Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi

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, which the Empire engineered to be more potent than its predecessor. Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod greets him, but Vader insists on an accelerated construction schedule to ensure timely completion. Jerjerrod pleads for additional manpower, but quickly complies with Vader's demands upon learning of the Emperor's impending arrival.

In the meantime, Luke Skywalker and his comrades reach Tatooine, endeavoring to rescue their comrade Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt's desert palace.

Initially, the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO present themselves, delivering a holographic message from Skywalker requesting Solo's freedom. In exchange, the droids are offered as gifts to the crime lord; Luke assures Jabba of their diligence and utility, to which Jabba silently agrees. However, upon conclusion of the message, Jabba declares no bargain will be struck and refuses to relinquish his "favorite decoration." Consequently, the droids are dispatched to their quarters, where EV-9D9 harshly reprimands them upon hearing their capabilities. 3PO is assigned as Jabba's interpreter, while R2 is tasked with maintaining the Khetanna.

That evening, the Max Rebo Band (fronted by Sy Snootles) entertains Jabba's guests. Jabba, captivated by the movements of his enslaved Oola, tugs on her chain, beckoning her to his throne. Oola resists, prompting Jabba to press a button on his throne, causing Oola to fall through a trapdoor into the rancor monster's pit, where she is immediately devoured.

Later, Princess Leia Organa, disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh, arrives with Chewbacca as her "prisoner," seeking to collect the bounty Jabba placed on Solo years prior. After extensive negotiations (including Leia's threat involving a thermal detonator), Jabba agrees to a deal and imprisons Chewbacca.

That night, Leia frees Han Solo from his carbonite encasement, revealing her identity and kissing him. As they attempt to escape, Jabba and his henchmen apprehend them. Ignoring Han's pleas, Jabba imprisons him alongside Chewbacca. Although Lando Calrissian, disguised as a guard, attempts to abscond with Leia, Jabba intervenes and orders a Gamorrean guard to bring Leia to him. Leia warns Jabba of the repercussions of capturing the Rebels, but Jabba dismisses the threat and licks her face. Leia is then forced into servitude as Jabba's newest slave, adorned in a dancing costume and chained to his throne as a trophy.

Subsequently, Luke arrives at the palace. Jabba and his court are mostly asleep but are awakened by Bib Fortuna (who, attempting to hinder the Jedi's entry, is Force-tricked into welcoming him). Leia remains silent, hopeful upon seeing Luke. Luke demands Jabba release Han and his companions, but Jabba refuses. Luke employs the Force to seize a blaster and attempts to shoot Jabba, but Jabba activates the trapdoor, dropping Luke and a guard into the rancor pit.

Following a battle with the rancor (which consumes the guard), Luke defeats the monster by crushing it under the gate, piercing its neck with spikes. He is then captured and brought before Jabba. Enraged, Jabba chokes Leia and orders the prisoners to be presented to him. Luke, Han, and Chewbacca are brought before Jabba, relieved to see each other, while Leia struggles with Jabba to sit upright.

Through C-3PO, Jabba sentences Luke and his friends to be taken to the Dune Sea for termination (over a thousand years) by the sarlacc at the Great Pit of Carkoon. Leia is spared execution as Jabba's favorite slave. As Jabba orders the prisoners taken away, Luke warns him that he's made his last mistake, which amuses the Hutt.

Jabba, accompanied by Leia and his thugs, travels to the Pit of Carkoon on his sail barge, while the prisoners are transported on a skiff. En route, R2-D2 serves drinks to Jabba's guests, and the Max Rebo Band provides music. Jabba allows Leia to watch her friends from a window, then tugs on her chain, playfully commanding her to come to him. Leia glares and returns to watching, and Jabba chuckles. He later pulls her chain again, forcing her to his throne and informs her that she will soon appreciate him, making her drink from his goblet.

Outside, Luke and his companions (with Lando, still disguised) discuss their predicament. Han, still affected by carbonization, believes they are doomed, but Luke tries to reassure him. Elsewhere, C-3PO bumps into R2-D2, spilling the latter's drink tray. C-3PO laments their friends' fate, but R2-D2 shows confidence, which C-3PO questions.

