Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi

Opening crawl

Plot summary

Vader's arrival to the Death Star

Almost a year following the events depicted in The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader arrives at the docking bay of the still-under-construction second Death Star. This battle station was designed by the Empire to be even more potent than its predecessor. Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod welcomes him, but Vader insists that the construction timetable be accelerated to ensure the Death Star's timely completion. Jerjerrod contends that they require additional personnel, but he quickly consents to intensify their endeavors upon learning of the Emperor's impending arrival.

Arriving at Jabba's Palace

In the meantime, Luke Skywalker and his companions have journeyed to Tatooine with the intention of rescuing their comrade Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt's desert palace.

Initially, the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO appear bearing a holographic message from Skywalker, requesting Jabba to liberate Solo. In return, the two droids are presented as gifts to the crime lord; Luke assures him that they are both diligent and will serve him well, to which Jabba silently agrees. However, after the message concludes, he declares that there will be no negotiation and that he will not relinquish his "favorite decoration." Subsequently, the two droids are escorted to their quarters, where EV-9D9 scolds them harshly as they explain their capabilities. 3PO is assigned the role of Jabba's interpreter, while R2 is tasked with maintaining the Khetanna.

That evening, the Max Rebo Band (fronted by Sy Snootles) provides entertainment for the Hutt's guests. Jabba, captivated by the graceful movements of his collared slave girl Oola, begins pulling on her chain and beckoning her to approach him on his throne. Oola fearfully resists, and in response, Jabba presses a button on his throne, causing Oola to fall through a concealed trapdoor at the base of his throne, into the lair of the rancor monster, which immediately consumes her.

Saving Han Solo

Later on, Princess Leia Organa (disguised as bounty hunter Boushh) arrives with Chewbacca as her "prisoner" to claim a portion of the bounty Jabba had offered years prior when he placed a price on Solo's head. After considerable negotiation (including Leia threatening Jabba with a thermal detonator), Jabba reaches an agreement and has Chewbacca imprisoned.

That night, Leia frees Han Solo from his carbonite encasement, and after revealing her identity, she kisses him. As they attempt to escape, they are intercepted by Jabba and his henchmen. Disregarding Han's pleas, Jabba has the captain incarcerated with Chewbacca. Although Lando Calrissian (disguised as one of Jabba's prison guards) attempts to abscond with Leia, Jabba thwarts them and orders a Gamorrean guard to bring Leia to him. Leia warns the Hutt that he will regret capturing the Rebels, but Jabba ignores the threat and licks her face. Leia is compelled to become Jabba's newest slave girl, forced to wear a dancing costume and chained to the throne as a trophy.

Luke Skywalker arrives at the palace

Subsequently, Luke arrives at the palace. Jabba and the majority of his court are asleep, but they are awakened by Bib Fortuna (who, in an attempt to impede the Jedi's entrance, is Force-tricked into welcoming him). Leia remains silent beside the Hutt, despite her growing hope upon seeing Luke. Luke demands that Jabba release Han and his other companions, but Jabba rejects the young Jedi's offer. Luke employs the Force to retrieve a nearby blaster and attempts to shoot Jabba, but the Hutt activates the trapdoor to shield himself, dropping the Jedi and an unfortunate guard into the rancor pit.

Following a battle with the rancor (which devours the fallen guard), Luke ultimately slays the monster by crushing it beneath the gate of its enclosure, piercing its neck with the spikes at the bottom of the gate. He is then captured and brought before Jabba's thugs. Jabba, enraged, chokes Leia until she falls back onto his stomach, and orders the prisoners to be brought before him. Luke, Han, and Chewbacca are presented before Jabba, exchanging expressions of relief at each other's safety as Leia struggles with Jabba to sit upright before him.

Utilizing C-3PO as a translator, Jabba condemns Luke and his friends to be taken to the Dune Sea for termination (over a period of a thousand years) by the man-eating sarlacc at the Great Pit of Carkoon. Leia is spared from execution since she is Jabba's preferred slave. As Jabba commands the prisoners to be taken away, Luke warns him that he has made his final mistake, to which the Hutt responds with amusement.

Skirmish at the Great Pit of Carkoon

Jabba, accompanied by Leia and several of his thugs, travels to the Pit of Carkoon aboard his sail barge, while the prisoners are transported on a smaller skiff. En route, R2-D2 is assigned the task of serving drinks to Jabba's guests, and the Max Rebo Band performs music in the background. Jabba permits Leia to dismount from his throne and observe her friends from a window. After a while, he tugs on her chain, playfully directing her to come to him. Leia glares back at him and resumes watching, and Jabba chuckles. He later pulls her chain again, this time compelling her to run to him on his throne. Jabba then informs Leia that she will soon learn to appreciate him and makes her drink from his goblet.

