{"id":2043,"date":"2013-03-01T12:49:09","date_gmt":"2013-03-01T17:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/starwarz.com\/tbone\/?p=2043"},"modified":"2022-08-26T14:13:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T19:13:50","slug":"lukes-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starwarz.com\/tbone\/lukes-path\/","title":{"rendered":"The Path of Luke Skywalker"},"content":{"rendered":"

George Lucas has stated in many interviews that the heart of the Star Wars<\/em> saga revolves around the relationship between a father and a son. He might not have had those roles clearly defined at the onset or writing, as evident in the old drafts of the script<\/a>, but he eventually got his characters there. The role of the son eventually went to young Luke Skywalker, who went on to embark on his “Hero’s Journey” throughout the original trilogy of films. He starts out as a young boy, is thrown into adventure with a wizard-like mentor, defies the odds, pulls off the unexpected, and becomes a hero. The path was not an easy one, however.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

LUKE’S DREAM<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"1143\"<\/a>As part of the plan to rescue his friend Han Solo, Luke Skywalker returned to Tatooine in the time between The Empire Strikes Back<\/em> and Return of the Jedi<\/em>. According to some sources, like the novel Shadows of the Empire<\/em><\/a>, Luke temporarily moved into ben Kenobi’s abandoned home. The Revenge of the Jedi<\/em> Revised Rough Draft from George Lucas refers to a “Tatooine Inn” or hovel as another possible location. However, it looks like these locations were dropped in favor of a hidden cave out in the desert according to deleted footage.<\/p>\n

On pages 241-242 of Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays<\/a>,<\/i> there’s some discussion of this scene. Here are the relevant excerpts:<\/p>\n

In the rough draft Luke is asleep and struggling with thoughts of Vader and the dark side. Yoda and Ben are also present in the dream, and Luke berates Ben for not telling him that Vader is his father. Yoda explains that he’ll soon be joining Ben in the Netherworld, and therefore he’ll become stronger and will be better able to help Luke. Vader’s voice reappears, and Luke awakens. He has been staying on Tatooine in a peasant hovel with two strange-looking creatures (Del Andues).<\/p>\n

In the revised rough draft we left Vader alone on the bridge of his ship after his confrontation with Grand Moff Jerjerrod, and he reaches Luke in his sleep. There is, however, no dream sequence in this version of the script. Instead, Luke wakes up in a small, rundown tavern and the Del Andue creatures from the previous draft have been replaced by “two vile, little dirty Jawas, Atetu and Tweetu.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s the scene from the Revised Rough Draft<\/a> that includes an alternate plan to infiltrate Jabba’s Palace which was obviously dropped:<\/p>\n

Luke snaps awake from a sound sleep, his head still ringing with Vader’s words. It takes a moment for him to focus on his surroundings. He is in a small rundown, tavern. Two vile, little dirty Jawas; ATETU and TWEETU, stare at him from across the room. They shake their cloak-covered heads and go back to cooking an odorous stew. <\/i><\/p>\n

The howling wind outside blows the door open with a loud crash. Luke reaches for his pistol, the Jawas hide. Out of the dust cloud emerge two familiar shapes, SEE THREEPIO and ARTOO DETOO. Luke relaxes as the angry Jawas come out of hiding, scolding the robots for not closing the door. Atetu waddles to the door and strains against the wind to close it. <\/i><\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nMaster Luke, I beg you not to send us
\nout in weather like that again\u2026it’s
\nunbearable out there.<\/p>\n

Artoo whistles his agreement. <\/i><\/p>\n

LUKE
\nWere you able to get
\neverything I asked for?<\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nAn impossible task, but yes
\nwe have all of it…Artoo?<\/p>\n

Artoo beeps and one of his tiny arms pokes out of its hatch carrying a small box. The door to the hovel bangs open again giving everyone a start, including R2 who drops the box of parts.
\nOut of the cloud of dust comes LANDO and CHEWIE. Atetu is very angry and starts yelling at Lando and Chewie. The little Jawa storms over to Chewie and screams at the Wookiee (in his gibberish language), shaking his fist. Chewie stares at him blankly, then shrugs and closes the door. Atetu continues to vent his anger on Luke, then waddles back to his cooking.<\/i><\/p>\n

LANDO
\nNext time I’ll try to get us better accommodations,
\nbut trustworthy innkeepers are
\nhard to come by around here.<\/p>\n

Chewie barks and puts several small parts before Luke. <\/i><\/p>\n

LUKE
\nWhat did you find out?<\/p>\n

LANDO
\nHe survived the unfreezing process but
\nI couldn’t get any report on his condition;
\nbut we’re going to have to hurry, the
\nexecution has been set for tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Threepio picks up a small micro chip. <\/i><\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nMaster Luke, I beg your pardon,
\nbut how can these micro parts help
\nrescue Capt. Solo?<\/p>\n

