Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
It's time to bring this saga to a close. We conclude our retrospective of the original Star Wars trilogy by trying to decide how successfully Return of the Jedi sticks the landing. For some, this is still an above-average entry in the franchise. For others, it's the first sign of George Lucas' worst impulses as a storyteller and a harbinger for what was to follow.
No matter which camp you fall into, there's probably a lot about how this concluding chapter came together that might surprise you. So buckle up and prepare for the jump to lightspeed... this one goes deep.
Topics include: the early drafts of the original Star Wars that Lucas mined for ideas when writing this film, why they settled on another Death Star as the central threat when there were more intriguing options, all of the lingering story threads from The Empire Strikes Back that were just abandoned, Lucas' first choice for a new director, the real problem with the Ewoks, the truly great story that's peeking out from around the edges of this script, and much more!