It goes without saying that many Jedi lost their lives during the course of Episode III. Palpatine and his dreaded Order 66 saw to it. On this page, we’ll discuss the deleted or modified deaths of some of the more prominent Jedi.
MACE WINDU
The Mace Windu/Palpatine confrontation went through a few changes from script to screen. In fact, a few of the shots (mostly the ending) were reworked and re-shot in pickups many months after the original shoot in Sydney.
In the original version of the big “arrest” and following duel, Mace Windu and his Jedi posse were to show up to apprehend Palpatine while Anakin Skywalker was actually in the room. Before they got inside, though, they were supposed to encounter a fellow named Dar Wac who is essentially Palpatine’s secretary. Here’s the passage from the published script including this encounter plus a small bit before that were the Jedi gunship lands:
126 EXT. CORUSCANT-SENATE OFFICE BUILDING-LANDING PLATFORM-EARLY EVENING
The sky is still blue as a JEDI GUNSHIP lands on the Senate Office Building landing platform. FOUR JEDI exit the SHUTTLE and enter the Senate Office Building. MACE WINDU, AGEN KOLAR, KIT FISTO, and SAESEE TIIN, like gunfighters out of the Old West, walk through the massive hallway, four across.
***
127 INT. CORUSCANT-LOBBY TO CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE-EARLY EVENING
The FOUR JEDI enter the lobby, raising their arms, and send the Chancellor’s aide, DAR WAC, flying against the wall, along with TWO REPUBLIC GUARDS. They storm into the Chancellor’s office.
In this earlier version, after the Jedi enter Palpatine’s office, Mace Windu tells Anakin to stand behind him but perhaps in a moment of abstract foreshadowing, Anakin does nothing of the sort and stays near Palpatine.
When things start to get ugly, Palpatine uses the Force to snatch Anakin’s lightsaber from his belt and the fight is on. Palpatine takes out the Jedi posse and then takes on Windu while Anakin just sort of stands there stunned.
As you would imagine, the fact that Anakin just stands around watching all this and does nothing is a little hard to swallow so Lucas decided to re-shoot much of the ending plus some other scenes to fill in the gaps about Anakin’s whereabouts while the fight is going on.
In reading The Making of Revenge of the Sith, I didn’t find much of an explanation about the reworking of the beginning of the scene and how they got Anakin out of the room. Did they re-shoot Palpatine alone or split-screen Anakin out somehow? I don’t know for sure but the book certainly makes it clear that just about everything after the fight itself (all the time by the window) was reworked so that Anakin could enter the room late in the game.
Below is an excerpt from the published script. Notice that Palpatine slams Windu against a wall early on which wasn’t seen in the final film but did make it into the Comic Adaptation. Most of this excerpt is the same as the final version outside of a few small bits of dialogue which were probably removed during editing. The “You old fool” line is noted in The Making of Revenge of the Sith. The other changes are quite minimal.
A close shot of PALPATINE as the fight begins. Close shots of THREE JEDI getting cut down by PALPATINE. PALPATINE and MACE continue to fight.
Jedi Master MACE WINDU and the Sith Lord fight their way down the hallway and into the main office area. PALPATINE is able to use the Force to slam MACE against the wall, but he recovers before the Chancellor can cut him down.
ANAKIN lands his speeder, jumps out, and runs down a long corridor toward the Chancellor’s office.
In the heat of battle, MACE cuts the window behind the Chancellor’s desk, and it crashes away. MACE is forced out onto the ledge, which is twenty stories up. They fight over the precipice. ANAKIN arrives to see PALPATINE and MACE fighting.
They stop as MACE forces PALPATINE to drop his sword. PALPATINE and MACE start yelling at each other.
MACE WINDU
You are under arrest, My Lord.PALPATINE
Anakin! I told you it would come to this.
I was right. The Jedi are taking over.MACE WlNDU
You old fool. The oppression of the Sith
will never return. Your plot to regain
control of the Republic is over . . .
you have lost . . .PALPATINE
No! No! You will die!PALPATINE raises his hands, and lightning bolts shoot out. They are blocked by MACE’s lightsaber. PALPATINE is pushed back against the window sill.
