This infamous Star Wars mistake has just been retconned – 40 years later

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Just for kicks

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, one Star Wars character went up against Luke Skywalker and was immediately defeated – without being touched. 

The ‘Force Kick’ in Return of the Jedi as Luke Skywalker attacked Jabba’s skiff went down in pop culture folklore; an infamous goof that demands replay after replay – and is up there with various other Star Wars mistakes, including Jeans Guy and whatever Zip-gate was.

Now, a new Star Wars book has not only given that character a name – Sion – but has revealed what really happened on that fateful day.

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"He had him. 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 story reveals.

The implication being, then, that Luke didn’t touch Sion – and actually Force-kicked him into the Sarlacc pit and to his likely death. After all these years, we can now rewatch Return of the Jedi safe in the knowledge that, no, that wasn’t a mistake. Instead, it was actually the Jedi pulling out a technique that no one has used before or since. Honest. 

Ahsoka is currently airing on Disney Plus. For more from the Star Wars spin-off, check out our guides on:

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.