Star Wars: 20 Things You Didn't Know About Return Of The Jedi
3. Several Darker Alternate Endings Were Discussed
After the bleak ending of The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi whips back around to have an intensely happy, neatly tied-off ending to send audiences home on a high.
However, this wasn't always the plan, as Lucas originally toyed around with some more daring ideas.
According to dismissed producer Gary Kurtz, the original script treatment concluded with Luke (Mark Hamill) departing on his own, fatigued like the loner hero in a western, disappearing into the Tatooine desert.
Hamill himself also discussed the idea with Lucas of Luke wearing Vader's helmet at the end of the film, in turn creating a far more ambiguous outcome for our alleged hero.
Lucas ended up rejecting both ideas in favour of a strictly happy ending, apparently for the sake of merchandise sales. While you can't really blame him for ditching Hamill's suggested ending, that western ending sounds incredibly badass.