George Lucas originally intended for Star Wars to be just one movie. However, after the blockbuster released to rave reviews back in 1977, he then released two more sequels. The Empire Strikes Back is arguably the best of the Star Wars saga, and it hit theatres three years after the original film. It saw heroes Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo battle to keep the villainous Empire at bay, with Darth Vader acting as the perfect antagonist. It's near-flawless from start to finish and, at two hours and seven minutes long, absolutely flies by.
Yet, it could have been even longer had the nine deleted scenes from the DVD and Blu-ray editions of the movie been included in the final cut. We'll now take a look through them, ranking them in chronological order as we go.
9 Luke's Recovery
Luke finds himself in a spot of bother during the early stages of the movie. He's attacked by a wampa and taken home to be the creature's dinner, only escaping after using the force to summon his lightsaber. Mark Hamill's character then ventures out into the cold, but nearly dies. Han Solo is able to come to his aid, and Rebel soldiers later turn up, too, whisking him away to safety.
Afterward, fans see Luke in his Bacta Tank. There seems little risk of him perishing at this point, but an omitted moment actually adds to the tension. Filmed in black and white, it shows Han and Leia waiting anxiously for news on their friend's condition with C3-PO and Chewbacca also on edge. Fortunately, the good news is delivered, and the droid working on Luke says that he's "presently out of danger." His friends, understandably, celebrate the news with hugs all around.
8 Leia And Luke's Even More Awkward Kiss
Hindsight has made the kiss between Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa extremely odd to watch. For a while in the saga, they seemed as though they could genuinely become romantically involved, despite the latter also catching the eye of Han Solo. But, it's revealed in Return of the Jedi that they're actually siblings, making their fleeting smooch in the previous movie all the more awkward to witness.
That's bad enough, but the deleted scene makes it even worse. Leia lovingly brushes Luke's hair after his Wampa attack before leaning in. They're cut short by the arrivals of C3-PO and R2-D2, and that's certainly a good thing, because a few seconds later and all sorts could have happened. Leia is then enraged when Luke tells of his plans to go to Dagobah, calling both the Jedi and Han "moon jockeys." As far as insults go, we're not sure that one would have been particularly hard-hitting.
7 Han And Leia Extended Row
Despite the fact they up together after the events of Return of the Jedi, Han and Leia's relationship isn't always plain sailing, and that's definitely the case during the early stages of The Empire Strikes Back, with the pair having a big argument in the hallway of the Rebel Alliance's base on Hoth. Sure, there are definitely romantic undertones. But, if you watch the extended version of this row, you'll certainly be left wondering whether they were ever meant to be with each other.
Han oversteps by saying that Leia was too busy leading the Rebel Alliance to be a proper woman, comments that have definitely aged badly. For that reason alone, we understand why it wasn't included. He also bigs himself up by saying he could have "taught her," and Leia definitely didn't need any teaching. It belittles Carrie Fisher's character, so it's for the best this ended up on the cutting room floor.
6 Wampa On The Loose
We've already touched upon Wampas but they, too, were part of a deleted scene—and it's a good one, too. As all of the Rebels scramble to get away from Hoth and out of the clutches of the Empire, one of the planet's local creatures pops up and ends up going on a rampage.
Rebels try and shoot it down, but to no avail, and, when the stormtroopers show up, they also fail. It chases after R2-D2 at one point and nearly goes up against Darth Vader, choosing to feast on an imperial officer instead. The stormtroopers look at Vader as though they expect him to intervene, but, without saying a word, he walks away with that iconic march of his.
5 General Veers' Fate Revealed
General Veers is an imperial officer who leads the attack on the Hoth Rebel base. He sits within one of the Empire's formidable AT-AT's and is successful at getting the shields down, making him a hero within his villainous organization in the process. He then survives a close shave with death to lead the attack alongside Vader, though he doesn't appear again after this.
However, it seems he was originally intended to be killed off. A cut clip from TESB, which isn't finished, shows his AT-AT being downed, leaving him to die via a fireball within. Given the animation isn't done and the effects haven't been added, this is shown by moving sketches, instead.
4 More Yoda And Luke Training
One of The Empire Strikes Back's most iconic scenes is when Luke Skywalker and Yoda train together on Dagobah. The young Jedi struggles while being put through his paces, famously giving in to the dark side when he faces an illusion of Darth Vader inside a cave. A deleted scene shows him struggling some more, albeit without adding much in the way of plot or substance.
At one point, Luke is carrying Yoda while the Order 66 survivor is carrying what seems to be a weight in his hand. Talk about complicating matters, right? Anyway, the weight drops, and Luke scrambles to stop it. There's then an unusual clip of him swinging his lightsaber at something he can't see As we've already said, it didn't add anything new to the sequence fans got in the theatrical release, so we're glad it wasn't included. Seeing Luke swinging at thin air certainly wouldn't have done his character development any good...
3 Hiding In The Asteroid
While Luke and Yoda are getting up close and personal on Dagobah, Han Solo, and Leia, C3-PO, and R2-D2 are all forced to hide within an asteroid to avoid being captured by Imperial forces. Well, what they think is an asteroid, at least.
You probably already know that, of course, but an omitted sequence from the DVD and Blu-ray shows Leia being on red alert holding what appears to be a normal drill in her hand. Like the scene above, it didn't make sense to include it. We believe it slows things down and takes away some of the suspense. They later find out they're actually inside the mouth of a giant creature and they're lucky to get away to safety. Imperial forces will, of course, catch up with them again further down the line...
2 Lobot's Sacrifice
There are several cult heroes within Star Wars despite some characters doing precious little to get such acclaim, and Lobot is certainly one of them. He wears a funky pair of headphones over his ears and says precious little, but yet, he still carries out the orders of Lando Calrissian, his superior. A deleted scene shows just how much he's willing to do for his boss despite what it means for himself.
Lobot attracts the attention of stormtroopers on the planet of Bespin while attempting to get away, but it's merely a diversion. It allows Lando to usher Chewbacca and Leia out of the area to safety, with the trio attempting to get to Han Solo in time following his freezing in Carbonite. Ultimately, they're unsuccessful, but, while that's infuriating, it does up the stakes for Return of the Jedi, which released three years later.
1 Luke Asks About Han
After Luke has his hand sliced off by Darth Vader, fans see him interacting with his father via the force. But, it seems as though Lucas had plans to up the romantic tension between Skywalker and Leia some more.
She kisses him on the lips, helps heal his dismembered limb, and also fills him in on what's happened to Han. Due to the twist about the pair being siblings, we're glad this didn't make it into the final edition. Like, really glad...
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