Summary
- There are several moments in the Star Wars movies that were cut before their final version, and several of them could have changed the entire franchise.
- Some deleted scenes would have made their movies even better and easier to follow and given some great insight into individual characters.
- Other deleted scenes would have had major impacts on the entire Skywalker saga, and could have influenced the movies that came after them.
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There have been many scenes and moments that were cut from the Star Wars movies, but 10 of them were absolutely huge, and could have changed the entire franchise. Scenes are deleted from movies for a wide variety of reasons, from not fitting with the overall tone to being seen as adding to the runtime unnecessarily. Most deleted scenes from the Star Wars movies were understandably cut for these reasons, but some should have remained. Not only did they add valuable insight into their own movie, some of them could have changed the entire Star Wars timeline.
Throughout a movie’s production cycle, several ideas are tossed around, and pursuing any of them could have resulted in a completely different final product. For example, there is concept art for the sequel trilogy could have changed everything. There are even moments that made it into the final movies that were truly pivotal, like the Star Wars mistakes that changed the galaxy’s fate. There are 10 moments that made it somewhere between being just a concept and actually making it into the movie, and if they had been included, they could have changed everything.
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10 Anakin & Greedo Fight
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
There are several massive moments that were cut from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, but one of the most important wasn’t a very big moment at all. It was when Anakin Skywalker got into a fistfight with a young Greedo, the bounty hunter Han Solo killed in the original Star Wars, and Qui-Gon Jinn broke it up. This moment was small, but it established quite a few important things that would have made not only The Phantom Menace, but all of Star Wars more cohesive and logical.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
PG
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Director George Lucas Release Date May 19, 1999 Cast Ewan McGregor , Liam Neeson , Natalie Portman , Jake Lloyd , Ahmed Best , Ian McDiarmid , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Pernilla August , Frank Oz , Ray Park , Samuel L. Jackson Runtime 133 minutes Budget $115 Million
The main thing this deleted scene established was Anakin’s anger issues, and showed that he had them even as a child. One version of the scene had Anakin explain that Greedo accused him of cheating during the pod race, but Qui-Gon should have recognized the deep anger he had. The scene also shows how Qui-Gon acted as a father figure to Anakin and reigned in his worst impulses, which would have made his death even more tragic. These things would have better foreshadowed Anakin’s eventual fall to the dark side right away and emphasized how that fate was sealed the second Qui-Gon died.
9 Padmé Informs The Senate Of The Assassination Attempt
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
The first half of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones largely centered around the threats made to Padmé Amidala’s life due to her opposition to the creation of the Grand Army of the Republic. While Attack of the Clones does a good job of conveying just how much danger Padmé was in, it doesn’t do as admirable of a job of explaining why Palpatine wanted her dead so badly. One deleted scene would have perfectly justified Palpatine’s plot to kill Padmé, as it showed that she gave a rousing speech to the Galactic Senate shortly after the first attempt on her life.
Padmé Amidala
The elected Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala won galactic acclaim for her heroism when she led her people against the Trade Federation. She became an influential member of the Republic Senate, but her life changed forever when she fell in love with Anakin Skywalker. Padmé Amidala found herself torn between her love for Anakin and her belief in the principles of the Republic, especially when Anakin became Darth Vader. She was brutally attacked by Anakin on Mustafar, and died in childbirth.
Created By George Lucas Cast Natalie Portman , Catherine Taber First Appearance Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Alliance Naboo, Republic
That scene would have better shown that Padmé had huge influence in the Senate, and that if she were allowed to continue speaking, the Senate would never have approved the use of the clone army. That was a massive part of Palpatine’s plan, and his desire to assassinate Padmé would have been much more understandable with this deleted scene included. It also offered a few great character moments, as it would have firmly established Padmé as one of the most influential and competent people in Star Wars, and it showed Palpatine during one of the few times he was truly on the back foot.
8 Mace Windu & Obi-Wan Kenobi Discuss Anakin
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
Attack of the Clones could have been a very different movie, as it had two massive deleted scenes that would have completely recontextualized its story. A major part of Attack of the Clones was Anakin’s relationship with Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the failures of his training. Obi-Wan became Anakin’s master in The Phantom Menace, but he was far too young and inexperienced to properly train someone like Anakin. A deleted scene from Attack of the Clones showed Obi-Wan saying as much to Mace Windu, and conveying his doubts about his Padawan.
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
PG
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Director George Lucas Release Date May 16, 2002 Cast Ewan McGregor , Hayden Christensen , Natalie Portman , Ian McDiarmid , Samuel L. Jackson , Christopher Lee , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Frank Oz , Temuera Morrison , Ahmed Best , Daniel Logan Runtime 142 Minutes Budget $115 Million
Obi-Wan’s conversation with Mace showed that he knew he was ill-equipped to train Anakin, and that if Mace had listened to him, Anakin might have gotten better training. It also shows that both Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi were aware of many of the faults that would later cause Anakin to fall to the dark side, which made the fact that they ignored those signs even more tragically ironic. Additionally, this scene proved that Mace had some level of trust in Anakin at some point, and if he had maintained that viewpoint a bit longer, Mace’s fight with Darth Sidious may have ended differently.
