Star Wars: The Last Jedi Deleted Scenes Clips & Breakdown

Star Wars: The Last Jedi will soon reach its destination to homes everywhere with its impending Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD release, packed with all the extra amenities that one would, and should, expect. Now, one of its main incentives, the included deleted scenes, have been revealed with extensive descriptions.

The scenes from Star Wars: The Last Jedi that director Rian Johnson, unfortunately, had to leave on the cutting room floor have been revealed, well, five of them, anyway. While the set will include a total of 14 deleted scenes, EW has provided detailed descriptions for what seem to be the most crucial ones.

Here’s how the scenes break down:

A Different Phasma Showdown

Captain Phasma, who came into The Force Awakens with significant hype as a formidable villain, only to disappoint, came across slightly better in The Last Jedi with her confrontation with Finn. However, it seems that a deeper facet of Phasma’s character was revealed in one deleted scene, which takes place after Finn managed to crack through her helmet with his “traitor” baton, leaving some of her face exposed. After sustaining the visage-revealing helmet damage, Phasma ruthlessly shoots some of her own Stormtroopers, lest they live to see even a portion of her face.

Interestingly, now that this scene has been officially released (in the video above), we now know that another reason why Phasma shot the Stormtroopers was to silence them, since Finn brought up her previous cowardice when – at gunpoint – she lowered the shields of Starkiller Base (as seen in The Force Awakens), which led to its destruction. Plus, we get to witness the obligatory delivery of a signature Star Wars wound.

Considering how fans keep clamoring to see Phasma do something in the films other than get humiliated, one may wonder why this moment was cut. Well, Johnson chalks it up to “pacing,” explaining, “[W]e needed a much more condensed version of that scene, where essentially it’s the same outcome.

BB-8 Reveals Rey’s Goodbye

It could be the case that the “BB” in BB-8 means “Big Brother.” That’s because in one deleted scene – connected to another deleted scene in which Finn contemplates quitting the Resistance – the rolling droid companion drives some sense into the ambivalent former Stormtrooper by showing him a touching hologram recording of Rey (who’s since left for Ahch-To,) doting over his bedside while he was still comatose from the wounds inflicted by Kylo Ren at the end of The Force Awakens.

Ultimately, Johnson explains that Finn’s motivation to remain with the Resistance was effectively conveyed enough by his interactions with Rose. However, he does lament the loss of the scene, since it also shows a somewhat sinister facet to BB-8’s personality. According to Johnson, “I miss [Finn actor John Boyega’s] line, ‘That’s kind of creepy you recorded that.’”

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Rey and the Raiders of the Caretaker Village

Luke’s apparent passivity about the woes of the galaxy is clearly a major theme in the movie, and a source of his dramatic tension with Rey. However, in one deleted scene on Ahch-To, Rey witnesses the village of the alien “Nuns” get raided by one of the local warring tribes. While Rey is anxious to ignite her lightsaber and help fend off the attack, an argument ensues after Luke warns her to stand down, reasoning that the attackers would only later return with greater reinforcements.

This scene was designed to drive home the division between the philosophies of Luke and Rey, also playing into Rey’s next Force-facetime with Kylo Ren, further sowing the seeds of her possible Dark Side turn. Yet, as Johnson explains of the omission, “When we take that segment out, suddenly she’s coming into that Force connection after leaving things in a hopeful place with Luke, at the end of the temple lesson.”

Luke in Mourning

While we saw Rey drop the bombshell of Han Solo’s death on Luke, we only witnessed a brief morose moment, after which Luke stormed back into his hut, slamming the door behind him. However, in one deleted scene, set inside the hut, we see Luke alone, with tears welling in eyes over the news of his friend’s death, which then cuts – in an Empire Strikes Back Bespin escape manner – to Leia, presumably through the Force, who is simultaneously feeling Luke’s visceral moment of grief across the galaxy.

While Luke’s full reaction after learning about the death of Han was one of the film’s most anticipated moments, it was cut from the film, since pacing demanded that the story move forward to what Luke and Rey were doing on the island. Johnson explains, “I was very sorry to lose it. I think it’s a beautiful performance from Mark Hamill. But, I think that we get a similar beat with him, later when he’s in the Falcon with R2.”

The Supremacy Infiltration

While we did get to see Finn and Rose sneak around the mega-destroyer disguised in First Order officer uniforms, one deleted scene reminded us that the former still has his share of acquaintances amongst the helmeted legions. While walking through the halls, Finn – not hidden by a helmet – is recognized from his days as “FN-2187” by a Stormtrooper. However, rather than calling for backup, the trooper, shockingly, greets Finn in a friendly manner, congratulating him on his apparent promotion to officer.

The scene, obviously a humorous one, was not only a reminder of Finn’s former occupation, but a method of revealing how the First Order handles its intergalactic PR. As Johnson explains, “The implication from the exchange is that this was obviously an embarrassment that this [defection] happened with Finn, and that First Order didn’t let the info get out, as much as they could. The tension is broken by the fact that he doesn’t really know the story of what happened with Finn.”

You can check out those deleted scenes and loads of other goodies when Star Wars: The Last Jedi is released on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 27. However, if you can’t wait that long, the digital release drops a fortnight earlier, on March 13.