Let’s talk about delivering the twins, but more specifically about Luke Skywalker. Padmé delivered Luke (and Leia) on Polis Massa and then Obi-Wan delivered baby Luke to the Lars family on Tatooine.
Rescue and Transformation
It’s true that Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader before he was badly disfigured on Mustafar, but most people associate Vader with the black suit. That final transformation took place after Palpatine’s search and rescue mission was a success. Vader was rebuilt, and the rest was cinematic history. The shots discussed here are not all full scenes loaded with dialogue, but mostly extra bits from or changes to the existing shots.
Jedi Master Yoda
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.
Meanwhile, Back on Coruscant…
Episode III turned out to be one of the most galaxy-spanning films of the series, mostly due to the fact that the Clone Wars were still happening. It became necessary to show Jedi and other characters at war all over. Our main characters also traveled heavily. Meanwhile, the puppet master and phantom menace himself – the soon to be Emperor Palpatine – was cementing his place of power on Coruscant, the heart of the galaxy. Here are a few more scenes we didn’t get to see concerning Coruscant.
Utapau
The history of the planet Utapau goes all the way back to George Lucas’ original drafts of the first Star Wars film, way back in the early 1970’s. Fans like myself were very pleased to see the planet finally make it into a film after all those years. It went through many phases of development but ended up as a green and swampy planet where some important events take place.
To Mustafar and Back
Much like Tatooine, Mustafar was a seemingly insignificant planet, yet would be the location of galaxy-defining events. Drenched in deep reds and molten imagery, it provided the rich and hell-like backdrop needed for Anakin’s final fall into darkness. Here are some of the deleted scenes that revolve around this crimson planet.
Tainted Love
George Lucas has stated many times that he feels the Prequels are more than just the story of Anakin Skywalker and his fall, but also a true love story, albeit a tainted one. The love between Anakin and Padmé is a rocky one, built upon deceit and hiding from different angles. It’s clear they love each other but there is so much happening so quickly that things were bound to fall apart at the seams. Let’s explore this tainted love story a little more closely through some deleted material.
Leia’s Torture
There has been a long standing rumor about a scene in Episode IV where Leia was hung upside-down by Darth Vader and extensively tortured while being held prisoner in the Death Star detention block.
Ryan Silva helped with the debunking of this old rumor. Here is the entry from the “Debunk” section of his old Lost Scenes web-site:
A friend of mine was just telling me about the Leia-Vader torture scene. She said that she was reading an interview with Carrie Fisher, and in the article she described the scene as the most awful day of filming on the set. She described the scene in very much the same way it was portrayed in the [NPR] radio drama. She described being hung upside down while they filmed her being tortured until she eventually passed out. She then noted how pissed she was when she saw that it had been cut from the movie.
From ROLLING STONE, issue no. 322, July 24th, 1980: p. 35. Carrie Fisher Interview:
“…Fisher laments the fact that several exotic scenes never made it into either film. ‘In the original script, I was captured, and when Mark and Harrison found me, I was hanging upside down with yellow eyes, like in THE EXORCIST. They shoulda just gotten Linda Blair for it. Some form of radar torture was done to me and I was in a beam, bruised and beaten up, suspended in midair. The reason it was cut from the film was because I was unconscious and the Wookie[e] would have had to carry me for, like, the next fifteen minutes. But I loved the idea of having yellow eyes and being beaten and carried.'”
The torture scene Carrie Fisher remembers reading about WAS NOT FILMED. That scene is part of the 3rd Draft by Lucas. She hangs upside down with yellow eyes, and Chewbacca must carry her for about 10 scenes onwards. Of course, this scene is NOT in the shooting script, the 4th Draft.
The Politics of Rebellion
One of the subplots that was just about entirely removed from the final film has to do with the beginnings of what would later be known as The Rebellion (AKA The Rebel Alliance). The seeds of that organization started by Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, Padmé Amidala, and a secret group of other senators were originally supposed to be planted in this film. Three of these scenes can be found on the Episode III DVD. To see them all, all you have to do is pop it in and check them out.
