Production

[edit]

Development

[edit]

Following the commercial success of The Empire Strikes Back, a second Star Wars sequel was swiftly put into production.^[1] As with Empire, Lucas personally financed Return of the Jedi, but chose not to direct the film himself.^[2] Irvin Kershner, the director of Empire, declined to return for Jedi.^[3] Although Lucas' first choice for director was Steven Spielberg, their separate feuds with the Directors Guild of America led to Spielberg being banned from directing the film.^[4] Lucas approached David Lynch, who had recently been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for The Elephant Man (1980). Lynch declined, believing that Lucas should direct the film since Star Wars was his creation.^[5]^[6]

Lucas offered David Cronenberg the chance to direct, but he turned down the offer, as he preferred to direct films he had written himself.^[7]^[8] Lucas also considered Lamont Johnson, the director of The Last American Hero (1973), before finally choosing Richard Marquand.^[9] Lucas was on set frequently because of Marquand's relative inexperience with special effects; Marquand joked that directing Jedi was like "trying to direct King Lear – with Shakespeare in the next room!"^[a]^[2]^[11] Lucas praised Marquand's kindness and his ability to work with actors.^[12]

The screenplay for Jedi was based on a story by Lucas. The script was written by Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan,^[b] who allegedly told Lucas that Return of the Jedi was a weak title.^[2] Kazanjian echoed Kasdan's concern, and the title was changed to Revenge of the Jedi soon after.^[13]^[14] The screenplay was not finished until late in pre-production, well after a production schedule and a budget had been created, and after Marquand had been hired, which was unusual for a film. Instead, the production team relied on Lucas' story and his rough draft of the script to guide their early work. When it came time to write a shooting script, Lucas, Kasdan, Marquand and Kazanjian spent two weeks in conference discussing ideas; Kasdan used tape transcripts of these meetings to construct the script.^[15]

The question of whether Harrison Ford would return for Return of the Jedi arose during pre-production. Unlike Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, Ford was not contracted for two sequels, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) had made him an even bigger star. Kazanjian said that Han was frozen in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back because the filmmakers were unsure whether the character would return. He also claimed that Lucas did not expect Ford to return, and that Han was initially not in the script. However, Kazanjian—who also produced Raiders of the Lost Ark—ultimately convinced Ford to return.^[16]

Ford felt that Han should die through self-sacrifice in Jedi.^[17] Kasdan agreed, and said it should occur near the beginning of the third act, to make the audience wonder whether the other protagonists will survive.^[2] Gary Kurtz, who produced Star Wars and Empire but was replaced by Kazanjian for Jedi, said that Han died in an early version of the script. Kurtz has suggested that one reason Lucas may have rejected the idea of Han dying was that it would not be good for merchandising.^[18] Kurtz also has claimed that an early script ended with the rebel forces in tatters, Leia grappling with her new duties as a queen, and Luke walking off alone "like Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti Westerns".^[19]

Yoda was originally not meant to appear in the film, but Marquand strongly felt that returning to Dagobah was essential because audiences would expect it.^[15] After speaking with a children's psychologist, Lucas was concerned that young viewers might think that Darth Vader had lied about being Luke's father in the previous film, and so he inserted a scene in which Yoda confirms Vader's claim.^[12] There were many other scenes that were changed during writing. At one point the Ewoks were going to be Wookiees, and the Millennium Falcon was going to land on Endor.^[20] The ending of the film was going to show Obi-Wan, Yoda and Anakin Skywalker returning to life from their spectral existence in the Force.^[21]

Casting

[edit]

New cast members include Ian McDiarmid (left, pictured in 2020) as the Emperor, and Warwick Davis (in 2023) as Wicket the Ewok.

Alan Webb was originally cast as the Emperor, but dropped out due to illness.^[22] Lindsay Anderson was offered the role, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. Ben Kingsley and David Suchet were also considered.^[23]^[24] Alan Rickman auditioned for the role of Moff Jerjerrod, but Michael Pennington was cast instead.^[24] Marquand initially wanted a famous actor such as Laurence Olivier or John Gielgud to play the unmasked Vader, but Lucas was concerned that such an actor would be distracting for audiences.^[25] Kenny Baker was cast as Wicket the Ewok, but he fell ill with food poisoning on the day of the shoot. He was replaced by Warwick Davis, who had no film acting experience.^[2]^[26]

Filming

[edit]

