3. He Nearly Turned To The Dark Side At The End Of Return Of The Jedi
When George Lucas and his co-writer, Lawrence Kasdan, were brainstorming ideas regarding the ending of Return Of The Jedi, Lucas pitched an potential climax that saw Luke Skywalker taking up his deceased father's helmet and declaring his allegiance to the Dark Side. Which would have made a hell of a twist, all things considered. This idea was ultimately scrapped, however, despite Kasdan's insisting that it was a great and unpredictable note to finish the story on, because Lucas didn't want to alienate children, who he ultimately believed to be Star Wars' target market. Still, nobody would have expected for Luke to change sides at the end of the trilogy; said twist would have been shocking enough to rival the one in The Empire Strikes Back, in which Darth Vader reveals himself to be Luke's father (you might be familiar with that?).
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
