More horrors from the fanfiction vault

“REVENGE OF THE JEDI”

Or:

A Lesson in Not Finishing Stuff

I don’t know how long it was after we’d finished “STAR WARS: THE SCRIPT” that I decided to start writing the next movie. I know I didn’t share it with Cathy, for various reasons, one of them being that I’d found out she didn’t actually like Princess Leia! How could she? I was outraged, and it probably contributed to our falling out as friends soon after …

I know it can’t have been much later, as the handwriting in this outline is very similar to that in the script. It’s headed simply:

Plot for new Story, and it goes like this:

Luke is trying to go back to Dagobah to finish his training with Yoda. He sets down at a gas station for fuel [An intergalactic gas station? Where did I dream that up from? The only thing I can think of is in the deleted scenes from ANH where Biggs tells Luke the ships above Tatooine are probably refuelling.] but Boba Fett is also there; he captures Luke and takes him to Darth Vader.

Princess Leia and a Rebel – Hollis go try and rescue him. [I like the name Hollis, it appears often in my early stuff. I must use it again sometime, as a tribute to my younger self. I was following Lucas in the “borrowed names” thing: a lot of the planets – Theos, Megos – in the script were found by flipping randomly through the index of an atlas. Hollis was named after John Hollis, who played Lobot. I thought it was a good Star Wars-y name.] They go to Tatooine, where they meet up with Han Solo and Lando and Chewbacca. [Han’s rescue always stays offscreen, I guess I couldn’t figure out how it would be done.]

They are going back to the Rebel base when they bump into [bump into??] a Star Destroyer. They are taken up by a tractor beam but the Rebel ship (with Hollis and Threepio) escapes.

The Rebel ship is going back to the base and it stops to re-fuel. [I can see where this is going …] They meet Artoo and Luke’s X-wing. Artoo says Boba Fett has taken Luke to Darth Vader on Tholos. [another found name, and another Greek one. I guess Greek sounded exotic to me back then …] They think that that must be where the others are being taken.

They hurry back to the base to warn Major Derlin, [what did I have against General Rieekan? It was clear he was in charge on Hoth. Did I have it in my head he was killed there for some reason?] and then go try rescue Han, Leia, Lando, Chewbacca, Luke. [Wait – Threepio, Artoo and one Rebel redshirt are off to rescue all our heroes? This can’t end well …]

[At this point the handwriting changes, and becomes much more scribbled and unsure. Obviously I only had that first part really figured out! This may even have been written much later.]

On the way to Tholos the Rebels retrieve retreive pick up a lifepod containing Lando & Chewbacca. They say that Han & Leia were probably captured by the Imperials.

Meanwhile, back on the Star Destroyer, Leia & Han are put in a detention cell. They are taken to Tholos & put in Prison.

They are put in different cells: Han by himself, Leia with Cassandra (?) a beautiful arch-criminal & 1-time friend of Han Solo. Leia and Cassandra, working together, escape. While finding out what cell Han is in (they discover Luke also in the prison.) [The brackets were obviously added later, and Luke’s name has been crossed out. I think this is because of a later idea I had which changed the story from this point, as further mentions of Luke have not been crossed out.] They get Han and Luke out. They retr(ei)ve [I was generally very good at spelling, but I obviously hadn’t totally internalised “i before e except after c” at this point!] the Falcon & set off back to the Rebel base (Cassandra joins them). On the way back they meet Hollis, C-3PO, R2-D2, Lando & Chewbacca.

Return to base & end happily.

***

[Underneath this is written, again it seems to have been at a later date:]

Meet Luke + Vader. Luke on Dark Side. Leia (other one ) has vision of Ben Kenobi. [Yoda: “There is another”. There was a lot of speculation about who would turn out to be this other between the films. I’d obviously decided at this point it was Leia.] Speaks to Luke telepathically. Luke realises what a fool he’s been. Kills Vader maybe? Return to base etc.

[This last bit is really interesting to me, as it’s actually the very first germ of the story that eventually became my most recent: Reign of the Starkiller. I became totally captivated by the idea that Leia would have to save Luke from the dark side, and in the end was quite disappointed that she didn’t get to do that in ROTJ.]

[On the next page, in what looks like the same handwriting as the bit above:]

Han + Cassandra become “romantically involved”, because Cassandra was not a one time “friend” of Solo, but a one-time “lover”! Leia rushes back to quarters. Bursts into tears. Sees vision of Ben Kenobi. “You must talk to Luke. He will not listen to me. Leia, you are our last hope.” Feels immense power flowing through her etc. Speaks to him telepathically. “Luke, you must listen to me!” etc. Luke comes round maybe.

[Here is evidence that I didn’t trust Han Solo, and I was still to an extent shipping Luke and Leia. I still thought she could end up with either of them at this point. Of course the twins revelation hadn’t been made yet, so it was all still up in the air. There is a theme in my early stuff though of Han abandoning Leia and her turning to Luke, and I think that may have been where I was going with this version, with Luke and Leia ending up together in the end, united in the Force as well as in the material world.]

This story held my interest until 1983, going through many different versions and re-writes. Next time: “The Plot, In More Detail”, and the final version, shockingly abandoned on a cliffhanger.

Tags: back in the day, fanfiction, Star Wars