Remember that shot of John Boyega’s Finn lying unconscious in his space-age medical bed that was glimpsed in the trailers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi? When it came to the theatrical cut of the movie, we saw the former Stormtrooper waking up – and hilariously bumping his head on the bed’s protective dome – but we didn’t see that exact moment from the early previews. It turns out that’s because it was part of an abandoned opening sequence for the film, which ended up on the cutting room floor.
Instead of jumping straight into the Resistance’s battle with the First Order over the planet of D’Qar, this alternate opening would have kicked off with Finn, waking up from the coma he slipped into after being beaten by Kylo Ren at the climax of The Force Awakens. It would have created a much more direct link between the end of the previous installment and the start of the next one, too, but was ultimately ditched in place of an intro that leaped into the action faster.
Something Star Wars buffs will note about this version of the opening is that it adheres to the traditional “rule” of how to start a movie in the franchise. Every entry in the saga up until Episode VIII had begun by focusing on a ship in space. The real opening of The Last Jedi, however, ditched this and quickly zoomed down to the action happening on the planet below.
That was just one of the many liberties director Rian Johnson took with the franchise in his film, which has riled up a vocal subset of fans. It’s fair to say this introductory scene would have been far more popular with the nostalgia crowd, then. Especially because it opens on a Hammerhead-Class Corvette – the same ship that featured at the beginning of A New Hope.
Still, Johnson probably made the right choice in going with the opening sequence featured in the movie. With that, he made his statement of intent to break the mold of the franchise very clear to hardcore fans. If this alternate scene was used, it could have promised another reverent love letter to Star Wars‘ past like The Force Awakens, which some may not have been happy with.
Tell us, which opening scene for Star Wars: The Last Jedi do you prefer? Have your say in the comments section down below.