RETURN OF THE JEDI Almost Featured a Scene Where Obi-Wan and Yoda Fight the Emperor as Force Ghosts!

Well, it looks like George Lucas almost took Star Wars: Return of the Jedi to another level of awesomeness that fans might would have liked to see! It’s been over 35 years since the film was released, but we are still learning new things about it and what could have been.

Phil Szostak, a creative art manager for Lucasfilm, recently shared some pages from a rough draft of Return of the Jedi from 1981, which is two years before its release. Those pages reveal that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda return as Force Ghosts to help Luke Skywalker fight the Emperor! Szostak writes:

“In George Lucas’ February 1981 rough draft of #ReturnoftheJedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Yoda return from 'the netherworld' to aid Luke Skywalker in his battle with the Emperor. The Jedi, including Luke’s father Anakin, are later seen resurrected at the Ewak [sic] celebration. #StarWars.”

In George Lucas’ February 1981 rough draft of #ReturnoftheJedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Yoda return from “the netherworld” to aid Luke Skywalker in his battle with the Emperor. The Jedi, including Luke’s father Anakin, are later seen resurrected at the Ewak [sic] celebration. #StarWars pic.twitter.com/AKHCzbmH1S

— Phil Szostak (@PhilSzostak) September 6, 2019

Holy shit! How awesome would that have been to see that happen!? That would have blown people’s minds! Who knows, though. Maybe we’ll end up seeing something like this happen in J.J. Abrams‘ The Rise of Skywalker! That would be pretty radical.

What do you think about this new concept from Return of the Jedi that didn’t happen? Would you have liked to see Obi Wan and Yoda fight the Emperor as Force Ghosts?