As the third and final installment of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi may not have quite lived up to the excellence of The Empire Strikes Back.
However, it was still a satisfying conclusion to one of the best trilogies of all time.The film introduced new creatures, a second Death Star, and most notably, the redemption of Darth Vader. But before the Rebels could save the galaxy from the Empire’s clutches, there was the matter of rescuing Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt.
The plot of rescuing Han Solo from Jabba’s palace has always been a bit confusing for viewers. While Luke had sent R2-D2 and C-3PO into the palace to bargain with Jabba, Leia showed up in disguise as a bounty hunter with a plan to secretly steal Han away with the help of Lando and Chewbacca. The question that remained unanswered was whether these two parties were working together or not.
In honor of Return of the Jedi’s 40th anniversary in 2023, Star Wars has released a series of one-shot comics that lead into the film’s iconic storyline.One such comic, Return of The Jedi – Lando by Stephanie Phillips, Álvaró Lopez, Antonio Fabela, and VC’s Travis Lanham, sheds some light on this confusing plot point.
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The comic stars Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca, who are seen attempting to make an expensive business transaction with a black-market dealer to obtain the blueprints to Jabba’s Palace.
However, their plans go awry and they end up in a high-stakes game of Sabacc with the Empire. In the end, they manage to obtain the blueprints to the palace. This clears up the confusion surrounding the plot to rescue Han Solo, as it now appears that Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca had their own plan to rescue Han and Luke just happened to show up with his own plan. The fact that Leia and her team had the blueprints to Jabba’s castle indicates that they had their own rescue plan in place.
To a first-time viewer, it might appear as though there was one cohesive plan to rescue Han Solo. However, Luke clearly had his own plan as evidenced by his sending in R2-D2 and C-3PO and his arrival in dark Jedi robes to bargain with Jabba.
If Leia had been aware of Luke’s plan, she would not have put herself, Lando, and Chewbacca in harm’s way. It seems that Luke had his own plan to rescue Han and did not inform everyone else.
In the end, it was a good thing that Luke showed up when he did. Leia and Lando’s plan with the castle blueprints may have been solid, but Jabba outsmarted them. Leia was captured before she could save Han, and the whole rescue mission would have failed without Luke’s intervention.
While Luke’s plan did not work perfectly either, as Jabba was resistant to the Force, he was able to improvise and ultimately help save the day, with Leia delivering the final blow to Jabba.
In conclusion, Return of the Jedi may have had a somewhat confusing plot surrounding the rescue of Han Solo, but with the release of the Lando comic, that confusion has been cleared up.
Luke, Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca all had their own plans to rescue Han, but it was ultimately Luke who was able to improvise and save the day, with Leia delivering the final blow to Jabba.
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Return of the Jedi remains a worthy conclusion to one of the best trilogies of all time, and with the release of the 40th-anniversary comics, fans can continue to enjoy and appreciate this iconic film.