Upon reaching the pit, Jabba has C-3PO announce the group's impending deaths, offering to listen to their pleas. Han insults Jabba, denying him pleasure from their pleading, while Luke offers Jabba a final chance to free them or die. Jabba dismisses the threat and orders the execution to commence. Luke is ushered off a plank into the sarlacc, only to Force-flip onto the skiff. R2-D2 launches Luke's newly built lightsaber, which Luke catches and uses to attack his captors. As Jabba orders his thugs to intervene, C-3PO is knocked over, and Leia prepares to exploit her false submission.

Boba Fett uses his jetpack to land on the skiff as Luke frees Han and Chewbacca. Luke cuts Fett's blaster in half, and Chewbacca pushes Fett onto the deck. Luke jumps to another skiff to fight the thugs there.

While fighting the skiff pilot, Lando falls off the skiff, held only by a wire, and is nearly pulled into the sarlacc by a tentacle, but Han and Chewbacca rescue him. Han accidentally activates Fett's backpack, sending him crashing into the barge and into the sarlacc.

Aboard the sail barge, Leia disables the interior lights and strangles Jabba with her chain, killing him. Leia jumps off the throne, breaks her chain with R2-D2's help, and heads for the top level. Meanwhile, Salacious B. Crumb attacks C-3PO, and R2-D2 chases the lizard-monkey away. Reaching the surface, the droids jump off the barge into the sand.

Luke and Leia defeat the remaining thugs, and Luke has Leia point the gun toward the barge's heart. They swing from a cable on the sails as Luke destroys the barge. They swing to safety on the skiff with Han, Lando, and Chewbacca, then use magnets to pick up the droids. They drive off as the 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.

On the second Death Star, the Emperor, Darth Sidious, arrives and commends Darth Vader on his work on the Death Star. He senses Vader's desire to find his son, Luke. The Sith Lord assures his apprentice that Luke will seek Vader out, that together they can turn Luke to the dark side of the Force, and that everything is proceeding as foreseen.

Luke and R2-D2 arrive on Dagobah to find a dying Yoda. Luke returns to complete his Jedi training, but Yoda says no further training is needed. All that remains is to confront Vader. Yoda reveals that Vader is his father. The Jedi Master gives one last piece of wisdom before he dies, disappearing like Obi-Wan Kenobi on the first Death Star, becoming one with the Force.

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

At the rendezvous near Sullust, the Rebel Alliance gathers to plan the attack on the Death Star. Luke, Leia, Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and a strike team must penetrate the deflector shield generator on the forest moon of Endor to deactivate the shield for the Rebel fleet to attack the Death Star. Vader knows this because he senses his son's presence and allows them to land. Luke senses his father and believes he has endangered the mission.

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

Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and the droids fall into an Ewok booby trap. R2-D2 cuts open the net, freeing them, but the Ewok tribe discovers C-3PO and proclaims him their god. The droid's 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 uses the Force to levitate C-3PO, showing off his "great magic." Convinced of the Rebels' good intentions, the Ewoks set them free and make them "part of the tribe," agreeing to join the fight against the Empire. Luke decides to leave Endor and face Darth Vader. Leia follows Luke, and he tells her that Vader is his father and she is his sister. Leia is shocked but accepts the truth, comforted by Han Solo.

Vader arrives in his shuttle, and Luke, having surrendered, talks with Vader to bring him out of the dark side, but to no avail. The Empire takes Luke into custody for transport to the Death Star. The next day, the Rebels try to find the shield generator, and the Rebel fleet enters hyperspace from Sullust to prepare for the final attack. Luke and Vader confront the Emperor, who looks forward to completing Luke's training and believes that neither Vader nor Luke will turn from the dark side. He reveals that he coordinated the Rebels finding the secret plans and locating the shield generator to trap the Alliance.

The Rebels enter the shield generator, only to be taken prisoner. The fleet emerges from hyperspace for the battle but discovers the shield is still up. The Imperial fleet appears, and an intense battle begins. Han and the strike team are led out of the bunker by stormtroopers, but the droids and Ewoks have already attacked, and another battle commences. The Emperor shows Luke the Death Star's power as it destroys an Alliance ship. On Endor, the battle continues, with casualties mounting. Eventually, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca access the bunker.

Back on the Death Star, Luke, encouraged by Darth Sidious, attacks Vader with his lightsaber, and the final duel begins. As Luke climbs onto a balcony, Vader throws his lightsaber at him, knocking the balcony down. Vader stalks for a hidden Luke, sensing that Luke has a sister and 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 place, but Luke controls his anger and throws his lightsaber aside, declaring himself a Jedi Knight like his father Anakin had been.

