Luke Skywalker building his lightsaber? You probably never saw this deleted scene from Return of the Jedi! – Movie News

A deleted scene from Return of the Jedi with Luke Skywalker in Obi-Wan Kenobi's cabin that establishes a direct link between him and Darth Vader? Yes, you heard correctly: this scene exists!

Decades ago, thanks to George Lucas, Star Wars came to life. Featuring Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia's quest to overthrow the tyrannical Galactic Empire, the original trilogy that began in 1977 finally culminated in Return of the Jedi in 1983.

Peppered with moments that have now become staples of modern pop culture, the final film's impact might have been even more resounding if the film's runtime had allowed for more scenes and prevented them from being deleted during editing.

One of these abandoned scenes also allowed a link to be established between Mark Hamill's character and that of his famous father who became a Sith Lord. However, this scene had considerable importance for the story as well as for the development arc of Luke's character and Darth Vader's hope to make him switch to the dark side of the Force.

Luke and Darth Vader, linked

The Empire Strikes Back gave us one of the most iconic lines in cinema because of the shocking revelation it implied: “I am your father” said Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker. Return of the Jedi took this moment of confused parentage and ramped it up a notch. While the truth of paternity is finally confirmed and sealed in this film, its delivery would have been even more fitting if a deleted scene showing the character of Mark Hamill building his lightsaber had been kept in the original project.

The sequence, as detailed by the franchise's official website (via FandomWire), featured the young Jedi alongside R2-D2, in Obi-Wan Kenobi's cabin on Tatooine, putting the finishing touches on a new lightsaber after losing his father's blue-bladed one in the previous film, while C-3PO stood guard outside. The final pieces he needed to rebuild his lightsaber were thus found in Obi-Wan's cabin.

Meanwhile, from his meditation chamber and through the Force, Darth Vader was calling out to his son. Luke, for his part, was also hearing the message but ignoring it, a message that can be heard in the scene above as a ruse to turn him to the dark side. But when his lightsaber lit up green instead of blue, it meant a lot: a crucial clash of ideologies between a father and a son, a symbolism that would have been crucial in the film.

Another Darth Vader Scene Deleted

Lucasfilm Ltd.

According to CBR, there was also an alleged scene in which Moff Jerjerrod, the commander of the Death Star II, tried to stop Darth Vader from entering and speaking directly to Emperor Palpatine. Darth Vader then attempted to strangle the officer as well as two royal guards, before finally realizing that this was his master's order that they were obeying.

Surprised, he then let go of Jerjerrod and the guards, after which the officer even gave him a smug look: enough to diminish the character of Darth Vader considerably. This moment would not only have highlighted the helpless situation he was facing at that moment, but would have also revealed one of his vulnerabilities – but perhaps also would not have been more appealing to the fans, which is why it would have been left aside.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, like the entire saga, can be watched again in streaming on Disney+.