13 Movies Actually Ghost Directed By A Second Filmmaker
2. George Lucas - Return Of The Jedi (1983)
As Empire Strikes Back geared up for production, George Lucas needed to take a step back from the director’s chair and save Lucasfilm from bankruptcy. His old USC professor Irvin Kershner got the job instead, in what resulted in the highpoint of this forty year running franchise.
Lucas had always been irritated about not being able to assert more control over that production (especially for budget reasons), so when the third film geared up and Lucasfilm was thriving as a well-oiled machine without him, he managed to exert a position as a totally hands-on producer.
Low-key filmmaker Richard Marquand got the job as the helmer on the film, yet his disconnect with the main cast was a problem, not to mention his easy-going nature made him an easy 'yes man' for Lucas, who was always present on-set, and setting demand like always shoot a ‘Master Shot’ (a wide angle that captures an entire scene from A to B).
According to Visual Effects member Joe Johnston;
“George’s attitude has always been that the film is made in the cutting room, and production is a process of assembling the raw material. My guess is that George saw Marquand as a guy who could go out and amass the great-looking footage that George would mold into the film in post.”
One questions why Lucas didn't just direct the film himself? Whatever his reasons, if one looks at the accumulated evidence, he certainly came close enough to doing just that.