The Millennium Falcon’s (and Lando’s) Demise?
Was there originally another fate for Lando and the Millennium Falcon at the end of Return of the Jedi? The answer is no, but let’s examine the origin of this urban legend.
Rumor has it that in an early rough draft of the script or treatment, Lando contacts Wedge while trying to get out of the Death Star II. He regrets not being able to return the Falcon without a scratch and that he hopes Han will forgive him. Then KABOOM!
There’s a little foreshadowing of this in the film when Han is looking at the Falcon from the shuttle cockpit. He says that he feels like he’s never going to see her again. Not much, but it makes you wonder how the ending celebration might have been different.
There was once a site called B Squared’s STAR WARS Stuff that was quite informative. There was one section in particular that I’d like to reference and it deals with the subject of the Falcon’s rumored demise. It’s quite interesting, though I have to say I very much disagree with some of it. Robert Brown, the author, seems to be very sure that this scene was filmed and even tested with audiences! I have found very little proof of this. I was always under the impression that this idea was something possibly written into one of the early drafts but was written out almost as fast.
Robert posted an image which he claimed to be the Falcon blowing up (which I think was doctored by the source). I’m not sure how Robert meant to explain the pictures on the page but he implies that this picture of the ship exploding was cut from the film and not just a fan-made picture sent in by a guy named Tim Ketzer. If he is in fact claiming that this picture is a deleted still, then I have to disagree.
I overlaid the two images in Photoshop with the fiery shot at 40% transparency. As you can see, they are the same exact still. If the shot in question was in the film at all, even moving one frame at a time there would be some kind of movement, especially in the background.
I don’t think that this scene was ever filmed, never mind test screened.
To further debunk this rumor, on June 9th 2000, the Official Star Wars Site posted an article in their Urban Legends of Star Wars section dealing with this idea. Here’s an interesting excerpt that proves this was never filmed.
One definite culprit in this legend’s longevity is a revised plot synopsis treatment entitled ‘The Revenge and Return of the Jedi’. Dated July 6 1980, (though undoubtedly printed at a later date), this concise retelling of the basic story — with notable changes — is a fake. It describes Luke taking over the Death Star (re-christening it the Life Star), Vader being the ‘other’ Yoda spoke of, and Leia and Han marrying at the film’s end, with Wicket one of the attendants at the wedding. It also contains the following passage:
‘Meanwhile, the Death Star ray begins destroying Rebel ships. Lando and the Rebel Forces unsuccessfully attempt to penetrate the force field, and the efforts on Endor have failed. Lando sees many of his comrades dying for the Alliance. He feels that the Alliance might die itself if something is not done soon. Lando makes a final decision to plow the Millennium Falcon through the force field in a self-sacrificing gesture for the Rebel Alliance. Lando and the Falcon explode in a beautiful burst of energy and color.’
An excerpt from the screenplay that has Lando and the Falcon destroyed and Han looking up, quietly voicing his loss, has shown up on the Internet, but it too is a fake. Also untrue are tales that footage of the Falcon made its way into test screenings of Return of the Jedi, but was ultimately left out of the movie because it didn’t score well with the audience.
Given the weight of this evidence, it appears there is no truth behind the rumor that the Falcon and Lando were originally to have perished. It is possible the idea may have been thrown around during undocumented brainstorming sessions, but the legend that it actually was committed to film is false.
It’s a burning question that has gone unanswered for a long time but at least they confirmed that it was never filmed. I’d still like to know if it was a glimmer in Lucas’ eye at one time.
Just for kicks, Greg Rossiter, was having some fun going through the Google archives that go back into the early 1980’s, before the Internet was really around in full swing. There was much discussion back then on the BBS and such. One post caught his eye. Return of the Jedi had been out less than a month and someone was already claiming that their friend saw the “Lando dies” ending. Now you can see just how far back some of these rumors go.
