Star Wars Was Right To Cut Luke’s Odd Force Awakens Scene
Star Wars: The Force Awakens cut an original intro featuring Luke Skywalker's severed hand, and there's a reason it was a good decision.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens apparently cut an odd intro scene featuring Luke Skywalker's severed hand, and there's a reason it was a good decision. Disney's new trilogy of Star Wars films, which began with 2015's The Force Awakens, picks up three decades after Return of the Jedi. Though Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) all returned in the trilogy, they mainly took a backseat in the new films. Instead, the movies focused on Rey (Daisy Ridley), a young woman with a mysterious connection to the Force, and Ben Solo/Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Han Solo's wayward son and Luke's former student.
The Empire Strikes Back features the most infamous scene in Star Wars history. Luke and Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) engage in a lightsaber battle towards the film's end, but Luke realizes he's outmatched. Eventually, Vader slices off Luke's hand, which falls away, still gripping the handle of his weapon. Later in the scene, Vader makes the most shocking Star Wars revelation of them all, revealing he's Luke's father. Though Luke is in denial at first, he knows Vader is telling the truth.
Recently, Mark Hamill revealed that The Force Awakens almost had a strange scene referencing Empire Strikes Back. On Twitter, Mark Hamill confirmed a story that Episode VII's original script started with Luke's severed hand floating through space. And it was still clutching his lightsaber. According to Hamill, "The flesh & bone burn away & the lightsaber impales the surface of an unnamed planet." The actor also noted that the scene would've allowed him to bookend the film since he also appears at the end of The Force Awakens. However, Disney left the scene on the cutting room floor for a reason.
The Force Awakens was all about moving Star Wars forward, and Luke's hand would hold it back. The film opens by showcasing the strength and power of Kylo Ren and the First Order, establishing the new threat in the galaxy. Besides its intense opening, the movie also quickly introduces Finn (John Boyega), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and Rey, the characters set to carry the new trilogy. With so much to introduce, a scene featuring Luke's hand would be incredibly out of place. While the scene may ultimately answer how Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o) had Luke's lightsaber in The Force Awakens (the lightsaber presumably lands on Maz's home of Takodana), it would add little to the story besides that.
The scene is also an odd way to kick off a franchise. The Force Awakens was Disney's first big relaunch of Star Wars, marking the first major live-action Star Wars film following the poorly received prequel trilogy. A severed hand traveling through space isn't exactly an appealing opening shot. With the amount of money Disney invested in Star Wars, an odd intro scene could immediately turn fans away or become fodder for memes. Star Wars: The Force Awakens already includes dozens of Easter eggs and references to the original trilogy, so it's good that Disney cut Luke's hand.