Star Wars: Return of the Jedi released in 1983 and was the big box office hit of that year, beating the likes of Tootsie, Flashdance, and Trading Places to sit top of the podium. It saw Luke Skywalker bounce back from having his hand severed in The Empire Strikes Back to turn Darth Vader, defeat Emperor Palpatine and bring peace to the galaxy once and for all. With a little bit of help from sister Leia Organa and friends Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian of course.
At 131 minutes, it's the ninth-longest blockbuster in the saga. However, it could have been even lengthier had the deleted scenes been included. So here they are in chronological order.
9 Darth Vader Reached Out Through The Force
The first entry is relatively long, so it's best to split it into two. The beginning of Episode VI sees Darth Vader arrive on the second Death Star after a period away. He then warns Tiaan Jerjerrod that Emperor Palpatine will be visiting the space station to see if substantial progress on its design has been made, with the Empire keen to use their new weapon against the growing threat of the Rebel Alliance. In the main movie, this ends as soon as Vader says 'The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am'.
Yet this wouldn't have been the case had a deleted scene been included. It shows Vader walking past an astromech droid before entering his chamber. There, he communicates with Luke - urging his son to join the dark side because it's 'the only way'...
8 Luke Skywalker's Response
Part two of this same scene reveals Luke Skywalker's reaction to Vader's attempts. The Jedi, who is on Tatooine at the time preparing for his dangerous mission to save Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, hears it through the force. He then ignores it, instead choosing to focus on constructing his new green lightsaber - having lost his hand in The Empire Strikes Back a year previously. This lightsaber would later be used in the final showdown with Vader, as well as in The Mandalorian.
It then leads into the beginning of the movie, when C3-PO and R2-D2 make their way to Jabba's Palace. The former is scared about going without Luke but his little friend does his best to put his mind at ease. At least, maybe he does. It's pretty difficult to understand droid.
7 The Sandstorm
After Luke is able to save Han from Jabba, with help from Chewbacca, Leia, and Lando, they're all seen flying away from the scene on a desert skiff. It's a heroic escape act and, a little while later, they go their separate ways. Luke informs the gang he's on his way to the Dagobah system to see an old friend, AKA Yoda, while Han, Leia, Chewbacca and Lando plan an attack on Endor in order to get the shields of the Death Star down so they can blow it to smithereens.
An omitted clip shows Luke saying his goodbyes in person, instead of in his X-wing, and all while a huge sandstorm rages around them. But it's understandable why this was cut. It's difficult to hear the actors saying their dialogue over the storm and that may explain why it was ultimately left on the cutting room floor. Also, there's an uncomfortable kiss between Luke and Leia. Another potential reason for its exclusion.
6 Luke's Bullet Wound
The previous entry is also quite long so part two shows Luke Skywalker tending to the wound on his robotic hand. He sustains this while fighting off Jabba's cronies on Tatooine and there's a sizeable hole where the gunshot struck him.
He then places his robotic glove over it. His X-wing heads in one direction, while the Millenium Falcon goes in another. This is quite significant because, at the time, many were expecting Luke to fall to the dark side. This could have been symbolic of that, especially given the warning signs were there (such as wearing all black and attacking to kill). Ultimately, it seems Lucasfilm chose to go with a different version of events instead.
5 Extended Sequence
In Return of the Jedi, on the planet of Endor, Han and Chewbacca lead the charge. Fans of the movie will certainly be aware of the scene where they storm the bunker and tell the Imperial Troops not to move, in no uncertain terms.
On the deleted scenes, this is longer. It shows inside footage from the bunker of Han and Chewbacca charging in, with the pair slaughtering the bad guys in a truly heroic fashion. The camerawork is a little grainy and it's not as smooth as the theatrical cut but it's still enjoyable nonetheless. The sight of the two Rebel Alliance heroes blitzing the enemy with such ruthlessness is certainly pretty exciting to witness.
4 Rebel Scum Reaction
One of the most famous quotes from the sixth movie in the Skywalker Saga is 'Rebel Scum'. This is first spoken by an imperial officer after Han storms the bunker and points his gun at him, while also being amusingly said by Finn in The Last Jedi. In the theatrical version of Episode VI, the scene ends there. But it very nearly lasted a few seconds longer.
An omitted clip shows Han's reaction to the insult. Harrison Ford stands there, looking shocked, before slowly repeating the word scum. Its cutting is understandable, though, because it slows things down. The moments in the movie both before and after this incident are action-packed and it would have probably detracted from the big attack on the Death Star, which is starting to unfold at that time.
3 Vader And Jerjerrod Clash
Darth Vader attempts to force-choke Tiaan Jerjerrod towards the end of the movie. He needs to speak to Emperor Palpatine himself but, upon learning his master has requested the officer's presence, he relents. Jerjerrod then looks rather smug with himself (which is fair enough given not many people survive that sort of situation) and he patronizingly says 'very good' after the Sith Lord lets him off the hook.
It's uncomfortable viewing for fans of the villain and it was perhaps cut to keep his reputation as the galaxy's fiercest warrior intact. Seeing him be belittled by a mere imperial officer would certainly have pushed him away from the dark side, but at a rather substantial cost. Part of the magic with Anakin Skywalker is that when he was bad, he was very bad. Nobody in the galaxy was a match for him so it's probably for the best this one didn't make it into the final product.
2 The Sacrifice
In Rogue One, there's a chilling scene where Grand Moff Tarkin orders the planet of Scarif to be destroyed by the Death Star - despite many of the Empire's troops being on the sunny planet. One of the people on there is Orson Krennic, who looks resigned to his fate as the space station's laser starts to fire and destroy the beautiful scene.
And this is echoed in a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi. Jerjerrod orders fire on Endor despite the Empire having many of their soldiers there. He looks hesitant at first but, Tarkin-esque, his facial expression turns to one of immense smugness.
1 Jerjerrod's Death
Leading on from that, a second deleted scene from inside the Death Star shows the Imperials counting down. Just as the lasers charge up, it then cuts to black.
Jerjerrod was killed in the explosion that took place shortly after, with Lando firing the decisive shot. His character would have been enhanced had some of the deleted scenes been included but it appears Lucasfilm didn't want to make him too much like Tarkin, who is widely regarded as one of the best Star Wars villains of all time.
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