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* The original opening crawl, written directly by George Lucas, would be rewritten by an uncredited Creator/BrianDePalma and Jay Cocks in the final film, who worked to tie the crawl's exposition much more closely into the film's opening scene.
-->It is a period of civil wars in the galaxy. A brave alliance of underground freedom fighters has challenged the tyranny and oppression of the awesome GALACTIC EMPIRE.\\
\\
Striking from a fortress hidden among the billion stars of the galaxy, rebel spaceships have won their first victory in a battle with the powerful Imperial Starfleet. The EMPIRE fears that another defeat could bring a thousand more solar systems into the rebellion, and Imperial control over the galaxy would be lost forever.\\
\\
To crush the rebellion once and for all, the EMPIRE is constructing a sinister new battle station. Powerful enough to destroy an entire planet, its completion spells certain doom for the champions of freedom.
-->It is a period of civil wars in the galaxy. A brave alliance of underground freedom fighters has challenged the tyranny and oppression of the awesome GALACTIC EMPIRE.\\
\\
Striking from a fortress hidden among the billion stars of the galaxy, rebel spaceships have won their first victory in a battle with the powerful Imperial Starfleet. The EMPIRE fears that another defeat could bring a thousand more solar systems into the rebellion, and Imperial control over the galaxy would be lost forever.\\
\\
To crush the rebellion once and for all, the EMPIRE is constructing a sinister new battle station. Powerful enough to destroy an entire planet, its completion spells certain doom for the champions of freedom.
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* Creator/PatRoach auditioned for the role for Darth Vader.
* In a strange role reversal, Creator/PeterMayhew could have actually played Darth Vader, while Creator/DavidProwse could have actually played Chewbacca! However, Lucas offered Prowse the choice between Chewbacca and Darth Vader, and Prowse choose to portray Vader as he wasn't interested in "spending three months in a gorilla suit", whilst Mayhew choose to portray Chewbacca because he wanted to play a hero.
* In a strange role reversal, Creator/PeterMayhew could have actually played Darth Vader, while Creator/DavidProwse could have actually played Chewbacca! However, Lucas offered Prowse the choice between Chewbacca and Darth Vader, and Prowse choose to portray Vader as he wasn't interested in "spending three months in a gorilla suit", whilst Mayhew choose to portray Chewbacca because he wanted to play a hero.
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* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller, the third-youngest son of the Rebellion's ancient Jedi leader known only as "the Starkiller". Along with his younger twin brothers Biggs and Windy, Luke was taught the Jedi arts by their uncle Owen Lars at their home on the desert planet Utapau, where they lived with Owen's wife Beru and daughter Leia. When Luke's older brother Deak was about to be captured by the Sith knight Lord Darth Vader, he sent the Kiber Crystal — a crystal which amplified the power of the Force in its bearer — to Luke via Artoo and Threepio, and entrusted Luke with the mission to bring the Crystal to their father on the planet Ogana Major. Luke bought passage to Ogana Major from young space pirate Han Solo and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to an Imperial prison complex in a floating city on the gas giant planet Alderaan. They escaped, rescued Deak, eventually reached the Rebel base on Yavin 4 where Luke was reunited with his father, and ultimately destroyed the space station in a way similar to the Death Star.
to:
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller, the third-youngest son of the Rebellion's ancient Jedi leader known only as "the Starkiller". Along with his younger twin brothers Biggs and Windy, Luke was taught the Jedi fighting arts (though not the Force, which he would learn later) by their uncle Owen Lars at their home on the desert planet Utapau, where they lived with Owen's wife Beru and daughter Leia. When Luke's older brother Deak was about to be captured by the Sith knight Lord Darth Vader, he sent the Kiber Crystal — a crystal which amplified the power of the Force in its bearer — to Luke via Artoo and Threepio, and entrusted Luke with the mission to bring the Crystal to their father on the planet Ogana Major. Luke bought passage to Ogana Major from young space pirate Han Solo and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to an Imperial prison complex in a floating city on the gas giant planet Alderaan. They escaped, rescued Deak, eventually reached the Rebel base on Yavin 4 where Luke was reunited with his father, and ultimately destroyed the space station in a way similar to the Death Star.
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--->'''Pacino:''' I remember not understanding the script. I was in ''Film/TheGodfather'' and they didn't care if I was right or wrong for the role or if I could act or not act.