PALPATINE
He is a traitor, Anakin.MACE WlNDU
He’s the traitor. Stop him!PALPATINE
Come to your senses, boy.
The Jedi are in revolt.
They will betray you,
just as they betrayed me.MACE WlNDU
Aarrrrggghhhhh . . .PALPATINE
You are not one of them,
Anakin. Don’t let him kill me.MACE WlNDU
Aarrrrggghhhhh . . .PALPATINE
I am your pathway to power.
I have the power to save the one you love.
You must choose. You must stop him.MACE WlNDU
Don’t listen to him, Anakin.PALPATINE
Help me! Don’t let him kill me.
I can’t hold on any longer.
Ahhhhhhh . . . ahhhhhhh . . .
ahhhhhhh . . .MACE pushes PALPATINE out to the edge of the ledge. As the Jedi moves closer, the bolts from Palpatine’s hands begin to arch back on him. The Chancellor’s face begins to twist and distort. His eyes become yellow as he struggles to intensify his powers.
PALPATINE
I can’t … I give up. Help me.
I am weak … I am too weak.
Don’t kill me. I give up. I’m dying.
I can’t hold on any longer.MACE WlNDU
You Sith disease.
I am going to end this once
and for all.ANAKIN
You can’t kill him, Master.
He must stand trial.MACE WlNDU
He has too much control of the Senate
and the Courts. He is too dangerous
to be kept alive.PALPATINE
I’m too weak. Don’t kill me. Please.ANAKIN
It is not the Jedi way . . .MACE raises his sword to kill the CHANCELLOR.
ANAKIN (continuing)
He must live . . .PALPATINE
Please don’t, please don’t . . .ANAKIN
I need him . . .PALPATINE
Please don’t . . .ANAKIN
NO!!!Just as MACE is about to slash PALPATINE, ANAKIN steps in and cuts off the Jedi’s hand holding the lightsaber.
Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo wrote about this scene in his June 23rd report. Pablo was on-set for much of the shooting of Episode III. Here’s his recollection of what happened when these shots were photographed:
Homing Beacon #139 (June 23, 2005)
It’s one of the fieriest debates of online fan forums: when Palpatine was cornered in his office’s giant window-frame, was he really overpowered by Mace? Or was he faking to lure Anakin? Could Mace really have gotten the upper hand on the Sith Lord?
George Lucas is the ultimate keeper of the true answer, and he’s not telling… yet, anyway. If you had asked me in the Summer of ’03, when the sequence was first shot, I would have had a solid answer. But, if you asked me in the Fall of ’04, when the sequence was re-shot, well… for those who want to debate, it’s best to know more of the story of how this scene came to be.
This entire sequence changed significantly during postproduction. What we witnessed in Sydney told a different story. Anakin did not earn Mace’s trust by ratting out Sidious right away. He did not agonize over his decisions while sitting alone in the Jedi Council chamber. He did not rush in at the last minute to witness a questionable balance of power. Instead, he stayed at Palpatine’s side, in the Chancellor’s private office, as Mace and his posse of Jedi barged in.
“Stand behind me,” ordered Mace, in Sam Jackson’s demanding tones. But Anakin didn’t budge. Instead, he watched passively as Palpatine used the Force to snatch Anakin’s lightsaber from his belt and attacks Mace and the Jedi. There’s ample evidence of this original version for those with sharp eyes and behind-the-scenes photos. Heck, even Hasbro action figures with Palpatine packaged with Anakin’s lightsaber got out there in the initial shipments.
So, if Sidious’ entire duel played out before Anakin’s stunned eyes, I’d be inclined to think that his fall was just for show. This changed after a screening George Lucas held for a few key colleagues. Their reactions underscored the shortcomings of the way this duel was constructed. Anakin’s inaction was hard to justify cinematically. “The story was there, but it wasn’t clear,” said Lucas at the time it came to rebuild this scene. “It was too abstract. We opened up that part and looked at what we could do.”
When word of the change came down, the keepers of continuities started carefully tracking the evolving consequences. Palpatine had two lightsabers, then, since he loses this one in the duel with Mace. I still have in my inbox a tentative email from one of the authors asking, “um, have we figured out yet whose lightsaber Palpatine uses in the fight with the Jedi?”
