If “A New Hope” felt fresh and new (because it was), and “The Empire Strikes Back” felt bold and interesting (because it was), then surely George Lucas and the creators of “Return of the Jedi” would have to come up with something entirely different for the third film in his masterful Star Wars trilogy.
Necessity is the mother of invention, after all. Lucas had by now, famously, begun to suffer burnout. Limiting his saga to three films,* instead of the originally envisioned nine or 12 (depending on your favorite version of events), was his most obvious concession, but if you look closely, you’ll see loads of details that acknowledge this fact.
* Though I will once again acknowledge the brilliance of turning a three-act play into a trilogy of movies, regardless of how or why he came to that decision.
Observe the actors’ performances, which mostly begin to feel bored or frustrated. Their characters’ inevitable triumph feels more like a relief than a celebration.
Or consider the plot of a “second Death Star,” which even at the time felt lazy and uninspired.
Or observe our return to planets we’ve visited before in Tatooine and Dagobah.
Or notice that the entire last half of the movie is set on a “forest moon” that uncannily resembles Lucas’ backyard.
Pretty much everything signaled that this enterprise had begun to become a struggle.
Hiring on a director to take the helm in his stead (for the second straight film, this time in the form of Richard Marquand) was another clear admission that the creator himself needed help — understandable, given Lucas’ attempts to build multiple companies from the ground up while simultaneously suffering through a contentious divorce — but even the choice of director in itself reflected much. Marquand’s bonafides were more than a little lacking coming into the project. Lucas would need to remain heavily involved, which would have the benefit of allowing him to communicate his own vision, but would also require his presence on set.
While he was juggling everything else.
Burnout.
It is within that basic framework that we can begin to understand what “Return of the Jedi” actually is, and why it is the way it is.
Continue reading Return of the Jedi retrospective: Innovation into formula
