade bargain made by
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
to rescue Han, who is still frozen in carbonite. Disguised as the
bounty hunter
A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
Boushh,
Princess Leia
Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the Star Wars (film), original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of th ...
infiltrates the palace under the pretense of collecting the bounty on
Chewbacca
Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and firs ...
and unfreezes Han, but is caught and enslaved. Luke soon arrives to bargain for his friends' release, but Jabba drops him through a trapdoor to be eaten by a
rancor
This is a list of creatures in the fictional universe of ''Star Wars'', a space opera media franchise. The types of creatures in this list are listed by category and then in alphabetical order.
Humans and humanoid sentient species
Humans
Human ...
. After Luke kills it, Jabba sentences him, Han, and Chewbacca to death by being fed to the
sarlacc
The sarlacc (plural sarlacci) is a fictional creature in George Lucas's sci-fi action saga ''Star Wars''. It first appeared in the film ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983) as a multi-tentacled alien beast whose immense, gaping maw is lined with sever ...
, a deadly beast entombed in the desert floor that digests its prey over the course of a millennium. Having hidden his new
lightsaber
A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the ''Star Wars'' franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the or ...
inside , Luke frees himself and his friends, and they battle Jabba's men aboard the crime lord's sail barge. During the chaos,
Boba Fett
Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel fi ...
falls into the sarlacc after Han inadvertently damages his
jet pack
A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket pack is a device worn on the back which uses jets of gas or liquid to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and became widespread in the 1960s. ...
, and Leia strangles Jabba to death with her chains. The group destroy Jabba's sail barge and escape.
As the others rendezvous with the
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic (colloquial: Rebel Alliance; the Rebellion; the Alliance; or the Rebels) is a fictional stateless interstellar coalition of republican dissidents, imperial defectors, revolutionary factions and anti-imperial ...
, Luke returns to
Dagobah
Dagobah is a fictional planet and eponymous star system appearing in the ''Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'', ''Return of the Jedi'', and ''Revenge of the Sith'', and other media. It is depicted as a world of murky swamps, steaming ...
to complete his
Jedi
Jedi (), Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are the main heroic protagonists of many works of the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, and later supporting the Rebel Alliance, the Jedi O ...
training with
Yoda
Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until ...
, whom he discovers is dying. Yoda confirms that
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
, once the Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker, is Luke's father, and reveals that there is another Skywalker, before vanishing and becoming one with
the Force
The Force is a metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the '' Star Wars'' fictional universe. "Force-sensitive" characters use the Force throughout the franchise. Heroes like the Jedi seek to "become one with the Force", matching their personal wi ...
.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...
's
Force spirit
The Force is a Metaphysics, metaphysical and Energy (esotericism), ubiquitous power in the ''Star Wars'' fictional universe. "Force-sensitive" characters use the Force throughout the franchise. Heroes like the Jedi seek to "become one with the Fo ...
then tells Luke that Leia is his twin sister, and that he must face Vader again to finish his training and defeat the
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
.
The Alliance learns that the Empire has been constructing a
second Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves to e ...
under the supervision of
the Emperor. As the station is protected by an energy shield, Han leads a strike team which includes Luke, Leia and Chewbacca to destroy the shield generator on the forest moon of
Endor Endor or Ein Dor may refer to:
Places
* Endor (village), from the Hebrew Bible, a Canaanite village where the Witch of Endor lived
* Indur, a Palestinian village depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
* Ein Dor, a Kibbutz in modern Israel
Fi ...
; doing so will allow the Rebel fleet to destroy the Death Star. The team uses a stolen Imperial shuttle to arrive undetected and encounters a tribe of
Ewok
The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species
There are a number of lists of fictional species:
Extraterrestrial
*List of fictional extraterrestrials (by media type)
*Lists of fictional alien species: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, ...
s, gaining their trust after an initial conflict. Later, Luke tells Leia that she is his sister, Vader is their father, and that he must confront him. Surrendering to Imperial troops, he is brought before Vader, and fails to convince him to reject the dark side of the Force.
Vader brings Luke to the Emperor, who intends to turn him to the dark side, and reveals that his friends and the Rebel Fleet are headed into a trap. On Endor, Han's team is captured by Imperial forces, but a counterattack by the Ewoks allows the Rebels to infiltrate the shield generator. Meanwhile,
Lando Calrissian
Landonis Balthazar "Lando" Calrissian III is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) as an old friend of Han Solo and the administrator of the floating Cloud City on the gas p ...
in the ''
Millennium Falcon
The ''Millennium Falcon'' is a fictional starship in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Designed by Joe Johnston for the movie ''Star Wars'' (1977), it has subsequently appeared in '' The Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), ''The Empire Strikes Back ...
'' and
Admiral Ackbar
Fleet Admiral Gial Ackbar is a fictional character from the ''Star Wars'' franchise. A member of the amphibious Mon Calamari species, Ackbar was the foremost military commander of the Rebel Alliance, and led the attack against the second Dea ...
lead the Rebel assault on the second Death Star, finding 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, destroying a Rebel starship. He tempts Luke to give in to his anger. Luke attempts to attack him, but Vader intervenes and the two engage in a lightsaber duel. Vader senses that Luke has a sister and threatens to turn her to the dark side if Luke does not. In retaliation, Luke defeats Vader, severing his
prosthetic
In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...
hand. The Emperor orders Luke to take Vader's place, but Luke refuses, declaring himself to be a Jedi. Enraged, the Emperor begins torturing Luke to death with
Force lightning
The Force is a metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the '' Star Wars'' fictional universe. "Force-sensitive" characters use the Force throughout the franchise. Heroes like the Jedi seek to "become one with the Force", matching their personal wi ...
. Unwilling to let his son die, Vader betrays the Emperor by throwing him down a reactor shaft to his death, but he is mortally electrocuted in the process. At his redeemed father's last request, Luke removes Anakin’s mask and after a brief talk, he dies peacefully in Luke's arms.
