The original Star Wars trilogy remains beloved, but A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi were all brought to theaters during a very different era for filmmaking.
That goes some way in explaining why George Lucas would later make a series of sweeping changes across multiple re-releases, using modern technology to improve what he perceived as glaring flaws in his movies. However, there was one issue not even the legendary writer and director could fix.
During the battle aboard Jabba the Hutt's skiff in front of the Sarlac Pit, Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker can be seen kicking a goon to his death. The problem is, the Jedi Knight's foot never actually made contact with the unnamed baddie!
It's an obvious error that shouldn't have made the final cut; Hamill obviously wasn't going to strike his fellow actor but camera trickery should have been used to disguise that fact, something which is the norm for films even today.
In the newly released book Return of the Jedi: From a Certain Point of View, that character is given a name, Sion, and we finally learn what really happened.
"He had him," reads an excerpt from the short story which takes place from the villain's point of view. "There was no space to parry and no space to swing, and - and he hadn’t accounted for the kick, not at this distance."
The implication here is that Luke used a Force kick to take out Sion, a theory that's often been suggested by fans over the years. As a result, this infamous mistake has finally been addressed with an explanation that, while a little silly, makes sense.
Remind yourself of Luke's widely discussed "Force kick" below.