A recent report has confirmed that the age rating of Return of the Jedi has been increased in the United Kingdom for the most ridiculous of reasons. Since 1983, Return of the Jedi has been regarded as one of the best Star Wars movies of all time. Similarly, the film culminated George Lucas’ original series which is widely considered the best of the three Star Wars trilogies. Despite its beloved nature, Return of the Jedi has fallen subject to a ridiculous instance of censorship in the United Kingdom.
As per a report by the Daily Mail, it has been revealed that Return of the Jedi‘s age rating has been hiked in the UK. The classic Star Wars film is now regarded as not suitable for younger viewers in the eyes of the British Board of Film Classification. The reason for this change has been cited as Return of the Jedi‘s violent action scenes, specifically a sequence in the film’s climactic battle between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in which the former’s hand is cut off at the wrist.
Star Wars: Ranking Every Major Action Sequence In Return Of The Jedi
George Lucas concluded the original Star Wars trilogy with some of the saga’s most explosive action sequences in Return of the Jedi.
The BBFC’s Logic Is Hilarious & Absurd
Given this update, it will be interesting to see how upcoming Star Wars movies are affected by the BBFC’s certification, though hopefully, it is not for the same absurd logic. The idea of raising the age rating on Return of the Jedi is ridiculous in and of itself given the film’s family-friendly nature and the inoffensive tone of the Star Wars franchise as a whole. However, this specific change borders on absurd given that Vader’s hand is robotic.
The nature of Star Wars‘ cybernetic enhancements to characters means that Vader lost a hand that was made entirely of metal. It was not his real hand being cut off like Luke Skywalker’s in The Empire Strikes Back, and, even if it was, lightsabers cauterize wounds inherently meaning there is little to no violence on display in such instances concerning gore or blood. These reasons make the logic of the BBFC’s raising of Return of the Jedi‘s age rating even more difficult to comprehend, beyond the overall childlike wonder found in George Lucas’ Star Wars film that makes it so appealing to younger viewers.