Filming began on January 11, 1982, and lasted through May 20, 1982, a schedule six weeks shorter than Empire. Kazanjian's schedule pushed shooting as early as possible to give Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) as much time as possible to work on effects, which left some crew members doubtful of their ability to be fully prepared.^[27] Working on a budget of $32.5 million,^[28] Lucas was determined to avoid going over budget as had happened with Empire. Kazanjian estimated that using ILM (which was owned by Lucasfilm) for special effects saved the production approximately $18 million.^[28] However, the fact that Lucasfilm was a non-union company made acquiring shooting locations more difficult and more expensive, even though Star Wars and Empire had been big hits.^[2] The production of Jedi was given the working title Blue Harvest with a tagline of "Horror Beyond Imagination." This disguised the production from fans and the press, and prevented price gouging by service providers.^[2]

The first stage of production spanned 78 days at Elstree Studios in England, where the film occupied all nine sound stages.^[27] The shoot commenced with a scene that was later cut from the film, in which the heroes get caught in a sandstorm as they leave Tatooine.^[c]^[11]^[15] For the rancor, Lucas wanted to use a stunt performer in a suit in the style of the Toho Godzilla films. The production team made several attempts, but were unable to create an adequate result. Lucas eventually relented and made the rancor a puppet filmed at high speeds.^[2]

In April, the crew moved to Arizona's Yuma Desert for two weeks of Tatooine exteriors.^[11] Production then moved to northern California, where the crew shot Endor forest scenes in Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park on private land near Smith River.^[29]^[30] Principal photography concluded with about ten days of bluescreen shots at ILM in San Rafael, California. One small post-production unit shot background matte plates for a day in Death Valley, and a Steadicam unit shot forest backgrounds for the speeder chase on Endor.^[27]^[31] Garrett Brown, the inventor of the Steadicam, personally filmed these shots at less than one frame per second. By walking at about 5 mph (8 km/h) and projecting the footage at 24 frames per second, the motion seen in the film appeared as if it were moving at around 120 mph (190 km/h).^[2] Vader's funeral was filmed at Skywalker Ranch.^[32]^[33]

Marquand and Anthony Daniels clashed on set, which led Daniels to record his dialogue with Lucas instead.^[34] Fisher also disliked working with Marquand. He often yelled at her, which caused her to burst into tears on one occasion. The tears ruined her makeup so thoroughly that it took an hour to reapply it.^[35]

Post-production

[edit]

Lucasfilm encountered problems when it tested the film in a commercial theater. Lucas and his employees could not hear many of the sound effects they had mixed. To make matters worse, the background noise in the theater muffled the majority of the film's sound, which played through the theater's normal commercial sound system. Many theaters at the time had poor room acoustics with mono sound. Lucas would later solve this problem by founding a cinema audio company, THX, and ensuring that all theaters playing his films used a sound system that THX developed.^[36]

Meanwhile, special effects work at ILM quickly stretched the company to its operational limits. While the experience gained from the previous two films allowed for increased efficiency, this was offset by the desire to have the closing film raise the bar set by each of these films.^[28] A compounding factor was the intention of several departments of ILM to either take on other film work or decrease staff during slow cycles. Instead, as soon as production began, the entire company found it necessary to remain running 20 hours a day on six-day weeks in order to meet its goals by April 1, 1983. In total, ILM created about 900 special effects shots for Return of the Jedi.^[27]

