109 Fun Facts About Return of the Jedi

Who directed Return of the Jedi?

Richard Marquand directed it with Lucas often on set, and warned him at the start that he would be 'constantly bugging him with questions.'

Who was George Lucas's first choice to direct Return of the Jedi?

Steven Spielberg was Lucas's first choice, but both men had feuded with the Directors Guild, and the fallout left Spielberg barred from the job.

What title did Return of the Jedi's teaser trailer and first posters carry?

Revenge of the Jedi: Lucas restored the old title before release, and the dropped word resurfaced 22 years later in Revenge of the Sith.

What fake working title hid Return of the Jedi's shoot from fans and the press?

Blue Harvest was on everything from camera slates and hotel reservations to the crew's hats and T-shirts, passed off as a horror film.

On which planet is Jabba the Hutt's palace in Return of the Jedi?

Tatooine: Luke's message offers the droids to Jabba as a gift, but Jabba keeps them and refuses to bargain for Han.

How does Leia get into Jabba's palace?

Disguised as a bounty hunter, Leia leads Chewbacca in as her 'captive' and haggles with Jabba over the reward.

What creature does Jabba drop Luke through a trapdoor to face?

A rancor: Jabba feeds slaves who displease him to it, until Luke kills the beast and leaves the Hutt enraged.

What is the cackling Kowakian monkey-lizard perched beside Jabba's throne called?

Salacious Crumb is Jabba's court jester, kept around partly because his cackling mimicry of the Hutt's visitors amuses his master.

Into what does Jabba plan to throw Luke, Han and Chewbacca?

The Sarlacc pit, in the Great Pit of Carkoon, digests its victims over a thousand years; Boba Fett tumbles in during the fight.

How does Jabba the Hutt die?

Leia strangles him with her chain, the very chain Jabba had used to keep her captive at his side.

After a man-in-a-suit test failed, how did ILM bring the beast beneath Jabba's throne room to life?

As a puppet filmed at high speed: a rod puppet looked like a hand puppet, so ILM shot it fast, slow and even backwards to make it move like a giant.

Who first confirms to Luke that Darth Vader really is his father?

Yoda, on his deathbed, tells Luke 'Your father he is', and Obi-Wan's ghost then explains how Anakin became Vader.

Who tells Luke that Leia is his twin sister?

Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force spirit reveals it on Dagobah, explaining that the twins were hidden from their father at birth to protect them from the Emperor.

How does Han's strike team slip past the Death Star's shield to reach Endor?

In a stolen Imperial shuttle, but the Emperor was expecting them: he had leaked word of the new Death Star to lure the Rebels into a trap.

How does Luke reach Darth Vader on Endor?

He surrenders to Imperial troops, sure that there is still good in his father and that he can turn him back.

Which two pilots fly into the Death Star's core and destroy its reactor?

Lando in the Millennium Falcon and Wedge Antilles in his X-wing fly into the Death Star's core; Wedge hits the power regulator and Lando the main reactor.

How does the Emperor die in Return of the Jedi?

Vader throws him down a shaft to save Luke from his Force lightning, turning on the master he had served.

Which actor plays the unmasked Anakin Skywalker?

Sebastian Shaw played the dying Anakin, and the 2004 DVD digitally erased his eyebrows to reflect the scarring Anakin suffers on Mustafar.

Who plays the Emperor in Return of the Jedi?

Ian McDiarmid returned sixteen years later to play the younger Palpatine in the prequel films.

Which actor auditioned for Moff Jerjerrod but lost the part to Michael Pennington?

Alan Rickman read Moff Jerjerrod in a 'big, slow, low voice' but lost out, two decades before he played Severus Snape.

Why did Warwick Davis end up playing Wicket the Ewok?

Kenny Baker fell ill, so Lucas moved Davis, an 11-year-old extra whose grandmother had heard a radio casting call, into the role.

The Ewoks were originally going to be which species?

Wookiees had become too technologically advanced, so Lucas wanted something short and primitive.

Which dog breed inspired the Ewok design?

Griffon Bruxellois: the breed inspired the Ewoks, and the 2011 Blu-ray release digitally gave them blinking eyes.

The Ewok language created by Ben Burtt is based on which real language?

Kalmyk: Ben Burtt recorded an elderly Kalmyk speaker, Kosi Unkov, telling stories, and built the Ewoks' chatter from her voice.

What real-world conflict inspired the Ewoks' battle against the Empire?

