I don’t know if that’s the intended meaning, and I can’t believe I’ve never thought of it myself, but I vastly prefer that interpretation over what I always assumed: that the title refers to Luke becoming the new line of Jedi and thus the Jedi (plural) returning to the galaxy.
But yeah, your idea of Anakin being the Jedi who returns after spending decades lost is much better and more poetic. I love it!
Cool! I always like it when someone’s odd thoughts enhance the experience for others.
This really is how I’ve always seen it, so this isn’t coming from a PT tainted point of view.
It mostly comes from Luke’s conversation with Obi-Wan on Dagobah. Obi-Wan is sure that “the good man who was your father was destroyed”, but Luke is sure he can bring his father back. When Luke says “I can bring him back… to the good side.” he’d might as well say “I can make him return… to the Jedi.”
This may not be the intended meaning, but I contest that it’s stronger than any other meaning I’ve ever seen posited & has a stronger connection to the actual film.