Good news and bad. We will get to see some of the deleted scenes fromStar Wars: The Force Awakenswhen the DVD and Blu-ray arrive this spring. But we won’t get to see this addition footage placed back in the movie itself as part of adirector’s extended cut.J.J. Abramsconfirmed the news withEntertainment Weekly, hinting at what we can expect to see in just a few months. He bluntly states the following.
“There will be deleted scenes, but not an extended version.
Just from the trailers released before the movie, we know that there are a number of moments that didn’t make it into this long awaited sequel, including a scene atResistanceHeadquarters, whereMaz Kanatagives PrincessLeiaLuke’s old lightsaber. And anyone who has traipsed through a toy store lately has noticed action figures for characters that aren’t in the movie, such as Constable Zuvio and Goss Towers, both of whom wound up on the cutting room floor.J.J. Abramswas asked what the longest cut of the film was before he edited it down to 2 hours and 16 minutes for the theatrical release.He saidthis.
“I don’t know what the longest cut was. Probably, if it were with credits, close to two hours and 50 minutes was the first cut.”
Unlike the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy, which have been constantly updated and given a CGI facelift by creatorGeorge Lucas, it doesn’t sound likeJ.J. Abramsis going to go back and tinker with his final cut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Along with the Constable Zuvio scenes, and the moment where Maz meets Leia, missing from the movie is a scene where Kylo Ren turns on his lightsaber in the forest. No other deleted scenes have been revealed yet, butJ.J. Abramshas said a number of things were cut at the last minute.
While speaking withEntertainment Weekly,J.J. Abramsrefused to give an update onStar Wars: Episode VIII. He would only comment on how great a writer directorRian Johnsonis, and that he is really excited to see the movie. He did have a few comments about Star Wars: The Force Awakens' booming success at the box office. The sci-fi sequel is currently the highest grossing domestic release of all time with more than $770 million in ticket sales four weeks after release. He says this.
“I’m grateful to anyone who has gone to see the movie. When I hear, anecdotally, people have gone seven or eight times. I just want to apologize to, I’m guessing, their parents. I can’t believe that it’s done. It was three years of very tense work by a lot of people. I’m just so happy that all the work that everyone did. Even the people who you don’t see in the movie - the puppeteers who were painted out, I watched them in 125-degree heat in Abu Dhabi bringing BB-8 to life, and then we mercilessly painted them out in the movie. I’m just so glad that people get to see all the work that this amazing cast and crew did. Whatever the numbers are, honestly I’m just so grateful the movie is out there and has been well received.”
More about the Star Wars: The Force Awakens deleted scenes will likely come to light in the next few months leading up to the big home video launch, which will surely be one of the biggest in history. No official DVD/Blu-ray release date has been announced, but the movie is already available for VOD pre-order at a number of streaming retailers. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is expected to be available on VOD this spring, perhaps April, with a May 4th (the official Star Wars day) DVD and Blu-ray release heavily speculated. We’ll be sure to update you when the official release date comes in. What do you think? Are you disappointed that there is no Extended Cut?
