On this day in 1977, the world was changed forever whenStar Wars: A New Hopewas released in theaters for the very first time. The franchise has been all over the place since then, but the conclusion of the original trilogy first came to us in 1983 in the form ofReturn of the Jedi, which as many hardcoreStar Warsfans know was originally titledRevenge of the Jedi. Well, a very cool piece ofStar Warshistory relating to that has just surfaced online for the first time.
The Academyhas a massive film archive, and they recently acquired a never before seen teaser trailer forRevenge of the Jedi. Certain marketing materials for the film made it out into the public before the name change was in place, and this just so happens to be one of those rare gems. What is more curious though, is the fact that the title card featured in the trailer has a Christmas 1983 release date, when in factReturn of the Jediwound up coming out in May of that year.
This particular trailer was shown very briefly in the United Kingdom in 1982 during a double feature run ofA New HopeandThe Empire Strikes Backin the summer, which wound up running from May until December. The Christmas 1983 release date touted in the trailer had to do with talks that went on between Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox. The studio originally felt that a Christmas release date in the U.K. would make sense because it would allow for easier merchandise tie ins and would give people in the country a chance to get out around the holidays. Though there are other brief trailers for the film that featureRevengein the title, this one is significant because it is the only one with the release date also changed.
The trailer is very brief and the quality of the film is a bit rough, but it does feature familiarJohn Williams’s score and a quick glimpse at pretty much every major character in some form of what would become a very iconic shot from the series. There is no actual footage in the trailer, it is mostly just flashing title cards and stills with a seemingly odd color pallet for what we’ve come to know fromStar Warsin general. What is also interesting is that the last text to flash before showing off the characters in the film says “the next exciting chapter,” which kind of implies that even back then, they knew the series would continue beyond theoriginal trilogy.
Star Warsfans all over the world covet any piece of marketing material for the film that hasRevengein the title, with originalRevenge of the Jediposters regularly selling for anywhere between $3,000 and $7,000 depending on condition.George Lucaswas responsible for the name change, ultimately thinking that the Jedi wouldn’t and shouldn’t be seeking Revenge, so it was changed in favor of Return, which was actually the original title anyway. Be sure to watch the rare teaser forRevenge of the Jedifor yourself.