Outside, Luke and his companions (along with Lando, still in disguise) discuss their predicament. Han, still partially blinded by the side effects of carbonization, is convinced that they are all going to perish, and Luke attempts to reassure him of their eventual safety, but Han remains unconvinced. Elsewhere on the sail barge, C-3PO inadvertently collides with R2-D2, causing the shorter droid's drink tray to spill. C-3PO laments their friends' impending deaths, but R2-D2 exhibits a sense of confidence, for which C-3PO sees no justification.

Upon reaching the pit, Jabba has C-3PO announce the group's impending deaths, but states that he is now willing to listen to their pleas. Han insults Jabba and declares that he will derive no pleasure from their pleading, much to the Hutt's amusement. Luke offers Jabba a final opportunity to free him and his friends or face death. Jabba and his guests dismiss this final threat and order the execution to commence. Luke is ushered off a plank and into the sarlacc, only to use the Force to leap back into the air and onto the skiff. Simultaneously, R2-D2 launches Luke's newly built lightsaber from a concealed panel in his housing, and Luke catches it and begins to attack his captors. As Jabba furiously orders his thugs to intervene, C-3PO is knocked over. Leia surveys the scene, prepared to exploit her feigned submission to the Hutt to her advantage.

Boba Fett employs his jetpack to fly off the barge and land on the skiff as Luke is in the process of freeing Han and Chewbacca. Luke uses his lightsaber to bisect Fett's blaster, and Chewbacca shoves the bounty hunter onto the deck. Luke then leaps onto another of the accompanying skiffs to combat the thugs there.

During the fight with the skiff pilot, Lando falls off the side of the skiff, and although he manages to cling to a wire, one of the sarlacc's tentacles begins to drag him to his demise, necessitating a careful rescue by Han and Chewbacca. Han inadvertently activates Fett's backpack when he turns around and strikes it with the butt of an axe. Fett subsequently flies uncontrollably from the skiff, colliding with the hull of the barge before plunging into the sarlacc's open mouth, causing it to belch.

Aboard the sail barge, Leia destroys the controls for the sail barge's interior lights, plunging it into darkness, and proceeds to strangle Jabba with her chain, killing him. Leia jumps off the throne and has R2-D2 help break her chain, then heads for the stairs to the top level of the sail barge. Meanwhile, Salacious B. Crumb attacks the fallen C-3PO, and R2-D2 uses the same device he'd freed Leia with to chase the lizard-monkey away. Reaching the surface, the droids jump off the edge of the sail barge and land in the Tatooinian sand.

Luke and Leia defeat the remaining thugs on the sail barge, then Luke has Leia point the gun toward the heart of the vehicle. They prepare to swing from a loose cable on the barge's sails, and Luke discharges the gun, beginning to destroy the barge. They swing to their rescue on the land skiff with Han, Lando, and Chewbacca, then use magnets to pick up the two droids from the sand. They all drive off just as the sail barge explodes.

Later, the crew departs Tatooine, all but Luke and R2-D2 headed for the rendezvous point near Sullust where the Rebel Alliance is assembling, while Luke and R2-D2 (in their X-wing) head for Dagobah to fulfill a promise to Yoda.

The Emperor arrives

On the second Death Star, the Emperor, Darth Sidious, arrives and praises Darth Vader on his efforts in the construction of the Death Star. He also senses that Vader craves the continuation of his search for his son, Luke. The old Sith Lord assures his apprentice that Luke will seek Vader out, that only together would the Sith be able to turn Luke to the dark side of the Force, and that everything was proceeding as the Emperor has foreseen.

Returning to Dagobah

Luke and R2-D2 arrive on Dagobah to find a terminally ill Yoda. Luke has returned to complete his Jedi training, but Yoda declares no further training is required. All that remains for Luke is to confront Vader. Yoda then reveals that Vader is indeed his father. The 900-year-old Jedi Master gives one last mention of wisdom to the young Jedi before he dies, disappearing in the way Obi-Wan Kenobi did aboard the first Death Star, thereby becoming one with the Force.

As Luke approaches his X-wing, the ghost form of Obi-Wan confirms that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi Knight who turned to the dark side of the Force. Kenobi also reveals that Luke has a twin sister, hidden from Luke at birth as protection from the Emperor. Luke senses that his sister is Leia. Kenobi warns Luke to bury his feelings, for they could in time "serve the Emperor."