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* Lucas tweaked the story in the process of creating a rough draft in 1974, and then a first draft with some naming changes. The story featured Jedi master Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin, who helped free planets to oppose the evil Empire and its ruler Cos Dashit. As Kane was a cyborg (with only his head and right arm remaining organic) and therefore couldn't adequately teach his son the ways of the Jedi, he arranged for Annikin to train under the tutelage of his old friend Luke Skywalker, a general of the Aquilaean system, while Kane himself joined a hulking reptilian alien named Han Solo to perform a mission. The plot then had Annikin rescuing Princess Leia and joining a tribe of Wookiees (originally envisioned as smaller, with heads like that of "giant bushbabies", and not technologically capable), captained by Chewbacca, in order to defeat the Imperial forces in their jungle homeworld of Yavin. The Empire was interested in conquering Aquilae because it had advanced cloning facilities, and characters like Vader, Artoo and Threepio were already there, at least nominally.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller himself, who had been taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to Beru and father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and the planet Ogana Major, Luke joined young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and eventually reached the Rebel base in Yavin 4, from where they destroyed the station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
* The next drafts increasingly resembled the final ''A New Hope'', but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest. Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller himself, who had been taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to Beru and father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and the planet Ogana Major, Luke joined young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and eventually reached the Rebel base in Yavin 4, from where they destroyed the station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
* The next drafts increasingly resembled the final ''A New Hope'', but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest. Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
to:
* Lucas tweaked the story in the process of creating a rough draft in 1974, and then a first draft with some naming changes. The story featured Jedi master Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin, who helped free planets to oppose the evil Empire and its ruler Cos Dashit. As Kane was a cyborg (with only his head and right arm remaining organic) and therefore couldn't adequately teach his son the ways of the Jedi, he arranged for Annikin to train under the tutelage of his old friend Luke Skywalker, a general of the Aquilaean system, while Kane himself joined a hulking reptilian alien named Han Solo to perform a mission. The plot then had Annikin rescuing Princess Leia and joining a tribe of Wookiees (originally envisioned as smaller, with heads like that of "giant bushbabies", and not technologically capable), captained by Chewbacca, in order to defeat the Imperial forces in their jungle homeworld of Yavin. The Empire was interested in conquering Aquilae because it had advanced cloning facilities, facilities. The two bureaucrats from the film treatment had become two Imperial droids, Artwo and characters like Threepio, who defected to the Aquileans more or less by accident. There were two antagonists who would later be amalgamated as Darth Vader: the Sith knight Prince Espaa Valorum, who was a man of honor and would ultimately make a HeelFaceTurn; and General Darth Vader, Artoo and Threepio were already there, at least nominally.
who was not a Force user.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now LukeStarkiller himself, who had been Starkiller, the third-youngest son of the Rebellion's ancient Jedi leader known only as "the Starkiller". Along with his younger twin brothers Biggs and Windy, Luke was taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to at their home on the desert planet Utapau, where they lived with Owen's wife Beru and daughter Leia. When Luke's older brother Deak was about to be captured by the Sith knight Lord Darth Vader, he sent the Kiber Crystal — a crystal which amplified the power of the Force in its bearer — to Luke via Artoo and Threepio, and entrusted Luke with the mission to bring the Crystal to their father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and on the planet Ogana Major, Major. Luke joined bought passage to Ogana Major from young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a an Imperial prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and city on the gas giant planet Alderaan. They escaped, rescued Deak, eventually reached the Rebel base in on Yavin 4, from 4 where they Luke was reunited with his father, and ultimately destroyed the space station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
Star.
* Thenext drafts increasingly third draft resembled the final ''A New Hope'', Hope'' much more closely, but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them including having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
curmudgeon. Leia's home planet was called Organa Major (with an R), and like Deak in the previous draft she was imprisoned on the Imperial planet of Alderaan rather than on the Death Star itself. The Kiber Crystal also remained a major part of the plot: while the others were rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi went to take back a Kiber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi (in the final film this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship). Ben also survived the entire movie.
* The fourth draft of the script was the one that was filmed, although some changes (such as changing Luke's surname to Skywalker) came at a very late stage.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest.Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke
* The
* The fourth draft of the script was the one that was filmed, although some changes (such as changing Luke's surname to Skywalker) came at a very late stage.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest.
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* In a later draft, Han and Chewbacca do ''not'' actually have a ship when they agree to fly Ben and Luke to Alderaan. They steal the ''Falcon'' just before the passengers arrive. Han's lines bragging about how great his ship is were actually meant to reflect that he was obviously scamming them.
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* In a later the second draft, Han and Chewbacca do ''not'' actually have a ship when they agree to fly Ben and Luke to Alderaan. They steal the ''Falcon'' just before the passengers arrive. Han's lines bragging about how great his ship is were actually meant to reflect that he was obviously scamming them.