At first, it was feared it was impossible to CG the small svelte-handled weapon over Anakin’s relatively chunky handle, but nonetheless, that was the lightsaber given to McDiarmid for the pickup photography. The shots of Palpatine rising from his chair and extending the weapon were reshot. The bulk of the duel between Sidious and Mace stayed from principal photography, except for a new touch — a kick to Palpatine’s face, done with stunt double Michael Byrne. This was shot on a partial set of just a piece of window-frame on Friday, August 27.
So… with this revised duel, if Sidious threw the fight, it places an awful lot of faith on Anakin’s timing …and he suffered a kicked-in face to boot. For what it’s worth to those arguing, I doubt there’s anyone who thinks Palpatine’s serious when he claims he’s too weak. That’s obviously a lie. But was the fall into the corner that preceded his pleas for help a lie as well?
What else changed in this scene? There are a few more interesting details, particularly where it moved in the sequencing of the story. But that will have to wait for another entry.
Some of the behind-the-scenes photos clearly show Anakin in the room as the Jedi enter to arrest Palpatine. These are from the original Sydney shoot and scanned from The Making of Revenge of the Sith.
There’s another scene involving Mace Windu that I should mention. This one is available on the Revenge of the Sith DVD so there’s no need to go into too much detail here. Mace basically senses a plot to destroy the Jedi – something he says in the film, just at a later point. Obi-Wan, Yoda and Windu are sitting in a room together discussing the Chancellor and what they think might be happening to the Republic. This scene was dropped in favor of a rewritten scene taking place in a war room.
The image of Mace in the council room (from a promo still) is in the film, after Anakin first sits in a council chair, but I’m including it here because it’s slightly different. In the film, the aspect ratio is different – Mace is cut off closer to the hands – and the angle is slightly different.
CIN DRALLIG, WHIE & BENE
Whie and Bene were two young Jedi who were personally taken out by Anakin Skywalker in the Jedi Temple. Cin Drallig was an accomplished sword master who trained many a Jedi in his time. He was also taken out that fateful day that Anakin stormed the Jedi Temple.
You can catch a glimpse of their demise when Obi-Wan is watching the security hologram before he leaves Coruscant and Yoda goes to confront Palpatine.
They’re worth a mention here because in many of the printed reference materials you can see some different versions or angles of the security hologram.
Whie was played by young actor and stunt performer Coinneach Alexander, while Bene was played by Mousy McCallum, daughter of producer Rick McCallum. Cin Drallig, as many fans know, was played by prequel stunt coordinator, Nick Gillard.
LUMINARA UNDULI
Luminara Unduli and her Padawan learner Barriss Offee are definitely fan favorites. They showed up in Episode II, lingering around Palpatine’s office here and there, and then popped up in the execution arena scenes on Geonosis. Since then, they’ve appeared in everything from books to comics to the Clone Wars cartoon series on Cartoon Network.
Unfortunately for Luminara, she only shows up in one quick shot in Episode III: a long shot of her talking to some troopers during the Kashyyyk scenes. At least she got one shot in. Poor Barriss Offee never made it to the screen. In Episode III, the role of Luminara was played by Art Department Supervisor, Fay David.
The shot you see in the final version of the film shows Unduli standing in a semicircle of troopers presumably discussing battle plans and such. It appears that this was used as an extra establishing shot, adding some time to the battle preparation scenes. One could theorize, however, that during editing, Lucas took her Order 66 shots and moved them somewhere else, removing the actual killing, just to add some color to another part of the film. The script and in the Comic Adaptation seem to reinforce this idea but the shot in the film shows the Wookiees preparing for battle and not stacking up destroyed droids:
136 EXT. KASHYYYK-EDGE OF VILIAGE-DAY
The battle appears to be over. WOOKIEES stack destroyed Droids while CLONES assess the damage to their equipment. A Jedi, LUMINARA UNDULI, talks with EIGHT CLONE OFFICERS standing in a circle around her. Suddenly they reveal their hidden pistols and blast her before she can react.
