Star Warriors, the Force is with us. In 2023, we celebrate two anniversaries: the 40th anniversary of Episode IV: Return of the Jedi (1983), and the 20th anniversary of the Clone Wars (2003) micro-series. I was born a year after ROTJ, so I have no memories of ever seeing it in theaters. In fact when I purchased tickets to watch it at my local theater for a limited run (April 28 – May 4), it was the first time I ever saw any episode of the Original Trilogy on the big screen (no joke) and it was glorious. Movie magic at its finest.
Although I’d seen ROTJ many times throughout my life (it’s my favorite episode of the OT), I still felt excitement as the lights went down and the 20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm fanfare heralded those immortal blue words: “A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away”. Then I teared up with happiness as the galaxy celebrated freedom from the Empire and Luke witnessed his redeemed father reunite with Obi-Wan and Yoda. Episode 6 will always be a textbook example of how to end a saga on a high note and I’m happy to announce that as of this post, Return of the Jedi has made $7,259,924 in North America alone. What’s even more impressive (and aggravating) is that fans learned about the re-release via word of mouth, as Disney/Lucasfilm never promoted it, not even on Star Wars.com. That proves that no matter how many years have passed, George Lucas’ space epic will never grow stale. And it debunks the myth, that star warriors hate Star Wars, especially ones with Ewoks. In hindsight I wished Lucasfilm had re-released Attack of the Clones, The Phantom Menace and A New Hope back into theaters (they couldn’t do that with The Empire Strikes Back because of the pandemic) for their anniversaries.
Now I wonder if Lucasfilm will re-release Genndy Tartakovsky’s award-winning Clone Wars series in theaters, because that would be wizard. Although the 2003 – 2005 micro-series was made for television, it definitely deserves the big screen treatment. As I pointed out earlier, I wasn’t around for Return of the Jedi, but I definitely remember watching this show on Cartoon Network at the tender age of 19, still high on the excitement of Attack of the Clones and finally getting a glimpse of that enigmatic conflict only touched upon in A New Hope. Sadly, many of my Star Wars loving friends and acquaintances, had no idea such a series existed at the time and had no clue what they were missing. By the time Dave Filoni’s 2008 version of the Clone Wars premiered, the first series faded into obscurity. Sensing a pattern here?
For years, both of these entries in the Skywalker Saga, got no respect. If you’re of a certain age, you may remember a book called The Unauthorized Star Wars Compendium: The Complete Guide To the Movies, Comic Books, Novels and More. It was written by Ted Edwards and released in January of 1999, giving readers a sneak peek at the upcoming Episode 1. It was not endorsed by Lucasfilm and its tone was a precursor of what was to come.
You see it loved to hate on The Special Editions and it had a horrible chapter titled “Fifty Reasons Why Jedi Sucks”, which lists – you guessed it – 50 “reasons” why Return of the Jedi “sucks” and is the worse chapter of the trilogy. It’s disheartening to see such drivel get recommendations from Amazon and The School Library Journal, who think this is an expression of fan love. That’s like telling a little girl that her male bully likes her.
How anybody can call themselves a Star Wars fan and only like 2/6th of a saga is a fraud and a bore. You can never get one intelligent conversation out of those people and I have a feeling Mr. Edwards and his contributors have been banned from many conventions.
Well, it appears that in 2023, that’s going to change. Not only are there goodies celebrating Jedi’s 40th anniversary, there’s also going to be a Clone Wars 20th anniversary toyline.* To contribute to this joyous occasion, I’m going to list, side by side, six great moments from Return of the Jedi and six great moments from Clone Wars. I will only list moments from volume 1 (chapters 1-20) because volume 2 (which covers chapters 21-25) was released in 2005, which will turn 20 in 2025.
1. Luke Saves Han and Mace Takes On An Entire Droid Army
Luke left Tatooine a wide-eyed, naive farmboy. When Luke returns to Tatooine, four years later, audiences can tell just by the way he saunters into Jabba’s palace and uses the Force against two Gamorrean guards, that he’s matured as a jedi and a hero. With the help of the Force, R2D2 and a disguised Lando Calrissian, Luke frees Han, Chewie and Leia from the clutches of the wicked crime lord. It’s no wonder the Emperor wants Luke to become his next apprentice.
Twenty+ years earlier, another jedi, Mace Windu, liberated a Dantooine village from a droid Separatist Army, with the Force and his bare knuckles. There was no doubt in our minds that Mace was awesome – he was a senior member of the Jedi Council after all – but seeing him take out that army single-handedly, proved why he was a senior member.