After the strike team destroys the shield generator, Lando leads Rebel fighters into the Death Star's core. While the Rebel fleet destroys the
Imperial command ship, Lando and
X-wing fighter
The X-wing starfighter is a name applied to a family of fictional spacecraft manufactured by the Incom Corporation from the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Named for the distinctive shape made when its s-foils (wings) are in attack position, the X-win ...
pilot
Wedge Antilles
Wedge Antilles is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a supporting character portrayed by Denis Lawson in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. He is also featured in the ''Star Wars'' expanded universe, most notably as ...
destroy the Death Star's main reactor and escape before the station explodes. Meanwhile, Luke escapes in a shuttle. On Endor, Leia reveals to Han that Luke is her brother. Luke burns Vader's armor on a pyre and reunites with his friends. As the Rebels celebrate their victory, Luke notices the Force spirits of , Yoda, and Anakin watching nearby.
Cast
*
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...
as
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
, one of the last living
Jedi
Jedi (), Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are the main heroic protagonists of many works of the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, and later supporting the Rebel Alliance, the Jedi O ...
Knights, trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda; Leia's twin brother, Han's friend and Darth Vader's son who is also a skilled
X-wing fighter
The X-wing starfighter is a name applied to a family of fictional spacecraft manufactured by the Incom Corporation from the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Named for the distinctive shape made when its s-foils (wings) are in attack position, the X-win ...
pilot in the Rebellion.
*
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
as
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...
, captain of the ''
Millennium Falcon
The ''Millennium Falcon'' is a fictional starship in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Designed by Joe Johnston for the movie ''Star Wars'' (1977), it has subsequently appeared in '' The Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), ''The Empire Strikes Back ...
'' who becomes a General in the Rebellion; Luke's friend, and Leia's love interest.
*
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...
as
Leia Organa
Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the Star Wars (film), original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of th ...
, the former princess of the destroyed planet
Alderaan
Alderaan () is a fictional planet featured in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It is blue-green in appearance, depicted as a terrestrial planet with humanoid inhabitants, and characterized by a peaceful culture. It is the home planet of Princess Lei ...
, who is a leader of the Rebellion, Luke's twin sister, and Han's love interest.
*
Billy Dee Williams
William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thirt ...
as
Lando Calrissian
Landonis Balthazar "Lando" Calrissian III is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) as an old friend of Han Solo and the administrator of the floating Cloud City on the gas p ...
, the former Administrator of Cloud City who has become a General in the Rebellion; Han's old friend and the previous owner of the ''Millennium Falcon''.
*
Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 ''Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and h ...
as
C-3PO
C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to as ...
, a humanoid protocol droid in the service of the Rebellion and longtime companion of R2-D2
*
Peter Mayhew
Peter William Mayhew (19 May 1944 – 30 April 2019) was a British-American actor. He was best known for portraying Chewbacca in the ''Star Wars'' film series. He played the character in all of his live-action appearances from the 1977 origin ...
as
Chewbacca
Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and firs ...
, a
Wookiee
Wookiees () are fictional humanoid aliens in the ''Star Wars'' universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee is Chewbacca, c ...
who is Han's longtime friend, co-pilot of the ''Millennium Falcon'', and part of the Rebellion.
*
Kenny Baker as
**
R2-D2
R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...
, an astromech droid in the service of the Rebellion, loyal to Luke, and longtime companion of C-3PO
**
Paploo, an Ewok who distracts Scout troopers by hijacking a speeder bike
*
Ian McDiarmid
Ian McDiarmid (; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen, best known for portraying the Sith Lord Emperor Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the ''Star Wars'' multimedia franchise. Making his stage debut in '' ...
as
The Emperor, the founder and supreme ruler of the
Galactic Empire
Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fantasy and science fiction, particularly in works known as 'space operas'. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of s ...
, and Darth Vader's
Sith master.
Alan Webb was originally cast in the role but he dropped out due to illness.
Lindsay Anderson
Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for h ...
was offered the role but he declined due to scheduling conflicts with ''
Britannia Hospital
''Britannia Hospital'' is a 1982 British black comedy film, directed by Lindsay Anderson, which targets the National Health Service and contemporary British society. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and Fantasporto.
''Britannia ...
''.
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two ...
and
David Suchet
Sir David Courtney Suchet''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work on British stage and television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenh ...
were also considered.
*
Frank Oz
Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker.
He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...
as
Yoda
Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until ...
, a wise, centuries-old Jedi Master of an unknown alien species, who lives in exile on Dagobah and trained Luke.
*
David Prowse
David Charles Prowse (1 July 1935 – 28 November 2020) was an English actor, bodybuilder and weightlifter. He portrayed Darth Vader (voiced by American actor James Earl Jones) in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy and a manservant in Stanle ...
as
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
, a powerful Sith lord, the Emperor's apprentice, and second-in-command of the Empire; Luke and Leia's father.
**
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
as Darth Vader's voice
**
Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker
**
Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen (; born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the ''Star Wars'' media franchise. He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, '' Star Wars: Episode ...
as Anakin Skywalker (Spirit)
*
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (194 ...
as
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...
, the deceased Jedi mentor of Luke, and of his father before him, who continues to guide Luke in his journey as a Force spirit.
Denis Lawson
Denis Stamper Lawson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of ''Bleak House (2005 TV serial), Bleak House'', as Gordon Urquhart in the film ''Local Hero (f ...
reprises his role as
Wedge Antilles
Wedge Antilles is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a supporting character portrayed by Denis Lawson in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. He is also featured in the ''Star Wars'' expanded universe, most notably as ...
, an X-wing pilot in the Rebellion, from the previous two films.
Kenneth Colley
Kenneth Colley (born 7 December 1937) is an English film and television actor whose career spans over 60 years. He came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in the '' Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and '' ...
and
Jeremy Bulloch
Jeremy Andrew Bulloch (16 February 1945 – 17 December 2020) was an English actor. In a career that spanned six decades, he gained recognition for originating the physical portrayal of Boba Fett in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, appearing as th ...
reprise their roles from ''The Empire Strikes Back'' as
Admiral Piett
Admiral Firmus Piett is a fictional character from the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first introduced and portrayed by Kenneth Colley in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. As a supporting villain in command of Darth Vader's flagship, '' Execut ...