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* The general story of what we now know and love as ''Film/ANewHope'', and by extension the entire ''Star Wars'', varied heavily from draft to draft. The very first treatment written in 1973, ''The Journal of the Whills, Part 1'', centered around a "Jedi-bendu" by the name of Mace Windy (not "Windu") and his apprentice, C. 2. "Chuiee" Thorpe. According to the existent plot, Windy worked as a warlord for an Alliance of Independent Systems, but was kicked out because his peers believed he was too powerful, after which he and Thorpe found themselves involved in a mysterious mission. Lucas brought the thing to his agent, Jeff Berg, who was quickly confused by the [[CallARabbitASmeerp massive amounts of jargon]] used in the treatment, and recommended he start simpler.
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* The general story of what we now know and love as ''Film/ANewHope'', and by extension the entire ''Star Wars'', varied heavily from draft to draft. The very first treatment written in 1973, ''The Journal of the Whills, Part 1'', centered around a "Jedi-bendu" by the name of Mace Windy (not "Windu") [[Film/ThePhantomMenace "Windu"]]) and his apprentice, C. 2. "Chuiee" Thorpe. According to the existent plot, Windy worked as a warlord for an Alliance of Independent Systems, but was kicked out because his peers believed he was too powerful, after which he and Thorpe found themselves involved in a mysterious mission. Lucas brought the thing to his agent, Jeff Berg, who was quickly confused by the [[CallARabbitASmeerp massive amounts of jargon]] used in the treatment, and recommended he start simpler.
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They just recycled the name.
Changed line(s) 3 (click to see context) from:
* The general story of what we now know and love as ''Film/ANewHope'', and by extension the entire ''Star Wars'', varied heavily from draft to draft. The very first treatment written in 1973, ''The Journal of the Whills, Part 1'', centered around a "Jedi-bendu" by the name of Mace Windy (who would become the character of Mace Windu in ''The Phantom Menace'') and his apprentice, C. 2. "Chuiee" Thorpe. According to the existent plot, Windy worked as a warlord for an Alliance of Independent Systems, but was kicked out because his peers believed he was too powerful, after which he and Thorpe found themselves involved in a mysterious mission. Lucas brought the thing to his agent, Jeff Berg, who was quickly confused by the [[CallARabbitASmeerp massive amounts of jargon]] used in the treatment, and recommended he start simpler.
to:
* The general story of what we now know and love as ''Film/ANewHope'', and by extension the entire ''Star Wars'', varied heavily from draft to draft. The very first treatment written in 1973, ''The Journal of the Whills, Part 1'', centered around a "Jedi-bendu" by the name of Mace Windy (who would become the character of Mace Windu in ''The Phantom Menace'') (not "Windu") and his apprentice, C. 2. "Chuiee" Thorpe. According to the existent plot, Windy worked as a warlord for an Alliance of Independent Systems, but was kicked out because his peers believed he was too powerful, after which he and Thorpe found themselves involved in a mysterious mission. Lucas brought the thing to his agent, Jeff Berg, who was quickly confused by the [[CallARabbitASmeerp massive amounts of jargon]] used in the treatment, and recommended he start simpler.
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* Darth Vader originally had no powers, and the Force was a general sixth sense and some basic mental tricks, as opposed to the final product, where it's far more powerful.
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* Darth Vader originally had no powers, and the Force was a general sixth sense and some basic mental tricks, as opposed to the final product, product where it's implied by Vader and Obi-Wan to be far more powerful.powerful than that (things like moving objects didn't appear until later entries).
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* Creator/JodieFoster was the original candidate for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLeiaOrgana Princess Leia]] before Creator/CarrieFisher was cast. However, Foster turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Film/TaxiDriver''. Creator/SissySpacek auditioned, while Fisher auditioned for ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'', as Lucas and Creator/BrianDePalma were holding joint auditions and they got each other's roles (Fisher denied the rumor that she chose ''Star Wars'' because she refused to do nudity). Creator/TeriGarr [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqBwnCr3fY also auditioned]], and so did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtT9hrwpE0M Anne-Marie Martin]] (best known as Wendy from ''[[Film/PromNight1980 Prom Night]]'').