2. Grievous Takes Out Jedi & Luke and Leia Take Out Scout Troopers
Words cannot describe the visual feast of these two iconic scenes, one heroic, the other ominous. Who didn’t want a speeder bike or at least be able to wield lightsabers with your hands and feet. I’ll never forget the promos for the first season finale, where a voiceover announced a first glimpse at Episode III’s newest villain and when I saw that villain slaughter those jedi, I felt nothing but dread. Dread isn’t a feeling you get when you watch Luke and Leia chase after some scout troopers, but the closest fans ever got to reenacting that scene, was in the 1994 Super Nintendo video game, Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. You not only had to outfly the scout troopers and shoot them at the same time – you had to avoid a tree collision and collect points. I had to pass the Endor Chase level when I played Star Wars Trilogy Arcade (1998). I had a hard time shooting and flying simultaneously, so I just stuck to flying.
3. Anakin Vs. Asajj & Luke Vs. Vader
Although she made her debut in the comics, fans first introduction to sith hopeful Asajj Ventress was in chapter six of Clone Wars, where she defeated a troupe of gladiators before Count Dooku. To prove her worth, she lured Anakin onto Yavin 4, where they fought in a tense lightsaber duel in chapter 18, drawing out Anakin’s rage. I’m glad Tartakovsky left Ventress’ fate unknown, so that we’d see more of her in The Clone Wars. Years later Luke finds himself in a situation similar to his father except that a.) he chose to surrender himself for others and b.) he stops himself before he caves in to rage.
4. A Mon Calamari Is A Hero’s Best Friend
Reurn of the Jedi introduced many memorable alien species: the ewoks, the sullustans, the gamorreans and the twi’leks. But the ones that made a big impression on fans were the Mon Calamari, octopodine beings from the planet of the same name, led by Admiral Ackbar. Staunch allies of the Rebellion, they helped orchestrate the attack against the Second Death Star, which was not the first time they fought for freedom.
Chapter 5 of Clone Wars sees a rift in the races of Mon Cala. The Quarren, a race of teuthidane aliens, have sided with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the Calamari are loyal to the Republic. This has led to a separatist invasion. To settle matters, the jedi send in Kit Fisto (you may remember him from the Battle of Kamino) to settle the dispute. For the first time, fans got a glimpse of Mon Cala’s aquatic environment and cultures. Plus, the Calamari ride on giant eels!
5. Padme On Illum & Leia In Chains
Much has been said about Leia’s capture and “humiliation” at the hands of Jabba the Hutt. What those people fail to recognize is that the infamous metal bikini was a symbol of Jabba’s misogyny and gave new meaning to the phrase “foisted by his own petard”. Jabba sees females as possessions, exhibits of his wealth and power without any regard to their feelings or worth. When he captures Leia, he sees her as a replacement for his dancing girl, Oola (whom he fed to his rancor), not as an important member of the Rebellion (or an Imperial senator). To see Leia turn the tables on Jabba with the very same chains he used to bind her is cathartic.
Like Leia, Padme has an iconic wardrobe of her own. One ensemble piece was worn on an impromptu mission to the planet Illum, where Master Yoda rescued two jedi trapped in a crystal cave. It consisted of a white jumpsuit similar to the one she wore on Geonosis, but with fur trimmed gloves, boots and a cape. How Padme knows which outfit to wear for each occasion (and where she keeps them) is a riddle for the ages, but that ermine cape sure came in handy when it came to finding chameleon droids.
6. Vader Destroys Palpatine & Obi-Wan Destroys Durge
In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, the ending would have Luke kill Palpatine and Vader. In the hands of a pessimistic filmmaker, Luke would’ve killed Palpatine and ruled with Vader as father and son. But in the hands of Lucas, Vader redeems himself by turning on his master and saving his son. I can’t think of any film before Star Wars that gave its villain a redemption (though I’m sure it’s out there somewhere), but I believe that’s the essential ingredient to the saga’s lasting popularity.
Durge gets no opportunity for redemption in Chapters 4 and 8-9 of Clone Wars because there’s no need for it. First introduced in the comics, Durge was a former bounty hunter hired by the CIS to lead the droid armies into battle. In comics and the cartoon, he often tangled with Obi-Wan until the latter killed him with a bang (literally).
So what are your favorite moments from Jedi and Clones? Did you watch ROTJ in the theaters during its limited run? Did you get that sense of magic watching it on the big screen? Let me know in the comments. In the meantime, here are some images from a galaxy far, far away.
*Curiously, the Clone Wars toyline consists of characters from the 2008 series. If that irks you, rest assured, there’s some Tartakovsky Clone Wars toys from the Lucasfilm 50th anniversary collection. Buy them here.
the lady from planet x 