, the commander of Darth Vader's flagship, the ''
Executor
An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used.
Overview
An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...
'', and
bounty hunter
A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
Boba Fett
Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel fi ...
, respectively.
Michael Pennington
Michael Vivian Fyfe Pennington (born 7 June 1943) is a British actor, director and writer. Together with director Michael Bogdanov, he founded the English Shakespeare Company in 1986 and was its Joint Artistic Director until 1992. He has writt ...
portrays
Moff Jerjerrod
This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...
, the commander of the second Death Star.
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. He played the title character in ''Willow'' (1988) and the ''Leprechaun'' film series (1993–2003), several characters in the ''Star Wars'' film series (1983–2019), most nota ...
made his feature film debut and appears as
Wicket W. Warrick
Wicket Wystri Warrick, commonly known as Wicket W. Warrick, is a fictional character from the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first introduced and portrayed by Warwick Davis in the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi''. Warrick appeared in two made-for-televi ...
, an Ewok who befriends Princess Leia and leads her and her friends to the Ewok tribe. Baker had originally auditioned for the role as Wicket, but was replaced by Davis after falling ill with
food poisoning
Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food,
as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...
on the morning of the shoot. Davis had no previous film acting experience and was cast only after his grandmother discovered an open call for
dwarfs for the new ''Star Wars'' film.
Caroline Blakiston
Caroline Georgiana Blakiston (born 13 February 1933) is an English actress. She is best known in her native United Kingdom for her role in the television comedy series ''Brass'', to international audiences as Mon Mothma in the ''Star Wars'' film ...
portrays
Mon Mothma
Mon Mothma is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, primarily portrayed by actress Genevieve O'Reilly. Introduced as the leader of the Rebel Alliance in '' Star Wars: Return of the Jedi'' (1983), portrayed by Caroline Blakiston, M ...
, a co-founder and leader of the Rebel Alliance.
Michael Carter plays Jabba the Hutt's aide,
Bib Fortuna
Bib Fortuna is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The Twi'lek majordomo and chief aide of the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, Bib is Jabba's closest associate, succeeding him as daimyo after his death before ultimately being k ...
(voiced by
Erik Bauersfeld
Erik Bauersfeld (June 28, 1922 – April 3, 2016) was an American radio dramatist and voice actor. His most notable role was providing the voices of Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna in the third film of the original Star Wars trilogy, ''Return of ...
), while
Femi Taylor
Femi Taylor (born 8 April 1961) is a Nigerien-born British dancer and actress best known for portraying Jabba the Hutt's Twi'lek slave dancer List of Star Wars characters#O, Oola in the 1983 Film, motion picture ''Return of the Jedi''.
Career
...
and
Claire Davenport
Claire Bernice Davenport (24 April 1933 – 25 February 2002) was an English character actress well known for her large physique.
Life and career
Davenport was born on 24 April 1933 in Sale, Cheshire, and began acting in 1961 with a thea ...
appear as Jabba's original slave dancers.
To portray the numerous alien species featured in the film a multitude of puppeteers, voice actors, and stunt performers were employed.
Admiral Ackbar
Fleet Admiral Gial Ackbar is a fictional character from the ''Star Wars'' franchise. A member of the amphibious Mon Calamari species, Ackbar was the foremost military commander of the Rebel Alliance, and led the attack against the second Dea ...
, the commander of the Rebel Fleet during the Battle of Endor, was performed by puppeteer
Tim Rose
Timothy Alan Patrick Rose (September 23, 1940 – September 24, 2002) (unofficial website by long-term correspondent of Rose's) was an American singer and songwriter who spent much of his life in London, England, and had more success in E ...
, with his voice provided by Erik Bauersfeld.
Nien Nunb
Nien Nunb is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced in the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi'', he was brought to life both as a puppet and a costumed actor during the film. Nunb was puppeteered by Mike Quinn and was port ...
, who co-pilots the ''Millennium Falcon'' alongside Lando in the film, was portrayed by
Richard Bonehill in costume for full body shots, while he was otherwise a puppet operated by
Mike Quinn
Michael Patrick Quinn (born April 15, 1974) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos. ...
and his voice was provided by
Kipsang Rotich
Bill Kipsang Rotich, also known as Kipsang Rotich, is a voice actor best known for voicing the character Nien Nunb in the '' Star Wars'' films.
Early life
Bill Kipsang Rotich was born in 1958. Eldama Ravine, Koibatek, Kenya.
Education
He atten ...
. Rose also operated
Salacious B. Crumb, whose voice was provided by Mark Dodson. Quinn also played
Ree-Yees
This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...
and
Wol Cabbashite. Sy Snootles was a marionette operated by Rose and Quinn, while her voice was provided by Annie Arbogast. Others included Simon J. Williamson as
Max Rebo, a
Gamorrean Guard and a
Mon Calamari;
Deep Roy
Gurdeep Roy (born Mohinder Purba; 1 December 1957), known professionally as Deep Roy, is a Kenyan-British actor, puppeteer, and stuntman. At tall, he has often been cast as diminutive characters, such as Teeny Weeny in ''The NeverEnding Story' ...
as
Droopy McCool;
Ailsa Berk
Ailsa Berk is a British dancer, actress, and puppeteer.
She is well known for playing Aslan on British television with William Todd Jones in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' television serial which was aired by the BBC from 1988 to 1990.
Berk has ...
as
Amanaman; Paul Springer as
Ree-Yees
This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...
, Gamorrean Guard and a Mon Calamari; Hugh Spight as a Gamorrean Guard,
Elom and a Mon Calamari; Swee Lim as Attark the Hoover;
Richard Robinson as a
Yuzzum;
Gerald Home as
Tessek and a Mon Calamari officer;
Phil Herbert as Hermi Odle;
Tik and Tok
Tik and Tok are the robotic mime and music duo of Tim Dry and Sean Crawford. They began performing together with Shock, a rock/mime/burlesque/music troupe in the early 1980s with Barbie Wilde, Robert Pereno, L.A. Richards and Carole Caplin. ...
