Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi

"I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

- Luke Skywalker

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 science fantasy film directed by Richard Marquand and written by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. It is the third film to be released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of internal chronology.

The film is set in 4 ABY, one year after the Empire's occupation of Cloud City, when Luke Skywalker and friends travel to Tatooine to rescue their friend Han Solo from the vile Jabba the Hutt. The Empire prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, while the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts his father, Darth Vader, in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor.

The film debuted on May 25, 1983, and was released on VHS and LaserDisc in this form multiple times during the 1980s and 90s. The film was re-released with changes in 1997, and this version was later released on VHS and Laserdisc as well. The special edition arrived on DVD in 2004, but with further updates and changes to the 1997 versions. The original, unaltered version of the film was released as part of a new DVD set in September 2006. The film was re-released in the Blu-ray format in September of 2011.

Backstory
Shadows of the Empire reveals that construction has begun on a new Death Star, more powerful than the previous one. At the suggestion of Prince Xizor, Emperor Palpatine allowed the plans to this new station to "fall" into Rebel hands, at a deceptive price. The Bothan spies discovered that the plans were to be sent in a small computer onboard a fertilizer freighter, the Suprosa. They mounted an attack which proved successful, albeit at the cost of the lives of several Bothans, allowing the plans to find their way to the Alliance, ready to be decoded.

Meanwhile Luke, Leia, Lando and Chewie had already failed one attempt to rescue Han from Boba Fett. Leia takes the disguise of the Ubese bounty hunter Boushh, and Chewbacca is disguised as Snoova. On Tatooine, Boba Fett was successful in delivering Han Solo to Jabba. Luke with Lando, Leia, Chewie and the two droids, prepare one final plan to rescue Han.

Plot
Return of the Jedi begins in 4 ABY, one year after the events of The Empire Strikes Back (although the novelization gives the time period as six months, The Essential Atlas specifies that the events of the films are separated by approximately eight months).

Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, lands in the docking bay of the second uncompleted Death Star, which the Empire is creating, and is more powerful than the first. He is greeted by Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod, but demands construction be put back on schedule in order to complete the Death Star on time. Jerjerrod argues that they need more men, but quickly agrees to double their efforts when he learns that Emperor Palpatine is coming.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Luke Skywalker and his company have arrived on Tatooine in the latest attempt to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt's desert palace. First the droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO, arrive with a holographic message from Skywalker pleading Jabba to release Solo, but they end up as slaves. That evening, Jabba's Palace Band (led by Sy Snootles and Max Rebo) entertains the slug-like creature's guests. Jabba is captivated by the graceful gyrations of his slave girl Oola. Oola resists his demands and is thrown into the pit of the rancor monster where she is immediately devoured. Suddenly, Princess Leia Organa (in the guise of bounty hunter Boushh) arrives with "prisoner" Chewbacca to collect part of the bounty Jabba himself sought after years earlier when he put a price on Solo's head. Jabba then sends Chewbacca to the prisons. That night, Boushh releases Han Solo from his carbonite coffin. Boushh then reveals himself to be Princess Leia and she kisses Han. As Han and Leia prepare to leave, they are caught by Jabba, his minions, and newly stolen droids. Both Solo and Leia are captured; Solo is put in the prison with Chewbacca while Jabba takes Leia as his personal slave girl, being forced to wear a revealing slave girl outfit and replacing Oola as his personal slave. To Leia's humiliation, she is then chained by the neck to Jabba's throne.

At dawn, Luke eventually arrives to make one final plea to Jabba to release Solo, but Jabba rejects the offer. Luke then Force Pulls a nearby blaster. He tries to shoot Jabba, but falls into the Rancor pit. Leia, unsure of what was happening, struggled against Jabba. Luke successfully kills the rancor by crushing it with the gate of its compound and piercing its neck with the spikes at the bottom of the gate, but he too is captured by Jabba's minions. Jabba, furious, strangles Leia. As punishment, Jabba, using C-3PO as a translator, commands Luke and his friends to be destroyed (over a course of a thousand years) by the man-eating Sarlacc at the Great Pit of Carkoon. Meanwhile Leia is kept on her chain laying in front of Jabba. Only Leia is not sentenced to death, as Jabba was attracted to her, and had plans of gaining pleasure from the enslaved princess.

