The Making of Return of the Jedi

This article is about the Del Rey book released in 2013.
You may be looking for the 1983 book The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

The Making of Return of the Jedi is a book written by Jonathan W. Rinzler about the production of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, including a foreword by Brad Bird. It was published by Del Rey on October 1, 2013.^[1]

On October 22, 2013, it was released in enhanced eBook edition, with bonus artwork and photos that did not appear in the print edition.^[2]

Publisher's summary[]

Just as Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi completed the most successful cinematic trilogy of its generation, perhaps of all time, this splendid thirtieth-anniversary tribute completes New York Times bestselling author J. W. Rinzler's trio of fascinating behind-the-scenes books celebrating George Lucas's classic films.

Once again, the author's unprecedented access to the formidable Lucasfilm Archives has yielded a mother lode of extremely informative, vastly entertaining, and often unexpected stories, anecdotes, recollections, and revelations straight from the closely guarded set of a big-screen blockbuster in the making. Brimming with previously unpublished photos, production artwork, script excerpts, exclusive intel, vintage on-set interviews, and present-day commentary, The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi chronicles "how George Lucas and his crew of extroverted artists, misfits, and expert craftspeople roused themselves to great heights for a third time" to create the next unforgettable chapter in one of the most beloved sagas of all time. Get up close to the action and feel like a studio insider as

creator George Lucas, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, and director Richard Marquand huddle in a script conference to debate the destinies of iconic Star Wars characters, as well as plot twists and turns for the epic final showdown between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire
artists and craftspeople at the groundbreaking Industrial Light & Magic facility top their own revolutionary innovations—despite the infamous Black Friday—with boundary-pushing new analog visual effects
a crack team of sculptors, puppeteers, actors, and "monster-makers" bring Jabba the Hutt and his cohorts to startling, slobbering life from the inside out
a Who's Who of heavyweight directors—from such films as Superman, Gremlins, Halloween, Dune, Scanners, and Time Bandits—are considered for the coveted job of bringing a new Star Wars adventure to the silver screen
actors and crew race to the finish line at Elstree Studios, in a fiery desert, and beneath the trees of a dense redwood forest—before money runs out—to answer the questions that audiences had waited three years to find out: Is Darth Vader really Luke's father, who is the "other"—and who or what is the Emperor?

Star Wars' stars from both sides of the camera—including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Alec Guinness, director Richard Marquand, producer Howard Kazanjian, Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, and mastermind George Lucas—weigh in with candid insights on everything from technical challenges, character design, Ewoks, the Empire's galactic city planet, and the ultimate challenge of bringing the phenomenal space fantasy to a dramatic close. The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi gives a spectacular subject its just due, with more than five hundred images and many, many new interviews.^[1]

Contents[]

Foreword by Brad Bird
Introduction

Chapter 1: The Revenge of a Slavering Hulk (February 1979 to February 1981)
- Undated Outlines Summary
- Rough Draft Summary, February 24, 1981
Chapter 2: Directors Cut (February to June 1981)
- Revised Rough Draft Summary, June 12, 1981
Chapter 3: A City Too Far (June to July 1981)
- Story Conference Transcript Summary, July 13-17, 1981
Chapter 4: A Poet's Emperor (July to September 1981)
- Second Draft Summary, September 21, 1981
Chapter 5: Setup on Space Street (September 1981 to January 1982)
- Revised Second Draft Summary, November 1, 1981
- Third Draft Summary, December 1, 1981
Chapter 6: The Friction of Multiple Lenses (January to February 1982)
Chapter 7: An Ending of Elstree (February to April 1982)
Chapter 8: The 4:12 to Yuma (April to May 1982)
Chapter 9: Harnessing the Elements (June to November 1982)
Chapter 10: Butterfly Effects (November 1982 to February 1983)
Chapter 11: Post-Traumatic Film (February to May 1983)
Chapter 12: Joy of the Jedi (May 1983 to September 1987)

Epilogue
Cast and Crew Credits (Complete)
Bibliography
Index

Continuity[]

On page 124, a caption for a photograph from the sandstrom sequence refers to Peter Mayhew having his arms around Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill for support, but it is actually Billy Dee Williams instead of Fisher.