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The Star Wars saga is filled with iconic moments, but what about the ones that ended up on the cutting room floor? Join us as we explore another collection of deleted scenes that nearly happened, altering characters and storylines in unbelievable ways.
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00:00After previously taking a closer look at 10 other times that Star Wars nearly unleashed some rather strange and shocking
00:08moments on screen,
00:10from gruesome fates to bizarre conversations, it's time to have a look at another collection of weird and wonderful scenes
00:17that almost popped up in your favourite films and TV shows set in this iconic galaxy far, far away.
00:25Because I am Gareth, this is WhatCultureStarWars, and here are 10 more deleted Star Wars moments you won't believe nearly
00:33happened.
00:3510. Ponda Baba Loses His Head Episode 4 A New Hope
00:39Swiftly making an impact following on from his introduction in 1977's Star Wars,
00:45the furry thug known as Ponda Baba alongside his pal Dr. Cornelius Everzan
00:50picked a fight with the wrong folks within Mos Eisley's cantina.
00:55Sure enough, his attempts to bully young Luke Skywalker resulted in his arm meeting the business end of a lightsaber.
01:01However, had the original version of this scene survived when putting the picture together,
01:07then things could have been a whole lot worse for old Baba.
01:09You see, according to behind-the-scenes images doing the rounds online,
01:13there appeared to be plans at one point to have Obi-Wan Kenobi cut off the aqualicious head during their
01:19scuffle.
01:20Probably feeling that this gory moment would have been a little too grim for a movie primarily aimed at kids,
01:26though.
01:27The call was soon made to just have the space wizard slice off the bully's arm instead.
01:32It was likely the right move, yeah?
01:33With the visual of Baba's bloody limb definitely being enough to sell the idea of lightsabers being a rather effective
01:40and dangerous weapon.
01:41Also, slicing the head off a punter is probably not the best way to avoid unnecessary attention in a busy
01:47bar, right?
01:48Still, though, those images show just how close fans really were to seeing Ponda's head shockingly roll in Episode 4,
01:56A New Hope.
01:57Ah, we would have been traumatized.
01:59Number 9, Kelnaka vs. The Stranger, The Acolyte
02:02Though not the first of this species to hold a lightsaber in the galaxy far, far away,
02:08Gungi has also been doing his thing in the animated Star Wars The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch shows
02:13over the years,
02:14but Kelnaka did become the first live-action Wookiee Jedi during The Acolyte's first season, for a bit.
02:21In the end, the towering Jedi Master was suddenly murdered by The Stranger during Episode 4, Day.
02:28However, viewers never actually got to see the duel which led to Kelnaka's demise,
02:32with May simply finding the dead Wookiee with a lightsaber slash across his chest.
02:37And that was that.
02:38But that wasn't actually the original plan, though.
02:41At one point, fans were actually going to see a full Kelnaka vs. The Stranger Showdown on screen,
02:47but according to one of the episode's writers, Claire Keischel on X,
02:51This early draft idea was ultimately sliced out of the series because it, in her words,
02:57broke the POV of the episode in a way that I think wouldn't have worked as well.
03:02Admittedly, having The Stranger show up and cross lightsabers with the mighty Wookiee here
03:06would have probably undermined his epic reveal from the perspective of Osha and the Jedi a little later on in
03:13the episode.
03:14But while we would at least see Kelnaka waving his lightsaber around in later episodes,
03:19you'd still be lying if you said you didn't want to see what a big furry Jedi fighting a powerful
03:24masked Darkseid user looked like on your screen.
03:27As noted by this writer, there was very much a time there when this on-screen fight was being considered.
03:33Number 8, The Bad Batch's Padme Art, Star Wars The Clone Wars
03:37In the wake of their Star Wars debut in the animated The Clone Wars series,
03:42The Bad Batch quickly went on to become one of the most beloved groups of characters in this galaxy far,
03:48far away.
03:48Their unique mixture of personalities and abilities made Clone Force 99 a real highlight of the final season of the
03:55show.
03:56And whenever they interacted with franchise icons like Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex,
04:01you were almost always guaranteed a memorable moment.
04:05There was one specific and rather cheeky conversation between this Bad Batch and The Chosen One,
04:11which didn't actually make it into the series, however.
04:13With Skywalker noticing a bit of nose art on the front of the Gang of Clones ship,
04:19he's soon informed that this is none other than the Naboo senator that the squad check out on the holoscans.
04:25Unsurprisingly, he doesn't take this or Wrecker saying that she could negotiate with him any time very well,
04:32telling Rex that the art would not be staying there.
04:34If you're wondering why this surprisingly provocative moment from the unfinished The Clone Wars story reel
04:40didn't make it into the finished episode,
04:42one of the show's creators, Dave Filoni, had the answer.
04:45According to a fan on X,
04:46Filoni eventually explained in a screening of this Distant Echo episode
04:50that, with Padme not being in this season that much,
04:54having this be one of the few ways she was depicted was not something they wanted to do to her.
04:59So, this brief exchange was ultimately replaced with a far more compelling secret holocall conversation
05:05between the lovebirds.
