10 Insane Star Wars Plot Twists George Lucas Nearly Made Happen
7. Luke Becomes The New Darth Vader
In what could've ranked as a twist on the same level as another Darth Vader occurrence that absolutely rocked the galaxy, there was actually a minute there when The Return of the Jedi ended on the mother of all bombshells.
Jumping back to a script conversation between George Lucas and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan, the latter eventually noted how the former told him of a scenario he had in mind involving Luke Skywalker pulling off one hell of a heel turn late on.
After unmasking his dying father as Return of the Jedi reached its dramatic conclusion, Lucas envisioned a sequence depicting Mark Hamill's character donning the iconic helmet before shockingly claiming "Now I am Vader."
On the back of executing "the ultimate twist", Skywalker would then proceed to "kill the (Rebel) fleet" and "rule the universe." Lovely stuff.
Despite Kasdan absolutely adoring that plan and admitting that's what he wanted to happen, however, Lucas soon backtracked and reminded his co-writer that this whole thing was actually, you know, "for kids." So, it was probably wise not to end the trilogy on a moment that would've no-doubt left them all scarred for life.
Would've been memorable, though.