Is There A 4-Hour Cut Of 'Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith?'

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is known to be one of the best Star Wars films from the Skywalker saga, and the best of the prequel trilogy. Revenge of the Sith has some very special and memorable moments, yet there have been rumors of an original cut being four hours long. Some exist as deleted scenes on home media, and others were scripted, though whether they were shot is up for debate. Below are some scenes for the film that could have potentially been part of an alleged 4-hour cut.

There were so many scenes from Revenge of the Sith that didn’t make it to the final cut. Some of those scenes were released on the DVD, and some are still archived in Lucasfilm’s headquarters. Some of the moments that were cut from the film took place during Chancellor Palpatine’s rescue. This sequence was expected to be longer than what we ended up seeing onscreen, yet it was reduced in length, since several scenes didn’t serve any purpose to the story and were there just to add time.

One of the scenes we did get to see from the rescue sequence was when Anakin and Obi-wan meet General Grievous in the water docks of the ship, and Grievous kills Master Shaak Ti in front of them. This scene was taken out, since it wouldn’t make scene to see grievous before the actual scene we got in the film, where our heroes are captured and taken to the command bridge of the battle cruiser. Her death was also changed since, in the current canon, Shaak Ti is killed by Anakin in the Jedi Temple during Order 66.

Something that was also changed during the recutting of Revenge of the Sith was the first talks of the Rebellion. There is a scene where Senator Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Padme Amidala discuss the Chancellor’s suspicious behavior, and possibly the beginning of the Rebellion. This scene was deleted from the film, yet was released on the Revenge of the Sith DVD.

A scene similar to the senators' discussion exists, in which Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan Kenobi are talking about the Chancellor’s behavior, and his long term stay in office. Among the deleted stuff that we never got to see were the extended scenes that took place on the planet Kashyyyk. There was a sequence that showed Yoda fighting off clones during Order 66. This scene would have made his farewell with the Wookiees more meaningful since we could have seen how close he was with them.

Allegedly, another moment that was cut from the film during Order 66 was the death of Master Luminara Unduli, which showed her and her apprentice Bariss Offee being killed by clones. In current canon, Luminara's death happens later on, in the times of the Empire.

There was another scene featuring Master Yoda that didn’t make the final cut of the film that appears in the novelization. This scene takes place after the battle of Obi-Wan and Anakin in Mustafar, and features Yoda meditating and speaking to the late Qui-Gon Jin. Qui-Gon would have led him to the secret to becoming a Force Ghost. This inspired a crucial moment in season six of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, where Qui-Gon leads Yoda to Dagobah and the Force Priestesses. A deleted scene of Yoda's arrival on Dagobah made its way onto the film's DVD.

One of the most striking deleted scenes from Revenge of the Sith was that of Padme and Anakin’s meeting on Mustafar. Originally, Padme would have arrived on the planet carrying a knife in her hand, trying to kill Anakin. She would not have been able to in the end, and Obi-Wan would have stepped in for the duel.

All these scenes were amazing, yet the one scene that takes thme all down, is the scrapped scene where Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he created him using the Force. In the scene, Palpatine tells Anakin that he manipulated his mother’s midi-chlorians and created Anakin. This was scripted at one point but later scrapped.

It would be great to see some of the archived scenes, yet even now, Revenge of the Sith remains one of the best films in the Star Wars saga.

Written By Christopher Giron

Source(s): Cinema Blend, Screen Rant, Star Wars Analyst

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