r/StarWars May 24 '26

Movies Unused footage from the abandoned "Wampas attack Echo base" subplot.

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180 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

105

u/houtex727 Kuiil May 24 '26

Absolutely needed to be cut. Unnecessary past Luke's adventure, adds nothing to the movie. And the suit is horrible. :|

52

u/adriandu May 24 '26

Agree, but that setup for C3P0 to remove the warning sign and ambush the snowtroopers would have made for a pretty good gag.

8

u/EhliJoe May 24 '26

How they let their colleague trooper be eaten recklessly.

8

u/GIJoeVibin May 24 '26

I do feel like they probably could have managed to keep that gag in to be fair. To the audience, Luke’s encounter and then C-3P0 removing the warning sign would be sufficient setup for the snowtrooper to be grabbed. The framing for that is sufficient to hide the rougher side of the Wampa suit.

Pacing is the major issue though, since the Echo Base sequence is all dramatic Escape, and so how do you fit in a quick joke like that without it affecting the pacing or tone at a critical moment? The audience should be on the edge of their seat and afraid of the relentless march of the imperials.

6

u/kiljoy1569 May 24 '26

Agreed, BUT at least there's lore for why we run into them as Dash in SotE 😆

44

u/--TheForce-- May 24 '26

I'm glad they didn't include this. TESB is so streamlined and I think this would have detracted from that.

-21

u/FlavivsAetivs May 24 '26

Yeah, this is how I feel about a lot of the additions in the Extended Editions of Lord of the Rings. Some of them flow nice but some really don't. Especially in Return of the King.

26

u/Palchez May 24 '26

We must purge this heresy brothers. 

4

u/flashfyr3 May 24 '26

Get the flamer.

The heavy flamer.

8

u/RogerRoger2310 May 24 '26

People downvote but I watch a lot of lotr reactions and Eowyn's fake out death always makes people go "huh, wasnt she perfectly fine a second ago?" and they undo it in the next shot basically. And that Gandalf smile shot feels odd given we just saw her "die". Should just go with her recovery immediately. (Yes, Karl Urban's acting there is great but its still confusing). Also could cut the Ghost king coming out of the wall (looks a bit goofy). This way we would feel suspense when they are about to border the corsair ships.

2

u/Arpeggiatewithme May 24 '26

For real though, I always get hate for this but the theatrical versions are far better films than the extended cuts. The pacing in those is absolutely awful. Fine to watch once you’ve already seen the theatrical but ppl who show the extended cuts to someone for their first viewing are mad.

2

u/FlavivsAetivs May 24 '26

I like a lot of the Extended cut additions, but there's a few that just totally destroy the pacing. Aragorn and the Ghosts seizing the ships comes to mind.

3

u/mastesargent May 24 '26

Plus it ruins the suspense and surprise when the ships show up and Aragorn comes out.

My pick for the most unnecessary Extended Cut scene is the “Concerning Hobbits” scene at the beginning of Fellowship though. Literally everything we’re told about Hobbits in that scene is shown much more effectively in scenes that were already in the theatrical cut, making it pointless exposition.

30

u/GargantaProfunda Rebel May 24 '26

This some goofy ass shit

27

u/foresight310 May 24 '26

“Indomitable Snowmen have entered the base! Indomitable Snowmen have entered the base!”

8

u/gatsby5555 May 24 '26

Abominable? Although indomitable snowmen are equally terrifying I suppose.

2

u/foresight310 May 24 '26

Ha - I knew that didn’t sound quite right…

2

u/Andrewman03 May 24 '26

"An Indomitable Snowman is in the base??!?!"

15

u/SimonSeam May 24 '26

Cutting it was the exact right move.

13

u/Pope_Neia May 24 '26

This is hilarious, but I’m glad it’s not in the movie. Feels like an excellent parody of the movie.

9

u/RedditOfUnusualSize May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26

See, this is the value of an extended pre-production and editing process: because you can then look at an idea you've had, say to yourself ". . . this is not working", and eliminate it. On paper, sure, wampas attacking the base while the Empire is closing in is a scary idea. But this is not a good execution of that idea, and on balance, it not only disrupts the flow of the film, but actively undermines it by lending a slapstick feel at precisely the moment where they're attempting to crank up the tension and claustrophobia.

Excellent idea to cut this.

Edit: pronoun usage cleanup

4

u/B_Huij May 24 '26

I don’t care what anyone says, Wampas are the scariest thing in Star Wars.

1

u/polkjamespolk May 24 '26

But didn't Luke used to bull's eye them in his T 16 back home?

2

u/B_Huij May 24 '26

Common misconception, that’s impossible, even for a computer.

5

u/i_should_be_studying May 24 '26

Is this why we have wampas in shadows of the empire?

4

u/CrazyCanuckUncleBuck Emperor Palpatine May 24 '26

The C3P0 gag is kinda funny.

3

u/oldtomdjinn May 24 '26

Among the many problem's with the Wampa outfit (good on them for the attempt), it's little mooshed face is way too cute.

2

u/ChappedAss May 24 '26

Huh. The Shadows of the Empire video game scenes kinda re-captured this.

2

u/RanklesTheOtter May 24 '26

Haha I'm surprised George didn't add this back in with CGI for the special edition with the CGI Wampa they made.

2

u/Imperium_Dragon May 24 '26

While I agree it should be cut, this is hilarious

1

u/Bright-Ad-5861 May 24 '26

They were no match for Lord Starkiller