* Creator/KarenAllen, Creator/NancyAllen, Creator/ChristineBaranski, Creator/KimBasinger, Creator/BonnieBedelia, Creator/LindaBlair, Creator/GlennClose, Creator/GeenaDavis, Creator/FarrahFawcett, Creator/MelanieGriffith, Creator/CatherineHicks, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/AmyIrving, Creator/MargotKidder, Creator/ChristineLahti, Creator/JessicaLange, Creator/BernadettePeters, Creator/JaneSeymourActress, Creator/CybillShepherd, Creator/MerylStreep, Creator/KathleenTurner, Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Creator/DianneWiest and Creator/DebraWinger also auditioned for the part of Princess Leia before the casting of Fisher.
* Creator/KarenAllen, Creator/NancyAllen, Creator/ChristineBaranski, Creator/KimBasinger, Creator/BonnieBedelia, Creator/LindaBlair, Creator/GlennClose, Creator/GeenaDavis, Creator/FarrahFawcett, Creator/MelanieGriffith, Creator/CatherineHicks, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/AmyIrving, Creator/MargotKidder, Creator/ChristineLahti, Creator/JessicaLange, Creator/BernadettePeters, Creator/JaneSeymourActress, Creator/CybillShepherd, Creator/MerylStreep, Creator/KathleenTurner, Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Creator/DianneWiest and Creator/DebraWinger also auditioned for the part of Princess Leia before the casting of Fisher.
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* Creator/JodieFoster was the original candidate for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLeiaOrgana Princess Leia]] before Creator/CarrieFisher was cast. However, Foster turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Film/TaxiDriver''. Creator/SissySpacek auditioned, while Fisher auditioned for ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'', as Lucas and Creator/BrianDePalma were holding joint auditions and they got each other's roles (Fisher denied the rumor that she chose ''Star Wars'' because she refused to do nudity). Creator/TeriGarr [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqBwnCr3fY also auditioned]], and so did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtT9hrwpE0M Anne-Marie Martin]] (best known as Wendy from ''[[Film/PromNight1980 Prom Night]]'').
Night]]'') [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrUDyQmlp8Q and]] Creator/AmyIrving. Irving was allegedly a top choice, but had to pass on the part due to scheduling conflicts with ''Carrie''.
* Creator/KarenAllen, Creator/NancyAllen, Creator/ChristineBaranski, Creator/KimBasinger, Creator/BonnieBedelia, Creator/LindaBlair, Creator/GlennClose, Creator/GeenaDavis, Creator/FarrahFawcett, Creator/MelanieGriffith, Creator/CatherineHicks, Creator/AnjelicaHuston,Creator/AmyIrving, Creator/MargotKidder, Creator/ChristineLahti, Creator/JessicaLange, Creator/BernadettePeters, Creator/JaneSeymourActress, Creator/CybillShepherd, Creator/MerylStreep, Creator/KathleenTurner, Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Creator/DianneWiest and Creator/DebraWinger also auditioned for the part of Princess Leia before the casting of Fisher.
* Creator/KarenAllen, Creator/NancyAllen, Creator/ChristineBaranski, Creator/KimBasinger, Creator/BonnieBedelia, Creator/LindaBlair, Creator/GlennClose, Creator/GeenaDavis, Creator/FarrahFawcett, Creator/MelanieGriffith, Creator/CatherineHicks, Creator/AnjelicaHuston,
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Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* Creator/JodieFoster was the original candidate for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLeiaOrgana Princess Leia]] before Creator/CarrieFisher was cast. However, Foster turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Film/TaxiDriver''. Creator/SissySpacek auditioned, while Fisher auditioned for ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'', as Lucas and Creator/BrianDePalma were holding joint auditions and they got each other's roles (Fisher denied the rumor that she chose ''Star Wars'' because she refused to do nudity). Creator/TeriGarr [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqBwnCr3fY also auditioned]], and so did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtT9hrwpE0M Anne-Marie Martin]] (best known as Wendy from ''Film/PromNight1980'').
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* Creator/JodieFoster was the original candidate for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLeiaOrgana Princess Leia]] before Creator/CarrieFisher was cast. However, Foster turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Film/TaxiDriver''. Creator/SissySpacek auditioned, while Fisher auditioned for ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'', as Lucas and Creator/BrianDePalma were holding joint auditions and they got each other's roles (Fisher denied the rumor that she chose ''Star Wars'' because she refused to do nudity). Creator/TeriGarr [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqBwnCr3fY also auditioned]], and so did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtT9hrwpE0M Anne-Marie Martin]] (best known as Wendy from ''Film/PromNight1980'').''[[Film/PromNight1980 Prom Night]]'').