05:07All while Rex keeps watch.
05:09And while we're talking about the animated Clone Wars series,
05:11I want to know right now what is your favourite animated Star Wars episode ever?
05:16It doesn't just have to be the Clone Wars, it could be Rebels, it could be whatever you want,
05:20you pop it in that comment section down below.
05:22Number 7, the extended version of Palpatine vs. the Jedi Masters,
05:26Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith.
05:29Now, while the scene itself may have eventually made its way into the dramatic final chapter
05:34in the prequel trilogy,
05:35the original version of Sheev Palpatine's lightsaber battle against members of the Jedi Council
05:40was reportedly scrapped.
05:42Before George Lucas eventually felt that viewers needed to see a closer look
05:46of the eventual Emperor's face during that fight within his office,
05:50the idea was to apparently have Ian McDiarmid's stunt double do pretty much all of the dueling.
05:55And the test footage eventually revealed on the AtGillardStunts YouTube channel revealed
06:00a version of this fight that was far more gripping and impressive than the occasionally
06:05quite jarring one that fans eventually got in Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith.
06:09With McDiarmid only having five days to learn his choreography and admitting himself that
06:15he isn't a master swordsman, the eventual combination of CGI, stunt double work and
06:20rather plodding close-up shots of the actor didn't really gel together well.
06:25The whole sequence was a bit underwhelming to be honest.
06:27Just fully committing to digitally slapping McDiarmid's face onto his stunt double for this
06:32electrifying showdown definitely would have been the better call in hindsight,
06:37with even these rough test clips feeling far more intense and captivating than the cartoonish
06:42end product that Lucas pushed for.
06:44If only the director had stuck to the plan, eh?
06:47Number 6.
06:47Ahsoka Speaks With The Bendu Before Facing Vader, Star Wars Rebels
06:52While the name itself would actually first show up in the first draft for the original
06:57Star Wars movie, with those pages mentioning the Jedi Bendu, the small-screen debut of it
07:02actually occurred during the Star Wars Rebels animated series.
07:06Voiced by Doctor Who's Tom Baker and appearing in the first episode of Season 3, the Bendu,
07:12a being that represented the center of the Force, would cross paths with the likes of Ezra
07:17Bridger and Kanan Jarrus in the show.
07:20One character who didn't get to share the screen with this wise, force-sensitive being,
07:25however, was the legendary Ahsoka Tano.
07:28But that's not to say that she didn't meet Bendu at all.
07:31In fact, according to Rebels creator Dave Filoni, a scene which saw the two talking was
07:36actually written and went down during the Mystery of Chopper Base episode.
07:41But while the moment did actually happen within the universe, it didn't quite make it into
07:46the finished episode.
07:47Filoni would ultimately reveal some of the dialogue from and the artwork for that scene
07:52which never ended up on the screen on X.
07:54Tano's conversation with the powerful and wise creature involved the Bendu telling her
08:00that a lot was about to change, including Ahsoka, due to her then-upcoming encounter with
08:05her former master Anakin Skywalker slash Darth Vader on Malachor.
08:10And by change, he meant death.
08:12There is no such thing as too much Bendu.
08:15So getting to see Tano interact with the huge, captivating entity would have no doubt been
08:20a delight.
08:20Instead, fans were left to simply imagine what this exchange would have looked or sounded
08:25like based on Filoni's revealing tweet.
08:27Thanks for stopping by to watch this WhatCultureStarWars video today, ya legend.
08:32Now go and hit that subscribe button down below and you'll get more of this WhatCultureStarWars
08:36stuff in your corner of the galaxy.
08:38Number 5, A Portals Moment, Episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker
08:43Even possibly the worst episode in the Skywalker saga still has the odd, rather awesome moment.
08:50And one scene that definitely falls into that category in Episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker
08:56is the sequence which sees Rey hearing the voices of some of the most famous Jedi in Star
09:01Wars history, as their words give her the strength to take down the Emperor, who somehow
09:06returned.
09:07That rather nostalgic collection of voices pales in comparison to a version of this scene
09:12that reportedly nearly happened instead though.
09:15According to a source who worked closely on the production of the film, with this information
09:19later popping up on Reddit, that sequence originally was supposed to involve the likes of Hayden
09:24Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson and any other actor who didn't play an animated
09:30Jedi appearing in live action.
09:32A moment later referred to as an endgame portal scene by X-user at BSK The King.
09:38It was even reportedly shot with the actors in full costumes, and these forced ghosts serving
09:44as sort of a barrier between her and the Sith surrounding them.
09:48Now it is tough to know for sure whether this Jedi assembling moment was officially put in
09:53front of a camera, but if this source is to be believed, then arguably The Rise of Skywalker's
09:58best moment was almost infinitely better.
10:00Number 4, A Dark Conversation with Jar Jar Binks
10:04Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith
10:06Following on from his incredibly divisive arrival in Episode 1, The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar
10:13Binks' role in the subsequent two prequel trilogy films was massively reduced.
