It was Episode VI when things really started to fall apart for the Empire, though they were too blind to see it. The Emperor and his minions were so confident and drunk with power that they couldn’t see it coming. Always in motion, is the future.
Tag: coruscant
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jedi Detective Work – Coruscant
One of the finer aspects of Episode II was that it (in part) resembled a good, old fashioned mystery story. Obi-Wan is like an old 1940’s gumshoe detective in a black and white film noir piece. Obi-Wan is like the Bogart cop, hitting the streets hard and piecing the clues together. Mace Windu and Yoda are holding down the fort and trying to process the information passed on to them. Obi-Wan’s detective work began on Coruscant, so let’s begin there as well.
Representative Binks
Senator Amidala seems like a very smart woman. Therefore, I can only attribute her appointing a buffoon like Jar Jar Binks as her representative in the Senate to the stress of dual assassination attempts. That, and the fact that George Lucas is a twisted individual who when faced with the knowledge that people above the age of 13 really despise Jar Jar Binks, gives him a more important role. Whenever we’re talking deleted scenes, anything to do with Jar Jar Binks is something we’re glad to talk about. Let’s have a look at some of his deleted goodness from Episode II while we solemnly wish all of his scenes were deleted.
To Kill a Senator – Part 2
Five minutes into Attack of the Clones, one thing is perfectly clear. Someone is trying to kill Senator Amidala. Two major attempts to assassinate her are made early in the film. The second takes place in her Coruscant bedroom. The ensuing chase leads the Senator’s Jedi protectors through various areas of Coruscant, eventually ending up in an alley outside of a nightclub . Let’s take a look at some of the deleted/altered scenes involving this second attack and the events that follow.
To Kill a Senator – Part 1
Five minutes into Attack of the Clones, one thing is perfectly clear. Someone is trying to kill Senator Amidala. Two major attempts to assassinate her are made early in the film. The first takes place on a Coruscant landing platform. Let’s take a look at some of the deleted/altered scenes involving this first attack in the film.
IMAX Cuts & The Original Ending Sequence
In November of 2002, Episode II made its way to the large screen format known as IMAX. At the time, IMAX film differed from regular film in a number of ways. The film itself was quite larger (70mm with no compression) and the film ran horizontally as opposed to vertically. These are just two of the differences. Read More
Coruscant: Capital of the Republic
The city planet of Coruscant was known as the capital of what was yet to become known as the “Old Republic”. The prequels play out over the backdrop of the falling of the Republic and the establishment of a new Empire, still controlled from Coruscant by Palpatine. In The Phantom Menace, however, these events are only starting to rear their heads as the bureaucrats and senators go about their busy lives, unaware of the plot that’s being hatched beneath their very noses. Our time on Coruscant in The Phantom Menace is relatively brief but does result in a few interesting bits that fall into the area of cut or altered scenes. Let’s take a look at some of these. Read More