A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... well, OK, 30 years ago (on May 25, 1983) in our own galaxy, came the theatrical release of "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi." The installment triumphantly wrapped up the "Star Wars" saga for all time. Or so we thought.
Little did we know that the movie's cuddly-but-ferocious Ewoks would soon spawn a cottage industry of spinoffs, or that we'd be getting a trilogy of "Star Wars" prequels in another 16 years, and "Jedi" sequels another 15 years after that ("Episode VII" is due in 2014). Nor did we know, at the time, how close "Jedi" came to being an art-house film (judging by the directors whom "Star Wars" guru George Lucas initially asked to take the helm), or how close we came to losing Han Solo (Harrison Ford), or many of the other secrets of "jedi," which you can read below.
1. David Lynch and David Cronenberg both turned down the job of directing "Jedi." Instead, Lynch would go on to make his own sci-fi epic, 1984's "Dune," while Cronenberg would make the hit horror films "The Dead Zone" (1983) and "The Fly" (1986).
2. Welsh filmmaker Richard Marquand had previously directed the 1981 World War II spy thriller "Eye of the Needle." It was that film that brought him to the attention of George Lucas and ultimately earned him the directing job on "Jedi."
3. Lawrence Kasdan had worked for Lucas as the co-screenwriter of "Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" before Lucas hired him a third time as his collaborator on the "Jedi" screenplay. Somewhere in there, Kasdan found time to write and direct his first solo feature, the 1981 thriller "Body Heat," the movie that made Kathleen Turner a star.
4. Warwick Davis, then 11, made his debut as Ewok guide Wicket, after his grandmother learned of an open casting call for dwarfs in London. Davis was initially cast as an extra. Wicket was initially a role for Kenny Baker, who already had an established role as R2-D2 (he would inhabit the little droid in all six "Star Wars" features to date), but Baker fell ill, and Lucas gave his part to Davis. Baker ended up playing another Ewok in addition to R2-D2.
5. Lucas was on the set most of the time, often as a second-unit director (that is, shooting scenery, stunt sequences, and other footage not involving the primary cast). Marquand joked, "It is rather like trying to direct "King Lear" – with Shakespeare in the next room!"
6. Unlike the other principal "Star Wars" cast members, Harrison Ford hadn't contracted to do a second sequel, and it wasn't initially clear whether he'd return for "Jedi."
7. Ford suggested that Han Solo be killed off early, through self-sacrifice. Kasdan thought that was a good idea, one that would increase suspense, but Lucas said no.
8. Also, Yoda wasn't supposed to be in the movie, but Marquand insisted on a return to Dagobah so that Yoda could confirm that Darth Vader wasn't just playing mind games with Luke Skywalker in "The Empire Strikes Back" and was really his father.
9. Other rejected script ideas: the climactic battle would have taken place on a planet of Wookiees instead of Ewoks (like Wookiees, but shorter!), and Obi-Wan Kenobi would have returned from his ghostly existence to corporeal form, rather than remaining a ghostly presence within the Force.
10. Actually filmed, but left on the cutting room floor, were a sequence of the heroes getting caught in a sandstorm as they tried to leave Tatooine, a scene among imperial officers on the Death Star during the final battle, and a scene of Darth Vader communicating with Luke via the Force before Luke enters Jabba's palace. These scenes finally saw the light of day on the 2011 Blu-ray release.
