List of scenes cut from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

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A list of the cut scenes from the first movie, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Included are scenes that were edited out of the final cut of Star Wars due to time constraints or the scenes didn't fit with the overall flow of the story.

Clips and stills of footage from many of these scenes survive in varying states of quality. =Luke in the Desert= Luke Skywalker is in the Tatooine desert repairing a moisture vaporator, assisted by a Treadwell droid, when he notices shining objects in the sky. With his macrobinoculars Luke sees two ships engaged in combat beyond the atmosphere. He jumps into his landspeeder. The malfunctioning Treadwell blows a fuse and is unable to follow. Luke speeds off into the desert to find his friends.

Where it was cut
The scene originally occurred after the Tantive IV is boarded, just before the first appearance in the film of Darth Vader.

Other appearances

 * Star Wars "Lost Cut"
 * Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker 1977 novelization
 * The Marvel Comics adaptation
 * pre-release publicity photographs
 * Behind The Magic CD ROM (1998)- silent, monochrome video, degraded quality
 * online from a variety of fan websites

It is thought that there is no longer any clear footage of this scene available. Existing footage has been degraded by poor film storage conditions over the years.

Why it was cut
Before the film was cut, this was the audience's first sight of the young Luke Skywalker, much earlier than in the final cut. It was removed along with subsequent scenes of Luke and his friends in Anchorhead, probably for reasons of story pacing.

=Tosche Station= Luke's landspeeder races into the town of Anchorhead, nearly running over an old woman. Luke rushes into Tosche Station excitedly telling his friends about the battle above their planet. He is overjoyed to be reunited with his friend Biggs Darklighter who is on planet leave from the Academy. Deak, Windy, Camie, Fixer and Biggs all follow Luke outside to see the battle with Luke's macrobinoculars. The battle appears to have ended and Luke's friends ridicule him for making it all up.

Where it was cut
This scene was to come just after Artoo-Detoo and Threepio eject from the Tantive IV in an escape pod, and before the scene where Princess Leia is led captive before Darth Vader.

Other appearances

 * Star Wars "Lost Cut"
 * Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker 1977 novelization
 * The Marvel Comics adaptation
 * pre-release publicity photographs
 * shown in 1998 at San Diego Comic Con
 * Behind The Magic CD ROM (1998)- video, degraded quality
 * online from a variety of fan websites
 * Star Wars radio adaptation (1981)

Why it was cut:
This scene establishes Luke's difficult relationships with his peers, and gives a picture of life on Tatooine. Storyline pacing may have been the deciding factor, but it should also be borne in mind that after Lucas's first screening of the rough cut of Star Wars in 1977, a fellow film-maker jokingly accused him of producing "American Graffiti in space". This jibe probably influenced Lucas to cut the scenes set in Anchorhead.

The sequence where Luke nearly runs down an old woman was an effects shot that was never completed.

=Luke and Biggs= This scene is a conversation between Luke and his oldest friend, Biggs Darklighter. Biggs has left Tatooine and is on planet leave from the Imperial Academy where he is training to be a space pilot. Luke's envy of Biggs's success conflicts with his duty to his uncle and his reasons for remaining on Tatooine. Biggs quietly tells Luke that he has decided to join the Rebellion against the Empire. In a tense and emotional conversation, the two young men say their final farewells.

Where it was cut
This scene was to come in between the scene where See-Threepio spots a distant Jawa sandcrawler in the desert, and the capture of Artoo-Detoo by the Jawas in the canyon.

Other appearances

 * Star Wars "Lost Cut"
 * Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker 1977 novelization
 * The Marvel Comics adaptation
 * pre-release publicity photographs
 * shown in 1998 at San Diego Comic Con
 * Behind The Magic CD ROM (1998)- video, degraded quality
 * online from a variety of fan websites
 * Star Wars radio adaptation (1981)

Why it was cut
The Luke and Biggs sequence was part of the whole Anchorhead back-story on Tatooine, and was cut along with the other early scenes on Tatooine probably for reasons of story pacing.

=Vader and Commander Bast= In this short scene Darth Vader and Commander Bast walk along a corridor on the Death Star. Bast reports that the search for the missing droids has extended to Mos Eisley spaceport. Vader observes that Princess Leia is resisting interrogation, and Bast boldly criticizes Tarkin's plan to break her as "foolish".

Where it was cut
The scene would have appeared between the scene where Han Solo encounters Jabba the Hutt in Docking Bay 94 (also cut), and the scene where Luke and Ben find the Millennium Falcon in Docking Bay 94.

Other appearances

 * Star Wars "Lost Cut"
 * Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker 1977 novelization
 * The Marvel Comics adaptation
 * pre-release publicity photographs
 * stills used on bubblegum cards
 * The Star Wars Holiday Special (footage redubbed)

Why it was cut
Probably for reasons of time. The scene adds little to the plot.

=The Search for Artoo= Artoo-Detoo has absconded from his new master, Luke Skywalker. Early in the morning, Luke and Threepio rush off in the landspeeder to search for Artoo, with Threepio driving the landspeeder. They talk about Artoo, Ben Kenobi, and how angry Uncle Owen is going to be.

Where it was cut
The scene belongs at the start of the sequence where Luke and Threepio search for Artoo, before the attack of the Tusken Raiders.

Other appearances

 * Star Wars "Lost Cut"
 * Star Wars radio adaptation (1981)

Why it was cut
Before the days of CGI, scenes like this landspeeder cockpit sequence had to be filmed against a rear-projection screen. The scene was dropped due to poor quality.

=Luke's Poncho= There are many short alternate takes throughout Star Wars where Luke appears in his poncho: Luke in the desert, in the Tusken Raiders' canyon, Luke finding the destroyed homestead, and in the hangar on Yavin 4. The only poncho scenes that made the final cut were in Docking Bay 94, on the Millennium Falcon flight from the Death Star, and on arrival on Yavin 4.

Where it was cut
Throughout the film.

Other appearances

 * stills, bubblegum cards

Why it was cut
There are no explanations, except speculation about continuity between shots.

=The Lost Cut= The first edit of Star Wars was the work of John Jympson, not by George Lucas.

This rough cut contained a lot of alternate takes that were not used in the final version of the film, plus several scenes that were subsequently cut (detailed above).

Other appearances

 * Behind The Magic CD ROM (1998)- monochrome footage of the Cantina, Luke & Biggs
 * The Star Wars Holiday Special (the "Life On Tatooine" segment of the program)

Why it was cut
George Lucas decided to reedit the whole film to give it a faster pace.