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Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* Creator/JodieFoster was the original candidate for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLeiaOrgana Princess Leia]] before Creator/CarrieFisher was cast. However, Foster turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Film/TaxiDriver''. Creator/SissySpacek auditioned, while Fisher auditioned for ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'', as Lucas and Creator/BrianDePalma were holding joint auditions and they got each other's roles (Fisher denied the rumor that she chose ''Star Wars'' because she refused to do nudity). Creator/TeriGarr [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqBwnCr3fY also auditioned]].
to:
* Creator/JodieFoster was the original candidate for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLeiaOrgana Princess Leia]] before Creator/CarrieFisher was cast. However, Foster turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Film/TaxiDriver''. Creator/SissySpacek auditioned, while Fisher auditioned for ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'', as Lucas and Creator/BrianDePalma were holding joint auditions and they got each other's roles (Fisher denied the rumor that she chose ''Star Wars'' because she refused to do nudity). Creator/TeriGarr [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqBwnCr3fY also auditioned]].auditioned]], and so did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtT9hrwpE0M Anne-Marie Martin]] (best known as Wendy from ''Film/PromNight1980'').
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* Creator/WilliamKatt [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79XY3d6-tiY&list=PLC3CD575DE35513CA&index=3 was the runner-up]] for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLukeSkywalker Luke Skywalker]] before Creator/MarkHamill was cast.
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* Believe it or not, Creator/WilliamKatt [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79XY3d6-tiY&list=PLC3CD575DE35513CA&index=3 was the runner-up]] for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLukeSkywalker Luke Skywalker]] before Creator/MarkHamill was cast.
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* Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/NickNolte, and Creator/ChristopherWalken were the final contenders for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsHanSoloCharacterSheet Han Solo]] before the casting of Creator/HarrisonFord. Check out Russell's audition [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nix_PID3oiA&list=PLC3CD575DE35513CA&index=2 here]]. Nick Nolte would later go on to voice Kuiil in ''Series/TheMandalorian''. Creator/RobertDeNiro, Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/JamesCaan, Creator/TomSelleck, Creator/BurtReynolds, and Creator/AlPacino were also approached for the part of Han Solo. When asked why he turned it down, Pacino responded with this.
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* Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/NickNolte, and Creator/ChristopherWalken were the final contenders for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsHanSoloCharacterSheet Han Solo]] before the casting of Creator/HarrisonFord. Check out Russell's audition [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nix_PID3oiA&list=PLC3CD575DE35513CA&index=2 here]]. Russell subsequently removed himself from consideration when he was still in the running but had not (yet) been offered the part. Nick Nolte would later go on to voice Kuiil in ''Series/TheMandalorian''. Creator/RobertDeNiro, Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/JamesCaan, Creator/TomSelleck, Creator/BurtReynolds, and Creator/AlPacino were also approached for the part of Han Solo. When asked why he turned it down, Pacino responded with this.
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Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* In the original filmed version, the Death Star was also not actually attacking Yavin IV. The idea of having the Death Star preparing to blow up the Rebel base was added in editing by Marcia Lucas through insert shots and recycled footage to give the scene more tension, which is why nobody on the base has dialogue in the control room.
to:
* In the original filmed version, the Death Star was also not actually attacking Yavin IV. The idea of having the Death Star preparing to blow up the Rebel base was added in editing by Marcia Lucas through insert shots and recycled footage to give the scene more tension, which is why nobody on the base has dialogue in the control room. In addition, Luke was originally going to make ''two'' trench runs, failing to hit on the first one like Red Leader before succeeding on the second.
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Changed line(s) 53 (click to see context) from:
* Jabba was originally conceived of as a SmallNameBigEgo gangster, who's nonetheless powerful enough to make Han's life difficult unless he's paid off. It's clear from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw1gkNd6Z_8 deleted scene]] with the human version of Jabba that Lucas still had this interpretation of Jabba in mind as late as when the movie was being shot. There were also plans to make Jabba a big furry alien, voiced by Declan Mulholland.
to:
* Jabba was originally conceived of as a SmallNameBigEgo gangster, gangster who's nonetheless powerful enough to make Han's life difficult unless he's paid off. It's clear from This interpretation was present as late as the filming stage, as illustrated by a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw1gkNd6Z_8 deleted scene]] with the human version of depicting a conversation between Jabba that Lucas still had this interpretation of and Han Solo. Concept art and interview statements by Creator/GeorgeLucas also detail a noticeably different design for Jabba in mind as late as than how he appeared when the movie was he debuted in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Instead of being shot. There were also plans to make Jabba a big furry alien, voiced giant slug, he would be a Wookie-like creature realized by superimposing stop-motion footage on top of stand-in actor Declan Mulholland.
