Return of the Jedi - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Return of the Jedi or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Return of the Jedi

[jessica]

When Darth Vader is being hit by Emperor Palpatine's force lightning, the brief image of a skull can be seen superimposed on his visor.

[maureen]

Despite being an important contributor to the first two films, this was the first time sound designer Ben Burtt actually visited the set of a film being made. His cameo, as an imperial who falls over a railing in the Endor bunker, was however filmed back at ILM during pick-up shots.

[aaron]

The shooting schedule was six weeks shorter than Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

[frederick]

The script described a little more detail about Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia's mother. She was disguised as Leia's adoptive parents' handmaid. She died when Leia was about four. This was contradicted by Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), which showed Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) as Luke and Leia's mother, who died in childbirth.

[nora]

John Williams' son Joseph Williams, the lead singer of the pop/rock band TOTO, collaborated on part of the score, and wrote lyrics for the Ewoks songs.

[lynn]

According to Star Wars canon, Luke had been to the Sarlacc pit before. During his adolescence, it was a popular dare amongst his friends to jump the Sarlacc pit in a low-flying sand-skimmer.

[charlie]

When George Lucas originally mapped out the plot of the entire "Star Wars" saga, he refined the backstory he'd used writing Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), and concocted further stories for sequels. Initially thinking the series would run two trilogies, he eventually settled on three. The original trilogy would follow Luke Skywalker as he became a Jedi and fought Darth Vader. The second prequel trilogy would follow young Obi-wan Kenobi, and the fall of Anakin Skywalker. The third, a sequel trilogy, would follow Luke's twin sister, Nelleth Skywalker. Originally, this movie would have ended with Luke defeating Darth Vader and embarking on the search for Nelleth. However, with the production of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and this movie taking an enormous toll on Lucas' health and personal life (he and wife Marcia Lucas divorced shortly after the release of this movie), he opted to end the franchise here by making Leia into Luke's sister.

[caroline]

In the 2011 Blu-ray release, Ewoks blink. According to Warwick Davis on the Blu-ray commentary, a mechanism was invented to make the actual costume blink, but this was determined to be faulty, and was later aborted.

[gabriel]

When Han and Leia are trapped by two troopers as they attempt to access the shield generator, Han confesses his love by saying "I love you", to which Leia responds with "I know". This is a reverse of the conversation that took place in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), when Han is about to be frozen.

[javier]

David Lynch, who was once offered the chance to direct this movie, directed his own space epic, Dune (1984). That movie also featured a desert planet, sand worms, and an evil Emperor. The Emperor in Dune (1984) was played by Jose Ferrer. Ferrer, like Ian McDiarmid, has played the role of Iago from Shakespeare's Othello. Ferrer's youngest son, Rafael Ferrer, voiced one of the Emperor's Sith fore-bearers, Darth Malak, in Knights of the Old Republic.

[linda]

The inside of Jabba the Hutt's palace is deliberately styled to resemble the Mos Eisley cantina in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). George Lucas wanted to redo the scene, but with a bigger budget, and without having to rely on stock masks.

[darrell]

One of the words C-3PO uses to communicate with the Ewoks is "naboo" which is the name of Queen Amidala's planet in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).

[violet]

The trumpeting sound by the Ewoks at the end of the Battle of Endor was also heard in The Ten Commandments (1956).

[terry]

In the 2004 DVD release, Sebastian Shaw (older Anakin Skywalker) was replaced in the celebration scene by Hayden Christensen, the actor that portrayed Anakin in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).

[wallace]

Hayden Christensen mentioned in an interview that he didn't fully know what George Lucas was up to when he was inserted into the Special Edition, otherwise he would have played the scene totally different.

[veronica]

This movie takes place one year after Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

[carla]

The second time in the film series that Anakin/ Vader ever ignites a green lightsaber. In this when he ignites Luke's when Luke surrenders himself. The previous time was as Anakin in the Attack of the Clones scene on Geonosis.

[sandra]

Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo to die at the end of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), as he didn't want to play the character again. But George Lucas had a different idea and opted to have Han Solo frozen in carbonite and have him revived in this movie, in case Ford changed his mind about playing Han Solo for a third time. Ford finally got his wish when Han got killed in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015).

[javier]

Carrie Fisher complained about her costumes in the previous two movies. She said they were so long, you could not tell "she was a woman". Those complaints led to the skimpy outfit she wore as Jabba's slave. The costume became something of a running joke among the crew, because the metal framework that held the top together meant that the costume didn't move well with her. Since Fisher didn't like the industry standard solution of using double-sided tape, it became necessary before each take to have a wardrobe person check to ensure that her breasts were still snug inside the costume top (and several scenes had to be re-shot when "wardrobe malfunctions" occurred).