FAQ

Because he and George Lucas didn't get along. Also, Prowse was not a classically trained actor and likely couldn't bring the gravitas to the unmasked Vader.

It was considered tradition. However, the tradition was broken with The Force Awakens. Originally planned for May 2015, it was pushed back to December. And all subsequent theatrical releases had to keep the December release schedule in order to release 1 per year. Lucasfilm attempted to move back to the May release schedule with Solo: A Star Wars Story at the insistence of Disney CEO, Bob Iger. However, due to several factors, Solo under-performed and it was decided to return to the December release for The Rise of Skywalker.

Sheev Palpatine was born in 84 BBY. Return of the Jedi takes place in 4 ABY; making him 88 years old.

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader was born in 41 BBY. The film takes place in 4 ABY. Making him 45 years old.

This film takes place in 4 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin). So 1 year after Empire Strikes Back and 5 years before The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett.

After rescuing the carbonite-encrusted Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from the clutches of crime lord Jabba the Hutt, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), the Wookie Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), and androids R2D2 (Kenny Baker) and 3-CPO (Anthony Daniels), regroup at the Rebel base and set out to destroy the Galactic Emperor Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid) new and more powerful DeathStar, while Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) attempts to save his father, Darth Vader (David Prowse; voice of James Earl Jones), from the Dark Force.

No. Return of the Jedi is the third movie to be released in George Lucas' original Star Wars trilogy, preceded by Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) (1977) and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (1980). The original trilogy was then followed by a second trilogy of movies: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) (1999), Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) (2005), actually prequels to the original storyline. The story for Return of the Jedi was written by Lucas, who also wrote the screenplay along with American screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. The movie was novelized in 1983 by American writer James Kahn.

Return of the Jedi takes place roughly a year after the events of The Empire Strikes Back, and four years after the events of A New Hope.

A Jedi's training consists of more than lightsaber lessons, physical training and education in Force control; as every Padawan (an individual undergoing Jedi training) had to complete the Jedi Trials in order to become a Jedi Knight. In old times, these trials were often done inside areas of the Jedi Temple, where the Force would create physical and mental challenges, which tested the candidate's skills, knowledge and determination. Luke faces one of such trials in the cave on Dagobah, where his mind creates Darth Vader as manifestation of his fear, indicating that he is still not in control of the Force.

There are special circumstances in which a Padawan has already proven himself in the field more than enough to earn him the level of Jedi Knight. In The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan Kenobi was ready for the trials according to Qui-Gon Jinn, but he was given the title after defeating a fully-trained Sith Lord almost single-handedly. In the animated micro-series Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) (an interquel to Episodes II and III), Anakin Skywalker earned his title after single-handedly defending an outpost against the Separatists. Yoda and Ben already knew that Luke would not yet be able to defeat Darth Vader, and they feared that he would also be unable to resist the dark side of the Force. However, Luke managed to resist Vader's temptations.

So, despite Luke's unfortunate choice to leave his training early, this may have been considered a successfully completed Jedi Trial. Luke had also made himself a new lightsaber (having lost Anakin's old one during his duel with Darth Vader in the Cloud City), another test necessary in order to become a Jedi Knight. According to Lucas, the ability to create one's own functional lightsaber is one of the last trials toward becoming a Jedi because of the high level of control over the Force, which is necessary to maneuver the crystals that make up the major components of a lightsaber. The slightest miscalculation will cause the lightsaber to explode when first activated. Vader confirms this later after realizing that Luke has constructed a new lightsaber, and he states that Luke's skills are complete because of this accomplishment. Yoda concluded that Luke's training was indeed complete, and there was little more he could learn from him: all that stood in the way of Luke becoming a Jedi Knight was a final confrontation with Vader, the hope being that Luke would bring Anakin back from the dark side.

Also take into account that Yoda was dying and could not exactly leave Luke with the impression that he was not fully trained. This would cause Luke to doubt himself when he most needed confidence.

These are hand-drawn garbage mattes. A garbage matte represents a technique of blotting out unwanted areas of a shot, such as the greyish boxes appearing around spacecraft in some scenes, where the matte was used to cut out mounting pylons for the models and other areas not covered by blue screen. In a theatrical presentation, these garbage mattes are generally invisible because of the high contrast of motion picture film; however, the lower range of colors and grayscale supported by home video standards often causes these special effects artifacts to show up when viewed on disc or VHS versions.

