How much Star Wars have you watched in your lifetime? Sequels, prequels, originals, anthologies, holiday specials, you’ve probably seen all of them (I confess to skipping on the latter. And Solo. Take that Disney). The more obsessed, sorry, passionate, of you have also poured over a galaxy’s worth of deleted scenes – you think Hayden Christensen was bad in the actual films, just wait (easy target, I know).
Since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters though, many hours have been spent dissecting all the implications that Emperor Palpatine’s return has brought in tow. Yes, cinema’s most famous Scottish supervillain actor has a starring role in the film, which whatever the mixed reaction from audiences, has gone down rather well.
So, we’ve got fans of Palpatine, and we’ve got fans of deleted scenes. Draw the Deleted Palpascene Venn diagram and you’ll find an intersection of soon-to-be disappointed people. And that’s because Rise of Skywalker Visual Effects Supervisor Patrick Tubach has spoken to Yahoo! and snuffed the hope that any substantial deleted scenes with the character exist.
Here’s the killing blow in full:
I don’t think there’s anything you haven’t really seen. J.J. would always shoot variations on scenes — that’s the natural moviemaking process. But to my knowledge there’s no alternative version [of Palpatine’s story]. We change camera angles, we change lighting, maybe there’s a dialogue variation. It’s just naturally what we do.
Cold, clinical and calculated, like Disney’s promotional strategy – I should have my own sting. Tubach’s comments can be taken at face value, too, as I think it’s unlikely he’s trying to contain Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker deleted scene spoilers, but we won’t know for certain until its home video release. Given that it hasn’t even finished its theatrical run yet though, that won’t be for a number of weeks.
At the moment, Tubach’s word is all we have to go on. But is he a man of his word? Is he a double-agent? Are Disney operating a global conspiracy to deny true Star Wars fans Palpatine footage too subversive for execs to handle? Only time will tell.