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Disney is Re-Releasing 'Return of the Jedi' in Theaters Again in April

by Alex Billington
April 10, 2023

"You underestimate the power of the Dark Side. If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny." The end of the original trilogy is returning to the big screen once again. In celebration of the sci-fi sequel's 40th anniversary, Disney is re-releasing the Star Wars classic Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi in theaters nationwide starting at the end of April. The announcement was made at the Star Wars Celebration event in London this past weekend. In the US, Return of the Jedi will be playing again on the big screen in theaters from April 28th until May 4th (Star Wars Day) this spring. In the UK, it will run for one week as well. Check your local listings around April 28th to see if it's showing nearby. The epic grand finale of the original trilogy first opened in theaters on May 25th, 1983, becoming an instant hit. Even if you don't like the Ewoks or anything on Endor, it's still an awesome finale, with so many triumphant moments from Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, and the whole gang. Vader even finally gets his redemption! Is it one of your favorites?

Here's the new poster artwork for the 40th anniversary re-release made by Matt Ferguson - click for full:

Check out the classic teaser trailer for 1983's "Revenge of the Jedi" (before the title change) found on YT:

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi was actually directed by filmmaker Richard Marquand, from a screenplay written by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. Lucas was involved, but at this point he had handed over directing to others, with Irvin Kershner on Empire Strikes Back before Marquand on ROTJ. As everyone knows, this sequel was also originally called Revenge of the Jedi before they eventually changed it to Return of the Jedi for the final release. It's expected that the 1997 Special Edition version of ROTJ will be playing. At Star Wars Celebration in 2017, Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy stated "there was no intention of restoring the original theatrical cuts," honoring Lucas' intentions with the Special Edition versions. She added, "I wouldn't touch those, are you kidding me? Those will always remain his." Oh well. Return of the Jedi stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Ian McDiarmid, with Frank Oz as Yoda, Kenny Baker as R2, Warwick Davis as Wicket, and many others. Disney will re-release Return of the Jedi in theaters for the 40th anniversary starting April 28th this spring. It was also re-released once before in April of 1997, for the Special Editions that Lucas re-edited back then.

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