For the most part, yes. Although there is never an explicit mention of a "light side" of the Force in the movies; it is the expected name for what constitutes the opposite of the dark side of the Force. The easiest analogy to make, is if one was to say become a bodybuilder. To do it the Jedi way would mean eating the proper diet, grueling and painful hard work, and strict discipline. To do it the dark side way would mean using steroids. A lot of the principals and dedication are more or less the same, however using the dark side of the Force involves less work to attain the same potential and therefore less discipline in the use of the powers, which can ultimately lead to the user's own demise. Remember what Yoda says in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) when Luke asks him this very question. Yoda tells Luke that the dark side is "quicker, easier, more seductive."

George Lucas has confirmed the dark side is indeed stronger on numerous occasions. He says the dark side is more powerful in the DVD commentary for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke asked Yoda if the dark side is stronger. Yoda contends that the polarities are evenly matched in strength but that the dark side is easier and quicker to obtain the power it specifically provides. Yoda says this because the Jedi look at the dark side as nothing more than a shortcut and since you have to actually be a Sith and be trained in the Sith arts to understand the dark side's full potential, the Jedi Order does not believe that the dark side is superior. In the second prequel, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), Yoda confronts Count Dooku and seems to acknowledge the awesome might of the dark side, stating, "Powerful you have become, Dooku. The dark side I sense in you."

The dark side is easy and stronger but is also very dangerous for the user and not worth the risk of a easy way to power. The dark side gives a lot, but it takes much much more. However, it is still more alluring because it is more easily obtained and offers powerful abilities such as Force lighting, which is a power that is almost exclusively a privilege of practitioners of the dark side of the Force.

The ultimate reason why the dark side is more powerful is because it is fueled by intense, aggressive emotions such as hate, anger, fear, sadness, possessiveness and lust for power. At the same time this is also why the dark side will eventually lose, because its users will never become united but rather they will always be at war with one another, fighting for supremacy. In short, although not as powerful as the dark side, the light side will always prevail because the Sith's lust for power and their inward thinking of only about themselves will always ultimately be their undoing.

It may be too that the dark side has much more of a corporeal foundation than the light side, in that practitioners of the dark side seek immortality through life extension in the "crude matter" of their worldly bodies, rather than through becoming "one with the Force" and living on as immortal spirits, perhaps "luminous beings," whose interactions with the physical world are quite limited. Furthermore, Jedi might not even represent the light side until they actually vaporize into spirits, instead being neutral; unlike the Sith, who definitely represent the dark side of the Force.

The Bothans are a sapient species whose homeworld is likely host to a society (and regime) likely secretly aligned with the Rebellion, much like how Admiral Ackbar's kind (Mon Calamari) and Lando's copilot's kind (Sullustan) work with/for the Rebels. They are supposedly renown for their foreign intelligence apparatus. The story of the Bothan spies is covered in the old Expanded Universe novel Shadows of the Empire, by Steve Perry, written and published (as part of a media subfranchise) over a decade after Return of the Jedi was originally released (while leading right into the years of the Special Edition releases and the first Star Wars prequel). The story takes place after the events of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

In the novel, the principal antagonist, Prince Xizor, as a close associate of the Emperor, becomes aware of a starfreighter transporting a highly important computer core. Being the leader of a major organized crime syndicate, Xizor directs the syndicate look into the matter. Both belonging to the underworld, the syndicate tips off the Bothan Spynet about the shipment. The Bothan spymaster seeks out the help of Luke for capturing the starfreighter, while providing Luke with a group of Bothan pilots. With the help of a smuggler named Dash Rendar (piloting the Outrider), an ace fighter pilot named Ace Azzameen (piloting a Y-wing) and a number of additional less skilled Bothan fighter pilots (piloting the same); Luke (piloting an X-wing) leads an attack upon the target starfreighter which turns out to have a secret weapon. Around half of the Bothan squadron winds up being destroyed by the target's defense systems, before the target is suitable for being raided and captured. Only Dash and several Bothan combatants board the starfreighter and secure the computer, the information within which later makes its way to the Rebel Alliance High Command (just as the Emperor planned), but even more Bothans including the spymaster wind up being killed, this time by bounty hunters looking for Luke, along the way.