The Vietnam War: Lucas modelled the Ewoks' fight on the Viet Cong, guerrillas who prevailed against a technologically superior American army.

What lures Chewbacca into the Ewoks' net trap on Endor?

A dead animal on a stake: Chewie grabs it, the net springs, and Han groans, 'Always thinkin' with your stomach.'

Which species is Admiral Ackbar?

Mon Calamari: Ackbar leads the Rebel fleet at Endor, and his warning 'It's a trap!' turned a bit part into a fan favourite.

Who co-pilots the Millennium Falcon in the space battle at Endor?

Nien Nunb speaks some real Kikuyu, so Kenyan audiences could understand his lines, which made him a hit when the film opened there.

Where were the Endor forest scenes filmed?

Redwood forests near Smith River, northern California became Endor only in spring: January weather ruled the forest out, so shooting began on London stages.

Where were the sail-barge battle exteriors filmed?

Yuma, Arizona: its desert set wasn't finished when filming began in January, so the crew reached the desert only in April.

How were the forest backgrounds for Return of the Jedi's speeder-bike chase filmed?

A walking, slow-frame Steadicam: Garrett Brown shot the forest at about one frame a second, so his walking pace plays back at speeder-bike speed.

At which English studio did Return of the Jedi's shoot begin?

Elstree hosted 78 days on its stages, and the very first scene shot there, a sandstorm, was later cut from the film.

What does R2-D2 secretly carry into Jabba's palace?

Luke's lightsaber: at Jabba's desert execution, R2-D2 launches it into Luke's waiting hand and the rescue begins.

What does Leia threaten to set off in Jabba's throne room?

A thermal detonator: instead of striking back, Jabba laughs at the nerve of it, calls the newcomer 'my kind of scum' and agrees to pay.

Which Imperial vehicle do Chewbacca and two Ewoks commandeer during the Battle of Endor?

An AT-ST walker: Chewie and two Ewoks swing onto it from a vine, then turn its guns on the Imperial ground forces.

Which sound-certification company did Lucas found so theatres would play his films as mixed?

THX, Tomlinson Holman's cinema sound standard at Lucasfilm, later moved from theatres into living rooms with home-theatre systems.

How does Luke refuse the Emperor's order to kill Darth Vader?

He throws his lightsaber away, declaring 'I am a Jedi, like my father before me,' so the furious Emperor attacks him with Force lightning.

David Barclay and Toby Philpott worked inside Jabba the Hutt; which famous team did they come from?

Jim Henson's team: inside Jabba, Barclay lip-synced the lines in English, but the Huttese voice was dubbed in later.

Which song does the Max Rebo Band perform in Jabba's palace in the 1983 cut?

Sy Snootles and the Max Rebo Band perform 'Lapti Nek' in the 1983 cut; the 1997 Special Edition replaced it with the new number 'Jedi Rocks'.

Which power gets Luke past Bib Fortuna but fails on Jabba the Hutt?

A Jedi mind trick: it sways Bib Fortuna, but Jabba sneers that 'your mind powers will not work on me, boy.'

Who composed Return of the Jedi's score, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra?

John Williams scored it, and when the 1997 Special Edition cut the Ewoks' finale song 'Yub Nub', he wrote the new music that replaced it.

Which future film composer orchestrated part of Return of the Jedi's score?

Thomas Newman orchestrated the cue for Darth Vader's death, long before his own Oscar-nominated scores for American Beauty and Skyfall.

Which Return of the Jedi star argued that Han Solo should die?

Harrison Ford argued Han should die sacrificing himself; Lucas kept him alive, and Han was finally killed by his son in The Force Awakens.

Who says, 'Many Bothans died to bring us this information'?

Mon Mothma, played by Caroline Blakiston: the spies' news was that the Emperor himself is overseeing the new Death Star's construction.

What change did the 1997 Special Edition make to the creature that swallows Boba Fett?

It gained a beak, plus extra tentacles; Fett's apparent death inside the creature was undone decades later in The Mandalorian.

In Return of the Jedi's 2004 DVD, which actor was inserted as Anakin's Force spirit?

Hayden Christensen replaced the original actor because Lucas wanted the redeemed spirit to return as Anakin was before he turned to the dark side.

What controversial line did the 2011 Blu-ray add to Darth Vader?

He yells 'No!', echoing his anguished cry at the end of the prequels, a change that drew criticism.

Which planet made its first on-screen appearance in the 1997 Special Edition's victory montage?