7 Senators Discuss How To Deal With Palpatine
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
The entire Star Wars franchise is deeply political, but Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith made its political plotline larger than ever before. Despite the enhanced focus, though, some important parts of the transition from the Galactic Republic to the Galactic Empire were left out. One such key scene was a moment when several senators, including Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Padmé Amidala, discussed Palpatine’s takeover of the Galactic Senate, and how they would begin working to oppose him.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
PG-13
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Director George Lucas Release Date May 19, 2005 Cast Ewan McGregor , Natalie Portman , Hayden Christensen , Ian McDiarmid , Samuel L. Jackson , Christopher Lee , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Frank Oz , Ahmed Best , Temuera Morrison Runtime 140 Minutes Budget $113 Million
This deleted scene does so much work in a remarkably short time. It shows the true origins of the Rebel Alliance, it gives both Bail Organa and Mon Mothma larger roles in the Star Wars movies, and it made Padmé a much more active participant in Revenge of the Sith. Aside from simply elevating the political subplot of the movie, this deleted scene even makes Revenge of the Sith much easier to follow in general. It better explains the growing tension between Padmé and Anakin, and Anakin’s suspicion that Obi-Wan was having an affair with Padmé, as she really was hiding something from him.
6 Biggs Darklighter Joining The Rebellion
Star Wars
Biggs Darklighter made a small appearance in the final sequence of the original Star Wars, which was later retitled A New Hope. Luke Skywalker met him on Yavin 4 just before the Rebels made their attack run on the Death Star, and it was shown that they had been friends long before on Tatooine. A deleted scene from A New Hope actually showed that friendship, as it had Biggs tell Luke of his plans to defect from the Imperial Academy and join the Rebel Alliance. That would have established Luke’s friendship with Biggs less abruptly, but it would have accomplished quite a bit more.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
PG
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Director George Lucas Release Date May 25, 1977 Cast Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher , Alec Guinness , David Prowse , James Earl Jones , Frank Oz , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Peter Mayhew , Peter Cushing Runtime 121 Minutes Budget $11 Million
At the end of A New Hope, Biggs was one of the many Rebel pilots that Darth Vader killed, and Luke had a very emotional reaction to his death. The deleted scene would have made Biggs’ death much more hard-hitting, and made the desperation of Luke’s trench run even more palpable. It also would have given a better glimpse into Luke’s life on Tatooine and given him even more reason to join the Rebellion. Additionally, his conversation with Biggs better established how skilled Luke was as a pilot, which would have made his success in destroying the Death Star even more understandable.
5 The Wampa Attacks Echo Base
The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back is one of the darkest chapters in Star Wars, but one deleted scene almost added some levity early on in the film. Early in the movie, Luke was attacked by a Wampa, one of the species native to the planet Hoth, and he was gravely injured. The Wampa was a massive threat, but it originally played a much bigger role than as a simple danger to Luke. A deleted scene from The Empire Strikes Back included shots of a Wampa attacking Echo base at the same time the Imperials were, and it killed a few Rebels and stormtroopers in the process.
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
PG
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Director Irvin Kershner Release Date May 21, 1980 Cast Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher , Frank Oz , Billy Dee Williams , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , David Prowse , Peter Mayhew , James Earl Jones Runtime 124 minutes Budget $30.5 Million
The Wampa attack would have definitely been a dark moment, as it would have added even more chaos to the already incredibly dangerous Battle of Hoth. The deleted scene would have made the Wampa even more dangerous, and made Luke’s escape from its lair even more impressive. However, there were also several jokes that were sprinkled into the scene, like when C3-PO took the warning sign off the door to trick some stormtroopers into heading into the room with the Wampa. That would have given The Empire Strikes Back a bit lighter tone, especially in its beginning.
4 Emperor Palpatine Orders The Destruction Of Endor
Return of the Jedi
Most of the deleted scenes from Star Wars movies cut out additional parts of the plot that only enhanced other areas of their films, but one deleted scene from Return of the Jedi removed an entire subplot, and most of an entire character’s story arc. Moff Jerjerrod was in charge of the Second Death Star, and he essentially acted as a way to establish just how fearsome Emperor Palpatine was. A deleted scene from Return of the Jedi dove much deeper into Jerjerrod, though, and it showed him reluctantly obeying Palpatine’s orders to destroy the Endor moon if the shield generators were destroyed.
