The original Star Wars film trilogy is (rightfully) regarded as one of the best sci-fi epics ever put to screen. The films’ narrative arcs are near-perfect, the special effects are still impressive in many ways, and the pacing of character development is just right.
That’s not to say there isn’t anything the original movies couldn’t have explained more. Even in such a lauded trilogy, there are some characters who play larger roles in the story than is implied on screen and some concepts that could have used a little more screen time.
10 Concept: Two Death Stars
The reveal of a second Death Star was a surprise to many when the trilogy first debuted, but the movie’s explanation made sense. The second Death Star was rebuilt to have none of the flaws of the first, and the rebels were only able to destroy it because it was still under construction.
Some questions remain unanswered, though. As Clerks’ Randall famously mentions, what about all of the innocent people on the Death Star when it exploded? While they made for great spectacles on-screen, the Death Stars raise a lot of questions that weren’t fully explained.
9 Character: Lobot
Lobot was Lando Calrissian’s former smuggling coworker, his aide when Lando became the Baron of Cloud City, and was once in charge of running battlefield simulations for the Empire. The audience only finds this out by digging deep into side Star Wars content, though, as his role in Episode V is extremely minor.
He became well-known for the cranial cyborg implants that granted him enhanced capabilities, but aside from that just kind of stands there and takes orders in Episode V. Going into Lando’s history would be one thing, but Lobot’s history with the empire and smuggling is just begging for an explanation.
8 Concept: Alderaan Pre-Destruction
Alderaan in Episode IV is only presented from space, as a planet. We never see Leia’s homeworld in the original trilogy, except of course for its destruction. While later movies did show scenes on Alderaan and explained some more about this planet, it still would have been nice to have some more background.
Alderaan was a peaceful planet, focused on diplomacy and international relations. It was Leia’s homeworld after her adoption, whereas Luke went to Tattooine. The loss of an entire planet might have been more impactful if the audience knew anything more about it.
7 Character: Grand Moff Tarkin
Grand Moff Tarkin is among the most intimidating and nefarious villains in Science Fiction, and he is only on-screen for less than 10 minutes total in Episode IV. Peter Cushing, the actor who played Grand Moff Tarkin, even wore slippers while on-set.
He is one of the few people who could stand up to Darth Vader despite having no connection to the Force, and his role as a Grand Moff in the hierarchy is barely explained. The original trilogy might have felt a bit more menacing if Tarkin made appearances past A New Hope.
6 Concept: Jabba The Hutt’s Cartel
Jabba the Hutt is an abhorrent creature who just happens to be in charge of the Hutt cartel, one of the most powerful cartels in the Star Wars universe. He commands the underground of Tattooine, and employed Han Solo for smuggling jobs regularly.
Aside from a rather silly bonus scene added to recent releases of Episode IV, this is all we know about Jabba before Episode VI. He is simply shown in a den of mobsters and the galaxy’s most wanted, and previous films could have done more to build up to his reveal.
5 Character: IG-88 (And The Rest Of The Bounty Hunters)
The Bounty Hunters are shown in a scene where Darth Vader hires them in Episode V, and are some of the most original-looking characters in the whole Star Wars franchise. It’s too bad, then, that only one (Boba Fett) got more screen time.
IG88, Dengar, 4-Lom, Bossk, and Zuckuss are all bounty hunters who remain unnamed in the movies but have such rich, interesting backstories that it’s a shame they were never shown on-screen.
4 Concept: “Grey Jedi” Luke
Luke, towards the end of the original trilogy, was beginning to turn to the dark side, if only slightly. The Dagobah Swamp foretold him of this fate, and his all-black outfit was symbolic of his darker attitude in Return of the Jedi.
Aside from his choice of clothing and his aggressive fighting style in Episode VI, not much else is shown to imply his slow descent and redemption at the end of the trilogy. The white collar of his black outfit pokes out in the fight, symbolizing his inner good, but audiences weren’t given much reason to believe he had any inner bad.
3 Character: Biggs Darklighter
Biggs Darklighter was one of Luke’s best friends on Tattooine and joined the rebellion against the Galactic Empire right around the same time. They were reunited before the battle of the first Death Star, but Biggs died in the assault.
Losing his friend bolsters Luke on, but it’s one of those on-screen friendships that the audience doesn’t fully connect to. Perhaps a few more lines of dialogue about life back home or even a flash of him at the beginning of Episode IV on Tattooine would have made the friendship feel more real.
2 Concept: The Vast Power Of The Galactic Empire
The Galactic Empire’s might and influence are incredibly vast. It’s too bad all we see of that vast power is Stormtroopers who stand around and two separate (but similar) giant space spheres. The Empire influences regular people to work for them, has its hand in interplanetary politics, and has much more than just military power.
The sequel movies did a good job of showing the might of an empire that spans the universe. The First Order had its fingers in a lot of pies, so to speak, and their presence was felt throughout the trilogy. The Empire is intimidating, but they sort of just show up and engage the plot.
1 Character: Boba Fett
Boba Fett becoming the iconic Star Wars character he is today is nothing short of astounding, considering how much time he actually spends on-screen. He is a silent presence who shows up in Cloud City, freezes Han, then dies quickly in Episode VI after several major failures.
Nowadays much more is known about this enigmatic character, thanks to Episode II: Attack of the Clones, The Mandalorian, and other spin-off Star Wars media. Originally, though, he was just the guy who froze Han – and maybe, all things considered, that was cool enough for 80’s audiences.
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