Take a good look at the still from the comic and then take a look at the scene in the film. They look quite similar, don’t they? Is there footage somewhere of Fay David performing a death scene as Luminara Unduli?
QUINLAN VOS
Long before the film was released, Starwars.com dropped some vague hints about the film, one of which being that there would be an Expanded Universe character surfacing in the film. Fans went wild with speculation and many guesses were thrown out there. Ironically, the guy Lucasfilm was referring to never showed up.
Quinlan Vos is another of those “Expanded Universe” characters that seems to attract a cult following, much like his cohort Aayla Secura. Unlike Aayla, however, Quinlan never physically made it into a Star Wars film but he got REAL close. His name got in there, spoken by Obi-Wan who mentions that “Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity.” Strangely enough, he was supposed to end up dying on Kashyyyk, that planet-hopping slickster.
So as you now know, Vos (the EU character) was supposed to be in the film, ending up a casualty during the Order 66 montage. He never made it past the pre-visualization (animatic) stage and was never cast. Animatics were produced featuring Vos and some of those screen shots can be seen in The Making of Revenge of the Sith. His death also appears in the script and in the Comic Adaptation. Below is an excerpt from the script:
The Jedi QUINLAN VOS is riding on top of a CLONE TURBO TANK. The main cannon of a second tank slowly swings to point right at him and a COUPLE OF CLONES. The cannon fires, and QUINLAN VOS and the CLONES disappear in a huge EXPLOSION.
BARRISS OFFEE
The story of Barriss Offee is a sad one but not only because she dies, but because she was deleted. Barriss Offee, played by my friend Nalini Krishan, was originally slated to appear (and die) in Episode III. Nalini was even on the set for a day of costume fitting. However, it was decided later in production that her character would not be needed, though she still shows up in the Comic Adaptation and the script for her fatal cameo.
Here is the excerpt from the script which takes place after Jedi Aalya Secura is gunned down:
Another Jedi, BARRISS OFFEE, is cutting down a patrol of DROIDS when a CLONE WALKING TANK and SEVEN CLONE TROOPERS round a corner and blast the Jedi away.
AAYLA SECURA
Aayla Secura, a last minute addition to Episode II due to George Lucas’ admiration of an Expanded Universe illustration, is a fan favorite and many fans were thrilled to see her return for Episode III.
Amy Allen shot all her scenes as Aayla Secura during pickups on May 6, 2004, almost a year to the day before the release of the film in May 2005. According to Starwars.com, Aayla was supposed to have a little more dialogue in the hologram/war room scene when speaking to Mace Windu. Her line in this scene was changed from, “You asked for my report, Master Windu?” to “I’m sorry I’m late, Master Windu. Would you like my report?”
As you know, Aayla died at the hands of her Clone troops while patrolling Felucia. In the film, this is a “silent” part of the Order 66 montage, but it was originally supposed to have a small bit of dialogue. Below is the excerpt from the script:
134 EXT. FELUCIA-FOREST-DAY
A column of CLONE WALKERS marches across the forest floor. The STRANGE CALLS of the alien forest creatures of FELUCIA suddenly stop. The Jedi AAYLA SECURA and her CLONE TROOPS brace for an ambush.AAYLA
Steady… steady…They all look around for signs of the enemy. CLONE COMMANDER BLY moves up behind the Jedi.
AAYLA
(continuing) Bly, do you think
they’re Droids?BLY
No.BLY blasts AAYLA in the back. The OTHER CLONES fire on her as she hits the ground.
The above dialogue was never shot, as far as we know. Starwars.com confirmed that when this scene was filmed, it was shot without sound so by this time, Lucas must have figured out how the scene was going to play out and decided the dialogue wasn’t needed. It most certainly would break the flow of the whole Order 66 montage, which is one of my favorite parts of the film.
