Star Wars: Mark Hamill Details the Importance of Luke's Deleted A New Hope Introduction Scene

Back in 1997, Star Wars: A New Hope director George Lucas delivered audiences a Special Edition of [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Back in 1997, Star Wars: A New Hope director George Lucas delivered audiences a Special Edition of the film which brought deleted scenes back into the feature, though Mark Hamill still wishes one scene which remains on the cutting room floor had been kept in the theatrical release. In the scene, which would have been Luke's introduction, we see the pilot reunite with friend Biggs Darklighter and Hamill believes it would have more effectively established how Luke is looked down on by his peers and also has an altered perception of the Empire, as enlisting with the Imperials would have offered him an opportunity to leave home.

"It's in the novelization, and I totally get why they cut it, because they wanted Luke to come into the story organically, when the robots get sold at the Jawa auction, and this is a distraction. You go, 'Who's that guy?'" Hamill revealed to the Russo Brothers' Pizza Film School. "The only reason I'm telling you this, he goes off to the teen club at Tosche Station, there a couple of things that are good for the character. Number one, he is ridiculed roundly by his peers. So he's not particularly cool or popular. Koo Stark is the only other female in the movie... she calls me 'Wormie'... So I am not popular. Then I bump into Biggs Darklighter, played by Garrick Hagon, and I go 'Wow!' You can see we're old friends... He's dressed in an Imperial uniform and I'm going, 'Wow! That's so great! I can't wait until I can get off the dump of a planet and join with you.'"

However, the scene didn't entirely make Luke a believer in the Empire, as the actor noted, "And [Biggs] takes me outside and says, 'Luke, I gotta let you know, as soon as I get the chance, I am going to jump ship and join the Rebels.'"

While this deleted scene remains cut from the film, it's still available on home video releases of A New Hope in addition to being available on Disney+. The six-minute scene might not have been revived for the Special Edition of A New Hope back in 1997, though Lucas did revive a deleted reunion scene between Luke and Biggs right before the Battle of Yavin, with the film also including a previously unseen sequence in which Han Solo interacts with Jabba the Hutt after the smuggler vanquished Greedo.

The entire Skywalker Saga is currently streaming on Disney+.

Would you have liked this scene to be included in the film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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