Star Wars: 20 Things George Lucas Deleted From The Original Trilogy

Star Wars 20 Things George Lucas Deleted From The Original Trilogy From Han Shot First To The Nightmare Emperor Star Wars original trilogy deletions, Special Edition changes, and George Lucas's 40 year war on his own films finally get sorted in order. From Han Solo shooting Greedo first in 1977, to the practical chimpanzee-eyed Emperor replaced with Ian McDiarmid, to Sebastian Shaw's Force ghost erased in favor of Hayden Christensen, this ranked breakdown covers what Lucas cut before release and everything he kept reaching back to delete decades later. Spotlight Moments: -Luke's Nellith sister storyline gets scrapped at the script stage, only becoming Leia after Empire's writing was already in motion. -The Anchorhead and Tosche Station sequence with Biggs Darklighter turns Luke from lonely dreamer to a teenager leaving a real life behind. Jabba the Hutt is originally played by Declan Mulholland in 1977, dug back up 20 years later, and covered with a CGI slug. -The word Sith is spoken by an Imperial officer in a cut 1977 conference scene, 22 years before Phantom Menace. -Obi-Wan originally decapitates Ponda Baba in the Cantina, and softening it to a severed arm creates the infamous furry hand continuity error. -A whole subplot of wampas breaking into Echo Base and getting used against Snowtroopers turns the Hoth evacuation into horror. -David Prowse actually performs the line "Obi-Wan killed your father" on set, with James Earl Jones secretly dubbing in "I am your father" later. -Harrison Ford deletes the scripted "I love you too" and improvises "I know" on the day, immortalizing Han Solo forever. -A full sandstorm sequence is cut from Return of the Jedi, which is why every classic Tatooine action figure wears goggles and cloaks for weather that never made the film. -Moff Jerjerrod's cut scenes give the Empire a rare flicker of conscience about firing the superlaser on Endor. -Female rebel pilots are filmed for the Battle of Endor, then cut or dubbed over by American men because 1983 audiences supposedly weren't ready. -A cut scene reveals Yoda personally forbade Obi-Wan from telling Luke the truth about Vader, shifting the entire moral weight of the deception. Lucas adds Luke's falling scream in 1997, then deletes his own insertion in 2004. -Jason Wingreen's grizzled American Boba Fett voice is deleted after 20 years and replaced with Temuera Morrison to match the prequels. -The nightmarish 1980 Emperor hologram with chimpanzee eyes is deleted in 2004 and replaced with Ian McDiarmid. -The tribal Ewok Yub Nub song is deleted from the Return of the Jedi ending and replaced with orchestral Victory Celebration. -Jabba's gritty practical puppet band and Lapti Nek are replaced with the CGI Jedi Rocks musical number. -Sebastian Shaw's Force ghost is deleted and replaced with a young Hayden Christensen, changing the meaning of Anakin's redemption. -Greedo now yells "maclunkey" in the 2019 Disney Plus release, the final baffling band-aid on a 20 year edit war. -The 35mm film grain of the original trilogy is digitally scrubbed away across every rerelease, deleting the physical texture of the films themselves. -Han Solo shoots Greedo first in 1977, and Lucas's 1997 recut deletes three seconds that defined the entire character. For Star Wars fans, saga preservationists, and anyone who grew up on the theatrical originals, this is only the confirmed and documented deletions, in order. Smash the like button, subscribe for weekly saga deep dives, and tell us in the comments. Which Lucas deletion do you want back the most, Han shooting first or the nightmare Emperor?