^ Rinzler 2013, p. 2.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (DVD). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. September 21, 2004.
^ Mike, Ryan (October 18, 2010). "In Hindsight, Empire Strikes Back Director Irvin Kershner Would've Helmed One of the Prequels". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ Witzke, Sean (February 19, 2015). "A Look Back at Steven Spielberg at the Height of His Powers". Grantland. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
^ "David Lynch Meets George Lucas". YouTube. February 17, 2010. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
^ Tassi, Paul (December 9, 2009). "Lynch talks Jedi". JoBlo. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ Adler, Shawn (September 20, 2007). "Cronenberg's Aborted Job Offer: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Director's Chair?". MTV Movies Blog. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^ Keslassy, Elsa (May 16, 2022). "David Cronenberg Breaks Down Cannes Walkouts, His New Film's Sexuality, and Why Netflix Turns Him Down". Variety. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ Ryan, Joal (May 24, 2013). "The 'Return of the Jedi' That Could Have Been". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
^ Pollock, Dale (1999). Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas. Da Capo. pp. 203, 225, 227, 276. ISBN 0-573-60606-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c Marcus Hearn (2005). "Cliffhanging". The Cinema of George Lucas. New York City: Harry N. Abrams Inc. pp. 140–1. ISBN 0-8109-4968-7.
^ ^a ^b Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carrie Fisher. Fox Home Entertainment, 2004.
^ Rinzler 2013, p. 7.
^ McMillan, Graeme (May 24, 2013). "30 Things You Didn't Know About Return of the Jedi". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Richard Patterson (June 1983). "Return of the Jedi: Production and Direction, p. 3". American Cinematographer. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
^ "Howard Kazanjian interview | Producer | Star Wars | Indiana Jones". Howard Kazanjian interview | Producer | Star Wars | Indiana Jones. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^ "Harrison Ford: They should have killed Han Solo". ABC News. November 12, 2010. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2024 – via YouTube.
^ Ryan, Mike (November 9, 2012). "Harrison Ford's Complicated History With Han Solo". HuffPost. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ Boucher, Geoff (August 12, 2010). "Did 'Star Wars' become a toy story? Producer Gary Kurtz looks back". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^ Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, and Roger Guyett. Fox Home Entertainment, 2005.
^ George Lucas (June 12, 1981). "Star Wars — Episode VI: "Revenge of the Jedi" Revised Rough Draft". Starkiller. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
^ "Return of the Jedi: behind the scenes". October 8, 2013. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022.
^ Rinzler 2013, p. 126–127.
^ ^a ^b "10 Interesting Things I Learned from the Making of Return of the Jedi". October 2013. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
^ "10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Star Wars: Return of the Jedi". Gizmodo. September 25, 2013. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ Feldberg, Isaac (May 25, 2018). "Return of the Jedi actor Warwick Davis celebrates Solo return". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 20, 2025. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Patterson, Richard (June 1983). "Return of the Jedi: Production and Direction, p. 4". American Cinematographer. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c Richard Patterson (June 1983). "Return of the Jedi: Production and Direction, p. 1". American Cinematographer. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
^ Hesseltine, Cassandra. "Complete Filmography of Humboldt County". Humboldt Del Norte Film Commission. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
^ "Map of the Movies" (PDF). Humboldt – Del Norte Film Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
^ "Return of the Jedi: Steadicam Plates, p. 3". American Cinematographer. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
^ Star Wars in 100 Scenes. DK. 2014. ISBN 9781465420121.
^ Rinzler 2013.
^ Daniels 2019, pp. 145–146.
^ Stern, Marlow (December 8, 2015). "Carrie Fisher's Crazy 'Star Wars' Ride: Cocaine, the Rolling Stones, and That Slave Bikini". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ "Star Wars, George Lucas & A Disappearing Cello: The Story of THX Cinema Certification". February 21, 2017. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2021.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Development

[edit]

Following the commercial success of The Empire Strikes Back, a second Star Wars sequel was swiftly put into production.^[1] As with Empire, Lucas personally financed Return of the Jedi, but chose not to direct the film himself.^[2] Irvin Kershner, the director of Empire, declined to return for Jedi.^[3] Although Lucas' first choice for director was Steven Spielberg, their separate feuds with the Directors Guild of America led to Spielberg being banned from directing the film.^[4] Lucas approached David Lynch, who had recently been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for The Elephant Man (1980). Lynch declined, believing that Lucas should direct the film since Star Wars was his creation.^[5]^[6]

Lucas offered David Cronenberg the chance to direct, but he turned down the offer, as he preferred to direct films he had written himself.^[7]^[8] Lucas also considered Lamont Johnson, the director of The Last American Hero (1973), before finally choosing Richard Marquand.^[9] Lucas was on set frequently because of Marquand's relative inexperience with special effects; Marquand joked that directing Jedi was like "trying to direct King Lear – with Shakespeare in the next room!"^[a]^[2]^[11] Lucas praised Marquand's kindness and his ability to work with actors.^[12]

The screenplay for Jedi was based on a story by Lucas. The script was written by Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan,^[b] who allegedly told Lucas that Return of the Jedi was a weak title.^[2] Kazanjian echoed Kasdan's concern, and the title was changed to Revenge of the Jedi soon after.^[13]^[14] The screenplay was not finished until late in pre-production, well after a production schedule and a budget had been created, and after Marquand had been hired, which was unusual for a film. Instead, the production team relied on Lucas' story and his rough draft of the script to guide their early work. When it came time to write a shooting script, Lucas, Kasdan, Marquand and Kazanjian spent two weeks in conference discussing ideas; Kasdan used tape transcripts of these meetings to construct the script.^[15]

