Over the course of the Skywalker Saga, the Star Wars franchise has told one epic, interconnected story. Not every movie has been perfect and there are creative decisions which still have us scratching our heads. Among them is why certain scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.
That's the case for any big movie, of course, and a lot were scrapped for the usual pacing or story reasons. Some, however, would have potentially changed the franchise as we know it, adding further context to certain characters or scenes and even setting the stage for bigger stories.
In this feature, we're taking a look at 8 huge Star Wars deleted scenes which should have never been cut. As well as detailing what happened, we've included the scenes where available and attempt to explain what they might have ultimately led to.
To check them out, all you need to do is click on the "Next" button below!
8. Anakin Skywalker Attacks Greedo
When we met Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace, we saw little of the man he would one day become. In fact, an argument could be made that George Lucas failed to show the darkness within him until Attack of the Clone's infamous Sand Trooper slaughter.
In this deleted scene, we find Anakin attacking a Rodian who accused him of cheating in the Boonta Eve Podrace.
Qui-Gon Jinn steps in to break the fight up and offers Anakin some advice on how to control his temper (something we know he struggled with prior to becoming Darth Vader). As for the Rodian, one of the other kids warns Greedo - yes, that Greedo - he's likely to one day meet a "bad end."
7. Luke Skywalker Creates His New Lightsaber
In a cave on Tatooine prior to Luke Skywalker's arrival at Jabba's palace, we found the Jedi Knight putting the finishing touches to his lightsaber.
He's then shown placing it inside R2-D2, a moment which will obviously be important later in Return of the Jedi. However, just as noteworthy is the fact Darth Vader is shown simultaneously trying to reach out to his son through the Force.
Luke doesn't respond, leaving it ambiguous as to whether he's ignoring his father or somehow being influenced by the Sith Lord. The fact Vader wants to connect with his son also better explains his actions down the line.
6. Korr Sella
The Force Awakens was far too similar to A New Hope and, while it introduced plenty of compelling mysteries, it struggled to flesh out the Galaxy at this particular moment in time.
For example, we're supposed to care when the First Order destroyed the Senate on Hosnian Prime, but neither the planet nor its inhabitants meant anything to viewers at this stage. Had this brief scene been included, we'd have learned Princess Leia was considered something of an outcast due to her role in the Resistance and that the ineffective New Republic had refused to take action against the First Order.
Korr Sella's demise would have also ended up hitting a lot harder.
5. The Rebel Alliance Is Born
It wasn't really until Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that we learned more about the Rebel Alliance's formation and this Revenge of the Sith deleted scene better teed up what was to come.
An entire subplot was scrapped which was going to show more of Bail Organa and Padmé Amidala's attempts to stop the new Republic from being overthrown by the increasingly powerful Chancellor Palpatine.
Mon Mothma was even going to be showcased and, while this is technically more of the political drama many fans hated, it's also not too dissimilar to what's now working so well in Andor.
4. Luke Skywalker Mourns Han Solo
The sequel trilogy will likely forever divide opinions, but even its biggest supporters will surely have to agree that Luke, Leia, and Han Solo never sharing the screen was a massive blunder on Lucasfilm's part.
Han was killed by Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens and, cut off from the Force, it wasn't until The Last Jedi that Luke learned what became of his old friend. A tearful Luke was going to be shown mourning his fallen ally, adding greater emotional depth to his journey and the film itself.
Instead, this ended up on the cutting room floor and the impact of Han's death was largely minimal. That's a disservice to the character and Harrison Ford.
3. Yoda's Manipulation
Since the release of the original Star Wars trilogy, fans have questioned why Obi-Wan Kenobi decided not to reveal the truth about Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker.
The simple truth is George Lucas hadn't thought that far ahead; however, a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi was going to reveal it was Yoda who stopped Obi-Wan from telling Luke. As well as redeeming "Ben," this would raise questions about the cost Yoda, and the Jedi Council's, actions have had.
It's unclear why this was cut but Lucas missed a trick by not choosing to address this plot hole from A New Hope.
2. Captain Phasma Vs. Stormtroopers
We know many of you don't like The Last Jedi, but the movie had some redeeming qualities, and this is a scene we'd have loved to see make it into the final cut.
Captain Phasma ended up being something of a waste when all was said and done in the sequel trilogy; even her death was underwhelming, though this send-off would have been far more fitting for a villain who abused her position and the Stormtroopers reporting to her.
After Finn exposed Phasma in front of her squadron, they'd have turned their guns on her...prompting the First Order soldier to gun them down before they could take her out. From there, it all played out largely the same; this, however, was a solid moment.
1. The Eye of Webbish Bog
With J.J. Abrams looking to essentially undo everything that had happened in The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker simply had too much story to tell and a lot of fan service to deliver.
The movie was incredibly fast-paced and Kylo Ren's discovery of the Sith Wayfinder was, well, never properly explained. However, in this filmed-and-never-released deleted scene, Kylo Ren was going to encounter a creature on Mustafar named the Eye of Webbish Bog.
It was going to direct him to the ruins of Darth Vader's castle, adding some much-needed connectivity and making everything we saw feel less like it was being made up on the fly with little to no thought beforehand.