There’s no doubt that Yoda was one of the greatest Jedi Masters of all time. A lead Council member, instructor and a fierce yet reluctant fighter, he went toe to toe with the most formidable of opponents. Unfortunately, Episode III saw him retreating into exile to bide his time until an opportunity arose to set things right. Let’s take a look at some of Yoda’s deleted shots and scenes.
PROOF, NOT LEADS
If you’ve checked out the bonus features on the Revenge of the Sith DVD, then you’ve seen a deleted scene that sounded a little familiar dialogue-wise to an already existing scene. That’s because much of the dialogue was rewritten and moved elsewhere.
The scene features Obi-Wan, Mace Windu and Master Yoda in Yoda’s quarters talking about a massive shift in the force and how the Dark Side seems to surround the Chancellor…but what can they do without proof?
Here’s the dialogue:
YODA
Moving to take control
of the Jedi Council, the
Chancellor is.MACE WINDU
I sense a plot to destroy
the Jedi. The dark side
of the force surrounds
the Chancellor.OBI-WAN
There is a massive shift
in the Force, we all feel it.YODA
On theories such as these,
speculation is all we have.
Proof we need before taking
this to the council.OBI-WAN
The proof will come when
Grievous is gone.MACE WINDU
If the Chancellor doesn’t
end this war after the destruction
of General Grievous, he should
be removed from office.OBI-WAN
Arrested?YODA
To a dark place this line of
thought will carry us. Great
care we must take.
Most of this dialogue was moved to a scene added later in the production where Mace is talking to Yoda, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Aayla Secura and Commander Cody via hologram in the Jedi war room.
YODA ON KASHYYYK
When Yoda takes off the heads of two Clone Troopers during the Order 66 sequence always gets a great reaction. Then when Yoda hops up onto Chewbacca’s shoulder, there’s usually a nice warm chuckle. The next thing we know, Yoda is at his escape pod, ready to meet up with Bail Organa and make his way back to Coruscant.
This wasn’t always the case, however. Yoda didn’t have such an easy time getting off the planet at first. Yoda, Chewbacca, and Tarfful had a few Wookiee adventures on Kashyyyk while making their way towards that pod.
Check out these scenes:
152 EXT. KASHYYYK-LAKE ON VILLAGE EDGE-DUSK
CLONES in modified one-man AT-ST’s and Swamp Speeders flash their searchlights across the gloomy lake. The light of one of the AT-ST’s spots something floating in the water. It is what’s left of a Wookiee catamaran. The body of a dead Wookiee (TARFFUL) is lying across the stern of the wreckage of the flying boat. There is some movement on the boat. The CLONE SERGEANT on the AT-ST fires a warning shot past the boat.AT-ST CLONE SERGEANT
Everyone out of there!A CRAZY LITTLE CREATURE about two feet high pops its head over the rail. The creature is covered with mud. His long hair is frizzed out in all directions.
CREATURE
Wookiee good… eat Wookiee.
(crazy little laugh)CLONE SERGEANT
Did you find something?CREATURE
It’s nothing, nothing. (laughs)CLONE SERGEANT
It’s nothing, nothing.
All these Wookiees are dead.
Move to the east.CLONE TROOPER
Yes, sir.Suddenly, CHEWBACCA climbs up behind the AT-ST CLONE, dripping wet, and throws the CLONE SERGEANT into the water. CHEWIE BARKS.
CREATURE
Right you are, Chewbacca.
Faster that will be.TARFFUL jumps up in the boat, and the CREATURE takes off his hair. It is Yoda.
YODA
Stink, this mud does.
A moment to bathe, give me.YODA, covered with mud, jumps into the water. TARFFUL climbs onto the AT-ST with CHEWBACCA. YODA is out of the water and putting his robes back on.
YODA
(continuing)
Not far, are we, from the
emergency ship. Quickly…YODA whistles and a large ALIEN FLYING INSECT called CAN-CELL appears. YODA jumps on the insect’s back and they take off. The WOOKIEES follow on the AT-ST. The CLONES continue to search the swamp.
153 EXT. KASHYYYK-HILLS OVERLOOKING LAKE-DUSK
The AT-ST marches up the hill and stops. The WOOKIEES jump down. YODA lands on CAN-CELL nearby. CHEWBACCA goes to a tree and pulls down one of its branches.
