10 Star Wars Scenes George Lucas Hated

6. The Force Ghosts - Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi

Star Wars Force Ghosts
Lucasfilm

Not content with removing the eyebrows of Sebastian Shaw's Anakin Skywalker at the end of Return of the Jedi, George Lucas ultimately ended up removing Shaw entirely from one of the film's key shots.

Said shot was the Force Ghost of Anakin joining the spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, taking up his rightful place alongside his fellow Jedi Masters after righting his previous wrongs. Here, the original version of Episode VI had Shaw alongside Sir Alec Guinness and the Frank Oz-controlled Yoda.

This scene actually managed to remain intact throughout Lucas' 1997 Special Editions, but it was the 2004 DVD release of the Holy Trilogy that saw George decide he was no longer happy with this scene. Thus, Sebastian Shaw was out, and Hayden Christensen was in.

That replacement was literally just Christensen's head replacing Shaw's in the Force Ghosts shot. To justify this change, Lucas cited how he now felt that the Anakin seen in this moment should be representative of the last time Anakin was truly good - as in before he embraced the Dark Side.

One clear and obvious counterpoint to this, mind, is surely the last time Anakin was truly good, was in the final moments of his life where he saved Luke and banished the Emperor? In that case, that'd mean his ghostly visage should indeed be that of Sebastian Shaw, no?

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.