PHOTOS: First look at deleted “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” scenes, with details from Rian Johnson

in Disney, Entertainment, Movies, Movies & TV, Star Wars

When “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” arrives for digital download (March 13) and Blu-ray release (March 27), it will include 14 deleted scenes. Today, Entertainment Weekly has a first look at some of those moments from the cutting room floor, with comments from director Rian Johnson.

So why did each of these scenes get scrapped from the final cut? Mostly because of pacing, according to Johnson.

“I love each one of the scenes individually. I mean, every single one of them was not cut because it didn’t work. It was cut because the movie as a whole was better without it,” he said. “So with each one of them, it’s that strange combination where it feels awful to cut it, but it feels good to cut it because suddenly the pacing of a section of the movie feels much better, or suddenly the film is cleaner, or clearer, in many different ways.”

BB-8 Reveals Rey’s Goodbye to Finn

While Finn is struggling with whether or not to abandon the Resistance, BB-8 rolls up to reveal Rey’s emotional goodbye to an unconscious Finn. The scene was meant to show Finn’s motivation for wanting to leave and find Rey, but Johnson realized the same thing was achieved when Finn explains things to Rose.

The scene also would have shown off a bit of BB-8’s sneaky side. “I miss John’s line, ‘That’s kind of creepy you recorded that,” said Johnson.

Rey and the Raiders of the Caretaker Village

In a scene meant to drive a bigger wedge between Luke Skywalker and Rey, the pair witnesses a warring tribe heading toward the Caretaker village. Rey wants to intervene, but Luke explains that even if she defeats them now, they may return in a few weeks with even more fighters. The Jedi would not get involved for fear of making the situation worse.

This is a breaking point for Rey. She ignores Luke’s words and runs towards the Caretaker village, igniting her blue lightsaber. Removing this scene led to a more surprising moment when Luke finds Rey speaking to Kylo Ren via Force connection.

Luke and Leia in Mourning

In this deleted scene, Luke has a quiet moment of mourning inside his hut after hearing of Han Solo’s death. The scene cuts to Leia having a similar moment on the Resistance ship, suggesting they’re sharing this moment of grief.

“We realized just for pacing in that section we had to stick with Rey and Luke, and we wanted just to go straight from him slamming the door of the hut into the day-in-the-life montage, of him going around the island. Taking that bit out suddenly propelled us forward into that segment in a way that just felt much better for the film,” said Johnson.

EW also chatted with Johnson about two other deleted scenes, but for images of those moments, we’ll have to wait for the digital and Blu-ray release. However, here’s some detail on what to expect:

Infiltrating Snoke’s star destroyer, the Supremacy

In an extended scene that was deleted from the final cut, Finn, Rose, DJ, and BB-8’s mission to shut down a tracking device aboard the Supremacy goes awry. Finn is recognized by a Stormtrooper, who is sure he recognizes Finn from somewhere. During this exchange, Finn realizes the First Order has covered up his defection and role in destroying Starkiller Base, and the Stormtrooper just laughs off the situation.

More of the showdown with Captain Phasma

Rather than Finn gaining the upper hand on Phasma during their epic battle, originally she had him beat and surrounded by other Stormtroopers. Finn starts talking, revealing how Phasma turned over the shield codes to Starkiller Base to save herself in “The Force Awakens.” Showing fear, Phasma takes out her fellow Stormtroopers. She and Finn fight once more, leading her to get hit with a blast before falling into the crumbling hangar bay.

To see these deleted scenes and more, pick up “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” on digital or Blu-ray release later this month.

Source: EW

Comments Off on PHOTOS: First look at deleted “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” scenes, with details from Rian Johnson