From Filmmaking to Toymaking: The Downfall of "Return of the Jedi", Pt. 3

The final bit that changed with the alternate script and draft was the ending. It was to derive inspiration from a "Clint Eastwood spaghetti western", as Kurtz put it. More precisely:

"The discussed ending of the film that <I> favored presented the rebel forces in tatters, Leia grappling with her new duties as queen and Luke walking off alone like Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti westerns."

What we can pull from that, at least what I did, is that the ending was going to be a lot more bittersweet than the one that currently exists. Like we saw Luke Skywalker conquer Vader, defeat the Emperor, and rather than happily celebrate with his friends, he would've slapped on the Jedi robes and walked off into the sunset. This ending would've made a shit load more sense, considering where they took it with The Force Awakens. Instead, the ending of Return of the Jedi sees Luke reunite with his friends and party with them and the Ewoks and everybody's happy. It's only the fact now that between those movies that Luke decides to train some people, then one pupil ruins the whole thing for everybody, causing Luke to go into excile. Personally, I think it would've been neat to have Luke just immediately go into exile at the end of Jedi, considering the emotional shit that he just went through. I mean, he had a cyborg and an old wizard taunting him to turn angry for an entire final battle, when does the poor kid get a break? Considering Luke kinda came into Jabba's Palace as a loaner, it would make more sense for him to disappear as a loaner. Then when Force Awakens comes around...*gasp* Luke's still in exile, as he had vanished from sight after helping the rebels in Jedi only to now be called upon once again. I think the story of Force Awakens was written for this ending (and to rip off Star Wars, but that's beside the point). Luke Skywalker would've been a far more powerfully present character on screen if he were treated more as Clint Eastwood from the Dollar trilogy; somebody who shows up when called upon and commands the entire screen with his presence. Luke's still valiant as a regular ol' swashbuckling hero, but I think this idea of sending Luke off into the sunset without his friends at the end of Return of the Jedi would be more poignant and iconic. Instead, we have Ewoks...that is one massive one-eighty.

What about the Leia ending? There's potential that could of happened with that as well. In my view, it could've made The Force Awakens make a ton more sense too. Let's face it; the prequels kinda ripped a rug out from underneath the whole "princess/royalty" thing. I mean, even if Padme's a Queen by title, she's still an elected Queen...however that works. Even then, she was adopted by a senator from Coruscant, Bail Organa. Would she still carry her phony Princess title through the adoption? Maybe; an argument can be made for that. Still, if they really followed through on it, this is the ending that would've been a better story to run all the way into The Force Awakens. It could have eliminated the need for this superfluous good-guy faction in the Resistance, by replacing it with just the New Republic with Leia as its Queen. That way, The Force Awakens doesn't leave the Resistance to get all the spotlight and this so-called New Republic to get destroyed by a Starkiller Base super-laser attack after about one hundred and twenty seconds of screentime.

So take it as you read it. Gary Kurtz claims that we've missed out on a possibly more power ending to the fabled Star Wars original trilogy. If you ask me, I'm content with the one we have. It's still a childhood favorite, and there are redeeming things about it. Luke Skywalker is walking badass in the movie, and every scene he's in, Mark Hamill's surprisingly deadpan delivery works amazingly in sync with the flow of each scene. A lot of people say he's dry, but with him, it works. I can't explain it, it's just something I know. I know that when Hayden Christensen tried to replicate it for the prequel trilogy as Luke's father, it came off more boring and less inspired than Hamill's. Yet, it was basically the same style of delivery.

I hope you learned something, or at least gave it some thought. This version of Return of the Jedi is lost forever, nothing more than a few ideas that never came to fruition, but it's certainly interesting to think about. I find it fascinating to find out what some of my favorite movies could have been, and Star Wars is of no exception. Return of the Jedi is not a quality follow-up to The Empire Strikes Back, but it still does great in a few areas. The style is there, the settings are exotic, the special effects are superb. Just some story and character elements could maybe have used a second going over. But, it is what it is and it exists for a reason. The ending cap of the middle trilogy, in a saga originally conceived to be four trilogies of films, then three after the release of Star Wars, two after the release of Empire, and then none after Jedi. Until George decided in '94 to kickstart the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Well, thanks for reading. Again, I hope you at least enjoyed and learned a little something. I would say "May the force be with you", but that's just a tacky way to end it.