Why LucasFilm Had To Change The Title Of This 'Star Wars' Movie

In 1977, the world changed with the release of the first Star Wars movie, simply known as Star Wars at the time. That movie was followed by two more hit films, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

©Disney

Now, this was long before Disney owned Lucasfilm, but Disney has had a longtime relationship with Star Wars thanks to partnerships with Lucasfilm to create rides based on the franchise. Star Tours, anyone? Now, Star Wars has become SO much more than those three movies, with many more movies having been made, as well as TV shows, novels, and comic books. But let’s talk about one particular movie…Revenge of the Jedi.

Yep — you read that right. I said Revenge of the Jedi. Now, yes, I know that the movie is actually Return of the Jedi, but that wasn’t always its name. Although Return of the Jedi was officially announced in 1980, movie posters were made with the title Revenge of the Jedi. Don’t believe me? Here’s proof:

©MoviePosters.com

By the way, if you want to get your hands on one of these RARE posters, it will cost you THOUSANDS of dollars. So here’s the deal, the original title was Return of the Jedi, but some business-type person in a suit at Lucasfilm thought the title sounded weak, so for a brief period of time, it was known as Revenge of the Jedi.

©Lucasfilm

Other marketing materials were released with the Revenge of the Jedi, including this movie trailer. Yep, they were already marketing the film with the changed name.

Star Wars creator George Lucas wasn’t having it, though. Lucas fought for the original title, stating that revenge would not be something a Jedi would seek (okay, that makes sense). Apparently, he really stuck his heels in until the suits came around. It’s an interesting story about the battles creative types have to face all the time. But these were HIS characters, and yes, he understood them best.

©Lucasfilm

Interestingly enough, this whole idea of Jedi not seeking revenge leads into the prequel movies, which is basically about Anakin Skywalker turning from the Light Side to the Dark Side because he DOES seek revenge. It seems Lucas was adamant about how that determined Light from Dark.

Whatever the case, I’m glad Lucas stood up to those suits because the title Return of the Jedi fits this film so perfectly. It’s also one of the best final chapters in all of the Star Wars sagas (no, I won’t be taking arguments otherwise), and the title encapsulates part of what makes it special. The word “return” reminds us of hope, which is basically the entire premise of the original trilogy.

Stay tuned to DFB for more.

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What do you think? Which title do you prefer? Let us know in the comments!