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Changed line(s) 32,33 (click to see context) from:
!!Other changes
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Deleted line(s) 35,36 (click to see context) :
* The Emperor's original concept was a PuppetKing who got into his position thanks to Vader and Tarkin. This characterization was de-emphasized from the film's script, but the novelization retained it. It was in the later films that he was changed to a Dark Side mastermind.
* Jabba was originally conceived of as a SmallNameBigEgo gangster, who's nonetheless powerful enough to make Han's life difficult unless he's paid off. It's clear from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw1gkNd6Z_8 deleted scene]] with the human version of Jabba that Lucas still had this interpretation of Jabba in mind as late as when the movie was being shot. There were also plans to make Jabba a big furry alien, voiced by Declan Mulholland.
* Jabba was originally conceived of as a SmallNameBigEgo gangster, who's nonetheless powerful enough to make Han's life difficult unless he's paid off. It's clear from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw1gkNd6Z_8 deleted scene]] with the human version of Jabba that Lucas still had this interpretation of Jabba in mind as late as when the movie was being shot. There were also plans to make Jabba a big furry alien, voiced by Declan Mulholland.
Deleted line(s) 39 (click to see context) :
* According to Ben Burtt, Darth Vader's life support systems were supposed to make constant beeping and clicking sounds which, in addition to his loud, mechanical breathing, would make Vader sound like "a walking emergency room". This was deemed too irritating and the noises were cut down to just the iconic VaderBreath.
!!Changes in editing
* According to Ben Burtt, Darth Vader's life support systems were supposed to make constant beeping and clicking sounds which, in addition to his loud, mechanical breathing, would make Vader sound like "a walking emergency room". This was deemed too irritating and the noises were cut down to just the iconic VaderBreath.
Deleted line(s) 47,48 (click to see context) :
* Darth Vader originally had no powers, and the Force was a general sixth sense and some basic mental tricks, as opposed to the final product, where it's far more powerful.
* [[WordOfSaintPaul According to]] [[https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/1379135290787258368 Mark]], Lucas "really wanted" the classic cartoon short ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgersInTheTwentyFourthAndAHalfCentury'' to be shown before ''A New Hope'' during the original theatrical release, as a signal to the audience that what would follow wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. Unfortunately for Lucas, he was unable to secure the rights.
* [[WordOfSaintPaul According to]] [[https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/1379135290787258368 Mark]], Lucas "really wanted" the classic cartoon short ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgersInTheTwentyFourthAndAHalfCentury'' to be shown before ''A New Hope'' during the original theatrical release, as a signal to the audience that what would follow wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. Unfortunately for Lucas, he was unable to secure the rights.
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!!Other
* The Emperor's original concept was a PuppetKing who got into his position thanks to Vader and Tarkin. This characterization was de-emphasized from the film's script, but the novelization retained it. It was in the later films that he was changed to a Dark Side mastermind.
* Jabba was originally conceived of as a SmallNameBigEgo gangster, who's nonetheless powerful enough to make Han's life difficult unless he's paid off. It's clear from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw1gkNd6Z_8 deleted scene]] with the human version of Jabba that Lucas still had this interpretation of Jabba in mind as late as when the movie was being shot. There were also plans to make Jabba a big furry alien, voiced by Declan Mulholland.
* Darth Vader originally had no powers, and the Force was a general sixth sense and some basic mental tricks, as opposed to the final product, where it's far more powerful.
* [[WordOfSaintPaul According to]] [[https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/1379135290787258368 Mark]], Lucas "really wanted" the classic cartoon short ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgersInTheTwentyFourthAndAHalfCentury'' to be shown before ''A New Hope'' during the original theatrical release, as a signal to the audience that what would follow wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. Unfortunately for Lucas, he was unable to secure the rights.
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Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
to:
* The scene where Luke and Han rescue Leia was originally going to end with Luke punching Leia in the face in order to knock her out.
Deleted line(s) 36 (click to see context) :
* The scene where Luke and Han rescue Leia was originally going to end with Luke punching Leia in the face in order to knock her out.
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!!Early designs
* R2-D2 and C-3PO had different [[http://www.df.lth.se/~ola/Starwars/StarWars/starwars6.html character designs]] in the beginning: the former was meant to be tripedal, and the latter bore an androgynous appearance similar to Hel from ''Film/{{Metropolis}}''. Artoo's design was changed after tripedal locomotion proved to be too difficult to accomplish on sand. Lucas also decided to make Threepio more distinctly male in the end.
* Chewbacca originally [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060528003603/starwars/images/b/bf/ChewieConceptArt.jpg had a bat-like face]]. This design was reused for the Lasat species, whose most notable appearance was in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''.
