“Somehow, Palpatine returned.”
Sorry—what I meant to say was: Somehow, Paul Asay and I returned to finish our deep dive conversation about the original Star Wars trilogy. We’re concluding our recap with 1983’s Return of the Jedi.
This might just be the most Christian Star Wars movie put to film. Need convincing? According to How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise by Chris Taylor, during the planning of Return of the Jedi, George Lucas and the film’s producer, Howard Kazanjian, found themselves at odds over the conclusion of Darth Vader’s character arc. Lucas wanted the character to be redeemed. Kazanjian felt that Vader was too evil to be saved. As the story goes, Lucas convinced Kazanjian, a Christian, by appealing to the ethos of his faith—that in this life, no one is too far gone to be saved (as demonstrated in Luke 23:39-43).
The possibility of Vader’s redemption is something only Luke sees: Even the young Skywalker’s vaunted Jedi teachers are blind to this possibility. It echoes the beautiful reality that, even if others think we are too far gone, no matter how far we have fallen, our Heavenly Father is always seeking to redeem us and welcome us home.
Paul and I talk about that and more in our Return of the Jedi Rewind video, which you can watch below!
Recent Comments