Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Lord of the Rings Among the Films Added to This Year's National Film Registry

Every year, the Library of Congress's National Film Registry adds 25 films that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant that are selected for preservation. In order for a film to be eligible, they have to be at least 10 years old. Some of the iconic films that are included in the registry are The Godfather, Star Wars, Toy Story, The Dark Knight, Titanic, and many more.

Today, the Library of Congress announced the 25 films that they are adding to the registry this year. Among the films that are included in the list are Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Wall-E, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Selena, and many more.

George Lucas said regarding Return of the Jedi's inclusion in the registry, "A great honor of learning Return of the Jedi has been included in the National Film Registry is knowing the original trilogy of the Star Wars Saga will be preserved in full as nominated by the public, safeguarded as part of our shared American Cinema heritage by our nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, the Library of Congress, and the National Film Preservation Board."

The filmmaking team of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens also spoke about The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring's inclusion, "It is a great honor to have The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring selected this year by the National Film Registry. We are proud to be part of an archive that celebrates and preserves the art of visual storytelling, for generations to come."

Return of the Jedi is the third Star Wars film that is added to the registry. The original Star Wars film (Episode IV - A New Hope) was added during the registry's creation in 1989 while The Empire Strikes Back was added in 2010. Meanwhile, The Fellowship of the Ring is the first Lord of the Rings film to be included in the registry. The other two films are eligible to be included in the future.

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It is a huge honor for those films to be included in the list as it just shows that they have a lasting cultural impact and there's no doubt that they deserve to be part of the registry as they are some of the most beloved films of all time by the audience.