The mission begins

At the rendezvous point near Sullust, the Rebel Alliance gathers to reveal plans to attack the Death Star. As part of the plans, Luke, Leia, Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and a strike team must penetrate the deflector shield generator on the forest moon of Endor in order to deactivate the shield if the Rebel fleet is to attack the Death Star. However, Vader knows this because he could sense that his son was with them and allows them to land on the planet. Luke senses his father as well and begins to believe that he has endangered the mission by coming.

The strike team lands on Endor only to be discovered by Imperial scout troopers. A speeder bike chase ensues, only for Leia to be thrown off her speeder and knocked unconscious. Luke and Han discover Leia's helmet, then they, with Chewbacca and the droids, try to find her. Leia is awakened by one of Endor's forest creatures, an Ewok named Wicket W. Warrick. Suddenly, another scout trooper discovers Leia, but Wicket does away with the trooper before rescuing Leia.

Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and the droids, meanwhile, fall into a booby trap set by the Ewoks. R2-D2 cuts open the net, setting them free, but the Ewok tribe discovers C-3PO and proclaims him to be their god. The droid's Human and Wookiee friends are taken prisoner, and the Ewoks proclaim Han to be the main course in a banquet in C-3PO's honor. Discovered by Leia, Luke then uses the Force to levitate C-3PO to show off his "great magic." Convinced of the Rebels' good intentions, the Ewoks set them free and later that evening make them "part of the tribe," thereby agreeing to join the fight against the Empire. But Luke decides the time has come to leave Endor and face Darth Vader. Leia follows Luke out of the tribal gathering, whereupon he tells her that Vader is his father and she is his sister. Leia is utterly shocked, but accepts the truth. She is comforted by Han Solo.

Meeting the Emperor

Vader arrives in his shuttle on a docking bay, and Luke, having already surrendered to the Empire, talks with Vader in an attempt to bring the Sith Lord out of the dark side of the Force, but to no avail. The Empire takes Luke into custody for transportation to the Death Star. The next day, the Rebels attempt to locate the shield generator, and the Rebel fleet enters hyperspace from Sullust to prepare for the final attack. Luke and Vader finally enter the Death Star and confront the Emperor, who looks forward to completing Luke's training and believes that while Vader would never turn from the dark side, neither would Luke. He also reveals that it was he who coordinated the Rebels finding the secret plans and locating the shield generator so that the Alliance can fall into a trap of Sidious' devising.

The Battle of Endor begins

The Rebels enter the heart of the shield generator, only to be taken prisoner by the Imperial forces. The fleet emerges from hyperspace for the battle, but discovers the shield is still up. As they contemplate their options, the Imperial fleet, which they were led to believe was away, appears and an intense battle begins. Han and the strike team are led out of the bunker by the stormtroopers, but the droids and the Ewoks have already orchestrated the attack on the Empire, and another intense battle commences with the Rebels and Ewoks on one side, the Empire on another. The Emperor shows Luke the full power of the Death Star as the station, now fully operational, destroys one of the Alliance's ships. Meanwhile, on Endor, the battle continues, with casualties (Rebel, stormtrooper, and Ewok) already mounting. Eventually, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca gain access to the bunker.

Duel between father and son

Back on the Death Star, Luke, with the encouragement of Darth Sidious, lashes out at him with his lightsaber, only to be deflected by Vader, and the final duel between father and son begins. As Luke climbs onto a balcony, Vader throws his lightsaber at his son. It misses Luke and knocks the balcony down, taking Luke with it. Vader stalks for a hidden Luke to let down his guard, while quietly sensing within his son's mind that Luke has a sister. Vader threatens to turn her to the dark side if Luke will not, prompting Luke to respond viciously in intense saber fighting, up to the point where Luke strikes off Vader's right mechanical hand. Sidious betrays Vader by encouraging Luke to take his father's place at his side, but Luke controls his anger and throws his lightsaber aside. He declares himself to be a Jedi Knight like his father Anakin had been before he turned to the dark side into Darth Vader.

Anakin's choice

Han, Leia, and Chewbacca escape from the bunker just in time for its destruction, thus bringing down the shield. The Alliance is now free to attack the half-completed Death Star. On the Death Star, the enraged Emperor declares that if Luke will not turn to the dark side, he will be destroyed, and uses Force lightning against the young Jedi. He revels in torturing Luke by slowly increasing the intensity of the lightning. Luke then cries out to his father to help him. As the Emperor prepares to deliver the killing bolts, Vader looks at Luke and then the Emperor, conflicted whether to save his son or to continue serving his master.