Han, Leia, and Chewbacca escape from the bunker just in time for its destruction, bringing down the shield. The Alliance is now free to attack the 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 Luke. Luke cries out to his father for help. As the Emperor prepares to deliver the killing bolts, Vader looks at Luke and then the Emperor, conflicted.

Moved by his son's cries and unwilling to see him die, Vader turns back to the light side as Anakin, lifts the Emperor, carries him, and throws him into the Death Star's reactor shaft, killing him. However, Vader is struck by the Emperor's Force lightning, mortally wounding him. The Millennium Falcon and its Rebel fighters enter the Death Star, and some fighters attack the Super Star Destroyer, causing the Imperial flagship's destruction.

On the Death Star, Luke carries his father's body to an Imperial shuttle's ramp. Anakin asks Luke to remove his mask so that he can look upon his son's face.

Luke removes the mask and sees his father's face for the first time. Anakin's face is pale and scarred 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. Anakin Skywalker, the redeemed Jedi Knight, smiles at his son and dies peacefully. Luke bows his head.

The Millennium Falcon and its strike force 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, as do Wedge Antilles and the Millennium Falcon before the Death Star explodes.

Seeing the destruction, Han senses Leia's love for Luke. He offers to step aside, but she tells Han that Luke is her brother. Han and Leia kiss.

That evening in Endor, Luke sets a funeral pyre ablaze to cremate his father's body, still in Darth Vader's outfit, per the Jedi funeral rite. His father becomes one with the Force. Rebel fighters streak across the sky in celebration of a great Rebel victory in the Galactic Civil War.

The planetary celebrations extend to Bespin, Tatooine, Naboo, and Coruscant. Luke reunites with his friends: Han, Lando, the droids, Chewbacca, the surviving Rebel fleet, the Ewoks, and his sister Leia. Subsequently, Luke sees the Force ghosts of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker. Luke feels joy because he is now a Jedi, and his father has returned to the light side of the Force. Leia and Luke join their friends as Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin's Force ghosts proudly watch.

The project's working title was Blue Harvest for various reasons, intentionally labeled "Horror Beyond Imagination" to discourage interest and conceal the true nature of the production from fans and the media. After the success of The Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas, feeling persecuted, severed all ties with the Hollywood system and became an independent filmmaker. According to Howard Kazanjian in Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, Lucasfilm's non-union status made securing filming locations more challenging and costly, despite the massive success of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Richard Marquand, who died in 1987 from a heart condition, directed the film. However, reports indicate George Lucas was heavily involved in Return of the Jedi's production and likely directed some second-unit work when the schedule was threatened. In the documentary Empire of Dreams, Lucas acknowledges his frequent presence on set due to Marquand's inexperience with special effects. Irvin Kershner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, suggests in that film's DVD commentary that Lucas, who acted as an advisor on The Empire Strikes Back, had a similar role in Return of the Jedi's production. Kershner stated that George Lucas considered The Empire Strikes Back to be Kershner's movie, not his own.

Some observers have pointed out that Richard Marquand's and Lucas's directing styles are distinct and dissimilar. The screenplay was a collaboration between Lawrence Kasdan and Lucas, with uncredited contributions from David Webb Peoples, based on Lucas's story. Howard G. Kazanjian served as the producer.

According to the documentary Empire of Dreams, George Lucas initially intended to title the film Return of the Jedi, but changed it to Revenge of the Jedi after Lawrence Kasdan criticized "Return" as a weak title. On January 27, a few months before the movie's release, Lucas announced the film's title would be Return of the Jedi. Lucas stated in interviews that the change was due to the fact that a Jedi would not seek revenge. However, many speculate that Lucas always intended to call the film Return of the Jedi and used "Revenge" to deter merchandise counterfeiters. It has also been suggested that the title was changed because it was too similar to the working title of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Vengeance of Khan. In his autobiography, Star Trek Movie Memories, Nicholas Meyer confirmed that he didn't believe that 20th Century Fox would allow Paramount to change his film's title from The Undiscovered Country to The Vengeance of Khan due to the production of Revenge of the Jedi. This potential issue was resolved when Star Trek II was renamed The Wrath of Khan, and Revenge of the Jedi ultimately became Return of the Jedi. A portion of the working title was later reused for Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

Filming occurred from January 11 to May 20, 1982, in Redwood National Park forests in California, the Yuma desert in Arizona, and at Elstree Studios in the United Kingdom. The last shot completed was from the speeder bike scene. During filming breaks, First Assistant Director David Tomblin collaborated with Warwick Davis on Return of the Ewok, a short promotional film. However, the project was never finished and is presumed lost, with the only known copy being a VHS in Davis's possession, which Lucasfilm has since digitally archived.