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
PG
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Director Richard Marquand Release Date May 25, 1983 Cast Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , Harrison Ford , James Earl Jones , Billy Dee Williams , Ian McDiarmid , Peter Mayhew , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , David Prowse , Frank Oz , Sebastian Shaw , Alec Guinness Runtime 131 Minutes Budget $32.5-42.7 Million
Jerjerrod’s deleted scene would have accomplished a few major things. It would have added even more tension to the finale of Return of the Jedi, as Palpatine’s claim that “there is no escape” would have had extra justification with the Death Star pointing at the moon. Jerjerrod’s hesitation also would have illustrated that some Imperials had morals and followed Palpatine only out of fear, which would have added some interesting nuance to the Empire. Additionally, this scene would have shown the full extent of Palpatine’s ruthlessness, as it would have demonstrated that he was fine with sacrificing his own men just to inflict pain to his enemies.
3 Chewbacca Rips Unkar Plutt’s Arm Off
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Chewbacca often takes a backseat to the other characters of the Skywalker saga, but one deleted scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens nearly positioned him front and center. In that scene, Unkar Plutt, Rey’s slumlord and employer on Jakku, tracked down her and the rest of the Millennium Falcon‘s crew. After taking her blaster, Plutt pointed it at Rey, and Chewbacca came to her rescue. After some goading, Chewbacca ripped Plutt’s arm off, which made good on Han Solo’s warning that “it’s unwise to upset a Wookiee,” in A New Hope.
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
PG-13
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Director J.J. Abrams Release Date December 17, 2015 Cast Daisy Ridley , John Boyega , Oscar Isaac , Harrison Ford , Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , Adam Driver , Andy Serkis , Lupita Nyong’o , Max Von Sydow , Peter Mayhew , Simon Pegg Runtime 136 Minutes Budget $447 million
While Solo: A Star Wars Story would later depict Chewbacca ripping someone’s arms off, it would have worked very well in The Force Awakens. This scene would have been fan service, but it would have been a very well-executed example of fan service that worked within the story. Chewbacca ripping off Plutt’s arm also would have helped establish the foundation of his friendship with Rey, which in turn would have better explained why he chose to stay with her even after Han’s death. It also would have been a great character moment that showed Chewbacca didn’t respond well to bullies and gave Rey some revenge against Unkar Plutt.
2 Finn Kills Captain Phasma
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Star Wars has a long history of including very cool characters who are very underutilized in the films, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi is no different. Captain Phasma is one of the sequel trilogy’s most unique villains, yet in the final cut of the film, she died in a quite anticlimactic way. One deleted scene from The Last Jedi gave Phasma a much more fitting end at Finn’s hands. In their final showdown, Finn exposed Phasma as a coward, which was enough to make her stormtroopers question her authority, and finally shot her down, ending her in a much more exciting way.
Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
PG-13
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Director Rian Johnson Release Date December 15, 2017 Cast Daisy Ridley , Oscar Isaac , Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , John Boyega , Adam Driver , Andy Serkis , Lupita Nyong’o , Anthony Daniels , Gwendoline Christie , Kelly Marie Tran , Laura Dern Runtime 152 Minutes Budget $317 million
The deleted scenes showing how Captain Phasma really died would have gone a long way in improving both The Last Jedi and Finn’s characterization in the trilogy. There were several ways Star Wars could have improved Finn’s story, and the deleted scene would have made Finn a very cool and important part of the Resistance, and it would have let Phasma shine a bit more before her death. It also would have set up Finn’s scrapped stormtrooper rebellion, and including the scene would have made it easier for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to include the rebellion.
1 Han Solo Is Court-Martialed
Solo: A Star Wars Story
There were some problems with Solo: A Star Wars Story, and one deleted scene would have helped a lot in fixing them. The scene gave a glimpse into Han Solo’s early career as an Imperial cadet, and showed him piloting and crashing a TIE fighter. He was then court-martialed for disobeying direct orders, and as punishment, he was sent to fight on Mimban, where the final cut of Solo picked up his story. This deleted scene may not have had the biggest effect on the Star Wars franchise as a whole, but it would have drastically changed Solo.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
pg-13
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Director Ron Howard Release Date May 10, 2018 Cast Alden Ehrenreich , Emilia Clarke , Donald Glover , Woody Harrelson , Phoebe Waller-Bridge , Thandiwe Newton Runtime 135minutes Budget $275–300 million
One of the complaints some viewers had about Solo was that they felt Alden Ehrereich didn’t seem like a younger version of Han. The court-martial scene showed that Ehrenreich was actually a great choice to play Han Solo, as his quips and generally snarky attitude perfectly matched up with Harrison Ford’s version from the original trilogy. This also would have helped bridge the long time gap in Solo between Han’s life on Corellia and when he joined Beckett’s crew. Additionally, the deleted scene would have shown how Han actually learned to fly, something the final cut of Solo only referenced.
It’s interesting to see just how different many Star Wars movies could have been, and just how much of their stories were left on the cutting room floor. Over the course of 12 movies and several shows, there are now large amounts of unused footage that could have added considerably to the Skywalker saga. While not all of them would have changed Star Wars as much as these 10, they all would have added some valuable context, action, or just shown more of the galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars
Created by George Lucas First Film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope