Darth Vader Originally Did Even More Force-Choking In Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi

It's impossible to single out one element of George Lucas's "Star Wars" that turned it into a game-changing motion picture phenomenon in 1977. It was just a blessed confluence of nostalgic genre influences, state-of-the-art visual effects, and an upbeat tone at a moment when Americans were desperate for, well, a new hope after the bleak failure of the Vietnam War (not to mention the utter denigration of the presidency by Richard M. Nixon).

Of course, I'm only kidding. "Star Wars" became and remains a multi-billion franchise because of Force choking (which, strangely, does not top /Film's 100 Greatest "Star Wars" Movie Moments of All Time).

Yes, lightsabers were a nifty invention, and all of those cantina creatures were pretty damn cool, but deep down, every single repeat viewing of "Star Wars: A New Hope" was driven by a primal need to watch Darth Vader place a hands-free chokehold on a weak-willed opponent. But for the intervention of Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), Vader would've finished Force-choking the lily-livered life out of the dude.

Audiences had never seen anything so delectably nefarious in their lives, so when Lucas unleashed "The Empire Strikes Back" three years later, he gave his newfound fandom exactly what they wanted: a fully fatal act of Force-choking.

Force-choking was such a winning bit of galactic business that fans rightly expected to see more of the diabolical practice in 1983's trilogy-capper "Return of the Jedi." So it was hardly a surprise that when Lucas failed to give moviegoers what they wanted, the franchise's third installment quickly got dinged as the weakest entry in the series.

It didn't have to go this way. In fact, had Lucas stuck to his initial vision, "Return of the Jedi" would've doubled down on Force-choking. So what happened?

According to the Star Wars Insider's "The Ultimate Return of the Jedi Guide" (published in 2003 to commemorate the film's 20th anniversary), there was a scene in which Darth Vader was indeed forced to choke some fools.

This was supposed to occur when two royal guards attempt to block Lord Vader from entering the Emperor's throne room. This ticks off the eminently tick-off-able Vader, who promptly deprives the guards of the ability to breathe, which does not go well for their continued existence in the "Star Wars" universe. The scene was reportedly shot on February 18, 1982 and later excised from the final cut. No explanation is given for Lucas's decision, but given the uptick in Force-choking on display in "Revenge of the Sith" over 20 years later, one can only conclude that Lucas grievously regretted the omission.

Despite the return of Force-choking in the prequel trilogy, as far as the series' Generation X fans were concerned, the damage was done. You couldn't make Hayden Christensen's whiny portrayal of Anakin Skywalker more menacing simply by reintroducing everyone's favorite form of murder in that galaxy far, far away. There are those that say the franchise never recovered. Even though talented filmmakers like Rian Johnson, Gareth Edwards and Tony Gilroy have sought to breathe new life back into the series, the sinister joy got Force-choked out of the series 41 years ago.