At this point, Star Wars is so deeply ingrained in our collective consciousness that it feels like a story that most people generally know, even if they don’t know all the specific beats of it. That’s absolutely true of the original Star Wars movie, A New Hope (1977), which became such a monumental hit film that it spawned an entire multimedia franchise. Needless to say, Star Wars: A New Hope has some of the most iconic scenes in the franchise, and, conversely, it has also become infamous for the amount of changes that George Lucas made to the film.
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The edits to Star Wars: A New Hope have been happening ever since Lucas started re-releasing the film in theaters in 1978, including the big leap in 1981 of Star Wars being retitled “Episode IV: A New Hope”, which denoted it as the middle chapter of a much bigger saga. However, some fans may not realize that the original theatrical cut of A New Hope contains several big deleted scenes, including one that would’ve changed Luke Skywalker’s (Mark Hamill) arc and the franchise, completely.
Only problem? It would have completely messed up the timeline of the film.
Star Wars Deleted Scene Completely Changes Luke Skywalker’s Life
The longest deleted scene included in the Star Wars Blu-ray collection totally changes Luke Skywalker’s introduction. We see Luke at a local cantina on Tatooine, watching the skies as Darth Vader and his Imperial forces are closing in on Princess Leia and her escape ship, which contains R2-D2 and the plans for the Death Star. Luke runs into the cantina to tell his friends about the space battle taking place over their backwater world; instead, he finds his friend Biggs is back onworld. Luke tries to show his friends the space battle, but by the time they get up there, it’s all over, and no one believes Luke.
A second scene sees Biggs and Luke walking away from the cantina together, as Luke regales his buddy with a story of all the mischief he’s causing while doing races in his speedster. It’s then that Biggs confides in Luke that he defected from the Imperial Academy and had been recruited by the Rebellion. Luke is proud of his friend and envious of his future as a Rebel pilot, lamenting how he’s bound to his Uncle Owen’s farm for at least another year. ‘
The theatrical cut of Star Wars: A New Hope painted Luke Skywalker as a lonely young man who is kept on a short leash by his overprotective uncle and aunt. However, this deleted scene establishes that Luke was “cool” enough to have a crew of friends who love him, and something of a best friend in Biggs (a bond that has been firmly established in later canon). It also reveals that Luke was way more cognizant of, and passionate about, the Rebellion, and would actually give better context to why he joins the Rebellion so quickly and confidently – and also why he’s able to quickly adapt to that role (he’s been dreaming of the chance for some time.
All in all, it’s a much different approach to Luke, one that feels like another clear hint that George Lucas intended for much more lore and world-building, right from the start. It’s not hard to imagine editors looking at the scene and saying it was a drag on the first act of A New Hope, which is pretty much a chase sequence with C-3PO and R2D2 trying to find Obi-Wan Kenobi before the Empire finds them.
Star Wars: A New Hope was ultimately shaved down into a much more concise, two-hour, sci-fi/adventure film, built upon a classic “unlikely hero’s journey” framework. That editing decision was serendipitous: the film had just the right balance of established lore (the Jedi Knights, an evil Empire vs. noble Rebellion, lightsabers, spaceships, the Death Star, Darth Vader), and implied lore (the Jedi Order, The Emperor, The Clone Wars, and the backstory of Anakin and Obi-Wan) to get viewers onboard quickly, but keep them talking and theorzing for a longtime afterward. This deleted scene of Biggs’ early introduction throws a lot of sci-fi socio-political lore on the table right from the opening, which isn’t the best way to hook mainstream audiences (too much to think about).
Biggs: Fastest Cadet Ever Trained
There’s also the small matter of this deleted scene creating a major continuity problem. Later on in Star Wars: A New Hope, Luke has embraced his destiny as both a Jedi and Rebel pilot, and is prepared to defend the Rebellion’s base on Yavin IV against the oncoming Death Star. Luke runs into Biggs while in the hangar waiting for his ship to be ready, and the two have a heartfelt reunion. In some extended versions of the scene, Biggs helps vouch for Luke’s skills as a pilot to a Rebel commander.
If George Lucas had included the scene of Biggs and Luke on Tatooine at the start of A New Hope, it would’ve made the timeline of Biggs defecting and becoming a rebel pilot incredibly fast. The events of A New Hope are estimated to take place over four to six days; even if Biggs traveled from Tatooine and made contact with the Rebellion, it’s not believable that he would have been allowed to serve as a pilot on Yavin IV, even if the Rebellion was desperate for pilots. Luke saved Princess Leia, and he was still scrutinized, needing Biggs to vouch for him; shows like Andor have made it very clear how seriously the Rebellion was about vetting and training its recruits, and the hierarchy of its operation. Introducing Biggs Darklighter and making him seem like he’d been a Rebel for a while worked out much better.
Technically, Biggs visiting Luke on Tatooine is considered part of Star Wars’ canon. However, the strange limbo of deleted scenes means hardcore fans will debate the issue, as always.
Star Wars: A New Hope can be streamed on Disney+.
Forum Conversation: STAR WARS MOVIES
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Star wars needs to break away from the Skywalker story, or anything related to a story any fan would “expect” to see in a movie. There are SO many options to choose from, even if you consider the Disney focus on creating a new multi-decade fan base, and stop dividing the most solid/loyal global fanbase. I feel Disney may have recognized the error that was made when solidly established EU lore suddenly “didn’t exist”. This did not make the Skywalker story those choose to tell more successful. It did the opposite. And the Star Wars franchise has, thus far, still not recovered.
With this in mind I would choose a story that, arguably, could relate to that issue. The Yuzung Vong for example, and yes I realize the irony there as it relates to Skywalkers, would be an amazing choice. Skywalkers could be completely left out of said story, the war encompassed an entire era of time. It also deals with Jedi coming to terms with situations where their ability to wield the force is entirely negated. In my humble opinion it’s some of the best EU storytelling that’s been done to date. And all of it was wiped from canon simply so Chewbacca could make an appearance in a couple of movies, for a couple of minutes, and have virtually zero actual impact on the story. I think that, not only could it help repair damage that has been done to the fan base, but if done well it could completely excite an entire new generation of fans.
Yep, one more for Starfighter.
I didn’t dislike Mandalorian & Grogu. It’s a nice, harmless adventure. But time and money are limited resources, and I would NEVER recommend people watch it in theaters.