(
Tim Dry
Tim Dry (born 9 January 1952) is a mime artist, writer, photographic artist, musician and actor, best known for appearing in ''Return of the Jedi'' and the cult sci-fi/horror film ''Xtro''. Tim was a member of the duo Tik and Tok, that populari ...
and Sean Crawford) as
Whiphid and Yak-Face;
Phil Tippett
Phil Tippett (born September 27, 1951) is an American movie director and Oscar and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, ...
as the
Rancor
This is a list of creatures in the fictional universe of ''Star Wars'', a space opera media franchise. The types of creatures in this list are listed by category and then in alphabetical order.
Humans and humanoid sentient species
Humans
Human ...
with Michael McCormick; and
Pat Welsh as the voice of Boushh.
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a Character (arts), fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a ...
was operated by
Toby Philpott,
David Barclay, and
Mike Edmonds (who also portrays the Ewok Logray).
Larry Ward portrays the Huttese language voice with Quinn, among other roles, controlling the eyes. Barclay, Quinn, and David Greenaway assisted Frank Oz in performing Yoda.
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespe ...
auditioned for the role of Moff Jerjerrod but lost the role to Michael Pennington.
Production
Development
Following discussions between ''Star Wars'' creator
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
and producer
Howard Kazanjian
Howard G. Kazanjian (born July 26, 1942) is an Armenian-American film producer best known for the '' Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Return of the Jedi'', as well as the '' Indiana Jones'' movie '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. ...
, a sequel to ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' was swiftly put into production. As with the previous film, Lucas personally financed ''Return of the Jedi''. Lucas also chose not to direct ''Return of the Jedi'' himself, and started searching for a director.
[''Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy'' Star Wars Trilogy Box Set DVD documentary, 004/ref> Although Lucas' first choice was ]Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
, their separate feuds with the Director's Guild led to his being banned from directing the film. Lucas approached David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
, who had recently been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director
The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...
for ''The Elephant Man
Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...
'' in 1980, to helm ''Return of the Jedi'', but Lynch declined, saying that he had "next door to zero interest". David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...
was also offered the chance to direct, but he declined the offer to make ''Videodrome
''Videodrome'' is a 1983 Canadian Science fiction film, science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and Debbie Harry. Set in Toronto during the early 1980s, it follows the CEO o ...
'' and '' The Dead Zone''. Lamont Johnson
Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr. (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards.
Early years
Johnson was born in Stoc ...
, director of '' Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone'', was also considered. Lucas eventually chose Richard Marquand
Richard Alfred Marquand (22 September 1937 – 4 September 1987) was a British film and television director active in both US and UK film productions, best known for directing 1983's ''Return of the Jedi''. He also directed the critically accla ...
. Lucas may have directed some of the second unit
Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...
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. ''More American Graffiti
''More American Graffiti'' is a 1979 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Bill L. Norton, produced by Howard Kazanjian. It is the sequel to the 1973 film ''American Graffiti''. Whereas the first film followed a group of frien ...
'', ''Raiders of the Lost Ark
''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronal ...
''). Lucas did operate the B camera on the set a few times. Lucas himself has admitted to being on the set frequently because of Marquand's relative inexperience with special effects. Lucas praised Marquand as a "very nice person who worked well with actors".[''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' ]DVD commentary
An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
featuring George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carrie Fisher. Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...
, 2004 Marquand did note that Lucas kept a conspicuous presence on set, joking, "It is rather like trying to direct ''King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'' – with Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
in the next room!"
The screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
was written by Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Edward Kasdan (born January 14, 1949) is an American filmmaker. He is the co-writer of the ''Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''The Force Awakens'' (2015), and ''Solo: A Star Wars Stor ...
and Lucas (with uncredited contributions by David Peoples
David Webb Peoples (born February 9, 1940) is an American screenwriter who wrote ''Blade Runner'' (1982), ''Unforgiven'' (1992), and ''12 Monkeys'' (1995). He was nominated for Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards. He won the best screenplay a ...
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''. Kazanjian said the same to Lucas, and the title changed to Revenge of the Jedi one or two days later. The screenplay itself was not finished until rather late in pre-production
Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the content starts ...
, well after a production schedule
The production schedule is a project plan of how the production budget will be spent over a given timescale, for every phase of a business project.
The scheduling process starts with the script, which is analysed and broken down, scene by scene, ...
and budget
A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...
had been created by Kazanjian and Marquand had been hired, which was unusual for a film. Instead, the production team
A production team is the group of technical staff who produce a play, television show, recording, or film. Generally the term refers to all individuals responsible for the technical aspects of creating of a particular product, regardless of where ...
relied on Lucas' story and rough draft in order to commence work with the art department
Art department in filmmaking terms means the section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall ...
. When it came time to formally write a shooting script
A shooting script is the version of a screenplay used during the production of a motion picture. Shooting scripts are distinct from spec scripts in that they make use of scene numbers (along with certain other formatting conventions described belo ...
, Lucas, Kasdan, Marquand and Kazanjian spent two weeks in conference discussing ideas; Kasdan used tape transcripts of these meetings to then construct the script.
The issue of whether Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
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 ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' had made him an even bigger star. Kazanjian (who also produced ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'') convinced Ford to return:
I played a very important part in bringing Harrison back for ''Return of the Jedi.'' Harrison, unlike Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill signed only a two picture contract. That is why he was frozen in carbonite in ''The Empire Strikes Back''. When I suggested to George we should bring him back, I distinctly remember him saying that Harrison would never return. I said what if I convinced him to return. George simply replied that we would then write him in to ''Jedi''. I had just recently negotiated his deal for ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' with Phil Gersh of the Gersh Agency. I called Phil who said he would speak with Harrison. When I called back again, Phil was on vacation. David, his son, took the call and we negotiated Harrison's deal. When Phil returned to the office several weeks later he called me back and said I had taken advantage of his son in the negotiations. I had not. But agents are agents.
