Star Wars The Phantom Menace All Deleted Scenes Ranked
Star Wars The Phantom Menace: All Deleted Scenes, Ranked
Contents
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was relatively long at at two hours 16 minutes but George Lucas’ title had a lot of deleted scenes cut from the film.
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Star Wars fans thought they’d seen the last of the series when Return of the Jedi came out in 1983, with Luke Skywalker managing to defeat Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine (for a few years, at least). But, in 1999, George Lucas’ Sci-Fi epic was back with a bang. The Phantom Menace released in theatres across the globe and people flocked in their droves to see it, with the blockbuster making more money than any other film that year.
The movie was relatively long at at two hours 16 minutes but Lucas’ title could have been even longer. There are nine deleted scenes, though some are better than others. We’ll now take a look through them and rank them from worst to best.
9 The Dawn Before The Race
Anakin Skywalker is busy preparing for his upcoming Boonta Eve Podrace in one deleted scene. His friends are present and Padme Amidala is there as well, telling her future husband they need to leave soon. And…that’s it.
Let’s face it, that’s pretty boring stuff. The Tatooine sunrise is beautiful but that’s about the best thing we can say about this moment. It’s no surprise it was omitted from the final cut because it’s utterly pointless. Sure, we get to see Anakin’s friend Kitster Chanchani Banai again but, given that he was insignificant, that’s not exactly a good thing.
8 Bail Organa’s First Cameo
Bail Organa as fans know him today is played by Jimmy Smits. He makes his first appearance in 2002’s Attack of the Clones, appears again in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, and Smits also reprised his role when the first Star Wars spin-off movie Rogue One hit theatres back in the winter of 2016.
But Bail wasn’t actually played by the American comedian at first. Instead, British actor Adrian Dunbar was cast in the role for The Phantom Menace. He makes a brief cameo, backing Padme Amidala when she announces a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum in the Senate. It would have been nice to meet the character in the first instalment of the prequel but the scene was pretty unnecessary, hence it’s place on this list.
7 Extended Podrace
Don’t get us wrong, we absolutely love the podracing segments from The Phantom Menace. We’d even go as far to say it’s one of the best moments in the entire movie, entertaining from start to finish and prompting us to stay glued to the screen. And it’s for that reason why we place the extended version of the scene nearer the bottom of this list.
Part of the reason Lucas nailed the podracing was because it’s pacing was absolutely spot on. In giving every single participant a brief introduction, it drastically slows things down. In short, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. And, had this extended version of the scene made it into the final cut, the end product wouldn’t have been as satisfying.
6 Extended Podrace 2
Yep, that’s right. There was even more of the podrace shot by Lucas and Lucasfilm, prolonging the dramatic moment even longer. This second deleted scene from Boonta Eve shows Anakin navigating his way through the track, narrowly staying ahead and surviving several close calls. He eventually knocks over a repair droid, which had raced onto the course to try and repair a broken pod.
But what makes this scene better than the last one is the presence of Jawas and Tusken Raiders. Tuskens appear in the theatrical release but Jawas don’t and that’s a shame. It would have been a nice easter egg from the original trilogy and also showed the little hooded beings were around long before the events of A New Hope. Ultimately, it wasn’t to be.
5 The Battle Is Over
Near the end of The Phantom Menace, Padme Amidala walks up to Nute Gunray and Rune Haako. She tells the pair they’ll now have to answer for their crimes, having nearly taken ahold of the Senate and the Republic. But, in an omitted part, things could have been even more satisfying.
A solider on the Naboo battlefield breaks news of their victory to Padme, pushing over a battle droid to show they’re now harmless. With a devilish glint in her eye, the Queen then delights in telling Viceroy and Haako their plan has failed. Pretty corny stuff admittedly but we still like it regardless.
4 Anakin’s Return
We always did wonder how the other Republic pilots reacted when Anakin Skywalker flew back to Naboo after managing to obliterate the Trade Federation Battleship, which leads to the good guys triumphing. And a deleted scene gives us a glimpse into what happened next.
They’re all shocked to see Anakin, who is meant to be just nine years of old at the time, climb out of the cockpit. His hair is askew and his face covered in dirt but it’s still endearing to see him so oblivious to the true extent of his achievement, especially when he innocently says ‘I’m not going to get in trouble, am I?’ Unfortunately we never got to see the aftermath of his actions in the final cut of the blockbuster, which feels like a missed opportunity all these years on.
3 Anakin And Greedo Fight
Taking the bronze medal is a fight between a young Anakin and young Greedo. That’s right, the future Darth Vader and Bounty Hunter once had a little scrap on Tatooine. Anakin gets the better of his adversary, pinning him down and swinging hard, before Qui-Gon Jinn arrives just in time to separate them.
We love this because it’s just great to see two characters in their youth who will evolve into two of the galaxy’s biggest fiends. Vader lived on until the events of Return of the Jedi, but Greedo is ruthlessly executed by Han Solo during A New Hope after trying to bring him to Jabba the Hutt. Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back has no such problems, however…
2 Farewell To Jira
Jira is a local resident of Tatooine and is the person who warns Anakin and Qui-Gon Jinn that a storm is on it’s way, hence forcing the Jedi Knight into taking sanctuary at the Chosen One’s family home. On the DVD and Blu-Ray, there’s a touching moment where Anakin Skywalker says goodbye to his friend. He gives her some winnings from the podrace (though quite how he got hold of them is a different matter entirely) and she labels him the ‘sweetest person in the galaxy’.
This alone is pretty cool as it shows just how angelic Anakin was prior to being corrupted by the dark side. But what happens next makes it even better. Anakin and Qui-Gon start to walk when the Jedi cuts down a probe droid, which has been following them having been dispatched by Darth Maul. It’s some pretty dramatic foreshadowing and would have only added to the intensity had it been deemed worthy of inclusion.
1 The Waterfall Sequence
Taking the podium position is a deleted scene where Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Jar Jar Binks all very nearly die. After managing to get back to Naboo, they then rock up at the top of a waterfall. Frantically, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan hurry off their vessel to safety but Jar Jar, predictably, lags behind.
It’s certainly entertaining and adds yet another obstacle for the trio to overcome. Given how good the scene looked, it did seem as though it was originally intended to make it into the final product – especially given the amount of CGI involved. It did give fans false hope that Jar Jar would meet an early end but, that aside, it’s perfect. And Lucas was wrong to leave it out.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-wars-the-phantom-menace-deleted-scenes/
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