Now a friend who’s seen an unreleased version of RotJ tells me that in that version, the Falcon was consumed at the last moment as it was escaping from the exploding Death Star, presumably killing Lando and co-pilot. This seems like a much more dramatic (though perhaps less mass-appealing) ending. My friend says that there are other differences from the released version, as well.
Millennium Falcon Prop In Yuma?
When the Internet was still young and new, there was a certain picture that was circulated among fan circles that caused much controversy. I think you’ll agree that this picture is a fake.
Ryan Silva writes:
We’ve discussed this before but have never come to a consensus as to what this picture is: a miniature or full-built Falcon; for ROTJ or one of the previous films; somebody’s model trainset, etc, etc. Is there anything you can tell us as to where it was first published or the context of what is being shown?
Alec can chime in if there are more details to tell, but I believe it was sent to him from an anonymous source when he was heading the AOL Star Wars area. We, unfortunately, were never able to unearth any information regarding it or its legitimacy. I’ve read the behind the scenes books for ESB and ROTJ and the photo doesn’t seem to fit in with either shoot; the sandstorm scene was shot on a sound stage.
Everything about the image makes very little sense to me, and for the life of me, I can’t remember why we originally determined that it was Yuma in the first place. Probably just bad research on my part. In the bibliography on my now-defunct web site, I changed the listing to “Falcon prop in unknown outdoor location from the collection of Alec Usticke (original source unknown)” so I must have begun to suspect something. That’s probably why I stuck the image in the Bibliography rather than the ROTJ section.
Alec Usticke writes:
As Ryan said, this image was sent to me by someone when I ran the Stars Wars area on AOL. Who that person was is lost to the ages. Back in the day, we had a few thousand members, and I communicated with several “insiders,” so the image could have come from anywhere. (The properties of the image are dated 12/17/1994, so that’s probably when I first downloaded it.)
JediSluggo writes:
After much thought, I have divided the arguments into pro’s and con’s of it being real or fake.
Fake:
- The biggest thing for this being faked is that a full sized Falcon doesn’t belong on a giant tower in the middle of nowhere. Logic points to this being a model photoshopped onto the platform.
- The Falcon looks just like the MPC model kit that has been around forever.
- The construction of a falcon anywhere other than what has been documented by LFL is dubious. Especially a full sized version.
- It doesn’t fit any the movies and surely wouldn’t be constructed by Lucas at such a huge expense.
To counter these, I have the following counter arguments:
- The photoshopping is very good.
- The MPC model (I have one here at Sluggo Central) looks alot like the Falcon anyway.
- Just because something is filmed for a Star Wars movie, or for that matter any movie, doesn’t mean it is documented. Or if it is, it just might not have been released by LFL (kind of like the scene where Luke puts his saber in R2 and sends them out of the cave to Jabba.)
- It could have been used for an overhead shot from the tower on the left and had a sandstorm or whatever matted around it.
Thinking about more, however gave me more arguments against it:
- It seems that somebody shot a pic of their Falcon model in the driveway and airbrushed it onto a pic of the tower. They likely included the models shadow as well, because it looks authentic. However, the Falcon seems slightly crooked on the platform (especially the back half,) like one of the real landing gear was slightly crooked or had a rock under it, or most likly, was at a slightly different angle than the photo of the ramp was taken. Then the photo was made grainy enough that you couldn’t tell it was faked.
- The model kit is missing a few bars of the cockpit canopy that the ILM models have. The falcon on the platform looks like it is missing those bars.
- Something this size surely would have SOME kind of documentation somewhere. Smaller barely known scenes, like the cut on-set gags that A NEW HOPE had remained mostly unknown (and who knows what is still out there) because it was usually the director going “wouldn’t it be funny if…” and after a take of two, they finish the shot and move on, getting back to the script. For such a huge prop to be built by LFL had to have a major purpose, but none of them exist. Which leads me to…
- If they needed a Falcon for a composite shot or who knows what, they would have used a model or a matte painting, like they did in the hanger bay of the Mon Calamari ship Home One.
