ThinkGeek.com is a glorious shopping site you’ve probably heard of before. They offer fully-licensed merchandise from geeky franchise favories like Star Trek, Doctor Who, Marvel, Game of Thrones, and of course Star Wars. Once in a while they send me a few items to check out and review on the site and I’m happy to oblige. Today’s bundle includes four items.
George Lucas has stated in many interviews that the heart of the Star Wars saga revolves around the relationship between a father and a son. He might not have had those roles clearly defined at the onset, as evident in the old drafts of the script, but he eventually got the characters there. The role of the son went to young Luke Skywalker, who went on to embark on his “Hero’s Journey” throughout the original trilogy of films. The path was not an easy one.
Looking back, not much good can be said about Cloud City. It may have been beautiful, but it was a city of betrayal, darkness, and loss. Luke nearly lost more than his hand there. Leia and Chewie nearly lost more than Han there. R2-D2 nearly lost more than his counterpart there. Not a fun place to visit.
It may be a slimy mud hole to some, but to Yoda it was home. This swampy, hidden planet was where Yoda fled, and where he later trained the son of a fallen Jedi. Some argue that Luke’s Jedi training was much too fast in the film. Initially, there were more trials for Luke to endure.
The history of the planet Utapau goes all the way back to George Lucas’ original drafts of the first Star Wars film. 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.
Much like Tatooine, Mustafar was a seemingly insignificant planet, yet it would become the location of galaxy-defining events. Drenched in deep reds and molten imagery, it provided the rich, hell-like backdrop needed for Anakin’s final fall into darkness.
You have to hand it to Palpatine. Organizing his own capture and rescue was a stroke of evil genius. Poor Dooku probably thought so too until he had two lightsabers crisscrossing his neckline. What we saw in the finished film was a trimmed down version of his 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.
In Episode II, Anakin mentions “aggressive negotiations” while telling a story to Padmé. When she inquires as to 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.
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 face it. Darth Maul was pure Sith genius. The only complaint that I’ve ever heard about him was that he wasn’t in the film long enough. Not to pour salt on that particular wound, but he did have a few some extra scenes in the film that were dropped.
In the beginning of The Phantom Menace, Jedi ambassadors Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrive on a Federation ship for negotiations. They are instead attacked, and end up on the surface of Naboo. Qui-Gon Jinn finds an unlikely ally, while Obi-Wan Kenobi crawls out of a swamp to try and find his master.
New Hyperdrive? Check. Free slave who will grow up to be a Sith? Check. Step in icky icky goo? Check. Time to get off this dustbowl of a planet, but not without taking a few moments to say goodbye and tie up some loose ends. Read More