Luke holds up an odd looking box. <\/i><\/p>\n

LUKE
\nWhen it’s finished it will be our ticket
\ninto the palace. But first, we must
\nsend this JABBA the HUTT a message.
\nThat’s where you two can help.<\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nAt your service.<\/p>\n

Tweetu calls out and points to the bowls of steaming food on the table. Chewie barks and heads for the table followed by Lando. <\/i><\/p>\n

LANDO
\nBetter get something to eat, Luke,
\nwe may not get another chance.<\/p>\n

LUKE
\nYou go ahead, I still have some things
\nto do first. (motions to R-2)
\nCome over here, Artoo.<\/p>\n

Threepio follows Chewie to the table and asks Tweetu something. The creature answers and goes to a cupboard. Threepio sits at the table. On the far side of the room Luke stands before Artoo and recites a message. A beam of light from Artoo passes over him as he speaks. Tweetu brings Threepio an oil can, and Threepio starts oiling his joints.<\/i><\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nA few more trips outside
\nand I’ll surely short circuit.<\/p>\n

Chewie barks and Lando passes him some food.<\/i><\/p>\n

LANDO
\nIt’s a miracle that Han survived the
\nunfreezing process. I just hope he’s
\nstill in one piece.<\/p>\n

Chewie barks his agreement. Luke and R-2 come over to the others. R-2 begins to beep at 3PO. <\/i><\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nWe have to leave?!? What are you
\ntalking about? I’m not going out in
\nthat storm again!<\/p>\n

LUKE
\n3PO, I need you to go
\nwith him to the palace.<\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nPalace?!?<\/p>\n

LUKE
\nHe’s going to need your help.<\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nHelp!?!<\/p>\n

Artoo beeps at Threepio again. <\/i><\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nAll right, I’m coming. I’m coming.
\nI was afraid of this. Master Luke,
\nare you sure…<\/p>\n

LUKE
\nThreepio\u2026
\nI’m depending on you.<\/p>\n

THREEPIO
\nYes, Master Luke.<\/p>\n

Artoo and Threepio leave the Inn as the wind howls madly outside. Luke grabs some food off of the table and goes back to his work. <\/i><\/p>\n

LANDO
\nWhat makes you think those droids
\nwill ever get in to see Jabba –
\nlet alone deliver the message.<\/p>\n

LUKE
\nGreed. It’s Jabba’s weakness.
\nWith this phony spice extractor and
\nhis greed, we’ll make contact with Han as
\nsoon as I finish. You and Chewie are going
\nto have to make the next visit
\nto the palace.<\/p>\n

LANDO
\nYou mean just walk right in??
\nThey’ll kill us.<\/p>\n

LUKE
\nNot when you present Jabba with
\nthis little gem, and tell him we have
\na hundred more just like it.
\nYou’ll be all right.<\/p>\n

LANDO
\nBut we don’t have another hundred
\njust like it. I think this plan of yours leaves
\na lot to be desired.<\/p>\n

LUKE
\nListen, Lando, you know we couldn’t get
\nHan out of that stronghold even if we had an
\narmy with us. Our only hope is to get
\nJabba to take him out of there, for us.<\/p>\n

LANDO
\nThen what?<\/p>\n

LUKE
\nThen you leave the
\nrest to me.<\/p>\n

Lando shakes his head in disbelief.<\/i><\/p>\n

LANDO
\nI sure hope you know
\nwhat you’re doing.<\/p>\n

Chewie concurs, as Luke goes back to working on his gift.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As it turned out, the inn\/hovel, the dream, and this alternate plan to rescue Solo never made it into the film, but another series of shots was used instead which started with Darth Vader telepathically calling out to Luke and ended with Luke putting his newly constructed lightsaber inside R2-D2 and sending him and C-3PO to see Jabba the Hutt.<\/p>\n

\"1144\"<\/a> \"1145\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Download: Fan-made<\/strong> action figure movie of “The Dream” sequence by Mark Serratore<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TELEPATHY AND A NEW LIGHTSABER<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"1146\"<\/a>Return of the Jedi<\/em> begins with Darth Vader arriving on the new Death Star to micro-manage Moff Jerjerrod. In the final version of the film, this scene is followed by R2-D2 and C-3PO making their way to Jabba’s Palace. Originally, there was supposed to be an additional scene between these two that began with Darth Vader telepathically contacting Luke on Tatooine from his meditation chamber. Then the scene cuts to Luke in a cave on Tatooine who has just finished his new lightsaber that he will soon hide inside R2-D2 for later use on Jabba’s sail barge. The droids take leave and make their way to Jabba’s palace. There is some music on the Special Edition soundtrack<\/a> that was to accompany this scene. Here’s the description from the soundtrack booklet:<\/p>\n