Ford suggested that Han Solo be killed through self-sacrifice. Kasdan concurred, saying it should happen near the beginning of the third act to instill doubt as to whether the others would survive, but Lucas was vehemently against it and rejected the concept. Gary Kurtz
Gary Douglas Kurtz (July 27, 1940 – September 23, 2018) was an American film producer whose list of credits includes ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Star Wars'' (1977), ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ''Retu ...
, who produced ''Star Wars'' and ''The Empire Strikes Back'' but was replaced as producer for ''Return of the Jedi'' by Kazanjian, said in 2010 that the ongoing success with ''Star Wars'' merchandise and toys led George Lucas to reject the idea of killing off Han Solo in the middle part of the film during a raid on an Imperial base. Luke Skywalker was also to have walked off alone and exhausted like the hero in a Spaghetti Western
The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
but, according to Kurtz, Lucas opted for a happier ending to encourage higher merchandise sales.[Geoff Boucher (August 12, 2010)]
"Did ''Star Wars'' become a toy story? Producer Gary Kurtz looks back"
. ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', Calendar section Harrison Ford himself has agreed with this sentiment, saying that Lucas "didn't see any future in dead Han toys."
Yoda was originally not meant to appear in the film, but Marquand strongly felt that returning to Dagobah
Dagobah is a fictional planet and eponymous star system appearing in the ''Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'', ''Return of the Jedi'', and ''Revenge of the Sith'', and other media. It is depicted as a world of murky swamps, steaming ...
was essential to resolve the dilemma raised by the previous film. 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. Many ideas from the original script were left out or changed. For instance, the Ewoks were going to be Wookiee
Wookiees () are fictional humanoid aliens in the ''Star Wars'' universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee is Chewbacca, c ...
s and the ''Millennium Falcon'' would be used in the arrival at the forest moon of Endor
Endor (designated: IX3244-A) is a fictional moon in the ''Star Wars'' universe, known for its endless forests, savannahs, grasslands, mountain ranges, and a few oceans. The moon was the site of a pivotal battle depicted in ''Return of the Jedi'' ...
. Following the defeat of the Emperor, the film was originally intended to end with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda returning to life from their spectral existence in the Force
The Force is a metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the '' Star Wars'' fictional universe. "Force-sensitive" characters use the Force throughout the franchise. Heroes like the Jedi seek to "become one with the Force", matching their personal wi ...
, along with Anakin Skywalker, thanks to Yoda being able to prevent him from becoming one with the Force. They would then join the rest of the characters in their celebration on Endor.
Filming
Filming
Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of Film, motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography.
Cinematographers use a lens (o ...
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
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
(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. Working on a budget of $32.5 million, Lucas was determined to avoid going over budget as had happened with ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Kazanjian estimated that using ILM (owned wholly by Lucasfilm) for special effects saved the production approximately $18 million. 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. The project was given the working title
A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
''Blue Harvest'' with a tagline of "Horror Beyond Imagination." This disguised what the production crew was really filming from fans and the press, and also prevented price gouging
Price gouging is a pejorative term used to describe the situation when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or ...
by service providers.
The first stage of production started with 78 days at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...
in England, 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. (This was the only major sequence cut from the film during editing.) While attempting to film Luke Skywalker's battle with the rancor
This is a list of creatures in the fictional universe of ''Star Wars'', a space opera media franchise. The types of creatures in this list are listed by category and then in alphabetical order.
Humans and humanoid sentient species
Humans
Human ...
beast, Lucas insisted on trying to create the scene in the same style as Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
's ''Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
'' 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. In April, the crew moved to the Yuma Desert
The Yuma Desert is a lower-elevation section of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and the northwest of Mexico. It lies in the Salton basin. The desert contains areas of sparse vegetation and has notable areas of sand dunes. With ...
in Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
for two weeks of Tatooine exteriors. Production then moved to the redwood
Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...
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
San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...
for about ten days of bluescreen shots. One of two "skeletal" post-production units shooting background matte plates spent a day in Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth.
Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...
. The other was a special Steadicam
Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizer mounts for Movie camera, motion picture cameras invented by Garrett Brown and introduced in 1975 by Cinema Products Corporation. It was designed to isolate the camera from the camera operator's movement ...
unit shooting forest backgrounds from June 15 to June 17, 1982, for the speeder chase near the middle of the film. Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown
Garrett Brown (born April 6, 1942) is an American inventor, best known as the creator of the Steadicam. Brown's invention allows camera operators to film while walking without the normal shaking and jostles of a handheld camera. The Steadicam wa ...
personally operated these shots as he walked through a disguised path inside the forest shooting at less than one frame per second
Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images ( frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be c ...
. By walking at about and projecting the footage at 24 frame/s, the motion seen in the film appeared as if it were moving at around . Darth Vader's small funeral was filmed at Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch is a movie ranch and workplace of film director, writer and producer George Lucas located in a secluded area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, named for an early-20th-century la ...
.
Harrison Ford altered some scenes during the shoot, causing Billy Dee Williams to forget some of his lines, which was a source of frustration for Marquand. Marquand and Anthony Daniels also clashed somewhat, leading to the latter recording his ADR ADR or adr may refer to:
Computing
* Asynchronous DRAM refresh, an approach for persistent memory found in some Intel Xeon processors
* The adr microformat, part of the hCard microformat
* Architectural decision record
* Action–domain–respond ...
with Lucas instead.
Post-production
While Lucasfilm was testing the film in a commercial theater, they would begin running into troubles. George Lucas and his employees could not hear many of the sound effects they had mixed. For instance, during one of the classic Princess Leia scenes, her theme was nowhere to be heard. The timeless soundtrack and sound effects that made Star Wars so memorable were not there. To make matters worse, the background noise in the theater became so bad that it muffled the majority of the sound from the film when it was played through the theater's commercial sound system. Many theaters at the time had poor room acoustics with mono surround sound. Lucas would solve the problem by ensuring that the theaters played his movies would project all of the intended sound he heard during the mix. Therefore, he decided to create a new company called THX
THX Ltd. is an American company that develops the eponymous high fidelity audio/visual reproduction standards for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, car audio systems, and video games. Founded ...
. Meanwhile, special effect
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
s 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. 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, all VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954.