Luke and his companions (with Lando Calrissian disguised as one of Jabba's prison guards) are taken to the Pit of Carkoon. However, with the help of R2-D2, Luke then retrieves his recently built lightsaber to battle his captors. Solo, by this time blinded from the aftereffects of carbonization, accidentally activates the jetpack of bounty hunter Boba Fett when he turns around and smashes an axe in it. Fett then flies out of control, crashes and falls in the pit to be digested by the Sarlacc. Leia, meanwhile, with chain in hand, strangles Jabba to death. The droids are then set free, and jump off the sail barge. They land in the Tatooinian sand. Luke and Lando kill the remaining captors, then Luke rescues Leia, and both point the guns toward the heart of Jabba's Sail Barge. Luke and company escape with their lives before the gun discharges, destroying the sail barge. All of the crew (except for Luke and R2) depart Tatooine for the rendezvous point near Sullust (mentioned in The Empire Strikes Back) where the Rebel Alliance is assembling, while Luke and R2-D2 (in their X-wing) head for Dagobah to fulfill a promise to Yoda made some time earlier.

On the Death Star, Emperor Palpatine arrives and praises Lord Vader on his efforts in the construction of the Death Star. He also senses that Vader craves for the continuation of his search for his son, Luke. The old Sith Lord assures his apprentice that everything is going as he has planned.

Luke and Artoo 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 (and disappears the way Ben Kenobi did in A New Hope, thereby becoming one with the Force).

As Luke approaches his X-wing, the spirit 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 actually Princess Leia. Kenobi warns Luke to bury his feelings, for they could in time "serve the Emperor".

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 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 would endanger the mission by coming.

The strike team lands on Endor only to be discovered by 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 Wystri 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. Artoo cuts open the net setting them free, but the Ewok tribe discovers Threepio 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 Threepio's honor. Discovered by Leia, Luke then uses the Force to levitate Threepio to show off his "great magic." Convinced of the Rebels' good intentions, the Ewoks set them free and later that evening makes them "part of the tribe," thereby the Ewoks agree 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 before she is revealed the truth that Vader is Luke's father and Leia is his sister. Leia is utterly speechless and shocked, but is comforted by Solo.

Vader arrives in his shuttle to 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 Palpatine's devising.

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. Palpatine shows to Luke the full power of the Death Star, and 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.

Back on the Death Star, Luke, with the encouragement of Palpatine, 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, but Luke responds viciously in intense saber fighting of Djem So, up to the point where Luke strikes off Vader's right mechanical hand (just as Vader cut off Luke's in The Empire Strikes Back). Palpatine encourages Luke to kill his father so the young Jedi can take Vader's place at his side. But Luke controls his anger and throws aside his lightsaber. He declares himself to be a Jedi Knight as his father Anakin was before he turned over to the dark side and turned into Darth Vader.

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, an enraged Palpatine declares that if Luke will not turn to the dark side, he will be destroyed, and uses Force lightning against the young Jedi. He slowly increases the intensity of the lightning, slowly torturing Luke. Luke calls out to his father to help him. But as the Emperor prepares to deliver the killing bolts, Vader appears. He looks at Luke and then the Emperor, confused whether to save his son or to continue serving his Master.

Vader makes his decision - he cannot let one of the two last remaining links to his deceased wife, Padme Amidala, die, so he lifts the Emperor into the air and throws him into the power core. The Emperor disappears into the abyss, screaming, and then he is gone. There is a explosion and a cloud of the Emperor's force lightning float around Vader, 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.