After a bold resolution of Vader’s theme, the music continues with TATOOINE RENDEZVOUS, most of which accompanies a sequence eliminated from the film. In it, Vader uses the Force to contact his son, Luke Skywalker. The tone of the music changes with the appearance of a synthesizer and dissonant strings, which Williams uses to gracefully transform the setting to the desert planet Tatooine. The next thirty minutes of music are imbued with dark complexity as Luke and his companions embark on the rescue of Han Solo from the notorious gangster, Jabba the Hutt. Eerie tonalities of wailing woodwinds and abrasive brass seem to emerge directly from the dingy, cavernous environment as the heroes encounter a repulsive den of bizarre alien creatures. The sequence begins with the brief telepathic exchange between Luke and Vader, which is broken by the appearance of droids Artoo-Detoo and See-Threepio, accompanied by Luke’s theme and a playful bouncing wind melody as Luke places a newly constructed lightsaber inside Artoo’s domed head.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In May of 2000, I conducted an interview with Anthony Daniels<\/a> and asked him about this scene:<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> Do you recall anything at all about a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi<\/em> that involved Luke, R2, 3PO that was to take place before the droids go to Jabba’s palace to deliver Luke’s message?<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I filmed the background to this in Death Valley just before the road to Jabba (the last scene filmed in ROTJ<\/em>.) It was a tiny crew, and George and me. It was the best time I had in all four movies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Daniels didn’t mention Mark Hamill being involved at all. This makes sense because in the storyboards for the film, C-3PO is located outside<\/em> the cave. Unlike R2-D2, he’s never inside with Luke at all, so shooting him as a separate element worked fine, especially when you see the deleted footage. This also makes some sense because the dates on the related storyboards are different. The storyboard for the scene that takes place inside the cave is dated November 1982, and the one with both droids outside the cave is dated January 1983. They were most likely shot at different times, and the scene Daniels is referring to is probably from the 1983 shoot in Death Valley that he mentioned. You’ll notice on the storyboard notes that Luke and R2-D2 are on the “stage” and C-3PO is on a “plate” meaning footage to be composited later. There was probably a big bluescreen where the cave’s doorway was located when they filmed the scene on the stage, so Daniels wasn’t needed for that.<\/p>\n

In an interview at the (now defunct) Australian site Hyperspace, there’s an interview with Anthony Daniels where he once again discusses this scene. He mentions helping to write it and says that they “nearly” filmed it, which is odd considering that the footage does exist. He mentions being in a studio as well, which could mean that this scene was a mix of two studio shoots from 1982 (Luke and R2, then 3PO separately) along with the outdoor footage from Death Valley in 1983.<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> A cut scene that people often refer too is the opening scene in ROTJ<\/em> where Luke constructs a new lightsaber and hides it in R2. Was this scene actually filmed and what do you remember about it?<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Oh yes, we nearly filmed that. I helped write that scene. We were going to film it right at the very end. The first scene we did was an exterior shot as though you were in a cave looking out, so in the studio you’d have the outside with me as it were standing guard. Scary thought. Whilst on the inside Luke Skywalker was making a new lightsaber. So we actually shot the exterior of that, and then in the end there was no time. It was like “You get a lightsaber anyway.” So we left it at that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the book The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi<\/em> there’s a small passage that reads:<\/p>\n

Mark Hamill is coming back for one day of shooting later this month [November 1982] to do the scene where he builds his new lasersword…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That scene was not the only reason he was returning for pickup shots. At this point in November 1982, it was decided that the entire Sandstorm<\/a> sequence was going to be dropped and they needed Hamill to shoot a few things to tie up the loose ends in the dialogue.<\/p>\n

Paul Harrison, master of\u00a0 the now defunct Elstreeprops.com, has actual photos of the hero prop that was created for this scene. Here’s what he had to add:<\/p>\n

This is a very unique one-off for the scenes where Luke is in Obi-Wan’s hut making his new lightsaber after losing his in the battle with Darth Vader. This is a close-up model built to show the detailing inside. Many parts unlock and slide open! The whole saber can be telescoped shut in one move, with a satisfying whoosh of compressed air rom the pistons inside! One twist and the whole saber locks solid to be hung from the belt.We made Luke’s hero saber and the brief we got was to make it look like Obi’s as a Jedi apprentice would base his own saber on his masters. Luke lost his Vader one in ESB during the fight. We made six new sabers for Luke at the start of the production, then towards the end were asked to build a special one. This one had to have opening emitter, control panel and butt end, and telescope in the middle. It has to close in one movement and then lock in place so Luke could put it in R2’s head. It also had to have a green crystal in the pommel, and make a pneumatic sound when closed.\u00a0We also have the saber that was fired from R2’s head. Ours was too heavy so they made a lightweight resin version. The first time it went up it smashed into a rock on a landing. If you watch the firing scene you will see it had no emitter and a chipped end.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He went on to say via e-mail:<\/div>\n
\n
“Luke’s new saber for ROTJ<\/em> was made from a rough sketch on a bit of paper by Ralph McQuarrie just saying add a bit, take a bit off, make some fins etc. Once we had one right we had to make two more as spares, but one accidentally got damaged and thrown in the scrap.”<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the book In A Galaxy Not So Far Away… The Star Wars Filming Locations of the United States<\/em><\/a>, author Adam Parr found the actual cave where they filmed this deleted scene. Here’s the relevant excerpt from the book:<\/p>\n