Paramount never used anamorphic processes such as 2.55: 1, CinemaScope but refi ...
optical effects
Compositing is the process or technique of combining visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously ca ...
remained in-house, since ILM was the only company capable of using the format, while about 400 4-perf
Negative pulldown is the manner in which an image is exposed on a film stock, described in the number of film perforations spanned by an individual frame. It can also describe the orientation of the image on the negative, whether it is captured ho ...
opticals were subcontracted to outside effects houses. Progress on the opticals was severely delayed for a time when ILM rejected about of film when the film perforations
Film perforations, also known as perfs and sprocket holes, are the holes placed in the film stock during manufacturing and used for transporting (by sprockets and claws) and steadying (by pin registration) the film. Films may have different types ...
failed image registration and steadiness tests.
Music
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
composed and conducted the film's musical score with performances by the London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
. Orchestration credits also include Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); ''The Sha ...
. The initial release of the film's soundtrack was on the RSO Records
RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation.
RSO managed the careers of several maj ...
label in the United States. Sony Classical Records
Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...
acquired the rights to the classic trilogy scores in 2004 after gaining the rights to release the second trilogy soundtracks (''The Phantom Menace
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' and ''Attack of the Clones
Attack may refer to:
Warfare and combat
* Offensive (military)
* Charge (warfare)
* Attack (fencing)
* Strike (attack)
* Attack (computing)
* Attack aircraft
Books and publishing
* ''The Attack'' (novel), a book
* '' Attack No. 1'', comic ...
''). 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.
Release
''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 the original ''Star Wars'' film. With a massive worldwide marketing campaign, illustrator Tim Reamer created the 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'' (re-titled ''Episode IV: 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 rereleased on March 14, 1997 (moved up one week from its original announced release date of March 7 due to the box office success of ''The Empire Strikes Back'' the month prior), with a number of changes and additions, including the insertion of several alien band members and a different song in Jabba's throne room, the modification of the Sarlacc to include a beak, the replacement of music at the closing scene, and a montage of different alien worlds celebrating the fall of the Empire. The runtime of the 1997 Special Edition of the film and all subsequent releases is approximately five minutes longer than the original theatrical version.
Title change
The original teaser trailer
A teaser (or more specifically teaser trailer) is a mini- trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release move or television show advertisement. Short in length, te ...
for the film carried the name ''Revenge of the Jedi''. In December 1982, Lucas decided that "Revenge" was not appropriate as a 'true Jedi should never seek revenge' and returned to his original title. By that time thousands of "Revenge" teaser posters (with artwork by Drew Struzan
Drew Struzan (; born March 18, 1947) is an American artist, illustrator and cover designer. He is known for his more than 150 movie posters, which include ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ''Blade Runner'', ''Mallrats'', as well as films in the ''In ...
) had been printed and distributed. Lucasfilm stopped the shipping of the posters and sold the remaining stock of 6,800 posters to ''Star Wars'' fan club members for $9.50.
'' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'', released in 2005 as part of the prequel trilogy, later alluded to the dismissed title ''Revenge of the Jedi''.
Home media
The original theatrical version of ''Return of the Jedi'' was released on VHS and Laserdisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
several times between 1986 and 1995, 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.
On September 21, 2004, the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy was released in a boxset on DVD with digital restoration and additional alterations made by Lucas.
In this version of ''Return of the Jedi'', Sebastian Shaw's portrayal of Anakin's spirit is replaced by Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen (; born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the ''Star Wars'' media franchise. He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, '' Star Wars: Episode ...
, who portrayed Anakin in ''Attack of the Clones'' and ''Revenge of the Sith''. All three films of the trilogy were released individually on Limited Edition DVDs on September 12, 2006, with the original unaltered versions included as bonus features. These were collected in a box set on November 4, 2008.
A Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
Disc version of the six-film ''Star Wars'' saga was released in September 2011, which incorporated more small changes to ''Return of the Jedi'', including making the Ewoks blink and having Vader yell "No!" as he throws the Emperor down the Death Star shaft; the latter change drew sharp negative criticism. Several deleted scenes from the film were included as special features, including a completed scene in which Vader communicates with Luke via the Force as Luke assembles his new lightsaber before infiltrating Jabba's palace, a sandstorm sequence following the Sarlacc Pit rescue, and a scene featuring Moff Jerjerrod and Death Star officers during the Battle of Endor.
On April 7, 2015, Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released ''Star Wars'' films. ''Return of the Jedi'' was released through the iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
, Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...
, Vudu
Vudu is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand rentals and digital purchases of films, ...
, Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...
, and Disney Movies Anywhere
Movies Anywhere (MA) is a cloud-based digital rights locker and over-the-top streaming platform that allows users to stream and download purchased films, including digital copies redeemed from codes found in home video releases as well as d ...
on April 10, 2015.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...
reissued ''Return of the Jedi'' on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on September 22, 2019. Additionally, all six films were available for 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...
streaming on Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
upon the service's launch on November 12, 2019. This version of the film was released by Disney on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray box set on March 31, 2020.
Reception
Box office
''Return of the Jedi'' grossed $309.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $166 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $475.3 million, against a production budget of about $32.5 million.
The film made $23 million from 1,002 theaters in its opening weekend and grossed a record $45.3 million in its opening week. It finished first at the box office for six of its first seven weeks of release, only coming in second once behind ''Superman III
''Superman III'' is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the third installment in the ''Superman'' film series and a sequel to ''Su ...
'' in its fourth weekend. Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon.
History
Brandon Gray began ...
estimates that the film sold over 80 million tickets in the US in its initial theatrical run. When it was re-released in 1985, it made $11.2 million, which totaled its initial theatrical gross to $385.8 million worldwide.
