What are your favorite classic Deleted Scenes and cut material from the Movie? Do you know of any that other fans don't? Share & Talk about here . . . . . .
According to many sources there was a scene involving Luke in the Rancor pit that was filmed but ultimately cut from RETURN OF THE JEDI.
Before actually dropping into the pit, however, Luke tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to threaten Jabba with a pistol from one of the guards. Before Luke could do anything dangerous, Jabba dropped him down into the pit, as you know.
The shots you see below of Luke holding the blaster were widely used for marketing purposes while the film was in production and then after it was released. The angles used in these stills are slightly different than what we saw in the film, though. To me, they look like promo stills or staged photos. Those guys in the back look like they're creeping up slowly on Luke while in the finished film the scene happens in a flash.
S o, after Luke falls into the pit and sees the menacing Rancor creature, he does one of those super Jedi leaps - much like the one he used in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (and subsequently used in the Prequel Trilogy) and grabs hold of the grating on the floor of Jabba's audience chamber. Two Jawas proceed to bang on Luke's fingers with the butts of their rifles forcing him to fall onto the Rancor's eye and then back to the floor.
After our heroes' daring escape from Jabba the Hutt and the vile Sarlacc monster, the group confronts a nasty sandstorm that comes up out of nowhere. They leave the stolen skiff and make their way to their hidden ships on foot. When they get to the ships, they exchange a few words and are on their way.
David Oghia, writer for the Star Wars Insider wrote a nice piece on the sandstorm in Issue #35 that included some never before seen photo stills you can see down below. The dialogue is a little different depending on if you read an old draft of the script or the RETURN OF THE JEDI Novelization. Here's an excerpt from an alleged third draft of the script by Kasdan and Lucas (unconfirmed):
EXT DUNE SEA - LANDING AREA
A ferocious sandstorm blocks our view. Then, through the ROAR, we HEAR THE VOICES of our heroes. They emerge slowly from the veil of sand, pressing on against the wind. First come Artoo and Threepio, followed by Leia guiding Han, then Luke and Lando come into view, each supporting one side of the towering Chewbacca, who hobbles from his wound. Soon, they can make out some large vague shapes in the blowing sand. It is the Millennium Falcon and, parked beside it, Luke's trusty X-wing and a two-seated Y-wing. They must shout to be heard.
HAN
I don't know. All I can
see is a lot of blowing sand!
As soon as the group huddles under the bulk of the Falcon, the wind dies down to something more describable as a severe weather condition. Threepio hits a switch, and the gang-plank lowers with a HUM.
HAN (turning to Luke)
I've got to hand it to you, kid,
you were pretty good out there.
LUKE (shrugging it off)
I had a lot of help.
Think nothing of it.
HAN
No, I'm thinking a lot about it.
That carbon freeze was the closest thing
to dead there is. And it wasn't just sleepin'.
It was a big wide awake nothing!
there was also a part in the ROTJ novel (one of the many, i might add)
that has a scene where the emperor is talking about yoda, and after reading luke's mind he realizes his ancient enemy is at last dead
i dont think that was ever a cut scene from the movie tho..
Not everything you read in the novels is canon. When Anakin/Vader is dying in the hanger after taking off his helmet, he muses about how he wished he had met Yoda. Naturally, this is untrue.
People who write novelizations of scripts are seeing things at the development and production stage, not when the movie is closing in on the final edit.
It would be cool to get in the sandstorm scene; the reason it was cut was that Lucas felt it would've slowed the momentum built by the escape from Jabba and the explosion of the Sail Barge. So they just cut from the skift racing away to the ships blasting off from Tattooine, and took some of that dialogue and played it as a ship to ship communication. (But you think they could have filmed some reaction shots from the Falcon cockpit....)
__________________
"I'm not smart so much as I am not dumb." - Harlan Ellison
I saw Jedi at the theatre. I always swore I remember a extra part to the rancor scene. When Luke and the Guard were dropped in the pit the Guard grabs the blaster and shoots the rancor to no effect. It then droppped the pistol. In all verssion I am certain just after he dropped the blaster and threw up his arms is where it picks up. Does anyone know anything about this.
"He wished, briefly, he'd met Yoda, to thank the old Jedi for the training he'd given Luke... But perhaps he'd be with Yoda soon, in the ethereal oneness of the Force. And with Obi-Wan."
That's what the novel says. (Just picked it up yesterday for 4 euros in a book store, although it's second-hand ofcourse) I suppose you can give the words a twist and say that Vader isn't talking about meeting Yoda for the first time.
And so it was written, so it must be true, I guess.
Alright, yeah, that makes more sense, then. It's all about being interpreted. I can easily see that being that Vader just wanted to meet Yoda again to thank him for what he has done for Luke.