* R2-D2 and C-3PO had different [[http://www.df.lth.se/~ola/Starwars/StarWars/starwars6.html character designs]] in the beginning: the former was meant to be tripedal, and the latter bore an androgynous appearance similar to Hel from ''Film/{{Metropolis}}''. Artoo's design was changed after tripedal locomotion proved to be too difficult to accomplish on sand. Lucas also decided to make Threepio more distinctly male in the end.
* Chewbacca originally [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060528003603/starwars/images/b/bf/ChewieConceptArt.jpg had a bat-like face]]. This design was reused for the Lasat species, whose most notable appearance was in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''.
Deleted line(s) 34,35 (click to see context) :
* The artistic aspect was also heavily subject to changes. For instance, R2-D2 and C-3PO had different [[http://www.df.lth.se/~ola/Starwars/StarWars/starwars6.html character designs]] in the beginning: the former was meant to be tripedal, and the latter bore an androgynous appearance similar to Hel from ''Film/{{Metropolis}}''. Artoo's design was changed after tripedal locomotion proved to be too difficult to accomplish on sand. Lucas also decided to make Threepio more distinctly male in the end.
* Chewbacca originally [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060528003603/starwars/images/b/bf/ChewieConceptArt.jpg had a bat-like face]]. This design was reused for the Lasat species, whose most notable appearance was in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''.
* Chewbacca originally [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060528003603/starwars/images/b/bf/ChewieConceptArt.jpg had a bat-like face]]. This design was reused for the Lasat species, whose most notable appearance was in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''.
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Changed line(s) 11 (click to see context) from:
to:
* In early versions of the script, R2-D2 could speak standard English, and he had a rather foul vocabulary. Although all of R2's English speech was removed, many of C-3PO's reactions to it were left in.
Deleted line(s) 34 (click to see context) :
* In early versions of the script, R2-D2 could speak standard English, and he had a rather foul vocabulary. Although all of R2's English speech was removed, many of C-3PO's reactions to it were left in.
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Changed line(s) 10 (click to see context) from:
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* In a later draft, Han and Chewbacca do ''not'' actually have a ship when they agree to fly Ben and Luke to Alderaan. They steal the ''Falcon'' just before the passengers arrive. Han's lines bragging about how great his ship is were actually meant to reflect that he was obviously scamming them.
Deleted line(s) 28 (click to see context) :
* In a later draft, Han and Chewbacca do ''not'' actually have a ship when they agree to fly Ben and Luke to Alderaan. They steal the ''Falcon'' just before the passengers arrive. Han's lines bragging about how great his ship is were actually meant to reflect that he was obviously scamming them.
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!!Early drafts
* The general story of what we now know and love as ''Film/ANewHope'', and by extension the entire ''Star Wars'', varied heavily from draft to draft. The very first treatment written in 1973, ''The Journal of the Whills, Part 1'', centered around a "Jedi-bendu" by the name of Mace Windy (who would become the character of Mace Windu in ''The Phantom Menace'') and his apprentice, C. 2. "Chuiee" Thorpe. According to the existent plot, Windy worked as a warlord for an Alliance of Independent Systems, but was kicked out because his peers believed he was too powerful, after which he and Thorpe found themselves involved in a mysterious mission. Lucas brought the thing to his agent, Jeff Berg, who was quickly confused by the [[CallARabbitASmeerp massive amounts of jargon]] used in the treatment, and recommended he start simpler.
* The next version of the story was already called (''The'') ''Star Wars'', and was heavily inspired by Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''. The protagonists were the princess of the planet Ophuchi and her protector, veteran General Luke Skywalker, who were chased through the galaxy by the evil Empire. On their way, they were joined by two bureaucrats and later a cadre of juvenile rebels who had revolted against the empire, all of which later had to rescue the princess, sold to the Empire by Yavin aliens, from the imperial capital of Alderaan.