The ground opens up, and a small WOOKIEE ESCAPE POD rises into the field. YODA opens the door of the pod.YODA
Good-bye. Chewbacca and Tarfful,
miss you I will. Good friends you are.
For your help, much gratitude and
respect, I have.The Wookiees BARK as the Jedi climbs into the WOOKIEE POD and takes off into the dusk sky.
YODA AND QUI-GON
Fans were delighted to hear rumors of a scene involving Qui-Gon Jinn in Episode III. They were only rumors but they were enough to make people even more excited about the film. As time went by and more details about the film surfaced, more reputable websites and magazines started to unofficially “confirm” these rumors. George Lucas was indeed planning on Qui-Gon Jinn making some kind of appearance in the film, it seemed.
Such is the danger of what we call “spoilers” or rumors about a film before its final edit is assembled. When said rumors turn out to be false or a heavily anticipated scene is dropped from the film in post production, some level of disappointment ensues. This was the case with the scene involving Qui-Gon having a short conversation with Yoda on Polis Massa.
I’m not so sure it was Qui-Gon’s non-appearance that annoyed people as much as the content of the scene itself. Many months, even years before the film was released, George Lucas himself has talked about how this film would reveal how the whole “Force-ghost” thing worked. He said after seeing Episode III, we’d know how the Jedi learned to retain their identity after death.
Here’s an excerpt from the 1999 interview with Lucas in Empire magazine:
Q: In Episode IV, R2D2 and C-3PO land on Tatooine and haven’t got a clue where they are. Yet in The Phantom Menace, R2 travels to Tatooine and C-3PO was built there. How so?
A: How so? That will be coming up. (laughs) There’s a lot of little things that’ll be cleared up. The other one that gets asked a lot is why doesn’t Qui-Gon disappear like everybody else. That’s a plot point that centers around Obi-Wan saying to Vader/Anakin in the first one, “If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” There is an issue about The Force and that will be revealed.
Q: Does this sort of retro reading get on your nerves?
A: A lot of it is just nit picky. Most people don’t care about that stuff. There’s a lot of things that will be explained more. Some of it is important plot stuff — the Qui-Gon one is, 3PO isn’t.
Rick McCallum noted in a June 3rd chat on Starwars.com that the Qui-Gon Jinn scene was never intended to be in the final version of the film. He stated that Liam Neeson never recorded any lines for the film but there was a version attempted that used Ben Burtt as the voice. This never made it anywhere and McCallum said something about thinking the film was better without this scene being so specific. Usually that equates to, “We wanted it but couldn’t work out the details.”
I’m not buying the whole “we didn’t want it in the film” routine, personally. Something definitely smells rotten and no one’s really talking. My gut tells me there was some complication with Liam Neeson and they perhaps used Ben Burtt as a stand-in voice until they could get Liam in but they ultimately couldn’t for whatever reason. Again, that’s just my opinion.
Here are the related scenes as they read in the original screenplay. The first is Qui-Gon’s conversation with Yoda, and the second is the extended version of Yoda’s revelation to Obi-Wan about this important conversation:
222 INT. POLIS MASSA-OBSERVATION DOME-NIGHT
On the isolated asteroid of Polis Massa, YODA meditates.YODA
Failed to stop the Sith Lord, I have.
Still much to learn, there is …QUI -GON (V.O.)
Patience. You will have time. I did not.
When I became one with the Force I made
a great discovery. With my training, you will
be able to merge with the Force at will.
Your physical self will fade away, but
you will still retain your consciousness.
You will become more powerful
than any Sith.YODA
Eternal consciousness.QUI-GON (V.O.)
The ability to defy oblivion can be achieved,
but only for oneself. It was accomplished by a
Shaman of the Whills. It is a state acquired
through compassion, not greed.YODA
… to become one with the Force,
and influence still have…
A power greater than all, it is.QUI-GON (V.O.)
You will learn to let go of everything.
No attachment, no thought of self.
No physical self.YODA
A great Jedi Master, you have become,
Qui-Gon Jinn. Your apprentice I gratefully become.YODA thinks about this for a minute, then BAIL ORGANA enters the room and breaks his meditation.
BAIL ORGANA
Excuse me, Master Yoda.
Obi-Wan Kenobi has made contact.