Back on the Death Star, in the middle of an evacuation, Luke has carried his father's ravaged body to the foot of the former Vader's shuttle. Vader stops Luke and asks him to remove his mask so that he can look upon the face of his son, just for once, with his "own eyes." Luke removes the mask and sees the face of his father, Anakin Skywalker. Anakin's face is revealed to be pale white (from not seeing natural sunlight in 23 years), and his head severely scarred from his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi (as depicted in Revenge of the Sith). 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, redeemed Jedi Knight, dies.

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, and so 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 shock and/or surprise, Han and Leia engage in a passionate kiss.

That evening, Luke sets a funeral pyre ablaze to burn the body of his father, still encased in the armor of Darth Vader. His father's organic body had become one with the Force. Luke Skywalker as written was believed to have only burnt the armor of his father, along with his cybernetics. Through the midst of 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, Bespin, Tatooine, Naboo, and Coruscant also celebrated. Luke is reunited with his companions Han, Lando, the droids, Chewbacca, the surviving Rebel fleet, the Ewoks, and his sister Leia. Luke then catches sight of the spirit figures of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and a redeemed Anakin Skywalker. Luke is pleased - not only is he now and forever a Jedi, but his father is once again on the light side of the Force. Leia takes Luke by the hand and they rejoin their friends and colleagues as the spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin continue to look on with pride.

Aftermath
The Thrawn Trilogy and The Truce at Bakura were the first novels to reveal that the Battle of Endor was by no means the end of the story. The destruction of the second Death Star, the loss of Darth Vader and the Emperor, and the defeat of the Imperial fleet represented a major turning point in the war, however. But immediately following the Rebel's victory, Luke Skywalker and his friends went off to defend the people of Bakura from the deadly incursions of the Ssi-ruuk invaders threatening to turn their citizens into a slave army. They were but the first, as the post-Return of the Jedi Marvel Star Wars series soon revealed that following a brief respite, the Nagai were to invade, followed on their heels by the Tof invasion. Their final defeat marked the start of the New Republic and the end of outside alien invasions until 25 ABY when the Yuuzhan Vong struck. In the interim, however, there was plenty of Imperial mopping up to do and lots of adventures.

Within five years, well over half of what was Imperial space was under the control of the New Republic. The war continued for another 15 years. The New Republic would be challenged by Imperial commanders, such as Ysanne Isard, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Admiral Daala, and Admiral Pellaeon. The New Republic would even be challenged by the Reborn Emperor&mdash;the spirit of Palpatine in a new clone body. But the New Republic would weather all these storms.

Fifteen years after the Battle of Endor Admiral Pellaeon and the other Imperial leaders realized that further military conflict with the New Republic would be fruitless. The remnants of the Imperial forces signed a peace treaty with the New Republic. The decades-long Galactic Civil War was finally over.

Also, after Jabba's death, Luke was held in high respect for deleting all the debts the Hutt posted on his unfortunate undertakers. Zorba the Hutt, Jabba's father, was furious when he heard of his son's demise. He took over Cloud City, and in the long run, posted bounties on whomever was responsible for Jabba's death, primarily Luke Skywalker and his sister, Leia Organa.