Drew Struzan, the Star Wars series artist, created the iconic images for the movie posters and advertising as part of a large global marketing campaign. In the film's release poster, Luke Skywalker is shown holding a blue lightsaber, a color that does not appear in the film itself. His new lightsaber is green, although it appears blue in one trailer, suggesting the decision to change the color was made late in production. The decision to make it green was intended to contrast with the blue sky of Tatooine and enhance its visibility during the skirmish at Carkoon.

A wardrobe error in the film is that all Imperial characters, regardless of rank, wear identical rank insignia, specifically that of an Imperial Navy Commander. The production team noticed this halfway through filming, but the error remained in the final version.

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

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

James Kahn authored the novelization of Return of the Jedi. While it includes many scenes that were cut from the final film, the release of Revenge of the Sith contradicted Kahn's claim that Anakin Skywalker remembered "lava crawling up his back." In the novelization, Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker that he and Anakin Skywalker fought, and his father "fell into a molten pit." The novelization also refers to 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 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 dead, but he shows no sign of recognizing Yoda's name.

Marvel Comics adapted the film into comic form. 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 released 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 Ewoks' popularity 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.

Like the other two films in his original trilogy, Lucas released a Special Edition of Return of the Jedi in theaters on March 14, 1997. It included several cosmetic changes and additions, including a replacement of a piece of music from the closing scene. In Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Hayden Christensen portrays Anakin Skywalker. However, in the original and Special Edition versions of Return of the Jedi, Sebastian Shaw played both the dying Anakin Skywalker and his Force ghost. In the DVD release, Anakin's ghost is a young man, played by Christensen, which is considered the canon version. Lucas explains in the DVD commentary that Anakin learned to control his life force beyond death, just as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda had. (This is briefly explained in Revenge of the Sith.) Therefore, 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 ongoing changes to the Star Wars films have generated controversy. Some argue that the redemption of Luke's father as an older man suggests that this image should represent him after death. Others believe that the older man was never truly Anakin Skywalker until his final moments, and Christensen's vision brings the story full circle: Darth Vader defeated, Anakin Skywalker at peace. Nevertheless, many fans consider the insertion of Christensen disrespectful to Shaw.

On September 21, 2004, the three original movies were released on DVD. This release included further modifications, such as sound effects and visual quality improvements.

During the sequence announcing the Emperor's defeat at Endor to the galaxy, an additional scene showing celebrations on Theed, Naboo, was added. A Gungan can be heard yelling "Wesa free" in this scene. In the scene depicting the people of Coruscant celebrating, the Senate Building and the Jedi Temple were added to the background.

With the release of the third episode depicting Anakin Skywalker's turn to the dark side, George Lucas altered Return of the Jedi again to strengthen the connection between the original and prequel trilogies. Sebastian Shaw played Anakin in the hangar bay and final celebration scene in the original film. In the DVD release, Shaw portrayed Anakin in the hangar bay scene, but his eyebrows were digitally removed to 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 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 containing the 2004 Special Edition and the unaltered original theatrical version. This release was limited, lasting 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 as bonus features, as well as 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. As Lucasfilm 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. On the official promo poster for Return of the Jedi, Luke's lightsaber was blue, although 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 time ownership was to transfer to Disney. This complex relationship between Fox and Disney, particularly in regards to Fox's perpetual rights to Episode IV, created an obstacle for any future boxed set comprising 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.

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

In the commentary for the 2004 DVD release, Lucas explained that the Ewoks represented a technologically primitive force overcoming a powerful Empire, comparing it to 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 idea originated from Lucas's interest in the Vietnam War while making Apocalypse Now, where the less technologically advanced Vietcong overcame the United States. Some, like conservative commentator Bill Whittle in the Afterburner episode "Han Shot First," have criticized this for its perceived offensive connotations and morally ambiguous implications. However, in the contemporary documentary From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga, Lucas states that the Vietnam War was merely the inspiration for the subplot, not a political thesis. A note in the 1973 draft for A New Hope (then simply called Star Wars) did make clear that the film's events were inspired by "a large technological empire going after a group of freedom fighters" in a clear allusion 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."