Leonard Maltin Interviews George Lucas, Part 3: Return of the Jedi

In part three of film critic Leonard Maltin's interview with Star Wars creator George Lucas, the two discuss the final film of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi.

Lucas says that Return of the Jedi mostly matched his original vision, except that Ewoks replaced Wookiees. He wanted a primitive species to battle the Empire, and he'd already established Chewbacca as being mechanically sophisticated in A New Hope, which disqualified Wookiees. This led to the creation of the Rebels' new "furry companions." (In fact, the name Ewok is derived from Wookiee.)

Jabba the Hutt was originally meant to be in the first film, but time prevented his inclusion. Lucas wanted a "big, repulsive character," and he finally made his debut in Return of the Jedi.

When asked about the film's environments, Lucas says he tries to include three different types of environments in a movie. Acknowledging he's bound to earthly environments, Lucas set much of the picture in the forest, which hadn't been seen yet in Star Wars. Colors also play a thematic role: Imperial settings and outfits are colorless, Rebel settings and costumes are earth tones.

In discussing the prequels (Lucas was writing them at the time of this interview), he says it takes a long time to prep them. They're based on the backstory he had outlined at the beginning -- where Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Luke and Leia come from. He also reveals that he is considering a return to directing...