\n

This was a discovery nearly thirty years in the making.\u00a0 In late 2011, the Saga was released for the first time in high-definition video via blu-ray disc.\u00a0 The last two discs of the set present a number of deleted scenes from all six of the films.\u00a0 One scene in particular had already been of great interest to us.\u00a0 Rumors had circulated for years regarding a \u201clost\u201d scene in which Luke Skywalker completed the construction of his very own green-bladed lightsaber, but there had been no actual footage to support the story.<\/p>\n

That all changed in early 2011 when the never-before-seen deleted scene was leaked onto the Internet.\u00a0 We finally caught a glimpse of a hooded & cloaked Luke tinkering with the lighstaber hilt within the dark cave.\u00a0 Also featured were R2 & 3PO, presumably on the Road to Jabba\u2019s Palace.\u00a0 It was entertaining, to be sure, but it was not quite the new groundbreaking scene for which we had hoped.\u00a0 And sadly, there was no solid visual evidence to tie it specifically to Twenty-Mule Team Canyon.\u00a0 So, we simply assumed that the interior cave shots had been captured inside of an artificial environment on a soundstage somewhere in Elstree Studios.\u00a0 Those interior shots, we presumed, when combined with the existing footage of the two droids on the Road to Jabba\u2019s Palace, had produced the footage finally leaked onto the web in early 2011.\u00a0 Fair enough.<\/p>\n

What no one knew was that the leaked scene was woefully incomplete.\u00a0 Only a small portion of the finished footage had made its way onto the web, and it had been taken completely out of context.\u00a0 Enter the official blu-ray release of late 2011.\u00a0 For the first time, we were now able to see the famed deleted scene in its entirety.<\/p>\n

It begins with Vader\u2019s arrival at the second Death Star during the opening of \u201cReturn of the Jedi\u201d.\u00a0 He makes his way out of the hangar bay, having spoken with one of his officers about the impending arrival of the Emperor, and the lack of construction progress on the giant space station.\u00a0 (This portion of the scene is very familiar; it made the final cut.)\u00a0 Vader then arrives at his private meditation chamber and reaches out through the Force to his son Luke, imploring him to join the dark side, to see that this is the only solution, the only way to unravel Palpatine\u2019s Gordian knot.\u00a0 We then see Luke, in the darkness of the cave, silently receiving the telepathic message, working on the lightsaber.\u00a0 Finally, he hides the weapon inside of R2 for safe keeping, while 3PO waits outside.\u00a0 The conclusion of the scene is the visual lynchpin.\u00a0 It is an exterior shot of C-3PO standing beside the cave, with Luke & R2 unseen within.<\/p>\n

We had discovered and documented this exact cave location in 2002, and had no idea.\u00a0 Having never seen any of the completed footage, we had absolutely no way of knowing.\u00a0 No one did.<\/p>\n

However\u2026<\/p>\n

\"3150\"<\/a>We had heard the rumors over the years, and we had paid attention.\u00a0 We had listened to the talk of caves & lightsabers, and had discussed it upon our first arrival to Twenty-Mule Team Canyon in 2002.\u00a0 \u201cHow cool would it be if these were the caves they used?\u201d\u00a0 We had some fun, poked around, wandered through a couple of them, and took some photos.\u00a0 We even recorded gps coordinates, though I am not sure exactly why.\u00a0 We certainly had no good reason for doing so at the time.<\/p>\n

So now, in November of 2011, twenty-eight years after the release of the original film, we compare the exterior cave shot to our cave photos.\u00a0 One of them is a fingerprint-match – it is that exact.\u00a0 What were the odds?\u00a0 Nearly impossible. We had discovered, explored, documented and photographed another bona fide Death Valley shooting location, nine years earlier, and had no clue at the time how right we were. A once-in-a-lifetime find.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

In August 2010, at the Star Wars Celebration V, part of this scene was shown to a live audience to enormous cheers. It was later included in the 2011 Blu-Ray release.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"1140\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/a> \"1141\"<\/a> \"1142\"\u00a0<\/a> \"3151\"<\/a> \"Luke<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
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