Nearly fourteen years after its theatrical release, George Lucas revisited the film and created its Special Edition, featuring not only several modified CGI shots but also completely new shots. These were primarily centered on a new musical scene in Jabba's palace, a makeover for the Sarlacc pit creature, and scenes of celebration on various planets as the Galactic Empire falls. You can find a detailed comparison between the original version and the Special Edition with pictures here and here. In 2004, Lucas did it again, creating another new version for the DVD release of the old Star Wars trilogy. Here, he modified some CGI shots but he also added some things that would link the old trilogy with the prequel one, including: Hayden Christensen as Anakin's ghost (instead of Sebastian Shaw), and a flyover shot of the capitol city of Naboo (home planet to both Anakin's wife and the Emperor, first introduced in The Phantom Menace). Compositing errors on the Rancor scene which had gone uncorrected in the Special Edition were also addressed.

In 1997, George Lucas solemnly re-released the original trilogy of Star Wars. All three movies of the original trilogy were not only re-released on VHS but also rerun in cinemas to celebrate the first movies' 20th anniversary. These versions (still to this day) offer the most drastic changes to the movies ever made. They were shown in theatres, released and re-released several times, and (of course) shown on television countless times.

Despite immense efforts to present the old saga in the best way possible, only the fanboys were not happy with the DVD release. The DVD edition is based on the Special Edition, which was released in theaters and on video, in 1997, and has been the cause of much whining among the fanboys ever since. Only after massive temper tantrums by said fanboys and two years after the first remastered trilogy did Lucasfilm decide to also release the original trilogy (the movies without digital effects). However, besides smaller changes, the second release is not anamorphic but presented in 4:3 aspect, including the obligatory black bars. In order to use the full frame of a 16:9 television set, the picture thus has to be zoomed in, which lowers the image quality significantly.

For the Blu-ray discs released in 2011, Lucasa ltered some shots and dialogues of the Star Wars movies again. Probably the most controversial changes were made for Return of the Jedi. Despite several updated effects and corrected goofs, Vader now has some dialogue before he casts the Emperor into the reactor shaft. Originally he was silent, and just turned and picked up the Emperor. Now he says "No... Nooo!" Some fans think this is the same "Nooo!" that Vader shouts in Revenge of the Sith, but it is in fact different.

Lucas has stated that the most recent versions of his films are the definitive versions. The reason for this is because at the time the original films were made, 1977, 1980, and 1983; the technology to bring Lucas' true vision to the screen simply did not exist and the cost to realize it would have been astronomical. So with the technology available in the late '90s through the 2000s; Lucas was able to touch-up, re-envision or create from scratch scenes from his original trilogy. In the view of the creator himself, you will find the newer "special editions" are the definitives.

Originally the plan was the release each Star Wars movie, post-converted to 3D every February, starting with The Phantom Menace, in 2012. Though many fans complained about having to invest six years into getting to see each Star Wars movie in 3D. In late 2012, it was announced that both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith would be released back-to-back in late 2013. However, once Walt Disney Studios acquired Lucasfilm, and the production of Episode VII was announced. Disney eventually declared that they were postponing the conversion to 3D and release of any more of the previous movies in order to focus on Episode VII. They also added that after production wraps on Episode VII they may continue to release the previous movies in 3D. Since then, there has been no word at all on the 3D. Given the fading demand for 3D films, it's likely they won't be converted.

Kurtz has claimed that he and Lucas clashed over how to progress the Star Wars series. Kurtz recalled that after Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) in 1981, Lucas became convinced that audiences no longer cared about the story and were simply there for thrills and entertainment, and began to deviate from the originally planned plotlines for Return of the Jedi, at which point Kurtz quit the series. Kurtz has also claimed that Lucas changed the emphasis from storytelling to prioritizing toy merchandising. Kurtz has expressed his dissatisfaction with Jedi and the The Phantom Menace. Kurtz was particularly displeased with Lucas' decisions in Jedi to resurrect the Death Star and to change the plot outline from one that ended on a "bittersweet and poignant" note to one having a "euphoric ending where everyone was happy". He was probably referring to the originally scripted ending where Han Solo dies while destroying the Endor shield generator, and Luke's duel with Darth Vader leaves him mentally broken, choosing to seek seclusion rather than celebrate the Rebel victory over the Empire.

In the novel Rogue One: Catalyst, we learn that the Republic secretly began construction on the original Death Star after capturing Poggle The Lesser (the Geonosian leader) with the Separatists' plans for the Death Star. It gets mentioned by Lt. Commander Orson Krennic that the Geonosians had already began construction on a Death Star for the Separatists. So it's entirely possible that the Death Star seen in this film is in fact the one the Separatists began construction on during the Clone Wars and it simply lay in a dormant state once the Separatists were defeated. Once the first Death Star was destroyed, the Empire picked up construction on the next one.