Cast

 * Luke Skywalker - Mark Hamill
 * Han Solo - Harrison Ford
 * Princess Leia Organa - Carrie Fisher
 * Lando Calrissian - Billy Dee Williams
 * Darth Vader - David Prowse
 * Voice of Darth Vader - James Earl Jones
 * Anakin Skywalker - Sebastian Shaw, Hayden Christensen
 * Palpatine - Ian McDiarmid
 * Chewbacca - Peter Mayhew
 * C-3PO - Anthony Daniels
 * R2-D2 - Kenny Baker
 * Yoda - Frank Oz
 * Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi - Alec Guinness
 * Moff Jerjerrod - Michael Pennington
 * Admiral Piett - Kenneth Colley
 * Bib Fortuna - Michael Carter
 * Wedge Antilles - Denis Lawson
 * Admiral Ackbar - Tim Rose
 * General Madine - Dermot Crowley
 * Mon Mothma - Caroline Blakiston
 * Wicket - Warwick Davis
 * Paploo - Kenny Baker
 * Boba Fett - Jeremy Bulloch
 * Oola - Femi Taylor
 * Sy Snootles - Annie Arbogast
 * Yarna d'al' Gargan - Claire Davenport
 * Teebo - Jack Purvis
 * Logray - Mike Edmonds
 * Chief Chirpa - Jane Busby
 * Ewok Warrior - Malcolm Dixon
 * Ewok Warrior - Mike Cottrell
 * Nicki - Nicholas Read
 * Jhoff - Adam Bareham
 * Gherant (listed as Star Destroyer Captain #1 - Pip Miller
 * Star Destroyer Controller #2 - Jonathan Oliver
 * Star Destroyer Captain #2 - Tom Mannion
 * Barada, Stormtrooper and Biker Scout .... Dickey Beer
 * Amanaman .... Ailsa Berk
 * Barquin D'an and Boba Fett .... Don Bies (special edition)
 * Stormtrooper, Mon Calamari, Ree-Yees, z-winged fighter and tie pilot .... Richard Bonehill
 * Stormtrooper .... Ralph Morse
 * Malakili .... Paul Brooke
 * Salacious Crumb .... Mark Dodson
 * Doda Bodonawieedo and Boba Fett .... Nelson Hall
 * Karie Neth and Gray Squadron .... Lynne Hazelden
 * Renz .... Barrie Holland
 * Tessek and Mon Calamari Officer .... Gerald Home
 * Hoover .... Swim Lee
 * Arvel Crynyd .... Hilton McRae
 * Nien Nunb, Ree-Yees, Sy Snootles, Yoda and Wol Cabasshite .... Mike Quinn
 * Droopy McCool .... Deep Roy
 * Lieutenant Watts .... Robert Watts
 * Vedain .... Paul Weston
 * Max Rebo .... Simon Williamson
 * Voice of Bib Fortuna .... Erik Boauersfield
 * Voice of Boushh .... Pat Welsh
 * Voice of EV-9D9 and Marquand .... Richard Marquand
 * Voice of Jabba the Hutt .... Larry Ward
 * Voice of Malakili and Giran .... Ernie Fosselius
 * Voice of Nien Nunb .... Kipsang Rotich
 * Voice of Tortured Power Droid and Col.Dyer .... Ben Burtt
 * Jabba Puppeteers - Toby Philpott, David Barclay, Mike Edmonds
 * Puppeteers - Michael McCormick, Simon Williamson, Swim Lee, Richard Robinson, Deep Roy, Hugh Spirit, Mike Quinn
 * Ewoks - Margo Apostolos, Ray Armstrong, Eileen Baker, Michael H. Balham, Bobby Bell, Patty Bell, Alan Bennett, Sarah Bennett, Pamela Betts, Danny Blackner, Linda Bowley, Peter Burroughs, Debbie Lee Carrington, Maureen Charlton, William Coppen, Sadie Corrie, Tony Cox, John Cumming, Jean D'agostino, Luis De Jesus, Debbie Dixon, Margarita Fernández, Phil Fondacaro, Sal Fondacaro, Tony Friel, Daniel Frishman, John Gavam, Michael Gilden, Paul Grant, Lydia Green, Lars Green, Pam Grizz, Andrew Herd, J.J. Jackson, Richard Jones, Trevor Jones, Glynn Jones, Karen Lay, John Lummiss, Nancy MacLean, Peter Mandell, Carole Morris, Stacy Nichols, Chris Nunn, Barbara O'Laughlin, Brian Orenstein, Harrell Parker Jr., John Pedrick, April Perkins, Ronnie Phillips, Katie Purvis, Carol Read, Nicholas Read, Diana Reynolds, Daniel Rodgers, Chris Romano, Dean Shackenford, Kiran Shah, Felix Silla, Linda Spriggs, Gerald Staddon, Josephine Staddon, Kevin Thompson, Kendra Wall, Brian Wheeler, Butch Wilhelm
 * Mime Artists - Franki Anderson, Ailsa Berk, Sean Crawford, Andy Cunningham, Tim Dry, Graeme Hattrick, Phil Herbert, Gerald Home, Paul Springer
 * Stunt Performers - Bob Anderson, Dirk Yohan Beer, Marc Boyle, Mike Cassidy, Tracy Eddon, Sandra Gross, Ted Grossman, Frank Henson, Larry Holt, Bill Horrigan, Alf Joint, Julius Leflore, Colin Skeaping, Malcom Weaver, Paul Weston, Bob Yerkes, Dan Zormeier
 * Olander Brit .... Peter Roy

