The original Star Wars trilogy stands as one of the most beloved film series of all time, but it could have been very different if David Lynch had agreed to direct Return of the Jedi. Richard Marquand ended up helming the third installment in the franchise, with George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan writing the screenplay. That said, Lucas’ original pick for Return of the Jedi’s director might have sent the series in a wildly new direction.

After being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director in 1981 for The Elephant Man, David Lynch quickly became one of Hollywood’s most notable rising filmmakers. That prestige led to an offer from Lucas, by then an industry rockstar after the successes of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, to direct the third entry. After an extended meeting with Lucas discussing the world of the franchise and his ideas for Return of the Jedi, Lynch famously declined the offer, later citing a lack of interest in directing such a massive blockbuster.

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But what if David Lynch had instead said yes? Given the level of creative control George Lucas wielded over the Star Wars franchise (prior to its sale to Disney), the end product might not have been all that different with someone else in the director’s chair. Because of Lynch’s powerful and singular style, it’s still safe to say his version of Jedi would have had some notable changes from the sequel that arrived in cinemas in 1983.

What Dune Reveals About David Lynch’s Return Of The Jedi

Dune Arrakis

Despite his hesitance to take on a cinematic behemoth like Star Wars, Lynch signed on to direct an adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal sci-fi novel, with David Lynch's Dune arriving a year after Jedi. The resulting film was a critical and box office bomb, earning jabs from fans of the book, critics, and moviegoers alike. Though public sentiment toward David Lynch’s Dune has grown more positive in recent years, it remains an odd and much-maligned adaptation. However, it also gives some clues as to what Lynch’s Return of the Jedi might have looked like.

Lynch’s Dune is a weird movie, and not just because it deals with high-concept sci-fi ideas. As he does in some of his other famous works like Eraserhead or Twin Peaks, Lynch leans heavily into the surreal aspects of Dune, lingering on close-up shots of grotesque alien creatures and portraying the galaxy as a frighteningly strange place. Dune plays extensively with the mythical and religious themes underpinning Herbert’s original novel too, which Lynch spins out in his typical surrealist style. The result is a film that paints a chaotic picture of Arakis and the rest of the universe, which unfortunately fails to come together the way Lynch envisioned.

David Lynch’s Return Of The Jedi Would Have Been Much Weirder

Taking all those aspects of Dune into consideration, it’s safe to say David Lynch’s version of Return of the Jedi would have been a good deal weirder than the version that was ultimately released. Lucas’ third Star Wars has received some criticism over the years for playing too heavily to its youngest demographics – something exemplified by the prominent role of the Ewoks in the final battle. Any version of Return of the Jedi would surely have still been appropriate for kids, but it would have definitely looked different under Lynch.

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Going through Jedi, numerous moments jump out as being ripe for Lynch’s unique brand of surrealism – Jabba the Hutt, the Sarlacc, Han Solo being melted out of carbonite, the role of the Force ghosts, Emperor Palpatine’s presence in the final act, and much more. Return of the Jedi maintains a consistent adventure story tone throughout, but under David Lynch’s direction, some of these sequences would have likely taken on more elements of horror. Palpatine himself might have been even more extraordinarily evil and over-the-top, and the rest of the film’s performances, directed by Lynch, may have been bigger and more overly dramatic – a trademark of the director’s work. Overall, his character on the material likely would have come with a darker tone.

Lynch’s Return Of The Jedi Could Have Been Closer To Lucas’ Vision

Force Ghosts

Lucas’ original vision for Return of the Jedi was a good deal different than the final film, but it might not have been changed so dramatically with Lynch in the director’s chair. In the early drafts, the Death Star was actually constructed around the planet Had Abbadon, the capital of the Empire, which Lucas described as being a polluted, almost hellish world, much darker than what it later became as Coruscant. That’s exactly the kind of place that seems perfect for a Lynch film, and the Twin Peaks creator might have pushed to keep Had Abbadon if he’d taken the job.

It’s also possible that a David Lynch Return of the Jedi would have delved more into Lucas’ lore about the nature of the Force, the Jedi, and the Sith. George Lucas’ original Star Wars plan revolved around a secret race of powerful beings called the Whills who were tied to the Force. Return of the Jedi also originally included a plotline where Obi-Wan was brought back through the Force and aided Luke in his duel against the emperor. That lore was cut for the sake of simplicity, but Lynch might have wanted to keep such odd details.

How David Lynch’s Return Of The Jedi Could Have Ended

Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader face off in Return of the Jedi

Return of the Jedi provides a full wrap-up of the trilogy, without many loose ends. It also ends in a straightforward way, with the bad guys defeated and the heroes living to see another day. Would that have been the same with Lynch in the director’s chair? Dune ends on an optimistic note, but also features a lot of death, in accordance with the novel's story. Given how close Han Solo was to being killed off at different points throughout the trilogy, putting Lynch at the helm might have been the final push needed to kill him off by the end of Return of the Jedi.

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The climax with Luke, Palpatine and Darth Vader may also have been significantly different. The emperor’s attempted seduction of Luke to the dark side seems like exactly the sort of moment Lynch would have blown out in a surrealist spectacle, as does Anakin’s turn back to the light. Plus, if Obi-Wan’s resurrection had been kept in the script, that would have added a whole other level to the final act. In the end, Return of the Jedi provided a compelling conclusion to the trilogy, but it’s still interesting to think about how it might have been different under the direction of a singular filmmaker like David Lynch.

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