Moved by his son's cries for help and unwilling to see him die, Vader turns back to the light side as Anakin and lifts the Emperor into the air, carries him over and throws him into the Death Star's reactor shaft, killing him. However, in the process, Vader is struck by the Emperor's Force lightning, which enters his organic remains, striking his life support system and his respirator, mortally wounding him. The Millennium Falcon and its remaining Rebel fighters enter the bowels of the Death Star, and some fighters engage in a point-blank attack on the Super Star Destroyer, causing the Imperial flagship's destruction.

Anakin Skywalker's Death

On the Death Star, in the middle of the evacuation, Luke carries his father's ravaged body to the foot of an Imperial shuttle's ramp. Anakin stops Luke and asks him to remove his mask so that he can look upon the face of his son, just once, with his "own eyes."

Luke removes the mask and sees the face of his father for the first time. Anakin's face is revealed to have turned pale white and scaly, and his head retains some vicious scars after 23 years from his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar.

Anakin tells Luke that his son was right—he did have good left in him, and asks him to tell his sister the same. With that, Anakin Skywalker, the redeemed Jedi Knight, smiles at his son and dies peacefully. Luke bows his head in sadness.

Knocking out the main reactor

The Millennium Falcon and its strike force (in the last Rebel fighter inside) reach the Death Star's main reactor and fire concussion missiles and proton torpedoes at it, causing it to collapse. Luke escapes the Death Star with his father's body and flies out through the flames, as do Wedge Antilles and the Millennium Falcon before the Death Star explodes.

Seeing the destruction from above, Han senses Leia's love for Luke. He offers to step aside when Luke arrives, but she tells Han that Luke is her brother. After a moment of speechless surprise, Han and Leia engage in a passionate kiss.

The big galaxy victory celebration

That evening in Endor, Luke sets a funeral pyre ablaze to cremate the body of his father, still encased in Darth Vader's outfit, per the Jedi funeral rite. His father's organic body becomes one with the Force. Through the rising flames and fireworks, Rebel fighters streak across the sky in celebration of one of the greatest Rebel victories in the Galactic Civil War.

The planets of Bespin, Tatooine, Naboo, and also Coruscant join in the festivities. Luke is joined once more by his friends Han, Lando, the droids, Chewbacca, the remaining Rebel squadron, the Ewoks, and his sister, Leia. Then, Luke notices the Force apparitions of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker. Luke feels content: he has become a Jedi, and his father has returned to the light side of the Force. As the Force spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin observe with pride, Leia and Luke reunite with their comrades and companions.

Development

The project was known as Blue Harvest during production, and it was subtitled "Horror Beyond Imagination" to discourage any attention and hide the true nature of the film from both fans and the media. Following the success of The Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas, feeling unfairly treated by Hollywood, severed his connections to the studio system and became an independent filmmaker. Despite Lucas's status and influence, Lucasfilm's non-union status made securing filming locations more challenging and costly, according to Howard Kazanjian in Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, even after the enormous success of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Richard Marquand, who unfortunately passed away from a heart condition in 1987, was the film's director. However, reports suggest that George Lucas played a significant role in the production of Return of the Jedi, potentially directing some of the second-unit work when the schedule was in danger of falling behind. In the documentary Empire of Dreams, Lucas acknowledges his frequent presence on set due to Marquand's limited experience with special effects. However, Irvin Kershner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, suggests in that film's DVD commentary that Lucas, who served more as an advisor on The Empire Strikes Back, had a comparable role in the production of Return of the Jedi. Furthermore, Kershner stated that Lucas considered The Empire Strikes Back to be Kershner's film, not his own.

Some observers have pointed out the differences in directing styles between Richard Marquand and Lucas, noting that they are quite distinct. The screenplay was a collaborative effort between Lawrence Kasdan and Lucas, with uncredited contributions from David Webb Peoples, and was based on Lucas's original story. Howard G. Kazanjian served as the film's producer.

