Actor Dishes on ‘Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker’ Scenes No One Got to See
Although it wasn’t exactly despised, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was not a universally loved conclusion to the saga. Numerous fans wanted a much different movie. It seems there might be a much different version of this movie in the Disney Vault. Actor Dominic Monaghan said numerous scenes J. J. Abrams shot for the movie didn’t make it to theaters. Here’s what we know about the deleted scenes.
Dominic Monaghan says ‘so much’ was removed from new ‘Star Wars’
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Monaghan come forward to state much of the footage shot for The Rise of Skywalker remains unused. Monaghan, who plays the minor role of Beaumont Kin in the film, told the outlet “I wasn’t there all the time, but even in the short time that I was there, there was so much stuff filmed that didn’t make it to the theatrical version.”
Monaghan said the deleted footage from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker included longer scenes with his character as well as Kelly Marie Tran’s character, Rose Tico, and Billie Lourd’s character, Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix. He explained “Another thing that we will hopefully see at some point in the future is that in the final battle, Connix injures her leg. Obviously, myself, Rose and Connix are exiting the battle, and Rose has a weapon. While Rose is busy doing stuff, I grab Connix’s arm and put it over my shoulder to make sure that all of us come back as unscathed as possible.”
Why were the scenes cut?
Although Monaghan confirmed major cuts were made in the film, he would not say if these cuts were made against Abrams’ wishes. He told The Hollywood Reporter “Like a lot of Star Wars fans, I’m hoping there will be a director’s cut so we’ll get to see more and more of the stuff that was filmed.”
Monaghan’s comments could indicate Disney interfered with Abrams’ cut. At the same time, it’s totally possible all of the cuts to the film were made with Abrams’ consent. Perhaps all the cut scenes were subpar and added nothing to the movie.
The film’s editor, Maryann Brandon, told the HuffPost Abrams wanted his movie to only focus on the film’s major characters. “There were a lot of characters in the film, and because J. J. wanted to make this film about a journey of the three main friends and then Rey’s conflict with Kylo Ren, it became very hard to service a lot more characters.” Monaghan’s scenes may have been excised due to pacing issues.
Will it be long before we see the deleted scenes?
Whether Abrams liked these deleted scenes or not is irrelevant to some fans. Many would still like to see the deleted scenes to understand what The Rise of Skywalker could have been. Will Disney ever allow the public to see what was removed from the film?
Only time will tell. It sometimes took years for removed Star Wars scenes to see the light of day. For example, a deleted scene from 1983’s Return of the Jedi that depicts Luke Skywalker crafting his lightsaber did not surface until 2010, reports The Wrap.
Maybe the deleted scenes from The Rise of Skywalker will be released from the Disney Vault. Maybe they won’t. If the scenes are released, hopefully they’re some of the crowning achievements of the Star Wars empire.
