When it comes to Return of the Jedi, and not The Rise of Skywalker, was the proper ending to the story we all know and love.
But, what if Disney were to remake TESB and ROTJ today? We’ll now pick five things we’d change from each blockbuster, which, when you consider how brilliant the two films are, is no easy task…
The Empire Strikes Back: No Kiss Scene
While George Lucas has always insisted he had a plan for the original trilogy, a scene in The Empire Strikes Back contradicts that claim. Because, if he’d really planned for Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa to be siblings, we doubt he’d have included a scene where they share a kiss.
At the time, it meant nothing—just Leia’s way of making smuggler Han Solo jealous. But, all these years later, it’s pretty uncomfortable knowing the pair are blood relatives when their lips touch. If the movie was to be remade today, this scene would definitely end up on the cutting room floor.
Return Of The Jedi: More Boba Fett
Boba Fett was introduced in TESB. Wearing cool armor and being a Bounty Hunter of little words, he immediately became an instant Star Wars icon, with fans eager to see more of him. George Lucas then intended for him to be more-involved in Return of the Jedi, but he ultimately changed his mind, focusing on villains Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, instead.
And that’s a shame. Boba is ultimately a case of what might have been. He’s easily "killed" in the sixth movie of the saga, falling into the Sarlacc Pit where a long, painful death awaits. While we know that he’ll be in season two of The Mandalorian now, it still doesn’t change the fact he should have done a lot more during his time in the spotlight.
The Empire Strikes Back: Sooner Leia Reveal
In Return of the Jedi, it’s revealed that Luke and Leia are, indeed, siblings. But, we feel this is a revelation that should have happened towards the end of The Empire Strikes Back.
That way, we could have had a whole movie of both Skywalker children trying to comprehend the information that Darth Vader, their sworn enemy and big villain of the galaxy, is their father. There’s also another reason, which we’ll explain now…
Return of the Jedi: Jedi Leia
Don’t get us wrong, we love Leia Organa for her feistiness. She’s a brilliant strong female character and took the fight to the Empire, proudly fighting alongside the likes of Han Solo and Chewbacca on the battlefield. But, there’s still a big part of us that would have loved to see Leia as a Jedi, too.
Just imagine this: Luke and Leia, both trained, taking on Darth Vader and the Emperor together. It was revealed in The Rise of Skywalker that Leia did undergo training but abandoned it once she became pregnant with Ben Solo, who would go on to become Vader 2.0. And that’s a shame, as we’d have liked to have seen her go the whole way.
The Empire Strikes Back: Yoda Less Dorky
If the prequel trilogy had come before the originals, you would have likely taken one look at Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back and written him off as a fraud or imposter. And that’s because his behavior in that movie is dorky, to say the least.
Luke arrives on the planet of Dagobah expecting to meet a strong and powerful individual who can help him fight Darth Vader using the force. Instead, he’s met by this strange little green creature who doesn’t appear overly special. That somewhat subverted our expectations, but a few definitely felt disappointed.
Return Of The Jedi: Less Ewoks
Don’t get us wrong, we love Ewoks. They’re cute, furry, and helped bring down the Empire despite the enemy’s vast technological superiority and overwhelming amount of resources.
But, we just think they should have been slightly toned down a tad. George Lucas insisted that they appear in the blockbuster because they’d help sell toys, and that, to be fair, was a tactic that worked a treat. If the movie was to be remade, we’d probably go with something that looks a little bit tougher than pint-sized bears…
The Empire Strikes Back: Palpatine In The Flesh
The Empire Strikes Back teased Emperor Palpatine, with the villain making a first—and fleetin—cameo in the movie. However, he should really have appeared at the end, rather than in the middle.
Imagine how good that would have been? Seeing Darth Vader, after shortly revealing himself to be Luke Skywalker’s father, obeying somebody even creepier than himself? That would have been epic. In fact, the whole opening scene of Return of the Jedi could easily have fitted onto the end of its predecessor. Instead, we were re-introduced to Palpatine in the sequel.
Return Of The Jedi: Palpatine With A Lightsaber
This is just a minor complaint. But, it would have been awesome to see Emperor Palpatine wielding a lightsaber in the final installment of the original trilogy.
It was entertaining in the prequels with his duels with Mace Windu and Yoda, two of the standout moments of the entire saga. It would have made him even more formidable than he already was, giving Luke Skywalker another obstacle to overcome in the process. Luke vs Palpatine could have been the most badass fight in Star Wars history, but, alas, it wasn’t to be.
The Empire Strikes Back: More Obi-Wan Kenobi
By more Obi-Wan Kenobi, we mean the Jedi Knight appearing at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. In that movie, Luke can communicate with Alec Guinness’ character, but, conveniently, they don’t have the most important conversation of all.
Immediately after learning Darth Vader was his father, Kenobi should have appeared to Luke to set the record straight. Instead, he abandons his padawan, and it’s only in Return of the Jedi, about halfway through, where he finally conjures up the courage. Only after Yoda had already confirmed Vader’s story, mind…
Return Of The Jedi: It’s Place In The Saga
Okay, this one is a bit tricky. But, one thing we’d definitely change is, well, Return of the Jedi would be the conclusion of the saga. As it was meant to be when it came out in 1983.
That’s not to say The Rise of Skywalker wasn’t great. It was entertaining and certainly did a good job of concluding the stories of Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren, etc. However, we can’t help but feel their stories weren’t actually needed in the first place. The sequels were okay, but the originals were pure Star Wars, and it’s ending, in hindsight, should have been left untouched rather than made redundant many years later.
