CLASSIC ART: THE DEFIANT SKYWALKER!

The simple yet emotionally complex battle between good and evil, father and son, rages on in these intriguing poster conceptual art ideas by Tom Jung for Revenge of the Jedi's climactic and iconic finale lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

CLASSIC ART: WHEN DESTINIES MEET...

The all-important event nexus showdown between Darth Vader and his son Luke Skywalker was an important part of the original marketing conceptual poster art for REVENGE OF THE JEDI in 1982, mixed in with Luke's all-new lightsaber and the environs of Endor.

FAMILY REUNION!

Newly arrived at the Shield Generator base on Endor, Darth Vader meets an Imperial party bringing in a young Rebel that has deliberately surrendered himself to the enemy, in a production painting created by Ralph McQuarrie used in mid to late 1982 onwards publicity for the then REVENGE OF THE JEDI.

BACK IN BLACK!

Another early poster concept design for REVENGE OF THE JEDI, I believe by Lawrence Noble, with the emphasis on Darth Vader after the revelations of EMPIRE- a clear design brief from Lucasfilm, given how a similar idea was brought to the fore for the now classic Struzan poster.

BATTLE READY HEROES!

The legacy of REVENGE OF THE JEDI continues with this terrific unused poster concept art by John Alvin, which certainly shows Luke and Leia in a more impressionistic light, though Harrison Ford remains near faithfully intact, as the lightsaber wielding evil of Darth Vader draws near.

A 'REVENGE' WITHOUT THE EMPEROR?

Early concept art for the Emperor for REVENGE.

With the passing of time, SW fans and critics have acknowledged the incredible acting contributions and legacy brought to the Classic and Prequel sagas by Ian McDiarmid, with his portrayal of the truly evil, Dark Side lightning-bringing Emperor. But in the original story ideas being developed for REVENGE OF THE JEDI during mid-to-late 1980, this character's involvement wasn't locked down. Back then, Darth Vader was still clearly going to be the uber villain of the middle trilogy's final film, and not necessarily killed off, either.

Recalled Producer Gary Kurtz in a nineties interview: "Well, (first of all), the Emperor wasn't even supposed to have come into it, except in reference, as in EMPIRE, until the last episode of the series, the ninth one. Having the Emperor show up, in effect, emasculates Darth Vader as your chief villain."

From other previous sources, as well as further info from Kurtz, this originally conceived "ninth" film would have been about the final battle waged against a retreated Empire by the "other" (referred to in EMPIRE), and whom wasn't originally Leia, though still a female member of the Skywalker family- a character returned from a far-off realm to help our surviving older heroes.

THE STRUZAN 'REVENGE' CONCEPT POSTERS

Everyone knows and loves the marvellous original teaser poster that Drew Struzan did of Vader against red for REVENGE/RETURN OF THE JEDI in 1982/83, but what about the unused concept poster ideas he had? Well, here's a selection.

Official site: welcome to DrewStruzan.com

THE FIRST 'REVENGE' TRAILER - A NEW DISCOVERY

The Next Exciting Chapter...

A wonderful recent find from the ACADEMY AWARDS Archives of the US has revealed what could be the first official trailer for REVENGE OF THE JEDI, shown to a rare few British cinema audiences alongside a special STAR WARS/THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK double bill, whose run commenced on May 30th, 1982. The trailer has no footage but contained photo scenes from the movie (planned for release at Christmas 1983 (too long a wait that would have been!) which had only just completed its bulk shooting at London's Elstree Studios, including an intriguing shot of Luke Skywalker with Darth Vader. After the grim revelations of EMPIRE, had he turned to the Dark Side?

"Revenge Of The Jedi" Trailer - YouTube

More details on the trailer find: Epicstream

WELCOME TO STAR WARS AFICIONADO ARCHIVE - 'REVENGE OF THE JEDI'

Welcome to the first off-shoot blog site from the world-popular STAR WARS AFICIONADO, dedicated to the enigma and fascination that all STAR WARS fans young and old share for the originally titled version of RETURN OF THE JEDI that was REVENGE OF THE JEDI.

Despite the eventual 1983 change to the more apt RETURN, I loved that original REVENGE title back in the day as a ten year old kid (and just as much now) - I'll never forget the moment I first heard it revealed by Mark Hamill on the UK's BBC children's show ASK ASPEL back in May 1980 (and also that week's BLUE PETER, too!). It brought to my mind an upcoming tale of mystery, excitement and action, building to fever-pitch excitement when the eventual news came of the film's commencement of filming after two years waiting, of what was surely going to be an intriguing continuance from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK- REVENGE sounded like a genuine finale name to the originally planned middle saga of the three George Lucas created trilogies, and worked well in telling us that, after the hardships our heroes suffered in the previous film, the tide of battle and drama was surely, finally changing in their favour.

This site will be dedicated to all things REVENGE related across all media, especially focusing on the unused or changed ideas, scripts and conceptual art leading up to its final genesis post production by late quarter 1981 and going into January 1982 filming/production, as well as key items afterwards still bearing the original title. Keep checking back on us for regular updated articles and links.

I think that this tribute site to REVENGE is something well deserved and warranted, and I hope you enjoy it. I want to try and keep as uniquely different to STAR WARS AFICIONADO as possible. Any ideas or suggestions on improvements/additions are welcome, as too are any kind of materials linked to this original "Star Wars III" (as it was also once referred). I look forward to your potential feedback.

May the Force Be With You!

Scott Weller

Editor: STAR WARS AFICIONADO website