Coruscant: the added montage glimpsed the city-planet two years before The Phantom Menace made it a major setting.

What does Luke do with Darth Vader's body after the battle?

He burns it on a funeral pyre on Endor, and that night his father's redeemed spirit appears, watching over the Rebel celebration.

What is the name of Vader's Super Star Destroyer that crashes into the Death Star?

The Executor, Vader's Super Star Destroyer and the Imperial flagship, loses its bridge to a crashing A-wing and plunges into the Death Star's surface.

Which studio released Return of the Jedi in 1983?

20th Century-Fox only distributed the film: George Lucas paid for the production himself, putting his own money at risk.

Who co-wrote Return of the Jedi's screenplay with George Lucas?

Lawrence Kasdan built the shooting script from the transcript of a two-week story conference, taped right down to the heated disagreements.

Who was the producer of Return of the Jedi, replacing Gary Kurtz?

Howard Kazanjian pushed filming to start as early as January 1982, giving ILM as much time as possible for the effects.

Which Imperial officer, promoted after Vader choked his predecessor, commands Vader's flagship at Endor?

Admiral Piett, played by Kenneth Colley, survives serving Vader only to die when a Rebel starfighter destroys the flagship's command bridge.

After thawing Han out of carbonite, what does Leia tell him she is?

Someone who loves you, she says, but moments later an ominous laugh reveals that Jabba has caught them.

What rank does Han Solo hold when he leads the Endor strike team?

Han Solo, newly made a General of the Rebel Alliance, volunteers to lead the strike team that lands on Endor to knock out the shield generator.

Which actor is credited as Boba Fett in Return of the Jedi?

Jeremy Bulloch wore the armour; Jason Wingreen voiced Fett in Empire, a voice later swapped for Temuera Morrison's to tie the character to the prequels.

Which fantasy film did George Lucas first pitch to Warwick Davis while he was playing Wicket?

Willow: Lucas raised the idea during the 1982 shoot, but five years passed before Davis was cast as the title hero.

What species is Jabba's majordomo Bib Fortuna?

Twi'lek: after Jabba's death, Bib Fortuna seized power and tried to control the local criminal underworld.

Students at which school campaigned in 2010 to replace mascot Colonel Reb with Return of the Jedi's Admiral Ackbar?

The University of Mississippi campaign began as a joke, then went viral and drew national news coverage. Some students threatened to transfer if the fish-eyed admiral won.

Which director of The Elephant Man turned down Return of the Jedi, arguing that George Lucas should direct it himself?

David Lynch felt the saga was its creator's vision to finish. He went on to make a space epic of his own, Dune, which reached cinemas the year after.

The way Jabba the Hutt dies in Return of the Jedi was inspired by a killing in which gangster film?

The Godfather's murder of the heavyset enforcer Luca Brasi was the model for the crime lord's end, by film historian Laurent Bouzereau's telling.

Denis Lawson, an X-wing pilot in Return of the Jedi, is the uncle of which later Star Wars leading man?

Ewan McGregor is the son of Lawson's sister, and joined the saga himself when the prequel trilogy began sixteen years later.

Which Return of the Jedi star found a comic adaptation on sale a month early and alerted Lucasfilm to the leak?

Mark Hamill came across Marvel's adaptation in a shop that April, plot spoilers and all. His warning led the publisher to recall the issue.

Blue in an early trailer, the blade Luke Skywalker wields in Return of the Jedi is what colour in the finished film?

Green was a late switch in the final edit. The film-makers felt the original colour would be lost against the bright sky in the outdoor desert scenes.

What temporary affliction hampers Han Solo through the fight at Jabba's sail barge after he is thawed from carbonite?

Blindness lingers after the thaw, so Chewbacca has to warn Han when Boba Fett is close by.

Whose advice led George Lucas to add a scene to Return of the Jedi confirming Darth Vader really is Luke's father?

A child psychologist left Lucas worried that young viewers would decide the villain had simply lied in the previous film, so the script settles the question out loud.

Sales of which company's Star Wars action figures helped George Lucas pay for Return of the Jedi himself?

Kenner sold figures in such numbers that, with other licensing deals, the income let Lucas bankroll both sequels without a studio's money.

Return of the Jedi's only Oscar was a Special Achievement Award recognising which part of the production?

Visual effects won the film its lone statuette, shared by four effects artists including Dennis Muren and Phil Tippett.

