INT. JABBA’S PALACE/ENTRANCE HALL – DAY
Noisily, the main gate lifts to flood the blackness with blinding light and reveal the silhouetted figure of LUKE SKYWALKER. He is clad in a black uniform and hooded cloak and wears neither blaster nor lightsaber. The Jedi strides purposefully into the hallway.
Two Gamorreans move to block Luke’s path. Luke halts and raises his hand at the piggish guards, who immediately lower their weapons and fall back, CHOKING.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
Jabba is asleep on his throne, Leia dozing in front of him. She is now dressed in little more than a pair of suede boots, gold bikini, G-string, and decorative armband; a chain runs from a collar at her throat to the throne of her new Hutt master. Threepio stands behind Jabba. Crumb sits by Jabba’s tail, watching it wriggle.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/ENTRANCE HALL – DAY
Bib Fortuna appears out of the gloom. He speaks to Luke as they approach each other, but Luke doesn’t stop and Fortuna must reverse his direction and hurry alongside the young Jedi in order to carry on the conversation. Several other guards fall in behind them in the darkness.
LUKE: I must speak with Jabba.
Fortuna answers in Huttese, shaking his head in denial.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
Leia awakens, looking up in recognition of Luke’s voice.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/ENTRANCE HALL – DAY
Luke stops and stares at Fortuna; he raises his hand slightly.
LUKE: You will take me to Jabba now.
Fortuna turns in hypnotic response to Luke’s command, and Luke follows him into the gloom.
LUKE: You serve your master well.
BIB FORTUNA: (in Huttese) I serve my master well.
LUKE: And you will be rewarded.
BIB FORTUNA: (in Huttese) And I will be rewarded.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
Threepio reacts at the sight of Luke as Fortuna comes up to the gangster slug.
C-3PO: At last! Master Luke’s come to rescue me.
BIB FORTUNA: Master.
Jabba awakens with a start. His majordomo continues.
BIB FORTUNA: (cont’d) Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight.
JABBA: (subtitled) Who told you to admit him‽
LUKE: I must be allowed to speak.
BIB FORTUNA: (subtitled) He must be allowed to speak.
Jabba, furious, clobbers Fortuna and shoves him away.
JABBA: (subtitled) You weak-minded fool! He’s using an old Jedi mind trick!
LUKE: (removes hood; firm) You will bring Capt. Solo and the Wookiee to me.
JABBA: (subtitled) Your mind powers will not work on me, boy.
LUKE: (nonchalant) Nevertheless, I’m taking Capt. Solo and his friends. You can either profit by this or be destroyed. It’s your choice. But I warn you not to underestimate my powers.
Jabba’s laugh is mean and loud. Threepio attempts to warn Luke about the pit.
C-3PO: Master Luke, you’re standing on –
JABBA: (subtitled) I was killing your kind when being a Jedi meant something. I shall enjoy watching you die.
Luke reaches out; a blaster jumps out of a guard’s holster and flies into Luke’s hand. A Gamorrean grabs for it as Jabba raises his hand.
JABBA: Boscka!
The floor suddenly drops away, sending Luke and the hapless Gamorrean into the pit. The pistol goes off, blasting a hole in the ceiling. Jabba laughs and his cadre joins in. Leia starts forward but is restrained by a Human guard – Lando, recognizable behind his mask. She looks at him and he silently warns her “no”.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT – DAY
Luke and the guard have dropped eight metres from a chute into the dank oubliette. Luke gets to his feet as the guard yells hysterically for help. A crowd gathers up around the edge of the pit as the door in the side of the pit starts to RUMBLE open. The guard screams in panic. Luke looks calmly around for a means of escape.
C-3PO: Oh, no! The rancor!