According to the documentary Empire of Dreams, George Lucas initially planned to name the film Return of the Jedi, but changed it to Revenge of the Jedi after Lawrence Kasdan criticized "Return" as a weak title. However, on January 27, just months before the film's release, Lucas announced that the title would be Return of the Jedi. In interviews, Lucas explained that the change was due to the fact that a Jedi would not seek revenge. Nevertheless, many speculate that George Lucas always intended to call the film Return of the Jedi and used "Revenge" as a decoy to deter merchandise counterfeiters. Another theory suggests that the title was changed due to its similarity to the working title of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which was The Vengeance of Khan. Nicholas Meyer, director of Star Trek II, confirmed in William Shatner's autobiography Star Trek Movie Memories that he didn't think 20th Century Fox would allow Paramount to change his film's title from The Undiscovered Country to The Vengeance of Khan because of Revenge of the Jedi. This potential conflict was resolved when Star Trek II was renamed The Wrath of Khan, and Revenge of the Jedi was ultimately released as Return of the Jedi. A portion of the working title was later repurposed for Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

Principal photography spanned from January 11 to May 20, 1982, and took place in the forests of Redwood National Park in California, the Yuma desert in Arizona, and at Elstree Studios in the United Kingdom. The final shot completed was from the speeder bike chase sequence. During breaks in filming, First Assistant Director David Tomblin collaborated with Warwick Davis on Return of the Ewok, a short film intended for promotional purposes. However, the project was never finished and is presumed lost, with the only known copy being a VHS tape in Davis's possession (which Lucasfilm has since digitally preserved).

Drew Struzan, the artist behind the Star Wars series, created the distinctive and iconic imagery for the movie posters and other promotional materials as part of a massive global marketing campaign. In the film's release poster, Luke Skywalker is shown wielding a blue lightsaber, a color that does not appear in the actual film. His new lightsaber is green, although it is blue in one trailer, which suggests that the decision to change the color to green was made relatively late in the production process. The choice was made to ensure Luke's blade contrasted with the blue sky of Tatooine and was more visible during the battle at Carkoon.

A wardrobe inconsistency in the film is that all Imperial characters, regardless of their rank, wear the same rank insignia, that of an Imperial Navy Commander. The production team only noticed this error halfway through filming, and it remained in the final version of the film.

Prior to the film's production, Mark Hamill speculated that Luke would turn to the dark side midway through the story, with the central conflict revolving around his potential return to the light side. A similar conflict would later be explored in the comic series Star Wars: Dark Empire.

Release

The movie premiered on May 25, 1983, exactly six years after the release of the original Star Wars film.

Merchandise

James Kahn wrote the novelization of Return of the Jedi. Although it includes several scenes that were cut from the final version of the film, the release of Revenge of the Sith contradicted Kahn's claim that Anakin Skywalker remembered "lava crawling up his back." In the Return of the Jedi novelization, Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker that he and Anakin Skywalker fought, and that his father "fell into a molten pit." The novelization also identifies Owen Lars as Obi-Wan Kenobi's brother. Owen Lars was later established as Anakin Skywalker's stepbrother. Interestingly, Joel and Nash Edgerton, who played Owen and served as Ewan McGregor's stunt double in the prequel trilogy, respectively, are actually brothers in real life. At the beginning of the confrontation in Darth Sidious's throne room, the Emperor reads Luke's mind and discovers that Yoda completed Luke's Jedi training and that Yoda is now deceased. However, he shows no sign of recognizing Yoda's name.

Marvel Comics adapted the film into a comic book format. Unlike the previous film adaptations, it was released as a four-part (1 2 3 4) mini-series rather than as part of the ongoing Star Wars series. Archie Goodwin wrote the script, and Al Williamson provided the illustrations. (A manga adaptation, illustrated by Shin-Ichi Hiromoto, was later published in Japan in 1998 and in the United States in 1999.)

While the first two Star Wars films were adapted for radio in the early 1980s, a radio version of Return of the Jedi was not produced until 1996. Brian Daley wrote the adaptation, HighBridge Audio produced it, and National Public Radio broadcast it.

In November 1983, CBS broadcast Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi, the official making-of documentary. The popularity of the Ewoks also led to two made-for-TV movies in 1984 (The Ewok Adventure and 1985 (Ewoks: The Battle for Endor) and an animated TV series that aired on ABC in 1985 and 1986.

Special Edition and home video

Similar to the other two films in his original trilogy, Lucas released a Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, which premiered in theaters on March 14, 1997. It included a number of cosmetic changes and additions, such as replacing a piece of music in the final scene. Hayden Christensen portrays Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. However, in the original and Special Edition versions of Return of the Jedi, Sebastian Shaw, a much older actor, played both the dying Anakin Skywalker and his Force ghost. In the DVD release, Anakin's ghost has been replaced with a younger version played by Christensen, which is now considered the canon version. Lucas explained in the DVD commentary that Anakin had learned to control his life force after death, just as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda had. (This is briefly mentioned in Revenge of the Sith.) So, instead of appearing as the older man who was Darth Vader, Anakin can return to the young man he was before turning to the dark side.