Critical response
According to the review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, 83% of critics have given the film a positive review with an average rating of 7.30/10, based on reviews from critics. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though failing to reach the cinematic heights of its predecessors, ''Return of the Jedi'' remains an entertaining sci-fi adventure and a fitting end to the classic trilogy." At Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 24 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film four out of four stars, calling it "a complete entertainment, a feast for the eyes and a delight for the fancy. It's a little amazing how Lucas and his associates keep topping themselves." Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...
of the ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' also gave the film four stars out of four and wrote, "From the moment that the familiar ''Star Wars'' introductory words begin to crawl up the screen, ''Return of the Jedi'' is a childlike delight. It's the best video game around. And for the professional moviegoers, it is particularly enjoyable to watch every facet of filmmaking at its best."
James Harwood of ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called the film "a visual treat throughout," but thought that "Hamill is not enough of a dramatic actor to carry the plot load here" and Harrison Ford "is present more in body than in spirit this time, given little to do but react to special effects. And it can't be said that either Carrie Fisher or Billy Dee Williams rise to previous efforts. But Lucas and director Richard Marquand have overwhelmed these performer flaws with a truly amazing array of creatures, old and new, plus the familiar space hardware." Sheila Benson
Sheila Benson (December 4, 1930February 23, 2022) was an American journalist and film critic. She served as film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1981 to 1991.
Early life and education
Benson was born in New York City on December 4, 193 ...
of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote that the film "is fully satisfying, it gives honest value to all the hopes of its believers. With this last of the central ''Star Wars'' cycle, there is the sense of the closing of a circle, of leaving behind real friends. It is accomplished with a weight and a new maturity that seem entirely fitting, yet the movie has lost none of its sense of fun; it bursts with new inventiveness."
Gary Arnold of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' said, "''Return of the Jedi,'' a feat of mass enchantment, puts the happy finishing touches on George Lucas' ''Star Wars'' saga. It was worth the wait, and the work is now an imposing landmark in contemporary popular culture—a three-part, 6¼-hour science-fiction epic of unabashed heroic proclivities." The film was also featured on the May 23, 1983, ''TIME magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
'' cover issue (where it was labeled "Star Wars III"), where the reviewer Gerald Clarke said 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.
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called ''Return of the Jedi'' "by far the dimmest adventure of the lot" and stated, "The joys of watching space battles as envisioned by wizards in studios and laboratories are not inexhaustible." Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...
of ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' stated, "Some of the trick effects might seem miraculous if the imagery had any lustre, but ''Return of the Jedi'' is an impersonal and rather junky piece of moviemaking."
Christopher John reviewed ''The Return of the Jedi'' in '' Ares Magazine'' #15 and commented that "''Star Wars'' may not be dead, but ''Return of the Jedi'' is a failure, and is a cheap and tarnished crown for the series which shook the world of film when it started out . . . a long time ago, in that galaxy far, far away."
Colin Greenland
Colin Greenland (born 17 May 1954 in Dover, Kent, England) is a British science fiction writer, whose first story won the second prize in a 1982 Faber & Faber competition. His best-known novel is ''Take Back Plenty'' (1990), winner of both majo ...
reviewed ''Return of the Jedi'' for ''Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
'' magazine, and stated that "You would think a series like ''Star Wars'', fuelled by public adoration, coasting along on the hyperdrive of its own hyperboles, would get inexorably worse. It is not. It is getting better."
Accolades
At the 56th Academy Awards
The 56th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1983 and took place on April 9, 1984, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, beginning at 6:00 p. ...
in 1984, Richard Edlund
Richard Edlund, (born December 6, 1940) is an American visual effects artist and inventor. He was a founding member of Industrial Light & Magic, having already founded Pignose amplifiers, and later co-founded Boss Film Studios and DuMonde VFX. H ...
, Dennis Muren
Dennis Muren, A.S.C (born November 1, 1946) is an American film visual effects artist and supervisor. He has worked on the films of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron, among others, and has won nine Oscars in total: eight for Bes ...
, Ken Ralston
Kenneth Ralston (born 1954) is an American visual effects artist, currently the Visual Effect Supervisor and Creative Head at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Ralston began his career at the commercial animation and visual effects company, Cascade Picture ...
, and Phil Tippett
Phil Tippett (born September 27, 1951) is an American movie director and Oscar and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, ...
received the "Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of
a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production.
The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
." Norman Reynolds
Norman Reynolds (26 March 1934 – April 2023) was a British production designer and director, best known for his work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy and ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''.
Reynolds was born in Willesden, London, on 26 March ...
, Fred Hole
Fred Hole (8 May 1935 – 4 February 2011) was an English art director#In film, art director. He was nominated for an Academy Awards, Academy Award in the category Academy Award for Best Production Design, Best Art Direction for the film ''R ...
, James L. Schoppe, and Michael Ford were nominated for "Best Art Direction/Set Decoration". Ben Burtt
Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director and editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' film series, ''Invasion of the Body ...
received a nomination for "Best Sound Effects Editing". John Williams received the nomination for "Best Music, Original Score". Burtt, Gary Summers
Gary Summers is an American re-recording mixer, sound re-recording mixer.
He has done the sound re-recording on a number of blockbuster motion pictures including ''Avatar (2009 film), Avatar'', ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', ''Terminator 2: Ju ...
, Randy Thom
David Randall Thom (born August 21, 1951) is an American sound designer and the current director of sound design at Skywalker Sound.
Career
Randy Thom began working at FM radio station WYSO at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio as a voluntee ...
and Tony Dawe all received the nominations for "Best Sound".
At the 1984 BAFTA Awards
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
, Edlund, Muren, Ralston, and Kit West
Kit West (6 February 1936 – 17 April 2016) was a British special effects artist who was most known for his work in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', ''Return of the Jedi'' and ''Dune''.
Early life
Born in London, his early films were government an ...
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", the older award for science fiction and fantasy in film, at the 1984 Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
s.
In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
by the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
; American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
Lists
: AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies – Nominated
: AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Thrills – Nominated
Legacy
James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk, reviewing the 1997 Special Edition re-release, assessed ''Return of the Jedi'' as "the least of the three" original films, but "still a magnificent experience in its own right. Its main problem is that it tends to lean too much on the slick commercialism generated by the first two installments." ReelViews.net's James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...
wrote of the Special Edition:
While the Sarlacc battle sequence, the speeder bike chase, the space battle, and Luke's duel against Vader are all well-regarded, the battle between Ewoks and stormtroopers remains controversial. Fans are divided on the likelihood of Ewoks (being a primitive race of small creatures) 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 they did not really win.[''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' ]DVD commentary
An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
featuring George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carrie Fisher. Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...