Production


The film's director was the late Richard Marquand, who passed away in 1987 of a heart ailment, but reports have suggested that George Lucas was still heavily involved in the shooting of Return of the Jedi and likely directed some of the second unit work personally when shooting threatened to go over schedule. Lucas admits in the documentary Empire of Dreams that he had to often be on the set due to Marquand's relative inexperience with special effects, but comments by The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner on that film's DVD audio commentary track suggests that Lucas, who acted more as an advisor on The Empire Strikes Back, had a similar role on the production of Return of the Jedi. Moreover, George Lucas, according to Kershner, called The Empire Strikes Back Kershner's movie, not his.

Some have noted the differences between Richard Marquand's direction style and Lucas's direction style and say that they're dissimilar. The screenplay was written by Lawrence Kasdan and Lucas (with uncredited contributions by David Webb Peoples), based on Lucas's story. Howard G. Kazanjian served as producer.



The documentary Empire of Dreams states that George Lucas initially intended to call the film Return of the Jedi, but then changed it to Revenge of the Jedi when he was told by Lawrence Kasdan that "Return" was a weak title. Only a few weeks before the film's release did Lucas change the title back to Return of the Jedi. In interviews, Lucas said that the reason for the change is that a Jedi wouldn't seek revenge. There are many though who speculate that George Lucas had planned to call the film Return of the Jedi all along, and only used "Revenge" as a means to throw off merchandise counterfeiters. It has also been claimed that the reason for the change was because the working title of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was The Vengeance of Khan, and that the title was changed because of its similarity to Revenge of the Jedi. In the novel William Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories, director 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" because of the making of Revenge of the Jedi. Nevertheless, all of this potential controversy was erased when Star Trek II was retitled "The Wrath of Khan" and Revenge of the Jedi finally became Return of the Jedi. In any event, the working title was partially reused for Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

For several reasons, the working title of the project was Blue Harvest and dubbed "Horror Beyond Imagination" to engender no interest whatsoever in order to disguise what the production crew was really filming from fans and the prying eyes of the press. George Lucas had severed all his remaining ties to the Hollywood system out of a feeling of persecution after the success of The Empire Strikes Back and had become a truly independent filmmaker. Lucasfilm is a non-union company, and despite George Lucas's stature and clout, that, says Howard Kazanjian in Empire of Dreams, made acquiring shooting locations more difficult and more expensive, even though A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back were mammoth hits.

Filming took place from January 11 to May 20, 1982 in Redwood National Park forests in California, the Yuma desert in Arizona, and at the Elstree Studios, United Kingdom.

With a massive worldwide marketing campaign, Star Wars series artist Drew Struzan created the iconic and distinctive images for the movie posters and other advertising. In the film's release poster, Luke Skywalker is depicted holding a blue lightsaber&mdash;a lightsaber color that does not appear in the film. His new lightsaber is green&mdash;although it is blue in one trailer, suggesting the decision to make it green was taken late in production. In fact, the decision was made to make Luke's blade contrast with the blue sky of Tatooine and make it more visible during the skirmish at Carkoon.

