LEGO's Return Of The Jedi Emperor's Throne Room Diorama Is A Sleek Star Wars Set, But A Little Pricey
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This year marks the 40th anniversary of "Return of the Jedi," the concluding chapter of the original "Star Wars" trilogy. Not only is the sequel back in theaters from now through the annual Star Wars Day celebrations on May 4, but there are also new "Star Wars" action figures and Funko POPs hitting shelves alongside a batch of new LEGO sets inspired by the blockbuster finale. Thankfully, we've got a close-up look at one of those LEGO sets that recreates the film's climactic moments. While the final result is a satisfying display piece for your collectible shelf, the price tag feels a little steep for what you ultimately get. Let's take a look.
A strong foundation
Every LEGO diorama has to begin with the base. Not unlike the recently released LEGO Indiana Jones diorama, the base features some simple details that make it fit in with the aesthetic of the scene being recreated. Since the climactic battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader takes place in the second Death Star, the base is pure black with a few mini grate pieces through the front and sides. There's also a nameplate that features Luke's defiance of the Emperor when he won't turn to the dark side, saying, "I am a Jedi, like my father before me." So be it ... Jedi.
Ethan Anderton
As you can see, the circular window frame uses a variety of fundamental building bricks to create the round shape. The most intriguing part of the window is the use of the long, gray, flexible twig-like pieces that are bent within the frame and held in place by perfectly placed gripping pieces. This is how the window pieces will be held in place to create a circular view of the space battle unfolding outside of the Death Star II. It's these kinds of LEGO engineering decisions that continually impress me. There's such a creative use of existing LEGO pieces, and they miraculously recreate familiar architecture without sacrificing much of the setting's accuracy.
A room with a view
The diorama comes together with the completion of the massive window that creates the backdrop of the final battle between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Each of the angular windows attaches to the bendable twigs. This can be a little tricky when it comes to placement, because you want to make sure the space between windows is even to keep the symmetrical look of the window itself. But seeing how the smaller pieces come together to form this setpiece adds to the fun experience of building it.
Ethan Anderton
The signature piece of the window with the curved, trapezoidal frames comes by way of a single clear, plastic piece with graphics that recreate the window itself, and much like the twig frames, it sits firmly thanks to well-placed grip pieces in the frame. Part of me wishes there was a space backdrop created in LEGO form since you can see through the window, but I suppose you can do that yourself if you really wanted to.
What I appreciate the most about this set is how symmetrical and polished it looks thanks to the use of LEGO's flat, stud-less, pieces. The symmetry of this diorama is so pleasing to the eye that the placement of the "Return of the Jedi" 40th-anniversary graphic brick (seen further down) kinda bugs me a little bit. Frankly, I might swap it out for a piece that still completes the set.
Ethan Anderton
One nice touch as you complete the floor is the inclusion of a compartment where you can store Emperor Palpatine's lightning bolts. I wish more dioramas would include hidden compartments like this to hold the extra accessory pieces that aren't being used when recreating certain scenes from the movie.
The minifigures
As for the minifigures, they're pretty standard for "Star Wars" LEGO sets. Luke Skywalker comes with his green lightsaber, and Darth Vader comes with his red lightsaber and a removable helmet with a white, scarred minifigure head underneath. Emperor Palpatine comes with the same cloth cape that Darth Vader does, and it makes me wish they came up with a different figure that has a plastic molded robe. But that would also mean needing an entirely different Palpatine minifigure who could sit in the throne that you build, so I understand why they didn't go that route.
A cinematic diorama that may cost too much
The last time the final duel from "Return of the Jedi" was brought to life was back in 2020. That version of the set included more of the Death Star for building, and it acted as more of a playset that kids can actually play with. Since this is intended to be more of a display piece, the scale of the Death Star itself is more impressive. But I can't help but wish that this diorama took some cues from the original Death Star Final Duel playset (seen below).
For example, it would have been nice if the exhaust shaft was included in order to recreate the sequence where Darth Vader throws Emperor Palpatine to his (eventually retconned) doom. Granted, that would require the scale of the set to be much bigger, and therefore even more expensive, but including more detail might make the set worth the price.
LEGO
As it stands, with a $100 price tag, I'm not sure this set is worth the cost. For that price, there should have been some kind of technic function that allows you to rotate Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker to engage in their lightsaber battle. If the size of the set were increased, there could have been a collapsing balcony to further recreate the lightsaber battle. After all, the Indiana Jones diorama has a bunch of moving pieces, and it's still an impressive display piece. A similar "Return of the Jedi" set wouldn't even need to be as big. In its current form, I feel like a $70 price would be more appropriate, but that's just me.
Having said that, if the price is of no concern to you, then this diorama is a sleek little display piece that captures the aesthetic of the Death Star without leaving a lot of exposed brick studs, something that the original playset doesn't do very well.
The LEGO Emperor's Throne Room diorama set is available for $99.99 at The LEGO Shop and Amazon.