, 2004 His inspiration for the Ewoks' victory came from the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, where the Viet Cong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
prevailed against the technologically superior United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Marketing
Novelization
The novelization of ''Return of the Jedi'' was written by James Kahn
James Kahn (born December 30, 1947) is an American medical specialist and writer, best known for his novelization of ''Return of the Jedi''. Born in Chicago, Kahn received a degree in medical studies from the University of Chicago. His post-gra ...
and was released on May 12, 1983, thirteen days before the film's release.
Radio drama
A three-hour radio drama adaptation of the film was written by Brian Daley
Brian Charles Daley (December 22, 1947 – February 11, 1996) was an American science fiction novelist. He also adapted for radio the ''Star Wars'' radio dramas and wrote all of its episodes.
Biography
Daley was born in Englewood, New Jersey ...
with additional material contributed by John Whitman and was produced for and broadcast on National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
in 1996 (over a decade after the radio adaptations of the first two ''Star Wars'' films). It was based on characters and situations created by George Lucas and on the screenplay by Kasdan and Lucas. Anthony Daniels reprised his role from the film as C-3PO, but Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams (who lent their voices to the previous radio adaptations) were replaced by newcomer Joshua Fardon and character actor Arye Gross
Arye Gross (; born March 17, 1960) is an American actor, who has appeared on a variety of television shows in numerous roles, most notably Adam Greene in the ABC sitcom ''Ellen''.
Personal life
Gross was born on March 17, 1960, in Los Angeles ...
, respectively. Bernard Behrens and Brock Peters
Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in th ...
reprised their roles as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, respectively. John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...
voiced Yoda, and veteran character actor Ed Begley, Jr. played Boba Fett. Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...
voiced Jabba the Hutt, speaking only in grunts.
Comic book adaptation
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
published a comic book adaptation of the film by writer Archie Goodwin and artists Al Williamson
Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy.
Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...
, Carlos Garzon, Tom Palmer, and Ron Frenz
Ronald Wade Frenz (born February 1, 1960) is an American comics artist known for his work for Marvel Comics. He is well known for his 1980s work on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and later for his work on '' Spider-Girl'' whom he co-created with writ ...
. The adaptation appeared in ''Marvel Super Special
''Marvel Comics Super Special'' was a 41-issue series of one-shot (comics), one-shot comic-magazines published by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cents to 60 cents, B ...
'' #27 and as a four-issue limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
*Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
. It was later reprinted in a mass market paperback, as well as collections of Marvel's self-titled ''Star Wars'' series. Marvel Super Special #27 was mistakenly released in April 1983, a month before the film itself, giving away spoilers to the film's plot. Hamill is a comic book fan and while he was in a comic book store, he discovered that the comic book was on sale there and alerted Lucasfilm. According to Carol Kalish
Carol Kalish (February 14, 1955Kraft, David Anthony. 1984, "Sales Director Carol Kalish: Marvel's Direct Sales Manager Tells Her Side," ''Comics Interview'', vol. 1, no. 18, pp. 57-71. – September 5, 1991) was an American writer, editor, comic bo ...
who was Marvel's direct sales manager at the time, Marvel quickly recalled the book upon learning this mistake though it did not stop the premature revelation of the secrets of the film's plot. Kalish kept her job, as did everyone else in the Sales Department, as the incident was apparently considered a simple mistake.[David, Peter. "I Have it on Reliable Authority", ''But I Digress'' collection, 1994, Page 168, Reprinted from ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', January 8, 1993]
Book-and-record set
Lucasfilm adapted the story for a children's book-and-record set
Book-and-record sets are a form of entertainment for children, consisting of a picture storybook (often in comic book format, with drawings or photos) and an accompanying recording (originally in the form of a vinyl record; later in cassette tape ...
. Released in 1983, the 24-page ''Star Wars: Return of the Jedi'' read-along book was accompanied by a 33⅓ rpm gramophone record
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
. Each page of the book contained a cropped frame
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
from the film with an abridged and condensed version of the story. The record was produced by Buena Vista Records
Disney Music Group (DMG) is the music recording arm of Disney Platform Distribution, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It is located at the studio's headquarters in Burbank, California. The division's subsidiaries consist of two owned record ...
.
Prequels and sequels
16 years after the release of ''Return of the Jedi'', Lucas wrote and directed the prequel trilogy, consisting of the films ''The Phantom Menace
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', ''Attack of the Clones
Attack may refer to:
Warfare and combat
* Offensive (military)
* Charge (warfare)
* Attack (fencing)
* Strike (attack)
* Attack (computing)
* Attack aircraft
Books and publishing
* ''The Attack'' (novel), a book
* '' Attack No. 1'', comic ...
'', and ''Revenge of the Sith
Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...
''. The films chronicle the history between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, and the latter's fall to the darkside and transformation into Darth Vader. The prequel trilogy was financially successful, and polarized critics and fans on their release for the storylines and some new characters.[Multiple sources, in chronological order:
*
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]
Following Lucas's sale of the ''Star Wars'' franchise to The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
in 2012, Disney developed a sequel trilogy, consisting of ''The Force Awakens'', ''The Last Jedi'', and ''The Rise of Skywalker''. Original trilogy cast including Ford, Hamill, and Fisher reprised their roles, alongside new characters portrayed by Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, and Oscar Isaac. Star Wars#Films, Standalone films and Star Wars#Television, television series have also been released, exploring adventures set around the main trilogy arcs. Most relevantly, the Disney+ streaming shows ''The Book of Boba Fett'', ''The Mandalorian'' and the latter's upcoming spin-offs are set beginning a few years after ''Return of the Jedi'', and bridge the time period between that film and ''The Force Awakens''.
See also
* Princess Leia's bikini
Notes
References
Works cited
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External links
* at
* at
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{{Authority control
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