Return Of The Jedi's 40th anniversary

25th May 2023 sees the 40th anniversary of the Return Of The Jedi.
 

There is already the usual official merchandise such as classic figures, playsets & vehicles, lego, tee shirts, lightsabers, coins, calendars, comics, Revell models, and those awful Funko Pops.

Some of it was even released in 2022. Even with the official “ROTJ at 40” logo on it!
 

How will you be celebrating the 40th anniversary?

What do you hope to see released as part of it? Apart from a unaltered cut release of the OT films?

I’m hoping for a new documentary on the making of ROTJ from the crew’s point of view. Or at least some new interviews and short videos put up on the official site, like they did for Empire’s 40th, and Star Wars’ 40th.
 

Edit: The official Star Wars website now has a “Return Of The Jedi at 40” portal: www.starwars.com/jedi-40th.
But there is nothing new of any substance on there yet (unless you count a new article linking to old deleted scenes).

The one which started it for me; Dad took me in 83 as a four year old and here we are!

+1 to a cinema run (albeit we know what version they’d use!).

Marooned Biker Scout said:

How will you be celebrating the 40th anniversary?

Barge Party at my house!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcD9fb9hyqM)

Nice!

Emre1601 said:

+2 for the cinema.

Did they show Empire at the cinemas for the 40th anniversary in the end with Covid going on?
 

It would be fantastic to see this on the big screen again:

but I would reluctantly settle for watching one of the later “Special Edition” versions at the cinema if that was our only choice.

ESB had a drive-in run in 2020, IIRC. It was the new 2019 Special Editions.

I’m just wondering if another “From a Certain Point of View” book will come out.

Dirge said:

Marooned Biker Scout said:

How will you be celebrating the 40th anniversary?

Barge Party at my house!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcD9fb9hyqM)

Amazing barge and figure collection, I love Luke taking a selfie, Oola flashing the band, and Boba chilling! Cool music too.

BedeHistory731 said:

I’m just wondering if another “From a Certain Point of View” book will come out.

I read the first one and enjoyed most of them. Was Empire’s version any good too?

If they do one for ROTJ I hope they have the Rancor keeper. And both a Rebel and Imperial perspective from after the DSII blew up. What happened? Did the Imperial fleet simply fly away and regroup somewhere, or stay and fight?

I’ll be watching 4K83 version ? No DNR in May to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of RETURN OF THE JEDI. The 4K, not 1080p.

Double post.

WookieeWarrior77 said:

This anniversary seems to not have as much going on as the other two, but maybe there’ll be more come May.

It feels that way. Maybe we’ll see more on it after Celebration finishes?

Star Wars Celebration in London is doing a “Return Of The Jedi at 40” panel. So far:

and Ian McDiarmid has been announced as well.

I also hope we’ll see some of the crew and ILM people who worked on the ROTJ, and that they live stream the panel or at least show it on the official YouTube channel soon after.

JF_Sanderson said:

Never need a reason to celebrate Rotj! Happy 40 very soon.

Strange they are using the 1995 logo. I had no problem with the new branding on the THX set besides the “faces” were all masks/puppets/IP instead of the actors. Still strange it’s not the classic logo that’s copied by much other Star Wars media.

Yeah! The classic logo, or the logos used from 1983, are much cooler:

&bsp;
I have seen this “ROTJ at 40” logo online in a few places. Maybe an early version or fan made? I think it does look cool:

From https://sffgazette.com/sci_fi/star-wars/star-wars-a-classic-movie-is-receiving-an-unexpected-theatrical-a4810

"2023 marks the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and we’ve already seen new merchandise start finding its way into stores.

However, a listing on the official Dolby website confirms the 1983 classic is heading back to theaters - in Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision - on April 28, 2023. This hasn’t been confirmed or announced by Disney and Lucasfilm, but makes sense even if it is somewhat surprising."

Looking like there could be a limited run in some cinemas for ROTJ. And in Dolby Vision too! 😃

I’ll be watching Despecialized Edition of ROTJ on the anniversary, thank you Harmy for all your work on these!
And probably also playing some of the older OT games on the PC, if they still work. TIE-Fighter or X-Wing, or maybe the Rogue Squadron games on the nintendo.

The Star Wars Celebration website now has a range of merchandise for the “Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Collection”:

https://www.starwarscelebration.com/en-us/merchandise.html#rotj

The “40 Years of Return of the Jedi” panel at Celebration 2023 can be watched at 1:55:45 into this video below:
 

Star Wars Celebration LIVE! 2023 - DAY 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi-b2c0RY7I - at the official Star Wars YouTube channel.

 
Unfortunately, “The Science of Return of the Jedi” panel was not broadcast or streamed live; because for some reason it was on at the exact same day and time as the “40 Years of Return of the Jedi” panel.

The 40 Years Later: Exploring the History Behind “Blue Harvest", Start Your Engines: Lambda Shuttle, and the Planet Leia panels are also not going to be shown live on the Star Wars YouTube channel.

So the 40 Years of Return of the Jedi panel was the only “ROTJ at 40” panel at Celebration 2023 that was shown live.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Will Be Back in Theaters for 40th Anniversary Celebration at StarWars.com

 
'Jabba the Hutt. Speeder bikes. The Emperor and Ewoks. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is turning 40, and will make its own triumphant return this month.

Today, fans attending Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 were the first to learn that the beloved sixth chapter in the Skywalker saga, Return of the Jedi, is heading back to theaters — its first official release in 26 years. Starting April 28, Return of the Jedi will return to select theaters in the US, UK, and other regions for a limited time, welcoming a whole new generation of fans to enjoy a full theatrical presentation of the iconic film for the very first time.

As with the 40th anniversary screenings of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in 2020, a striking new poster commemorating Return of the Jedi’s theatrical return has been created, again by artist Matt Ferguson.
 

 
“I’m so happy and grateful to get to work on these movies again, even more so to be given the freedom to continue what I started with Empire,” says Ferguson. “For that poster, a cold mechanical vibe completely takes over the whole composition. But Return of the Jedi is very much the triumph of Luke and the Rebels, so I wanted to have more of the warmer colors coming back into the art, hence pivoting to green with red accents.”

With 40 years having passed since the original theatrical run of Return of the Jedi, and with the full Skywalker saga now in view, Ferguson decided to focus his composition on two of the saga’s most resonant and consequential figures – Luke and Vader.

“The artwork should tell a story, so for me it only made sense to give over the composition to those two characters,” he continues. “Will Luke be turned? Is Vader going to overcome the darkness? It’s all about the pull between good and evil.”

Screenings for Return of the Jedi in the US will take place April 28 – May 4, and April 28 – May 1 in the UK. Stay tuned to StarWars.com for updates on other regions and dates.’

It doesn’t say which version will be shown. But as others have said on here, it will probably be the 2019 Maclunkey version, so it will really be the 4th anniversary of Return Of The Jedi.