In Return of the Jedi, what does Luke Skywalker send Jabba the Hutt as a goodwill gift before bargaining for Han Solo?

His two droids are handed over as an opening offer in the talks for Han's release, a gift that also plants allies inside the palace.

What does the Emperor use to torture Luke Skywalker for refusing to kill his father in Return of the Jedi?

Force lightning nearly kills Luke before Darth Vader, unwilling to watch his son die, turns on his master.

What does the Emperor reveal about the half-built second Death Star once the Rebel fleet arrives in Return of the Jedi?

Its superlaser already works, and it begins picking off Rebel capital ships while the fleet is pinned against a shield that was meant to be down.

In which later Star Wars film do the Ewoks of Return of the Jedi make a brief return to the cinema screen?

The Rise of Skywalker gave them a brief cameo in 2019, 36 years after their debut. In between, they had carried two television films and a cartoon series.

In Return of the Jedi, what does Han Solo accidentally strike to send Boba Fett hurtling into the side of Jabba's barge?

His rocket pack fires when Han swings round and clips it, a chance blow that ends the feared mercenary's part in the film.

In 2021 the Library of Congress chose Return of the Jedi for preservation in which collection of American films?

National Film Registry titles are picked for being culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. The honour came 38 years after the film's release.

Which company, maker of the first Star Wars trading cards in 1977, issued two Return of the Jedi sets in 1983?

Topps printed its first 1983 series with red borders and its second with blue, each mixing picture cards with stickers.

The first scene shot for Return of the Jedi, later cut from the film, showed the heroes caught in what?

A sandstorm sequence opened the shoot in January 1982 and resurfaced almost thirty years later as a deleted scene on the Blu-ray release.

Which Gandhi star was considered to play the Emperor in Return of the Jedi after the actor first cast had to withdraw?

Ben Kingsley and David Suchet were both weighed up once the veteran Alan Webb had pulled out.

Which director of The Empire Strikes Back turned down the chance to make Return of the Jedi as well?

Irvin Kershner had spent almost three years on the previous film and passed, so the trilogy ended up with a different director for each chapter.

Return of the Jedi's opening weekend broke a box-office record set a year earlier by which sequel?

Star Trek II had opened to $14 million a year earlier. The final chapter of the Star Wars trilogy took $23 million in its first weekend.

Which star of Lou Grant voiced Jabba the Hutt in the radio drama of Return of the Jedi, speaking only in grunts?

Ed Asner, later the voice of Carl in Pixar's Up, growled his way through a three-hour adaptation scripted by Brian Daley.

In Return of the Jedi, the Falcon's co-pilot at Endor speaks real languages recorded by a student from which country?

Kenya was home to Kipsang Rotich, who delivered the lines in his native Kalenjin and in Kikuyu rather than in an invented alien tongue.

What did the 2004 edition of Return of the Jedi digitally remove from the face of the dying Anakin Skywalker?

His eyebrows were erased to match the injuries the character suffers on the lava world of Mustafar in the final prequel, released the following year.

What were the Ewoks digitally made to do for the first time in the 2011 Blu-ray of Return of the Jedi?

Blink their eyes: the film-makers had hoped for it in 1983, but the costumes could not manage it, and only one Ewok mask had any moving features.

The director of Return of the Jedi, who had studied Mandarin on National Service, was born in which country?

Wales: he was born in the Cardiff suburb of Llanishen, and during that posting to Hong Kong he also read the news on local English-language television.

Which 1984 television film spun the Ewoks of Return of the Jedi off into an adventure with two stranded children?

Caravan of Courage was its title in overseas cinemas. American viewers first saw it on ABC as The Ewok Adventure, and a sequel followed a year later.

A Return of the Jedi designer first pictured Jabba the Hutt as a refined, intelligent man resembling which film star?

Orson Welles was costume designer Nilo Rodis-Jamero's model, before the creature shop built a one-ton puppet with a snake-like head instead.

Which company's 1984 Return of the Jedi arcade game opens with Princess Leia riding a speeder bike through a forest?

Atari made it the showcase for new graphics chips, trading the vector graphics of its earlier Star Wars cabinet for pixels.

Tony Cox, who plays an Ewok in Return of the Jedi, later starred as the crooked elf Marcus in which Christmas comedy?

Bad Santa cast him as the brains of a safe-cracking duo, a role he repeated in the 2016 sequel before retiring from acting.

Joseph Williams, who wrote lyrics for the alien songs in Return of the Jedi, later sang lead for which rock band?