The question of whether Harrison Ford would return for Return of the Jedi arose during pre-production. Unlike Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, Ford was not contracted for two sequels, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) had made him an even bigger star. Kazanjian said that Han was frozen in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back because the filmmakers were unsure whether the character would return. He also claimed that Lucas did not expect Ford to return, and that Han was initially not in the script. However, Kazanjian—who also produced Raiders of the Lost Ark—ultimately convinced Ford to return.^[16]

Ford felt that Han should die through self-sacrifice in Jedi.^[17] Kasdan agreed, and said it should occur near the beginning of the third act, to make the audience wonder whether the other protagonists will survive.^[2] Gary Kurtz, who produced Star Wars and Empire but was replaced by Kazanjian for Jedi, said that Han died in an early version of the script. Kurtz has suggested that one reason Lucas may have rejected the idea of Han dying was that it would not be good for merchandising.^[18] Kurtz also has claimed that an early script ended with the rebel forces in tatters, Leia grappling with her new duties as a queen, and Luke walking off alone "like Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti Westerns".^[19]

Yoda was originally not meant to appear in the film, but Marquand strongly felt that returning to Dagobah was essential because audiences would expect it.^[15] After speaking with a children's psychologist, Lucas was concerned that young viewers might think that Darth Vader had lied about being Luke's father in the previous film, and so he inserted a scene in which Yoda confirms Vader's claim.^[12] There were many other scenes that were changed during writing. At one point the Ewoks were going to be Wookiees, and the Millennium Falcon was going to land on Endor.^[20] The ending of the film was going to show Obi-Wan, Yoda and Anakin Skywalker returning to life from their spectral existence in the Force.^[21]

^ Rinzler 2013, p. 2.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (DVD). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. September 21, 2004.
^ Mike, Ryan (October 18, 2010). "In Hindsight, Empire Strikes Back Director Irvin Kershner Would've Helmed One of the Prequels". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ Witzke, Sean (February 19, 2015). "A Look Back at Steven Spielberg at the Height of His Powers". Grantland. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
^ "David Lynch Meets George Lucas". YouTube. February 17, 2010. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
^ Tassi, Paul (December 9, 2009). "Lynch talks Jedi". JoBlo. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ Adler, Shawn (September 20, 2007). "Cronenberg's Aborted Job Offer: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Director's Chair?". MTV Movies Blog. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^ Keslassy, Elsa (May 16, 2022). "David Cronenberg Breaks Down Cannes Walkouts, His New Film's Sexuality, and Why Netflix Turns Him Down". Variety. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ Ryan, Joal (May 24, 2013). "The 'Return of the Jedi' That Could Have Been". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
^ Pollock, Dale (1999). Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas. Da Capo. pp. 203, 225, 227, 276. ISBN 0-573-60606-4.
^ Marcus Hearn (2005). "Cliffhanging". The Cinema of George Lucas. New York City: Harry N. Abrams Inc. pp. 140–1. ISBN 0-8109-4968-7.
^ ^a ^b Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carrie Fisher. Fox Home Entertainment, 2004.
^ Rinzler 2013, p. 7.
^ McMillan, Graeme (May 24, 2013). "30 Things You Didn't Know About Return of the Jedi". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Richard Patterson (June 1983). "Return of the Jedi: Production and Direction, p. 3". American Cinematographer. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
^ "Howard Kazanjian interview | Producer | Star Wars | Indiana Jones". Howard Kazanjian interview | Producer | Star Wars | Indiana Jones. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^ "Harrison Ford: They should have killed Han Solo". ABC News. November 12, 2010. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2024 – via YouTube.
^ Ryan, Mike (November 9, 2012). "Harrison Ford's Complicated History With Han Solo". HuffPost. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ Boucher, Geoff (August 12, 2010). "Did 'Star Wars' become a toy story? Producer Gary Kurtz looks back". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
^ Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, and Roger Guyett. Fox Home Entertainment, 2005.
^ George Lucas (June 12, 1981). "Star Wars — Episode VI: "Revenge of the Jedi" Revised Rough Draft". Starkiller. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2007.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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