Lucas's continuous alterations to all of the Star Wars films have sparked controversy among critics. Some argue that the redemption of Luke's father as an older man suggests that this is how he should be represented after death. Others contend that the older man was never truly Anakin Skywalker until his final moments, and the vision of Hayden Christensen brings the story full circle: Darth Vader defeated, Anakin Skywalker at peace. Nevertheless, many fans believe that inserting Christensen is disrespectful to Shaw.

On September 21, 2004, the original three movies were released on DVD. This release included a few additional changes, such as improved sound effects and visual quality.

During the sequence where the Emperor's defeat at Endor is announced throughout the galaxy, an extra scene depicting the celebrations on Theed, Naboo was added. A Gungan can be heard shouting "Wesa free" in this scene. In the scene showing the people of Coruscant celebrating, the Senate Building and the Jedi Temple have been added to the background.

With the release of the third episode, which depicts how and why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side of the Force, George Lucas once again modified Return of the Jedi to strengthen the connection between the original and prequel trilogies. In the original film, Sebastian Shaw played Anakin in the hangar bay and in the final celebration scene. In the DVD release, Shaw still portrayed Anakin in the hangar bay scene, but his eyebrows were digitally removed to make his appearance more closely resemble Anakin's injured appearance at the end of Revenge of the Sith. However, Hayden Christensen replaced him during the final celebration, appearing as he did in Revenge of the Sith before his injuries on Mustafar. Instead of simply reshooting the Force ghost of Anakin with Hayden, test footage of Hayden's head was digitally grafted onto Sebastian Shaw's body.

On September 12, 2006, Lucasfilm Ltd. released a two-DVD set that included the 2004 Special Edition and the unaltered original theatrical version. This release was limited and only available through December 31 of that year.

The film was re-released in the Blu-ray format on September 16, 2011. This release included previously unreleased deleted scenes from the film as bonus features. This release also featured a third round of changes to the film, primarily minor visual alterations.

On April 7, 2015, Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released Star Wars films. Because Lucasfilm had retained digital distribution rights to Episodes I through III and V through VI, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Return of the Jedi for digital download on April 10, 2015. Luke's lightsaber appears blue on the official promo poster for Return of the Jedi, even though it is green in the movie.

Despite the Walt Disney Company's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the release rights to all future Star Wars films, Fox was to retain original distribution rights to Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which they co-produced and co-financed, in perpetuity in all media worldwide. Fox was also to retain theatrical, nontheatrical, and home-video rights worldwide for the franchise's five subsequent films, which Lucasfilm produced and financed independently, through May 2020, at which point ownership was to transfer to Disney. This intricate relationship between Fox and Disney, particularly regarding Fox's perpetual rights to Episode IV, created a hurdle for any future boxed set containing all nine films. On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced its acquisition of most of Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox, including the film studio and all distribution rights to A New Hope. The deal was officially completed on March 20, 2019. On April 12, 2019, a Blu-ray box set containing the nine main installments of the Star Wars saga remastered in 4K was reportedly announced to be in development for a 2020 release.

40th anniversary re-release

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Return of the Jedi had a limited theatrical rerelease in 2023, from April 28 to May 1 in the United Kingdom, and from April 28 to May 4 in the United States.

Reception

In the commentary for the 2004 DVD release, Lucas explained that the Ewoks represented a technologically inferior force overcoming a powerful Empire, drawing parallels to events like the Vietnam War, Attila the Hun and the Roman Empire, and the American Revolutionary War. The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film reveals that the concept originated from Lucas's interest in the Vietnam War while working on Apocalypse Now, specifically the Vietcong's ability to defeat the United States despite their technological disadvantage. This has been criticized by some, including conservative commentator Bill Whittle, in the Afterburner episode "Han Shot First," due to its perceived offensive connotations and morally ambiguous implications. However, in the contemporary documentary From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga, Lucas clarifies that the Vietnam War was simply the inspiration for the subplot, not a political statement. Nevertheless, a note in the 1973 draft for A New Hope (then simply called Star Wars) explicitly stated that the film's events were inspired by "a large technological empire going after a group of freedom fighters," clearly alluding to the events of Vietnam.

In 2021, the U.S. Library of Congress selected Return of the Jedi for preservation in the National Film Registry, deeming it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Media

Poster gallery

Cover gallery

Credits