***”Blatant Insubordination is a regular column published on Primary Ignition by Rob Siebert, editor and Fanboy Wonder. The views expressed therein are his alone, and not those of Primary Ignition at large.***

I’m a huge Star Wars fan. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to those of you that recall the phrase “commence primary ignition” being used in the original film, shortly before the Death Star blew up Alderaan. What can I say? The franchise has its critics, but the films are iconic. They’re the stuff fanboy lore is made of.

When I happened to glance at the Chicago Tribune a few days ago, and noticed a story on Gary Kurtz, the man who produced the first two films in the original trilogy, I was naturally curious. In the article, Kurtz claims that George Lucas changed the outline the two had come up with together for the films. In the film that eventually became Return of the Jedi, Han Solo was to have died, and Luke Skywalker was to have ended the film as a lone wolf, wandering off on his own. This is obviously a far cry from the ending we all know, in which the characters are celebrating with the Ewoks, and Luke sees the visions of his father and mentors smiling upon him.

Photo from hollyworth.com.

Kurtz said Lucas’ decisions at the time were made more for the sake of his licensing and merchandising deals than for telling a good story. Allegedly, Lucas didn’t want to kill any of his principle heroes, for fear it would affect their toy sales. This isn’t hard to believe at all, considering Lucas retained the merchandising rights before Star Wars was released, and how popular the brand has always been with children. Today, every Star Wars character that got at least a quarter-second of screen time has an action figure you can find at your corner drug store. Fanboys can (and will) debate on Lucas’ storytelling abilities until they’re blue in the face, but you’d be hard pressed to find one that’ll bash his business sense.

But even Harrison Ford has gone on record saying he wanted Han Solo to die in Jedi. The Empire of Dreams documentary on the original trilogy DVD set suggests studio heads were pressuring Lucas to kill off one of his main characters. Nevertheless, Lucas won out in the end, and the heroes of Star Wars lived to dance with Ewoks.

As big a Star Wars fanboy as I am, I’m a fanboy with perspective. I respect and admire George Lucas, but I don’t worship the ground he walks on. I recognize that while he’s a creative visionary, and the mastermind behind the most beloved film series of our time, he’s also a ruthlessly stubborn filmmaker and director, who’s not about to let his big meal ticket leave the limelight any time soon. Why else would have given his undying approval to Family Guy and Robot Chicken for their parodies (which in Family Guy‘s case drew in even more merchandising money)? Why else is Hasbro continuously pumping out toys and action figures featuring the same characters, year after year? Why else would he have allowed an animated Star Wars film to be released theatrically, so that he could promote Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars: The Clone Wars series? I could go on, folks…

In my experience, the common fanboy defense for this is: “Fuck you, man. If you owned something like Star Wars, you’d milk it for all it was worth too!” While I’m not sure how good a defense that actually is, to me one thing is certain: To promote the hell out of your product is one thing, especially if the demand is there. But to deliberately change it or water it down to make it more accessible to merchandising outlets and corporate sponsors is something else. You do that and you’re cheapening your product, you’re watering it down. You’re selling out.

Some people will tell you George Lucas sells out every day, by virtue of how he does business. But I think a decent indicator would be to take a look at Return of the Jedi, and how it would have looked if, per Kurtz’s words, it ended with the Rebellion in tatters, Han Solo dead and Luke walking off alone.

Photo from empireonline.com

To kill Han Solo would obviously have been a huge moment in the series. According to Lucas, the Han Solo story arc was about the character’s transformation from a cut-throat smuggler to a warm-hearted hero. His transformation is complete after he and Leia repeat their “I love you” lines from The Empire Strikes Back, only they’re transposed. But would that entire story have been nullified if Han had died moments after telling Leia how he truly felt? Not completely, but I do think it would have been a bit redundant.

The big emotional moment in The Empire Strikes Back is the moment between Han, Leia and Chewbacca in the freezing chamber. Han, who supposedly only cares about money and thrills, tells his partner that he has to take care of Leia, then he and Leia share that kiss, and they’re jerked apart by Stormtroopers. Then the two can only look at one another as Han is lowered into that freezing…thing. And of course the John Williams music captures the moment perfectly.

To have another scene like that, toward the end of Return of the Jedi, would seem repetitive. Plus, according to Kurtz the sequence where the group saves Han from Jabba’s palace would have still kicked off this alternate version of the movie. So you’re going to devote about 1/4 of your movie to rescuing this character, only to kill him off 3/4 into the film? That doesn’t make sense to me. It seems like killing a character (and a damn good one for that matter) just for the sake of giving the audience that big punch-to-the-chest type moment. Even if they were to somehow pull off this great death scene for Han Solo, it would have been overshadowed by the death of Darth Vader, and the huge unmasking scene between he and Luke.

So as much as it may pain some of the more cynical Star Wars fans, I’m going to give George Lucas a “not guilty” verdict on this one. If they were going to kill off Han Solo, they should have done it during the freezing scene in Empire.

“Well Calrissian, did he survive?”
“Um…no Lord Vader. He’s definitely not alive. But I guess he is in perfect hybernation…depending on how you define it.”
“See? This is why I wanted to test it.”

Photo from expandingcircle.files.wordpress.com.

In terms of Luke Skywalker becoming a loner at the end of Jedi, that move is a bit more logical. Oddly enough, that would have put Luke in almost the same position Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda were in when he met them. There’s something fitting about a Jedi Knight, perhaps the futuristic equivalent of a Zen master or wizard, going off alone to meditate, seek wisdom, and live entirely within himself.

While it would have made sense, I’m glad that wasn’t the path the filmmakers chose to take. Having Luke go off on his own seems callous to me. Though the Luke we see in Return of the Jedi is much wiser than the one who impulsively rushed to his friends’ aid in Empire, the character had always been portrayed as someone loyal to his friends. And as a warrior of virtue, it would seem inappropriate for Luke to leave his friends behind, especially in such an emotional moment, with the Rebellion having just achieved their grand victory over the evil Empire.

At the end of Jedi, Luke’s journey has come to an end. He has become a hero, redeemed his father, and helped see the Rebels through to victory. To have him take the lone wolf path after all that sets the wrong tone for the end of the Star Wars saga. The characters have all done what they needed to do, and accomplished their goals. So it is a time for celebration, joy, and dancing with Ewoks. So I’m going to have to give Lucas another “not guilty” on this one.

Photo from Flixster.com

George Lucas is guilty of a lot of things, and I’ll never say that he doesn’t milk the Star Wars franchise for all it’s worth, but I don’t think you can take much away from his creativity. With all six Star Wars films, he created a broad, exciting modern day myth, with rich themes and fun characters. The first three films, in my opinion, turned out beautifully. Episodes II and III are a bit flawed in their execution, which I believe can be attributed to Lucas sitting in the director’s chair. But the overall story and the themes are still there. So in the end, as far as story lines are concerned, I believe George Lucas knew what he was doing on Jedi. Early drafts and outlines are changed for a reason.

Alright Georgie boy, you win this round…and probably all the other rounds, because you have enough money to get all the good fighters. But don’t get too cocky. Remember, history is the ultimate critic, and perhaps the only one who truly matters.