Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi begins with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and their allies launching a daring mission to rescue Han Solo, who remains frozen in carbonite in Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine. Return of the Jedi was for years the final chapter in the Skywalker Saga for the Star Wars franchise and is the 6th movie in the canon Star Wars timeline order. Leia, disguised as a bounty hunter, infiltrates Jabba’s palace and frees Han from Jabba’s wall where he was still frozen in carbonite, resolving the cliffhanger from The Empire Strikes Back. The pair is captured as we hear Jabba’s menacing laugh and this sets up Luke Skywalker to be the hero once again. Luke arrives and demands Jabba release them, but the crime lord refuses and attempts to feed Luke to the Rancor, a monstrous beast. Luke kills the creature, but Jabba sentences him, Han, and Chewbacca to be executed at the Great Pit of Carkoon, where they will be fed to the Sarlacc.
At the execution site, Luke springs his plan into action, retrieving his new green lightsaber from R2-D2 and fighting off Jabba’s guards. Leia seizes the opportunity to strangle Jabba with the chains holding her captive, while Lando helps free Han and Chewbacca. The heroes escape just as Jabba’s sail barge is destroyed. With Han rescued, Luke returns to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training.
On Dagobah, Luke finds Yoda dying of old age. Before passing, Yoda confirms that Darth Vader is indeed Luke’s father and warns that Luke must confront him again to truly become a Jedi. Yoda also hints at “another Skywalker,” which Obi-Wan Kenobi’s spirit later reveals to be Leia—Luke’s twin sister. Meanwhile, the Galactic Empire builds a new Death Star, more powerful than the first, under the command of Emperor Palpatine himself.
The Rebel Alliance discovers that the second Death Star is still under construction and is protected by an energy shield generated from the forest moon of Endor. The Rebels devise a plan: Han, Leia, Luke, Chewbacca, and a strike team will go to Endor to disable the shield, while the Rebel fleet, led by Lando Calrissian, attacks the Death Star. The team lands on Endor and encounters the Ewoks, small but resourceful native creatures who initially capture them but later ally with them after Luke demonstrates his power.
Meanwhile, Luke senses Vader’s presence and, fearing his attachment to his friends will lead to their downfall, surrenders himself to the Empire. He is taken to the Death Star, where Emperor Palpatine attempts to turn him to the dark side, revealing that the battle is a trap—the Rebel fleet is walking into an ambush. The Imperial forces attack the Rebel ships, while the Imperial army on Endor overpowers Han’s team. Palpatine urges Luke to strike him down in anger and fully embrace the dark side.
Luke refuses at first, but when Vader threatens Leia, he snaps and viciously attacks his father, ultimately severing Vader’s hand. However, upon realizing he is following the same dark path as his father, Luke regains control and rejects the Emperor, declaring himself a Jedi like his father before him. Enraged, Palpatine unleashes Force lightning, torturing Luke and nearly killing him.
Seeing his son in agony, Vader redeems himself by turning on his master. In an act of self-sacrifice, he lifts Palpatine and throws him into the Death Star’s reactor shaft, killing him. However, the Emperor’s lightning mortally wounds Vader. As the Death Star begins to collapse, Luke removes Vader’s helmet, allowing him to see his son with his own eyes before dying as Anakin Skywalker, redeemed at last.
Meanwhile, Han, Leia, and the Ewoks successfully destroy the shield generator, allowing the Rebel fleet to attack the Death Star. Lando Calrissian and Wedge Antilles lead a starfighter assault, navigating through the station’s interior and delivering the final blow to its main reactor, causing a massive explosion. Luke escapes with Vader’s body just in time.
With the Empire defeated, the Rebels celebrate across the galaxy. On Endor, Luke cremates his father’s body in a Jedi funeral pyre. That night, he sees the spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker, smiling at him in peace. The film ends with a triumphant celebration, as the Rebel Alliance has finally overthrown the Empire, bringing hope and freedom to the galaxy once more.
For more than over 30 years Return of the Jedi was the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga until the Disney acquisition of LucasFilm in 2012 and the announcement of the sequel trilogy, beginning with The Force Awakens.