10:17No longer was the silly Gungan helping out our heroes during their many missions.
10:22Instead, he was largely left on Coruscant and off-camera, only showing up for the odd scene
10:27in the movies. However, one of said scenes ultimately contained quite a crucial moment
10:32in Star Wars history. Standing in for Senator Padme Amidala after she decided to go into hiding
10:38in the wake of a number of attempts on her life, an easily manipulated
10:42Binks, now a junior representative, ultimately convinced the Galactic Senate to give emergency
10:48powers to the Supreme Chancellor, Sheev Palpatine. And we all know how that turned out.
10:54Binks doesn't really do that much from that point on, but he did almost show up in a scene
10:58that eventually got cut out of Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith. According to Best via Entertainment
11:04Weekly, he remembered a conversation between Binks and Palpatine that was deleted in the end.
11:09The scene would have seen the latter thanking the former for putting him in power, with Best adding
11:14that the scene really showed the evolution of Jar Jar from this fun-loving kid's character
11:19into this manipulated politician, and was really dark in his words. But Lucas clearly didn't feel it
11:26worked in the movie he was trying to make, so Best was left with just the two words in that
11:30last
11:31prequel instead.
11:32Number 3, Anakin Skywalker Speaking Droid, Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith.
11:37Where to even begin with this one? It's always important to remember whenever you're left
11:41rolling your eyes at some of the goofier moments found in the prequels in particular, that George
11:46Lucas created his galaxy far, far away for children to enjoy. And that's what likely led to him
11:52waking up one morning, and deciding to create and eventually shoot a scene which saw Anakin
11:57Skywalker speaking binary during his and Obi-Wan Kenobi's Palpatine rescue mission.
12:03Yep, that's right, the awesome opening sequence involving the Chosen One and his master fighting
12:08their way onto the invisible hand Dreadnaught very nearly had the future Darth Vader speaking
12:13like a droid. The deleted scene is as ridiculous as it sounds, with Hayden Christensen and Ewan
12:19McGregor trying their best to keep a straight face, as they power through Anakin's surreal attempts
12:24to understand and copy what R2-D2 is beeping to him after their translator breaks. Sure, it probably
12:30would have made the odd kid chuckle watching Skywalker talk like a droid before becoming
12:35more machine than man, but Lucas definitely made the correct call when he opted to chop
12:40this weird moment out of the rescue.
12:432. A Recast Luke Skywalker Fighting His Father Episode 7 The Force Awakens
12:49Remember that exciting sequence during Episode 7 The Force Awakens when Rey experiences a Force
12:55vision after touching the legendary Skywalker lightsaber, Daisy Ridley's scavenger is thrust
13:00into important moments from the past and future, hearing Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi's voices, and
13:07even seeing a cloaked Luke Skywalker kneeling next to his burning temple. And this is also
13:13a scene which almost included an unexpected return to one of the most famous moments in the franchise's
13:19history too. As noted by The Guardian, reports from Making Star Wars and The Star Wars The Force Awakens
13:26Rey's storybook both suggested that Rey was originally supposed to see the moment when Darth
13:31Vader and Luke Skywalker fought in Episode 5 The Empire Strikes Back in her vision. Not only that,
13:38but different actors were also apparently cast to play the iconic roles for this moment that saw Rey
13:44watching the action from a new vantage point in Cloud City. Images would then later pop up online
13:50of actor Robert Bolter dressed as Luke for the fight, which was sadly scrapped from the final
13:55sequence. Imagine being cast to play Luke Skywalker and not getting to see yourself battle it out with
14:01Darth Vader. Poor Bolter, man.
14:031. No High Ground on Mustafar Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith
14:08As difficult as it may be to believe, easily one of the most memorable moments in all of Star Wars
14:14was once not even a part of a rather famous duel. After aggressively swinging their lightsabers at each
14:21other in one of the most emotional clashes the franchise has ever produced, Anakin Skywalker stupidly
14:26attempts to get the better of an Obi-Wan Kenobi who had the high ground. Silly boy. Sure enough,
14:32the soon-to-be cyborg was sliced up by his one-time master and brother. However, it was recently revealed
14:37in Empire Magazine that this all-important fight initially didn't even boast any high ground drama.
14:44Instead, as stunt coordinator Nick Gillard would explain in an interview for the magazine,
14:49as it saluted 25 years of the prequels, Kenobi and Skywalker just both landed on the side of the
14:56lava flow at first, before then proceeding to fight right away. From here in this original version,
15:01the chosen one would disarm his former master and grip his throat. And then, right when Anakin was on
15:07the verge of slicing off Kenobi's head, Obi-Wan used the force to grab his lightsaber and defend
15:13the attack. But in the process of pulling his weapon to his hand to protect himself,
15:17he also ends up chopping through his old padawan's arms and legs. Lucas ultimately got rid of that
15:23late struggle as he felt he wanted something different though. And that's what led to the
15:27legendary high ground exchange being born. A world without Anakin being cut down after arrogantly
15:34trying it. According to Gillard, it was a whole lot closer than most fans realize.
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