It was 1983, and fourteen-year-old me had been waiting fairly patiently for the arrival of Return of the Jedi (teased for a while as Revenge of the Jedi) – bringing with is the conclusion to the story that had been inspiring my school friends and I for the previous 6 years. And with it, we saw some iconic scenes: Jabbas Palace and the Sarlacc Pitt; Heroes of the Rebellion gathering on board the Mon Calamari spaceship, Home One; Yoda’s death on Dagobah and, of course, the forest moon of Endor, as well as the Emporer’s throne room on the second death Star.

Originally intended to be revealed to an unsuspecting world at Star Wars Celebration, we can now bring you the press pack for the latest Star Wars Dioramas: The Emporer’s Throne Room and the Endor Speeder Chase. Last Year’s dioramas The Trash Compactor, Jedi Training Ground and the Trecnch run were some of my favourite display sets last year – being engaging subject matter, some interesting builds that could be completed in a little over the course of an evening, and (most importantly) able to fit on a relatively small footprint.

The 807-piece LEGO Star Wars – Emperor’s Throne Room and 608-piece LEGO Star Wars – Endor Speeder Chase diorama building sets are available to pre-order from April 7^th, and available to purchase from May 1st from www.LEGO.com/Star-Wars and LEGO retailers priced at €99.99 / $US99.99 / £89.99/CAD129.99/$AUD159.99 and €79.99 / $US79.99 / £69.99 /99.99 CAD/$AUD129.99 respectively. 

These two new sets visit some of the great locations in Return of the Jedi, and add quite a bit of life to the equivalent sets from years gone past:

I have been trying to work out the overall appeal of these sets, and I think I have come to realise that they fill in the gaps that you are given with a small playset: bulking out the landscape, bringing more details to the walls: overall something that I think adds to the overall satisfaction with the building experience.

Return to Your Favourite Jedi moments with new LEGO® Star Wars™ diorama building sets, celebrating 40 years since the release of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

LEGO® Star Wars fans can celebrate four decades of Return of the Jedi by recreating iconic moments from Episode VI in two new diorama building sets, marking major moments from the classic film

Billund, April 7, 2023: As Star Wars Celebration kicks off this weekend in London, The LEGO Group has today announced two new diorama building sets featuring iconic scenes from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi for LEGO Star Wars fans, to mark 40 years since the film’s original release.

LEGO® Star Wars fans will be able to re-build the iconic final duel between Luke Skywalker™ and Darth Vader™ in the Emperor’s Throne Room, or descend to the forest floor and recreate the action-packed Endor Speeder Chase, with each set packed with recognizable characters and the chance to re-create memorable moments.

The 807-piece Emperor’s Throne Room diorama building set is an accurate LEGO brick representation of Emperor Palpatine’s Throne Room on the re-built Death Star™ featured in Return of the Jedi, including its instantly recognizable window, the Emperor’s chair and many other details.

Also included in the set are three Minifigures featuring the characters Luke Skywalker™, Darth Vader™ (both with their lightsabers) and Emperor Palpatine™, whose lightsaber and bolts of Sith lightning are hidden on the underside of the model. The Minifigures can be placed in different positions on the diorama to replicate different moments from the scene.

For fans journeying to Endor, the 608-piece Endor Speeder Chase diorama brings to life the high-speed action amongst the lush forest floor, with Luke Skywalker™ racing on a speeder bike between the trees.

The set includes three Minifigures based on the characters, Luke Skywalker™, Princess Leia™ and a Scout Trooper, and sees builders recreate the two speeder bikes and forest environment, from greenery on the ground to Endor’s tall tree tops.

These two new diorama building sets are highly detailed and each features a printed display plaque with a movie quote, making perfect display pieces for fans to add to their LEGO Star Wars collection and mark four decades since the original trilogy in the Skywalker Saga concluded. 

“It’s hard to over-state the impact that Return of the Jedi has had on popular culture since its release 40 years ago, and it was a real pleasure as a fan to help create these new dioramas that celebrate some of the film’s most iconic moments,” said Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, Design Lead for LEGO Star Wars.

“Whether you were in the cinema for Return of the Jedi’s original release or came to discover it later, these two dioramas allow builders to recreate and display their own slice of cinematic history – and revealing them to fans, at the same time as many are enjoying Star Wars Celebration, is the perfect way to unveil them.” 

The LEGO Star Wars portfolio introduced diorama building sets of iconic franchise moments in 2022, with three scenes including the Death Star™ Trench Run Diorama 75329, Dagobah Jedi Training Diorama 75330 and Death Star™ Trash Compactor Diorama 75339.

The Dioramas join the microscale 75356 Super Star Destroyer and the new 75355 UCS X-Wing Starfighter as new releases in the lead-up to May the Fourth this year. [Note: Affiliate links, the Rambling brick might receive a small commission frame any purchases made].

What do you think of these new dioramas? Early purchases, or something to walk past? Did you build the models from last year? what did you think? Why not leave your comments below, and until next time, Play Well!