Your Complete Guide To The Star Wars Cinematic Universe

Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi

Released: May 25th, 1983

Runtime: 2hrs 11mins

Directed by: Richard Marquand

Written by: George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan

Starring: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, Jeremy Bulloch, James Earl Jones, Denis Lawson, Warwick Davis, Tim Rose, Caroline Blakiston.

Significant characters introduced: Jabba The Hutt, Admiral Ackbar, Wicket, Mon Mothma.

Notable universe developments: Han is rescued; Leia kills Jabba the Hutt; Luke and Leia learn that they are twins; Yoda dies; the Empire tries to build a second Death Star; Darth Vader kills the Emperor; Darth Vader dies.

Opening crawl: “Luke Skywalker has returned to his home planet of Tatooine in an attempt to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Little does Luke know that the Galactic Empire has secretly begun construction on a new armoured space station more powerful than the dreaded Death Star. When completed, this ultimate weapon will spell certain doom for the small band of rebels struggling to restore freedom to the galaxy…”

Leia infiltrates the palace of Jabba the Hutt by disguising herself as a bounty hunter, with Chewbacca as her prisoner. Lando is also present, disguised as a guard. Leia rescues Han, but is captured while doing so. Luke attempts a rescue, but Jabba decrees that the group of heroes will be thrown into the Great Pit of Carkoon, to be digested by the Sarlacc. The group manage to escape at the last minute, knocking bounty hunter Boba Fett into the pit instead. Leia – enslaved by Jabba the Hutt – strangles the mobster to death with her chains.

The heroes return to the Rebel Alliance, while Luke travels back to Dagobah, where Yoda is dying. In his final moments, Yoda explains that Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, but that he had another child, in addition to Luke. A vision of Obi-Wan Kenobi confirms to Luke that Leia is his twin sister, and that Luke must defeat the Empire without succumbing to the temptations of the Dark Side.

It becomes apparent that the Emperor is supervising construction of a second Death Star. In order to destroy it, the team must disable the shield generator located on the forest moon of Endor. Luke shares his discoveries with Leia and departs to confront Vader. In their showdown, Luke tries to save Vader from the clutches of the Dark Side, while Vader tries to tempt Luke from the Light.

As Han and his team attack the shield generator, and Lando and his team prepare to strike the Death Star, Vader learns that Leia is his daughter – forcing Luke to act to protect her. The Emperor attacks him with lightning, prompting Vader to intervene – and he kills his superior, while mortally wounding himself in the process. The Death Star is destroyed, Vader dies and there is celebration throughout the galaxy, as Han and Leia seem to embark on a relationship.