Toto hired him in 1986, three years after his words were sung in Jabba's court. He was later the singing voice of the adult Simba in The Lion King.

Which science-fiction honour did Return of the Jedi win in 1984 in the category of Best Dramatic Presentation?

Hugo voters, the members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention, gave the prize to all three original Star Wars films: three wins from three nominations.

What does an enraged Luke Skywalker cut from Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi, just as Vader once did to him?

His hand proves to be a prosthetic, much like the mechanical replacement Luke himself has worn since their previous duel.

Which Rebel starfighter new to Return of the Jedi has a cockpit that stays level while the craft rotates around it?

B-wing fighters were planned for more scenes, but their thin profile proved hard to see against space. The rotating cockpit came from an early Millennium Falcon design.

What is the name of Admiral Ackbar's flagship, the cruiser that leads the Rebel fleet into battle in Return of the Jedi?

Home One was the flying cigar to its model-makers, thanks to a long cylindrical hull; in the story it began life as a deep-space exploration ship.

Which 1981 spy thriller starring Donald Sutherland persuaded George Lucas to hire its director for Return of the Jedi?

Eye of the Needle, from a Ken Follett novel about a Nazi spy stranded on a Scottish island, struck Lucas as full of energy and suspense.

Which Olympic fencer wore Darth Vader's costume for the duels of Return of the Jedi, staging the fights himself?

Bob Anderson fenced for Great Britain at the 1952 Helsinki Games and went on to coach Sean Connery, Viggo Mortensen and Johnny Depp in screen swordplay.

Which member of the Rebel strike team do the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi mistake for a deity after capturing them?

C-3PO later wins the tribe over for good by narrating, that same night, the story of the Rebellion's fight against the Empire.

What is the Emperor's surname, given in the novelization of Return of the Jedi but never spoken in the film itself?

Palpatine went unnamed on screen through all three original films. His rise was modelled on political strongmen such as Julius Caesar and Napoleon.

Which actor, the voice of Darth Vader, took an on-screen credit for the first time with Return of the Jedi?

James Earl Jones had gone unbilled on the first two films at his own request. His name was added to the original only for its 1997 re-release.

Which actor plays the former Cloud City administrator who flies the Millennium Falcon into battle in Return of the Jedi?

Billy Dee Williams had joined the saga in the previous film as its first Black actor in a major on-screen role, nine years after the TV movie Brian's Song made his name.

Which dancer in Jabba the Hutt's court, played by Femi Taylor, meets a grim end early in Return of the Jedi?

Oola's last scene was extended for the 1997 Special Edition, and Femi Taylor returned to the role more than a decade on looking unchanged.

Which Ewok scout in Return of the Jedi steals a speeder bike to lure Imperial guards away from the shield bunker?

Paploo drew three of the four scouts into a chase, which left the Rebels only one guard to overpower at the bunker door.

Which pig-like species stands guard throughout Jabba the Hutt's palace in Return of the Jedi?

Gamorreans were Jabba's favourite hired muscle because they came cheap, and their home world's travel-guide entry is a blunt warning not to go.

Which singer in Jabba the Hutt's house band in Return of the Jedi was a puppet later replaced by computer animation?

Sy Snootles needed two puppeteers in 1983, one above the set and one beneath it, yet still could not open her mouth in time with the song.

Which Return of the Jedi actor clashed with the director on set and ended up recording his dialogue with George Lucas?

Anthony Daniels, the man inside the golden protocol droid, later reprised the part when the film was adapted for radio in 1996.

Which Muppets performer returns in Return of the Jedi to voice and operate Luke Skywalker's aged Jedi Master on Dagobah?

Frank Oz was also the performer behind Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Sesame Street's Cookie Monster.

Which American network aired a three-hour audio dramatization of Return of the Jedi in 1996, with a new voice for Luke?

National Public Radio aired it more than a decade after its serials of the first two films, with Joshua Fardon taking over as Luke.

Which Chicago Sun-Times critic gave Return of the Jedi a full four stars, praising it as a complete entertainment?

Roger Ebert wrote that George Lucas and his team kept topping themselves, while The New Yorker's Pauline Kael dismissed the same film as junky.

Which make-up artist developed the Ewoks for Return of the Jedi and co-designed its one-ton Jabba the Hutt puppet?

Stuart Freeborn shared the Jabba job with the Industrial Light & Magic creature shop. Building the puppet took three months and cost $500,000.