In the first few scenes of the film, Jedi ambassadors Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrive on a Federation ship for negotiations, but are instead attacked and need to flee the ship. Their transport has been destroyed, so they stow-away on some Federation landing ships and end up on the surface of Naboo. The Jedi need to regroup and hatch a plan. Qui-Gon finds an unlikely ally, while Obi-Wan crawls out of a swamp to try and find with his master. Here are a few things that didn’t make the final cut of the film.
OBI-WAN IN THE SWAMP
In the first drafts of the script, Obi-Wan stowed away on a Federation landing ship only to end up hiding out in a swamp or murky lake of some kind. His head comes up out of the water, and in the background you can see the Federation Troops readying for the big invasion. Obi-Wan takes a few deep breaths and submerges back into the muddy water once again, waiting for Qui-Gon.
In 1999, the UK aired an Episode I special on BBC 1 called the “Episode One Omnibus Special.” This documentary included a few quick deleted nuggets. One of them involves the filming of this swamp scene involving Obi-Wan emerging from the water to see the Federation landing ships behind him. The scene includes dialogue between George Lucas and Ewan McGregor about the scene, and a brief shot of the actual filming against bluescreen at the end.
The first two pictures you see below are from the Episode I Illustrated Screenplay and the Episode I Comic Adaptation, respectively. The rest of the stills found here were sent to me by Chris Nichol and the guys at the site called Fort Tusken (no longer active).
JAR JAR’S ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION
Jar Jar was originally given a more elaborate and expanded introduction. In the theatrical version of Episode I, Jar Jar just appears in the midst of the confusion of the Naboo invasion, grabbing on to Qui-Gon as he passes by in a panic. According to the Episode I Illustrated Screenplay, Jar Jar is enjoying a nice morning meal before all the ruckus began. This is further supported by his small speech to Padmé aboard the Queen’s ship when he tells her about how his day “…starten out pitty okeyday witda brisky morning munchen.”
Here’s the passage from the Illustrated Screenplay:
An odd, frog-like creature Gungan, JAR JAR BINKS, squats holding a clam he has retrieved from the murky swamp. The shell pops open. Jar Jar’s great tongue snaps out and grabs the clam, swallowing it in one gulp.
The “Episode One Omnibus Special” includes a CG Test shot of this “brisky morning munchen” scene. It also contains a quick shot at the end of Jar Jar with energy balls rolling past him. I’m including a storyboard image from the Illustrated Screenplay, as well as some other stills of the segment from the Omnibus special, which were sent in by Chris Nichol.
[T-Note: Jar Jar is a friendly Gungan, as we all know, but did you know that he was originally supposed to hug and kiss Qui-Gon after saving him from getting run over in the swamp? Ewwwwwww.]
OBI-WAN AND THE FRIED LIGHTSABER
Here are some more pictures you won’t see in the finished film. The first one shows Obi-Wan standing in the Naboo forest, apparently searching for Qui-Gon.
The second is an alternate angle of Obi-Wan as he’s being chased by the droid STAPs, just before Qui-Gon steps in to help him out. This photo is from the Episode I Insider’s Guide CD-ROM.
These shots segue nicely into another deleted scene. After Qui-Gon uses his lightsaber to save Obi-Wan from the battle droids, Qui-Gon scolds Obi-Wan gently about his lightsaber, reinforcing the master/apprentice relationship they have. In the finished film, this takes place right before Jar Jar pops up and Obi-Wan asks, “What’s this?” Here’s the scene as it reads in the Episode I Illustrated Screenplay:
Obi-Wan
Sorry, Master, the water fried my weapon.OBI-WAN pulls out his burnt laser sword handle. QUI-GON inspects it, as JAR JAR pulls himself out of the mud.
Qui-Gon
You forgot to turn off your power again, didn’t you?OBI-WAN nods sheepishly.
Qui-Gon (cont’d)
It won’t take long to recharge, but this is a lesson I hope you’ve learned, my young Padawan.Obi-Wan
Yes, Master.
My good friend, Rob Beasley was fortunate enough to attend a special Episode I DVD Day at Skywalker Ranch shortly before the release of the DVD. He was able to ask a question to George Lucas, and this scene was mentioned.
Q: There are only seven cut scenes on the DVD and there are numerous other cut scenes from the film. Was it difficult for you to make decisions on which scenes to complete?
George Lucas: I picked the seven that are actual scenes. I mean we can just sort of go through and cut random dialogue, or you know we tried to get things that actually developed into a real scene that went on for at least a minute. You know sometimes a little bit less, but you know we tried to get substantial things. In the end you cut out an enormous amount on a movie. You know there’s another ½ hour of bits and pieces and things that are kind of not really relevant to anything. And they’re not relevant to an entity that was taken out, it’s just trims and cuts and lines that are lost and that sort of thing.
Q: One of the scenes I was hoping to see, that I’ve seen pictures of, is Obi-Wan being lectured in the swamp by Qui-Gon when his saber burned out.
George Lucas: In the end you know, it’s like four lines. I mean the scene is there, it just would be longer. And it’s the kind of thing that overall in looking at the movie, I felt that that discussion didn’t really fit into the movie. It’s relevant in a more grand scheme of things, which is relevant to the movie that I’m making now, and kind of things, it’s a kind of minor version of what Jabba the Hutt was in A New Hope. Which is, it’s not really relevant to A New Hope but it is relevant to Return of the Jedi. And, you know, in the second one too but mostly when you go back to see the last film. And this is just a couple of lines that sort of resonated against similar kinds of lines that are going on in this movie. But you know, in the end it’s a shading, it’s not really a big issue. And in a lot of cases you’re sort of trading off shadings that might be appropriate in the grand scheme of six movies, but not appropriate in the individual movie as it exists. Unfortunately, I’m writing a novel and I’m writing it a chapter at a time. And one chapter comes out every three years. So each chapter has to kind of work unto itself. And it’s kind of tricky, because you don’t want to do things that bring the whole thing down just because if you saw the whole thing at once it’ll all make sense, but it doesn’t individually. So I have to kind of weigh those two things against each other all the time.