A serious wardrobe problem was present in the film in that all Imperial characters, regardless of rank, are shown wearing identical rank insignia, being that of an Imperial Navy Commander. This was not recognized by the production staff until halfway through the film's shooting and the error remained uncorrected in the final version of the film.

Prior to production of the film, Mark Hamill speculated that Luke would end up turning to the Dark Side midway through the film, with the main conflict being whether Luke can return to the light side or not. A similar conflict would emerge in the comic serial Dark Empire.

Major musical themes:
 * Star Wars Main Title
 * Luke and Leia
 * Parade of the Ewoks
 * The Emperor's Theme

Critical reaction
While critical reception of the film was generally positive, Return of the Jedi is considered by some critics and many fans as the weakest film of the original trilogy. Some indication of public opinion can be gleaned by its relatively modest 106th place ranking in the Internet Movie Database's Top 250 films list. As a comparison, A New Hope is ranked at #14, and The Empire Strikes Back is ranked #11, as of November 14, 2010.

While the entire Jabba the Hutt sequence and the action set pieces, particularly the speeder bike chase on the Endor moon, the space battle between Rebel and Imperial pilots, and Luke Skywalker's duel against Darth Vader are well-regarded, the ground battle between the Ewoks and the Stormtroopers remains a bone of contention. A large number of fans believe George Lucas pushed the "cutesy" factor with the Ewoks, especially with the belief that he did it to make it more marketable to children; and some of the production staff, such as Harrison Ford, felt awkward throughout the filming process about the Ewoks. However, other reasons were cited, such as the Wookiees, which were planned for that instance, being vetoed by Lucas due to the prior films showing that they were quite capable with technology via Chewbacca. In addition, fans seem to be rather divided on the premise that an extremely primitive race of small creatures could, albeit with minimal aid, defeat an armed ground force comprising the Empire's best troops. Some fans call it ludicrous, while others credit the Ewoks' bravery, ingenuity, and determination, and draw comparisons between modern warfare in which familiarity with the terrain and guerrilla tactics can results in the defeat of a numerically and technologically superior force. George Lucas, in the documentary Empire of Dreams, as well as the commentary for the 2004 re-release, confirmed that it was intended to be the latter, and specifically cited the Nationalist/Communist(-backed) Vietnamese National Liberation Front, better known as the Vietcong, during the Vietnam War as an inspiration for the Ewok's defeat of the Empire, as his commentary on his views of America's involvement in the Vietnam War. This led to further controversy, an example being conservative commentator Bill Whittle, in the webseries Afterburner episode "Han Shot First," referencing Lucas' admission that the Ewoks were intended to be representative of the Vietcong, and pointed out the evident implication that the Galactic Empire would have likewise represented America.

However, contemporary critics seem to have been largely complimentary. In 1983, Roger Ebert gave the film a four-star rating, and Gary Arnold of the Washington Post described Return of the Jedi as "a triumph."

In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker is played by Hayden Christensen. However, in the original and Special Edition version of Return of the Jedi, a much older actor named Sebastian Shaw played both the dying Anakin Skywalker and his Force ghost. In the DVD release, Anakin's ghost has become a young man, played by Hayden Christensen, and this is considered the canon version of the ghost.

Lucas explains in the DVD commentary that Anakin has learned to control his life force beyond death, just as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda had before him. (This is very briefly explained in Revenge of the Sith). So rather than appear as the older man who was Darth Vader, Anakin is able to return to the young man he once was before turning to the dark side.

