We could have seen Endor destroyed in Return of the Jedi. If a deleted scene had been kept, the Ewok forest moon would have been gone, with all those on it. What would that mean for the third original movie? We have several possibilities, with one being quite dire.
The Deleted Scene
In Return of the Jedi, we could have seen Palpatine order the Death Star II to fire on Endor. In this video, we can hear the Emperor say to the commander Moff Jerjerrod, “Should the Rebels manage to blow up the shield generator,” which is protecting the Second Death Star, “we shall turn this battle station on to Endor and destroy it.”
This commander indicates that they “have several battalions on the moon,” but this does not deter Palpatine. He commands, “You will destroy it!” Accordingly, the Second Death Star gets into “position” to blow up the beloved forest moon. And, Jerjerrod gives the order to “commence firing.”
This scene certainly would have changed the outcome of the entire movie. And, it makes us wonder whether it should have been left in. If so, what would have happened in Return of the Jedi?
What Would Have Happened in Return of the Jedi?
For starters, Moff Jerjerrod, who was in charge of carrying out Palpatine’s order to destroy Endor, would have had a larger role in the third original movie. Jerjerrod was the station commander of Death Star II and was tasked with overseeing the “difficult final stages of construction.” We may best remember him for being fearful of the Emperor’s visit to this battle station.
He would have been thrust into the spotlight and responsible for wiping out Rebels and Imperials alike. He may have also taken on a dissenting, mocking role. As this article discusses, several of Jerjerrod’s scenes were deleted, possibly showing him expressing contempt for the Emperor and Vader.
To that point, we may not have seen much change in the movie. That is, Jerjerrod could have disobeyed the order or rescinded it, and Endor would remain. And, Luke would carry on with defying the Emperor before the Rebels managed to destroy Death Star II.
On that same trajectory, the deleted scene may have been included as part of Palpatine’s threats to Luke. We can imagine the Emperor taunting Luke with the prospect of blowing up Endor if he did not give in to his demands to come over to the dark side.
Of course, if the scene played out as initially intended, we could have witnessed the destruction of Endor. This result would mean that Han, Leia, Chewie, 3PO, R2, all the Ewoks, Rebels, and Stormtroopers with commanders would be wiped out. Luke probably would have still resisted the Emperor and helped redeem his father, and the Rebel fleet could have still blown up the Death Star II.
Another possibility, as some fans point out here, is that Luke would have turned to the dark side. The reasoning is that he has lost his “friends and lots of innocent people die[d]” would lure him in. We may think that Luke was “still impulsive” and would jump at the chance to enact revenge, but would fail because the Emperor was too powerful.
We have a final dire outcome provided with this edited video. It draws on the deleted scenes with Moff Jerjerrod and shows Endor exploding. What follows is a Rebel retreat in the wake of a massive explosion ring and an amassment of Imperial Star Destroyers. The Emperor would be victorious in this version, with Vader attesting to “the power of the Death Star” and Palpatine laughing.
That would have been quite a reversal to our customary ending and completely changed the film. We certainly would not see the victory celebration on Endor by Rebels, or Imperials for that matter.
Endor Destroyed
If the deleted scene with the order to destroy Endor was preserved, we could have seen Return of the Jedi with these plans still not carried out, a similar trajectory with major tragic elements, or a complete victory for the Imperials. This last option probably would not have played well with audiences.