While it's nice to think that George Lucas had a grand plan for the entire Skywalker Saga, the truth is the filmmaker was essentially making it up as he went.
Yes, there were characters and ideas there from the start, but both his trilogies changed a great deal while they were being made. That's all part of the filmmaker's creative process and Lucas has said on multiple occasions how important the editing stage is when it comes to reshaping his movies into what he wants them to be.
When he first started working on Return of the Jedi - then titled Revenge of the Jedi - Lucas had a very different ending in mind, and it's one we can't help but think might have been better...in some respects, anyway.
In the Star Wars Archives - Episodes IV - VI, 1977 - 1983 book, it's revealed that the final duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader once took place in the Imperial capital city of Had Abbadon. In the Emperor's throne room, set above a lava lake, we'd have once again seen Luke cut off his father's hand and refuse to kill him.
Palpatine would have proceeded to torture the young Jedi with his Force lightning, only for Vader to leap towards his Master, saving his son, and sending them both into the lava below where they'd have perished (Lucas scrapped the idea because he felt the lava was a dead giveaway for one or both villains hurtling into it).
However, this excerpt from Revenge of the Jedi's script reveals what would have been a truly game-changing moment.
Luke looks up and sees Ben move out of the darkness into the moonlit glade. He is not a shimmering image, but real flesh and blood.
Luke stands in surprise.
LUKE: Ben, you've come back!
BEN: My need to stay in the netherworld has been resolved. Your father turned to the good side and I was able to disrupt his journey.
Luke turns to see an old man emerge from the darkness of the forest.
BEN: Here is the good Skywalker. My old friend and your father.
Luke rushes to his father and embraces him. Yoda steps into the glen and looks up at them.
YODA: A reason for celebration this is...
Yes, the plan had been for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Yoda to have all been resurrected, suggesting those connected to the Force could perish and willingly return (we're assuming that option was off the table for a Sith like Emperor Palpatine).
Had this happened, Disney's divisive sequels would have looked a lot different, though we know Lucas later decided - during the production of his prequels - that the final few movies he had in mind would focus on Luke, Han Solo, and Princess Leia battling a returning Darth Maul (read more about that here).
How would you have felt about this alternate ending in Return of the Jedi?