‘Last Jedi’ Director Describes “Massive” Deleted Scene, Promises a Release
The Last Jedi was already the longest Star Wars movie, but there were still plenty of scenes that didn’t make the final edit of the movie. Unlike Rogue One’s many, many deleted and alternate scenes, though, fans will be able to watch the parts Rian Johnson cut out of Episode VIII when the movie eventually hits Blu-ray.
While speaking to Collider, Johnson confirmed that nearly all of the deleted scenes — a little more than 20 minutes worth of footage — would be included on the Blu-ray release.
“We loaded it up, man,” Johnson said. “Because we had so much good stuff, it was like, there were only a couple things where it’s like just a little two-shot thing, we said ‘We’ll hold that back.’ But all the major stuff, all the good stuff, we put on there.”
The biggest cut scene, which Johnson described as “massive,” appears to an additional bit of Luke Skywalker training Rey. The director described it as “an additional sort of trial/test that she goes through, that involves her and Mark, and then a big emotional scene between the two of them. I mean, it’s big stuff, it’s like actual real scenes.”
The other major missing bit of the movie followed Finn and Rose and DJ on their stealth mission aboard the Mega Destroyer.
“It’s a full sequence of like stuff with them sneaking through this big office area of the Mega Destroyer and then having to fake out these Stormtroopers,” Johnson explained, although he said that scene was cut fairly early in the editing process. “It was very clear that that section of the movie was completely lopsided in favor of those three, and it just didn’t support it,” he said. “But it’s good stuff. It’s really good stuff.”
Johnson also spoke of a scene were Poe brings Finn up to speed on what he missed while he was in a coma, and a bit involving the “nun-like fish creatures” on Ach-To.
“I will give the caveat that the movie is better as a whole without any of them, but yeah man, there was some great stuff,” Johnson said of the deleted scenes, which is probably a good thing. Extra Star Wars is great, but knowing when to kill your darlings is the mark of a good editor.
The Last Jedi is currently in theaters, so it’s too early to start worrying about a Blu-ray release date.
