ray_afraid said:

Mrebo said:

"Return of the Jedi" certainly refers to Luke's growth as a Jedi.

I've always thought it was referring to Vader's redemption. Leaving the Sith and returning to the Jedi. Or that it refers to Luke becoming a Jedi and therefore retuning the Jedi to the galaxy. Either way, I've always thought it was a lame title. Sounds too much like a generic sequel. Which... hmm...

Ignoring the PT (which was barely a glimmer in Lucas's eye when he made ROTJ) I don't know how one could think it referred to Vader.

Only at the very end of ESB did we have Vader declaring he was Luke's father. But even recognizing that Vader used to be Jedi Anakin (as told to us in ANH by Obi Wan), nothing indicated he would turn good. In ROTJ we get confirmation that Vader is truly Anakin, but still no indication he might turn from his evil ways until well into ROTJ.

Whether Vader might possibly turn good was not central to the story of Star Wars. Vader certainly was not thought of as "the Jedi."

The Jedi had been all but wiped out. Only Yoda was left. Luke was training to be a Jedi but wasn't done training in ESB. So it was most logical that it was the rebirth of the Jedi via Luke. That was what I meant.

And so much ROTJ hate! XD It's my favorite and I'm an unabashed Ewok lover. But to set aside a geekish debate, titles are another important consideration. At least Lucas didn't name it "Attack of the Jedi."