Fake-ity fake fake. Why? Perhaps it was some kids high school photography class assignment. Maybe for a hoax to trick all of us fanboys. Maybe just for fun until someone else got a hold of it and sent it in. It does look pretty cool, you have to admit.
Skot writes:
And here’s what I’d consider the biggest argument against it: It was widely touted that the Yuma Sail Barge set was among the biggest (was it THE biggest?) ever built for a film. This “thing” the Falcon appears to be sitting on in this picture is *way* bigger than the Sail Barge set. There’s no way this would have been constructed or used without it being mentioned as well. On top of that… the Falcon was *never* constructed completely at full scale, and this picture shows it in full. Plus, we have been told the Falcon was constructed only once in RETURN OF THE JEDI, on an indoor sound stage, with a 360 degree “sandstorm” backdrop all around it.
Along with the arguments you guys had against it, I’m definitely of the opinion this picture is a fake. I think somebody found a picture of some huge outdoor platform and thought it would look cool with the Falcon superimposed on it. They did in fact do a pretty good job making it look convincing, especially for those lower-resolution days.
Merledog86 found a picture that looks like it’s from the exact same location. It’s from a page at http://www.brook.edu. Jan Hagelskamp got in touch with someone who worked at the The Trestle Electromagnetic Pulse Simulator on the Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, where this picture was originally taken. Here’s a copy of the e-mail he received after enquiring about the photo in question:
Good Morning,
I’ve lived here most of my life and the Millennium Falcon was not at Kirtland. It looks like the photo has had a Gaussian Noise brush used on it. This is a graphics tool used to give the appearance of age and uniformity to doctored photos.
377MSG/SCN
Kirtland AFB
On top of all this, I received an e-mail from a guy who was actually on the set at the time. His name is Dave and he is part of the “Blue Harvest Gang” that showed up on the set wearing Blue Harvest shirts, letting the crew know that the secret definitely wasn’t safe about the film’s incognito shooting title. He confirmed that there was never a Falcon prop there although he said that he spotted some out-of-place speeder bikes.
Another rumor put to rest.
Rescuing Palpatine
You have to hand it to Palpatine. Organizing his own capture and rescue to reinforce his cover as a phantom menace to the galaxy was a stroke of pure evil genius. Poor Dooku probably thought so too until he had two lightsabers criss-crossing his neckline. I’m not sure that even Palpatine foresaw what a troublesome rescue it would be, however. What we saw in the finished film was a trimmed down version. Let’s take a look at some of the deleted/altered bits from the opening space battle to the big crash landing.
Return To Tatooine
Throughout the saga, the Star Wars films frequently bring us back to the first major planet we encountered a long, long time ago: Tatooine. In Episode II, Anakin travels to Tatooine after being haunted by disturbing nightmares of his mother. While he’s there, Anakin will not only find his mother but learn some more about his family, leaving him a changed man. The anger, fear, and aggression that leads to his eventual downfall will take root here, setting the scene for the tragic events of Episode III.
Anakin and Padmé to the Rescue
After a distressing message from Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin and Padmé decide to depart Tatooine and aid their friend. Unfortunately, this results in the two of them getting captured, put on trial, found guilty, and tied to execution posts right along with Obi-Wan. Ultimately, it’s Jedi Master Yoda that does the real rescuing here. The scenes on this page deal with Anakin and Padmé’s failed rescue attempt along with some of the surrounding events involving C-3PO and R2-D2.
Aggressive Negotiations
In Episode II, Anakin mentions “aggressive negotiations” while telling a story to Padmé. When she inquires what that means, he replies, “Negotiations…with a lightsaber.”Many such negotiations took place in the film and many shots ended up trimmed or deleted from the final cut. Let’s take a look at some of them.