On Starwars.com, there once was a feature on Felucia that quickly mentioned an animatic that was shot but never left the animatic phase. Here’s the relevant excerpt:
Equally enamored with the planet, [Ryan] Church says that he wishes that fans had the chance to explore Felucia further in Revenge of the Sith. “I actually really liked the longer sequence that George shot with [Animatic artist Joshua Wassung],” Church says. “It’s basically a few scenes of clones marching through the forest, finding the enemy droid encampment, and then a battle breaks out. You also get to see more of the planet with additional wide shots and details alike. I would have enjoyed seeing what it was like for these poor clones to try and deal with that alien environment. There were also a lot of animal species designed for the planet that were never developed further that would be interesting to put in. Felucia was a favorite of mine and it was a real joy to be able to be involved with it from first sketch to seeing it on the big screen. I hope viewers like how it turned out and maybe one day they get to see some more of it!”
The Making of Revenge of the Sith also makes a small note that there was at least one take where Aayla let out a scream before dying. This take wasn’t used in the final film, of course.
SHAAK TI
The whole ordeal with Shaak Ti, mostly played by actress/model Orli Shoshan, is a long and confusing story to follow. I’ll do my best to give you what information I can.
Shaak Ti was actually cut from Episode III twice. Once from the Sydney shoot where she had a fateful meeting with General Grievous, and once from the Shepperton pickups where she died at the hands of fallen Jedi, Anakin Skywalker, during the Jedi Temple slaughter.
The first mention of her was to take place during the opening space battle. Apparently, Shaak Ti was one of the Jedi responsible for protecting the Chancellor and last everyone heard, she was still with him. That meant she was aboard Grievous’ ship. Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged the following lines in the original script:
ANAKIN
The last message we had from
Master Shaak Ti, she was still
with the Chancellor.OBI-WAN
She’s the most cunning of Jedi.
She’s even shown me a few tricks.
They won’t catch her.ANAKIN
Artoo, trace Shaak Ti’s
homing signal!
This whole subplot was interwoven with the Clone Wars cartoon series on Cartoon Network. The episodes showed a valiant Shaak Ti trying to protect and defend the Chancellor from the clutches of General Grievous, who ultimately prevailed. In the cartoons, however, Shaak Ti doesn’t make it to Grievous’ flagship nor does she die.
According to the script excerpt above, however, she makes it up there just fine, most likely as a second captive, next to the Chancellor. It’s there that she meets her originally scripted demise, at the hands of Grievous. In fact, she dies right before the eyes of Anakin and Obi-Wan who happen to be on their way to find the Chancellor. They come across her in a hallway, sitting quietly on the floor. Grievous is there and decides its time to teach this Jedi a lesson. According to Starwars.com, his line (as it was spoken on set the day of filming) went like this, “Shaak Ti, your lightsaber seems a little battle-worn. It will need considerable cleaning, but it will do the job.” Then he killed her with her own lightsaber – through the heart.
There were internet rumors long before the film came out that Grievous was supposed to behead Shaak Ti but I’ve found no evidence of this in any printed materials. That’s not to say it was never considered, though.
The way it was supposed to happen was that the Jedi would be making their way through the ship, then come across Shaak Ti, witness her murder, become grim, realize they’re outnumbered and cut their way through the floor to escape Grievous and his droids.
At some point, Lucas decided that the opening scenes were running a little too long so he cut out some of the opening hijinks that occur on Grievous’ flagship. The death of Shaak Ti was one of those cuts and the mentions of her beforehand were all removed for continuity or just to cover tracks, I assume.
Flash forward to pickup shooting in September 2004. Orli Shoshan was flown from Australia to Shepperton Studios in London to give it another go as Shaak Ti. The scene was short and all she had to do was sit on a cushion, wait for Anakin to walk in, say the line, “What is it, Skywalker?” and then die the same way she did months prior. This was shot but never made it into the film. Here’s some evidence from the published screenplay:
144 INT. CORUSCANT-JEDI TEMPLE-NIGHT
ANAKIN walks through the Jedi Temple, where he finds and kills SHAAK TI. He exits Shaak Ti’s room and enters a hallway, where the battle is taking place.
The shots of Grievous killing Shaak Ti are available on the Episode III DVD. They segue into another deleted scene.
KI-ADI-MUNDI
In the trailer for Episode III, Ki-Adi-Mundi can be seen in what looks to be an indoor location, but in the final cut of the film, he’s on the planet Mygeeto, outdoors and in a snowy environment. In the world of blue/green screen, he technically could have ended up anywhere, I suppose.
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