By Gus Lopez
The moment the working title of the film Revenge of the Jedi was changed to Return of the Jedi, there were evening news reports about the scarcity and collector demand for memorabilia containing the original film title -- the Jedi may not have gotten revenge, but they certainly spurred the collectibles market. While some collectibles bearing the Revenge name remain in high demand and limited numbers, surprisingly, some are readily available even today.
During the time of the title change, the Official Star Wars Fan Club included black and red Revenge logo patches in their renewal kits. These patches were similar to a cast and crew version of the logo patch, except the fan club version had square corners to the crew's rounded corners. The Fan Club also sold multicolor Revenge of the Jedi Yoda patches that were in limited supply, also based on a crew version of the same patch. The differences between the crew and fan club Yoda patches are subtle -- the major distinction being the plastic coating on the fan club patch which is absent from the crew patch. Revenge of the Jedi Yoda stickers, with the same design as the crew patch, were available to cast and crew members, sometimes found in sheets of eight stickers.
Folded and rolled versions of the Revenge of the Jedi Teaser one-sheets were sent to movie theaters in late 1982, and became instant collectors items as the first widely-reported Revenge collectible. There are two versions of the Revenge teaser one-sheet, one with the May 25th date printed along the bottom and the other without, the latter being more difficult to find. The Fan Club also had a limited supply of these posters on hand which allegedly sold out during the first few days it was offered. The Revenge teaser is perhaps the most widely known Revenge of the Jedi collectible, and numerous fakes of this poster have hit the market over the past couple of decades. Fake versions of the one-sheet range in quality from poor scans of folded posters with visible fold lines to very accurate reproductions that require extensive background information to distinguish from originals.
Kenner had planned their upcoming release of action figure toys under the Revenge of the Jedi name. Prior to the name change, Kenner had just completed a mail-away offer for the Admiral Ackbar figure with the Revenge title, although flyers and figure cards with that offer are so common that collectors barely notice the title. The Kenner Revenge of the Jedi items that are rare and popular with collectors are the 50 different Revenge of the Jedi proof cards for characters in the action figure line, along with many boxes for vehicles and playset bearing the Revenge name. Parker Brothers also got into the act with planned video games for Atari and Intellivision. Sample boxes, not containing any actual game cartridges, were sent out to dealers and became instant collectibles as the games would never be issued under the original title.
The film was shot under the Revenge name during the entire principal photography for Return of the Jedi, and as a result there are countless cast and crew artifacts on Revenge letterhead, including memos, cast lists, paperwork, call sheets, etc. Blank Revenge letterhead and stationery was made in a variety of forms, for example some containing the production company's name, "Chapter III Productions". In some cases while filming on location, the crew went under a façade name, Blue Harvest, to mask the filming of a Star Wars movie in the US, also leading to a host of its own collectibles, but that's a story for another day.
Several Revenge of the Jedi cast and crew items were made available to the film and special effects crews. The most common of these are the black and red Revenge logo T-shirts, although these shirts were also available in a range of colors including gray, purple, and red. A similar navy blue Revenge of the Jedi sweatshirt can also be found with some hunting, and the more difficult logo piece is the black Revenge of the Jedi crew cap with the black and red logo patch on top of the visor.
Some of the more obscure cast and crew T-shirts for small units within the production also issued shirts with the Revenge logo, including the Creature Shop shirt for Industrial Light and Monsters (with Magic crossed out) and the Joe Dunston Camera crew shirts. Among these items, one of the holy grails is the Revenge of the Jedi ceramic plate reportedly only given to department heads and supervisors upon completion.
More common Revenge items include the Ben Cooper Halloween costumes for Klaatu, Admiral Ackbar, Wicket, and Gamorrean Guard with unusual Empire Strikes Back boxes and the Revenge of the Jedi logo printed on the costumes. These costumes were sold to the public and are as common as the other Ben Cooper Star Wars outfits. Why an Ewok would run around Endor forests with "Revenge of the Jedi" emblazoned across his chest was never explained. Another relatively common piece is the black and red Revenge logo button by Adam Joseph, which was also sold at retail. There's also a widely-publicized insert promoting the upcoming Revenge of the Jedi film that appeared in Variety magazine, which has been hoarded and stockpiled by collectors for the past two decades. More obscure is the white spiral-bound Revenge of the Jedi promotional guide by 20th Century Fox. This packet was sent to publications and retailers in a large white envelope, and the guide contained the first released images of conceptual art from the highly anticipated film.
The Revenge of the Jedi brass paperweight is arguably the highest quality Revenge holy grail item to emerge. The Revenge logo was etched onto the metal paperweight and was given to crew members and licensees prior to the film release. Among the items bearing the original film title, this is one that rarely changes hands and merits a holy grail designation.
