Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film that is a sequel to Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980). It is the third installment in the original Star Wars trilogy and the sixth chronological film in the "Skywalker Saga". It is directed by Richard Marquand based on a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who was also the executive producer. The film follows the ongoing struggle between the malevolent Galactic Empire and the freedom fighters of the Rebel Alliance. As the Rebels attempt to destroy the Empire's second Death Star, Luke Skywalker tries to bring his father, Darth Vader, back from the dark side of the Force. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz.
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He is the protagonist of the original film trilogy and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a farmer on the planet Tatooine, Luke joins the Rebel Alliance and becomes a pivotal figure in the struggle against the Galactic Empire. He trains as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, and eventually confronts his father, the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Years later, Luke trains his nephew Ben Solo and mentors the scavenger Rey. Luke is the twin brother of Leia Organa. The character is portrayed by Mark Hamill in six films and two television series. Luke also appears in animated series, novels, comics, and video games.
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He is the primary antagonist of the original film trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is a protagonist of the prequel trilogy. Born into slavery, he eventually becomes a powerful Jedi. He is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine, and transforms from Anakin into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. After being severely wounded in a lightsaber battle, he becomes a cyborg. He is the husband of Padmé Amidala, the father of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, and the grandfather of Ben Solo.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. In the original film trilogy, he is a Jedi Master who trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force. In the prequel trilogy, he mentors Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan is portrayed by Alec Guinness in the original trilogy and by Ewan McGregor in the prequel films. McGregor also plays the character in the television series Obi-Wan Kenobi. Guinness's performance in Star Wars (1977) earned him the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
R2-D2 or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical Star Wars films to date, including every film in the "Skywalker Saga", which includes the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, an astromech droid, is a friend to C-3PO, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. R2-D2 and his companion C-3PO are the only characters to appear in every theatrical Star Wars film, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).
C-3PO or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a protocol droid designed to assist in etiquette and translation, and is fluent in over six million forms of communication. The character appears in all nine films of the Skywalker Saga—which includes the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Anthony Daniels portrays C-3PO in all the Skywalker Saga films and the standalone film Rogue One, and voices the droid in the animated film The Clone Wars. In addition to films, C-3PO appears in television series, novels, comics, and video games.
Yoda is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with The Force. He is a Jedi Master and a leader in the Jedi Order. Frank Oz voices and puppeteers Yoda in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, which was the character's first appearance. Oz voices Yoda in five additional films, puppeteering him in three of them. Yoda also appears in animated series, comics, novels, video games and commercials.
The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the Star Wars franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes lightsaber skills. Luke Skywalker, his twin sister Princess Leia Organa, and their father Darth Vader are central characters in the original Star Wars film trilogy. Darth Vader, in his previous identity as Anakin Skywalker, is a lead character in the prequel film trilogy and so is his wife and the twins' mother Padmé Amidala; while his mother Shmi is a minor character in the first and second films respectively. Leia and Han Solo's son, Ben Solo, renamed himself Kylo Ren and is the main antagonist in the sequel film trilogy, while they and Luke serve as supporting characters. Shmi, Padmé, and Han are the only members who are not Force-sensitive. The Skywalker bloodline, alongside the Palpatine bloodline, are the two bloodlines that are the strongest with the Force.
Many of the films in the Star Wars franchise have been re-released, both theatrically and on home media formats. Franchise creator George Lucas often altered the films for the re-releases. These alterations range from minor refinements to major changes. The original trilogy was altered the most, although revisions were also made to the prequels. According to Lucas, some changes brought the films closer to his original vision, while others were attempts to create continuity with later films.
Star Wars Infinities is a graphic novel trilogy published by Dark Horse Comics from 2002 to 2004. It tells a non-canon alternate version of each film in the original Star Wars trilogy in which a point of divergence occurs and changes the outcome of the story. Each individual Infinities story is unrelated to the others and is set within the timeline of their original film.
Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker is the novelization of the 1977 film Star Wars, ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, but credited to George Lucas. It was first published on November 12, 1976, by Ballantine Books, several months before the release of the film. In later years, it was republished under the title Star Wars: A New Hope to reflect the retroactive addition of a subtitle to the film in 1981.
Star Wars comics have been produced by various comic book publishers since the debut of the 1977 film Star Wars. Marvel Comics launched its original series in 1977, beginning with a six-issue comic adaptation of the film and running for 107 issues, including an adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back. Marvel also released an adaptation of Return of the Jedi and spin-offs based on Droids and Ewoks. A self-titled comic strip ran in American newspapers between 1979 and 1984. Blackthorne Publishing released a three-issue run of 3-D comics from 1987 to 1988.
Darth Maul, later known simply as Maul, is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as a powerful Sith Lord and Darth Sidious' first apprentice. Though seemingly killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of the film, Darth Maul returned in the 2008 animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Star Wars creator George Lucas had intended for the resurrected Maul to serve as the main antagonist of the sequel film trilogy, but these plans were abandoned when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. The character nonetheless reappeared in the 2014 animated series Star Wars Rebels and the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story, voiced again by Witwer; Park physically reprised the role in Solo. Since his initial defeat in The Phantom Menace, Maul has become an independent criminal mastermind and endured as Obi-Wan's archenemy.
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character and major antagonist in the Star Wars franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a one-ton puppet portraying him in Return of the Jedi. He was originally supposed to first appear in Star Wars (1977) as a stop motion character with Declan Mulholland as his stand-in. Jabba was later added into the film as a CGI character when it was re-released in Special Edition in 1997. He also appears in the prequel movie The Phantom Menace. The character is a large slug-like creature based on annelid worms, but he was originally designed as an apelike figure.
Padmé Amidala is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. She first appears in The Phantom Menace as the teenage queen of the fictional planet Naboo. After her reign, she becomes a member of the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, and later dies while giving birth to the twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé drives him toward the dark side of the Force, which eventually results in his transformation into Darth Vader. Natalie Portman portrays Padmé in all three films of the prequel trilogy. Catherine Taber, Grey DeLisle and Montana Norberg provide the character's voice in animated productions and video games.
"It's a Trap!" is a direct-to-video special of the animated series Family Guy, which later served as the two-part season finale of the show's ninth season, and is the third and final part of the series' Star Wars parody trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It is named after the phrase uttered by Admiral Ackbar in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi. The home video was first released on December 21, 2010, and the episode later aired on Fox in the United States on May 22, 2011.
Ryder Taylor Windham, born June 19, 1964, is an American author known for his extensive work in science fiction, particularly within the Star Wars universe. He has authored over 60 books related to Star Wars, encompassing novels, comics, and reference books, as well as junior novelizations of the Indiana Jones films. Since 1993, Windham has contributed to Star Wars literature, collaborating with other authors and working independently. His reference book, Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide, was listed on the New York Times Best Seller list for three weeks in 2005.
Star Wars is an ongoing Star Wars comic series published by Marvel Comics since January 14, 2015. Originally written by Jason Aaron with art by John Cassaday, it is set between the 1977 film Star Wars and its 1980 sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, much like the previous comic published in 2013 by Dark Horse Comics. The series features classic Star Wars characters Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. It was one of three new Star Wars comics by Marvel announced in July 2014, along with Darth Vader and the limited series Princess Leia.
Star Wars is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics from April 12, 1977 to May 27, 1986. Featuring classic Star Wars characters Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2, the first six issues adapt the May 1977 film Star Wars. The series chronicled their subsequent adventures for 107 issues and three annuals, including a six-issue adaptation of the 1980 sequel film The Empire Strikes Back in 1980–1981. In 2019, the series was revived for a single issue.
