Tom Cruise And Star Wars Deleted Scenes: Let's Answer Electronic Mail Questions
You posted a story about Tom Cruise that you said "a famous actor" told you at a party. Any chance you can tell me who it was? – Alice
Back in April I posted a story about Tom Cruise that I was told at a premiere party and it's now my favorite Tom Cruise story. You kind of have to read that story first for any of this to make sense. And I've gotten some form of this question multiple times... Actually, let me think about the best way I can try to answer this question and we'll come back to it at the end of this post.
Before we get to that and our other question, I just wanted to say that I heard from a lot of people after I posted the letter Jason Sudeikis sent me after my dad died. The week of Father's Day can be really tough and, it least it seems, that post did resonate with some people out there. I really appreciate all the kind words and hearing all these different stories that, even though all unique, still have this emotional core that binds them all together. Anyway, it just made me feel a little less alone with all this, so thank you.
Also maybe of interest: I interviewed Craig Gillespie about directing Supergirl for Indiewire, which published today (Thursday). That movie is not what I expected and we get into how the tone and aesthetics more resembles a Mad Max movie than it does last year's Superman or even the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
Okay, let's get into this week's questions:
I saw this deleted scene today — it’s insane. And it got me thinking… What are your favorite deleted scenes in any / all Star Wars films? Has to be scenes they actually shot. And do you think any of them would have made the movie better or is it a favorite for another reason? – Michael
It's funny the cut scene of Anakin and Obi-Wan making R2-D2 noises in Revenge of the Sith is the example used here, because I am quite familiar with this one. This is from a few years ago, but I went on Blank Check to discuss this very scene, for over an hour somehow. This wasn't that long after David and Griffin launched the podcast and, when I went on, I didn't realize their entire premise at the time was to approach the prequels like the original trilogy did not exist and I messed that up a couple times. Anyway, that was my last time on Blank Check.
The deleted scenes from the original trilogy are a wild ride. The most famous one is Han confronting Jabba in Star Wars, who was originally played by a human actor. This scene was put back in for the Special Editions and remains there today, looking terrible and adding nothing to the plot other than, "Oh, look who it is, a CGI thing that looks nothing like Jabba in Return of the Jedi."
All the stuff with Luke and Biggs on Tatooine is pretty fascinating, though kind of confusing from the sense of what all of this was supposed to mean, at least how it was intended in 1977. Biggs is in the Academy, but is worried he's going to be drafted by the Empire. So the Academy and the Empire are two different things? Also, Luke is disappointed he can't go to the Academy. These two don't like the Empire at all, so this does imply that whatever the Academy was when this scene was written has nothing to do with the Empire? Then Biggs tells Luke he met someone who can, maybe, put him in touch with the Rebellion. And, if this winds up happening, he's going to join. Okay, that makes sense, but I'm still a little lost on what the Academy is supposed to be? Maybe it's just a good school that has no official affiliation with the Empire?
It's probably for the best this exchange isn't in the actual movie. It is just a lot of exposition that the first Star Wars movie doesn't really do, so this would seem out of place. It does make Luke's relationship with Biggs at the end of the film make more sense, but it would ruin Luke's introduction in the film, to the world, being pretty perfect as it is now.
Most of the deleted scenes in The Empire Strikes Back have to do with an abandoned subplot of the Rebel Alliance constantly fighting off Wampas. There's one scene of Han and Leia arguing, they finally leave, then the camera panning over to a Wampa hiding behind some ice. Scary! But, yes, unnecessary. Apparently the Wampa effects looked so stupid they finally just gave up. There is a scene of poor Lobot being captured by Stormtroopers on Cloud City. I'd like to go on in my life assuming Lobot made it away safely in his own Lobot-mobile.
I have two scenes I wish were not cut from Star Wars movies. After Han is rescued from Jabba's Palace (a sequence that makes no sense whatsoever), our heroes say their goodbyes during a massive Tatooine sandstorm. Lucas didn't like how this looked and cut it. This is the only instance of the actual life-size Millennium Falcon being used in Return of the Jedi. In the Rebel hangar we see it in the background, but that's a painting. For that reason alone that scene should have remained. Plus it works better than the parties saying their goodbyes over the radio when they are already in space. It's a nice scene! Han seems appreciative!
The other is the scene featuring Mon Mothma in Revenge of the Sith. Look, Revenge of the Sith is already pretty long, but what they are discussing is interesting. More importantly, Genevieve O'Reilly plays Mon Mothma, a role she wouldn't get to officially play for 11 more years when she was invited back for Rogue One. Then, of course, followed by two seasons of Andor. When Revenge of the Sith was re-released in theaters in 2025, that seemed like a perfect opportunity to put that scene back in. But, alas, no.
You posted a story about Tom Cruise that you said "a famous actor" told you at a party. Any chance you can tell me who it was? – Alice
Okay, back to this. The original story is for paid subscribers only. So it's probably safe to say any possible answer to this question would only be of interest to paid subscribers. So, as a bonus for them, I will do my best to give an answer.