The basic controversy arises from critics of Lucas's ongoing changes to all of the Star Wars films. On one hand, the redemption of Luke's father as an older man suggests that this is the image that should represent him after death. On the other, the older man was arguably never Anakin Skywalker until his final moments, and the vision of Hayden Christensen brings the story full circle - Darth Vader defeated, Anakin Skywalker at rest. Many fans argue that the insertion of Christensen is disrespectful toward Shaw.

Re-releases
As with the other two films of his original trilogy, Lucas issued a Special Edition of Return of the Jedi in 1997, making a number of cosmetic changes and additions, including replacing a piece of music from the closing scene.

On September 21, 2004 the three original movies were finally released on DVD. There have a few further minor changes to the film on this release&mdash;such as sound effects and improvements to the visual quality of the film.

During the sequence when the Emperor's defeat at Endor is announced to the galaxy, an additional scene showing the celebrations on Theed, Naboo was shown. A Gungan can be heard yelling "Wesa free" in this scene.

In the scene showing the people of Coruscant celebrating, the Senate Building and the Jedi Temple have been added in the background.

Sebastian Shaw played Anakin in the hangar bay and in the final celebration scene in the original film. In the DVD release, Shaw continued to be Anakin in the hangar bay scene. Look closely and you will see that Shaw's bushy eyebrows have now been digitally removed. However, during the final celebration, Shaw was replaced by Hayden Christensen. In this release Anakin appeared as he did in Episode III. Instead of simply reshooting the Force ghost of Anakin with Hayden, test footage of Hayden's head was digitally grafted to the body of Sebastian Shaw playing the role. Thus, Anakin is seen wearing the robes of a Jedi Master, even though he did not achieve that rank in reality (though some might argue that he changed to a Master upon being redeemed by Luke). This has been retconned by saying that because Force ghosts are spirits, they may appear however the Force allows them to.

On September 12, 2006, Lucasfilm released a two-disc set consisting of the 2004 Special Edition and the unaltered original theatrical version. This release lasted until December 31, 2006.

With the release of the third episode that depicts how and why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side of the Force, George Lucas once again altered Return of the Jedi to strengthen the relationship between the original trilogy to the prequel trilogy.

The film was re-released in the Blu-ray format in September of 2011.

The film is planned to be re-released in the 3-D film format in 2017.

Novelization
The novelization of Return of the Jedi was written by James Kahn. While it contains many scenes that were deleted from the final cut, with the release of Episode III, Kahn's assertion that Anakin Skywalker's memories of "lava crawling up his back" have proved to be in error. In the novelization of Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi recounts to Luke Skywalker that he and Anakin Skywalker had battled and that his father "fell into a molten pit."

The novelization also erroneously refers to Owen Lars as Obi-Wan Kenobi's brother. Owen Lars is, in fact, Anakin Skywalker's step brother.
 * Ironically, Joel and Nash Edgerton, Owen's portratyer and Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan stunt double in the prequel trilogy, are brothers in real life.

At the beginning of the confrontation in Palpatine's throne room, the Emperor reads Luke's mind and discovers that Yoda completed Luke's Jedi training, and that Yoda is now dead. However, he gives no sign of recognition on hearing Yoda's name.

Radio drama
While the first two Star Wars movies were adapted for radio in the early 1980s, it was not until 1996 that a radio version of Return of the Jedi was heard. The adaptation was written by Brian Daley and was produced for and broadcast on National Public Radio. See Star Wars (radio) for details.

Comics
The film was adapted into comics form by Marvel Comics. Unlike the earlier film adaptations, it was not released as part of the ongoing Star Wars series, but as a four-part (1 2 3 4) mini-series of its own. The adaptation was scripted by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Al Williamson.

A manga adaptation illustrated by Shin-Ichi Hiromoto was released in Japan in 1998 and in the United States in 1999.

Collectibles
In 2007, in honor of Star Wars 30th anniversary, Hasbro released a series of commemorative tins. The Return of the Jedi tin contained Darth Vader, a scout trooper, a rebel trooper, and Princess Leia. The tin was number six of six.