Thanks to a recently released trailer, Star Wars fans from all over have had a lot to get excited about, with the recent unveiling of the series’ ninth episode, dubbed The Rise of Skywalker. In fact, many took it upon themselves to dive back into the franchise’s deep history and lore, unearthing some interesting tidbits along the way.
Plenty of older films – particularly, those that were penned by series creator George Lucas – have come under fire from fans and critics alike. While the Prequel Trilogy was endlessly criticized for its poor writing and laughable performances, history has been similarly unkind to Return of the Jedi. Originally released in 1983, the sixth episode in the ongoing saga concludes the Original Trilogy of films, as newly minted Jedi Luke Skywalker faces off with his father, Darth Vader, and Sith Lord Emperor Palpatine.
Since the film’s release, the fanbase has been divided on Lucas’ inclusion of Ewoks, a primitive (and not to mention adorable) race of small creatures who managed to take on the Empire’s best troops, armed with nothing more than sticks and rocks. Some have also maligned the decision to reveal that Luke and Leia were, in fact, long lost twins. Interestingly, though, this specific plot point wasn’t present in an original draft of the film.
Did you know? In early drafts of Return of the Jedi, Leia was not Luke’s sister. Instead, he had a twin sister named Nellith Skywalker, who had been taken to the far reaches of the galaxy to train as a Jedi. The planned sequel trilogy would have followed Luke’s search for Nellith pic.twitter.com/vzAZYQ89I0
— Star Wars Holocron (@sw_holocron) May 9, 2019
As reported by Epic Stream, an early version of the screenplay painted things in an entirely new light. Not only were Luke and Leia never related (which clears up the awkward kiss between the two), but his sister was an entirely different character named Nellith, “who had been taken to the far reaches of the galaxy to train as a Jedi.” This revelation, in turn, would have paved the way for a Sequel Trilogy, with Luke searching for his long lost sibling.
Even though fans won’t get to see this alternate plot point play out, at least they won’t have to wait long to see how the family drama comes to an end, as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th.