At the side of the pit, an iron door rumbles upward and a giant, fanged RANCOR emerges. The Gamorrean runs to the side of the pit and tries futilely to scramble to the top. The hideous beast closes in on him.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
The spectators look on.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT – DAY
The rancor moves past Luke, and as the guard continues to scramble, the rancor picks him up and pops him into its slavering jaws. A few SCREAMS, and the Gamorrean is swallowed with a CRUNCH and a GULP.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
The audience cheers and laughs at the Gamorrean guard’s fate.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT – DAY
The monster turns and starts for Luke. The Jedi suddenly leaps eight meters straight up and grabs onto the overhead grate.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
The crowd begins to BOO and HISS.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT – DAY
Hand over hand, Luke climbs under the grating toward the corner of the cave. One hand slips on the oily grate, and he dangles precariously over the slobbering rancor.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
Two Ranats run across the top of the grate, mashing Luke’s hand with their rifle butts. The crowd roars in approval.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT – DAY
Luke finally loses his grip and drops directly into the rancor’s eye. The Jedi tumbles to the floor as the rancor screams in pain. It stumbles, batting its eye in agony, staggers in circles a few times, then spots Luke again and comes at him.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
Jabba smiles.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT – DAY
The young Jedi dashes away just ahead of the monster’s swipe at him, and picks up the long femur of an earlier victim. The monster grabs Luke and brings him up to his salivating mouth.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
The crowd cheers wildly. Leia can hardly bear to watch.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT – DAY
At the last moment, Luke wedges the bone in the monster’s mouth and is dropped to the floor. The monster bellows in rage and flails about, hitting the side of the pit, causing a tremor.
The monster crushes the bone in its jaws and sees Luke, who squeezes into a crevice in the pit wall. Luke looks past the monster to the holding cave beyond. On the far side of the holding cave is a utility door. The rancor spots Luke and reaches into the crevice for him. Luke grabs a large rock and raises it, smashing it down on the rancor’s finger.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT/HOLDING CAVE – DAY
The rancor lets out a loud HOWL as Luke makes a run for the holding cave. He reaches the door and pushes a button to open it. When he succeeds, he sees a heavy barred gate between him and safety. Beyond the gate the TWO RANCOR KEEPERS look up from their dinner. Luke turns to see the monster heading for him and pulls with all his might on the gate. One of the keepers moves to the gate and shoves the young Jedi back.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
The audience is mad with excitement.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT/HOLDING CAVE –- DAY
Luke crouches against the wall as the monster reaches for him. Suddenly he notices a main door control panel halfway up the wall. As the rancor moves in for the kill, Luke uses the Force to push the panel. The giant overhead door comes crashing down on the beast’s head, crushing its skull.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
A startled GASP is heard from the stunned court. There’s consternation at this turn of events. Heads look to Jabba, who is actually turning red with anger.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT – DAY
The beast breathes its last.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
Leia cannot suppress her joy.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT/HOLDING CAVE – DAY
The rancor keepers have come into the cave and are examining their dead beast. One of them tries to pick a fight with Luke; the other breaks down and weeps. Several guards rush into the holding cave and take Luke away.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
Jabba utters harsh commands to his guards and they hurry off.
JABBA: (enraged; subtitled) Bring me Solo and the Wookiee! They will all suffer for this outrage!
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/RANCOR PIT/HOLDING CAVE – DAY
The weeping rancor keeper is consoled by his comrade and led away.
INT. JABBA’S PALACE/THRONE ROOM – DAY
The crowd of creepy courtiers parts as Han and Chewie are brought into the throne room and other guards drag Luke up the steps.
LUKE: Are you alright?
HAN: Fine. Together again, huh?
LUKE: Wouldn’t miss it.
HAN: How are we doing?
LUKE: The same as always.
HAN: That bad, huh?
Threepio is standing behind the grotesque gangster as the Hutt strokes Leia like a pet cat. Several of the guards, including Lando, bring Luke from the other side of the room.
Threepio steps forward and translates for the captives as Jabba issues his declaration.
C-3PO: Oh, dear. (beat) His High Exaltedness, the great Jabba the Hutt, has decreed that you are to be terminated … immediately.
HAN: Good. I hate long waits.
C-3PO: You will therefore be taken to the Waste Lands and cast into the pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all-powerful Sarlacc.
HAN: (to Luke) Doesn’t sound so bad.
C-3PO: In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a … thousand years.
HAN: On second thought, let’s pass on that, huh?
Chewie barks his agreement.
LUKE: (smiles) You should have bargained, Jabba.
Jabba barks something in Huttese.
LUKE: (cont’d) That’s the last mistake you’ll ever make.
Jabba cackles evilly at this.