233 INT. ALDERAAN CRUISER-CONFERENCE ROOM
BAIL ORGANA, YODA, and OBI-WAN sit around a conference table.YODA
Pregnant, she must still appear.
Hidden, safe, the children must be kept.OBI-WAN
We must take them somewhere the
Sith will not sense their presence.YODA
Split up, they should be.BAIL ORGANA
My wife and I will take the girl.
We’ve always talked of adopting a baby girl.
She will be loved with us.OBI-WAN
And what of the boy?YODA
To Tatooine. To his family,
send him.OBI-WAN
I will take the child and watch over him.
Master Yoda, do you think Anakin’s twins
will be able to defeat Darth Sidious?YODA
Strong the Force runs, in the Skywalker line.
Hope, we can… Done, it is.
Until the time is right, disappear we will.BAIL leaves the conference room. YODA stops OBI-WAN.
YODA
(continuing)
Master Kenobi, wait a moment.
In your solitude on Tatooine,
training I have for you.OBI-WAN
Training??YODA
An old friend has learned
the path to immortality.OBI-WAN
Who?YODA
One who has returned from the
netherworld of the Force to train me…
your old Master, Qui-Gon Jinn.OBI-WAN
Qui-Gon? But, how could
he accomplish this?YODA
The secret of the Ancient Order
of the Whills, he studied. How to
commune with him. I will teach you.OBI-WAN
I will be able to talk with him?YODA
How to join the Force, he will train you.
Your consciousness you will retain,
when one with the Force. Even
your physical self, perhaps.
YODA IN EXILE
Any Star Wars fan knows that Yoda goes into exile during the years between Episodes III and IV. They know he lives on the swamp planet called Dagobah. They know this because they’ve seen Episode V. Those who have not seen the original trilogy, however, won’t know where Yoda goes after Episode III until they finally see Episode V. This is because we never see Yoda land on Dagobah at the end of Episode III, even though it was originally supposed to be part of the film. Check out the bonus features on the Revenge of the Sith DVD if you want to see this brief scene.
The landing scene is quite short but highly effective, especially to those of us who are familiar with Dagobah. Yoda’s escape pod/shuttle arrives at Dagobah and lands on the swamp planet’s surface. The door opens up and there’s Yoda, grimly taking in his new surroundings.
There is a reference to the scene in The Making of Revenge of the Sith near the end of the book. Here’s an excerpt:
Tuesday, October 12, 2004ILM: In UJ, Lucas is reviewing an animation of Yoda as he surveys Dagobah from his vessel at the end of Revenge of the Sith. Rob asks George if he’s looking too sad.
“Yeah,” Lucas responds. “Yoda should bring his head up faster. He should look around because this is his new world. I think the word here is wise. Yoda has to have a we will have our day look on his face. He is going to persevere.
So it appears that this scene made it pretty far down the road if Lucas and his crew were looking at ILM animation and not just simple animatics. The scene remains in the script and other printed materials so it’s safe to say it was taken out fairly late in the game, especially when you look a the date of the above excerpt.
Whether or not this deletion was a good choice is something fans like to debate. Some feel it’s best to not show this scene because it leaves viewers with a sense of wonder about where Yoda went, making the reveal in Episode V a little more dramatic. Others like to see as much closure as possible and wanted to see Yoda find his new home.
The scene works fine either way and the reason “on record” for its deletion is that George Lucas thought that the film (or at least its closing montage) had too many endings, echoing a criticism of another popular film, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. On the DVD, Lucas mentions that he felt the ending should mirror the path of the Skywalker family: Anakin, Padmé, the twins. Throwing Yoda into that mix made him wonder if it was really necessary so he took it out, much to the chagrin of Producer Rick McCallum who seemed to want it in the film.
Here’s a small script passage that describes Yoda’s arrival and below is an image from the EPISODE III Storybook:
236 EXT. DAGOBAH-DAY
A small escape pod hurls toward the swamp planet and disappears in the mist. The pod has landed, and YODA descends the ramp, surveying the unfamiliar terrain.
The first image below is fromand it clearly shows Yoda’s pod flying through the Dagobah mist. This image was out around the time of the film so it was the first image of Dagobah from EPISODE III that I remember seeing. This was before talk of the DVD containing this scene.
The images included here are from various other sources including the Episode III Storybook, Episode III Comic Adaptation, Starwars.com and The Art of Revenge of the Sith.