* Lucas tweaked the story in the process of creating a rough draft in 1974, and then a first draft with some naming changes. The story featured Jedi master Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin, who helped free planets to oppose the evil Empire and its ruler Cos Dashit. As Kane was a cyborg (with only his head and right arm remaining organic) and therefore couldn't adequately teach his son the ways of the Jedi, he arranged for Annikin to train under the tutelage of his old friend Luke Skywalker, a general of the Aquilaean system, while Kane himself joined a hulking reptilian alien named Han Solo to perform a mission. The plot then had Annikin rescuing Princess Leia and joining a tribe of Wookiees (originally envisioned as smaller, with heads like that of "giant bushbabies", and not technologically capable), captained by Chewbacca, in order to defeat the Imperial forces in their jungle homeworld of Yavin. The Empire was interested in conquering Aquilae because it had advanced cloning facilities, and characters like Vader, Artoo and Threepio were already there, at least nominally.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller himself, who had been taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to Beru and father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and the planet Ogana Major, Luke joined young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and eventually reached the Rebel base in Yavin 4, from where they destroyed the station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
* The next drafts increasingly resembled the final ''A New Hope'', but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest. Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
* Darth Vader was originally a rather minor character, and early drafts actually have him spending most of the movie without his iconic suit, as the latter was actually not a permanent life-support system, but a spacesuit that he needed to board the ''Tantive IV'' through space. He was even going to be killed off during the trench run at the end, but Lucas decided to add a shot of him escaping as a SequelHook, and the rest is history.
!!Casting
* The general story of what we now know and love as ''Film/ANewHope'', and by extension the entire ''Star Wars'', varied heavily from draft to draft. The very first treatment written in 1973, ''The Journal of the Whills, Part 1'', centered around a "Jedi-bendu" by the name of Mace Windy (who would become the character of Mace Windu in ''The Phantom Menace'') and his apprentice, C. 2. "Chuiee" Thorpe. According to the existent plot, Windy worked as a warlord for an Alliance of Independent Systems, but was kicked out because his peers believed he was too powerful, after which he and Thorpe found themselves involved in a mysterious mission. Lucas brought the thing to his agent, Jeff Berg, who was quickly confused by the [[CallARabbitASmeerp massive amounts of jargon]] used in the treatment, and recommended he start simpler.
* The next version of the story was already called (''The'') ''Star Wars'', and was heavily inspired by Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''. The protagonists were the princess of the planet Ophuchi and her protector, veteran General Luke Skywalker, who were chased through the galaxy by the evil Empire. On their way, they were joined by two bureaucrats and later a cadre of juvenile rebels who had revolted against the empire, all of which later had to rescue the princess, sold to the Empire by Yavin aliens, from the imperial capital of Alderaan.
* Lucas tweaked the story in the process of creating a rough draft in 1974, and then a first draft with some naming changes. The story featured Jedi master Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin, who helped free planets to oppose the evil Empire and its ruler Cos Dashit. As Kane was a cyborg (with only his head and right arm remaining organic) and therefore couldn't adequately teach his son the ways of the Jedi, he arranged for Annikin to train under the tutelage of his old friend Luke Skywalker, a general of the Aquilaean system, while Kane himself joined a hulking reptilian alien named Han Solo to perform a mission. The plot then had Annikin rescuing Princess Leia and joining a tribe of Wookiees (originally envisioned as smaller, with heads like that of "giant bushbabies", and not technologically capable), captained by Chewbacca, in order to defeat the Imperial forces in their jungle homeworld of Yavin. The Empire was interested in conquering Aquilae because it had advanced cloning facilities, and characters like Vader, Artoo and Threepio were already there, at least nominally.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller himself, who had been taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to Beru and father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and the planet Ogana Major, Luke joined young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and eventually reached the Rebel base in Yavin 4, from where they destroyed the station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
* The next drafts increasingly resembled the final ''A New Hope'', but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest. Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
* Darth Vader was originally a rather minor character, and early drafts actually have him spending most of the movie without his iconic suit, as the latter was actually not a permanent life-support system, but a spacesuit that he needed to board the ''Tantive IV'' through space. He was even going to be killed off during the trench run at the end, but Lucas decided to add a shot of him escaping as a SequelHook, and the rest is history.
!!Casting
Changed line(s) 11,16 (click to see context) from:
* The general story of what we now know and love as ''Film/ANewHope'', and by extension the entire ''Star Wars'', varied heavily from draft to draft. The very first treatment written in 1973, ''The Journal of the Whills, Part 1'', centered around a "Jedi-bendu" by the name of Mace Windy (who would become the character of Mace Windu in ''The Phantom Menace'') and his apprentice, C. 2. "Chuiee" Thorpe. According to the existent plot, Windy worked as a warlord for an Alliance of Independent Systems, but was kicked out because his peers believed he was too powerful, after which he and Thorpe found themselves involved in a mysterious mission. Lucas brought the thing to his agent, Jeff Berg, who was quickly confused by the [[CallARabbitASmeerp massive amounts of jargon]] used in the treatment, and recommended he start simpler.
* The next version of the story was already called (''The'') ''Star Wars'', and was heavily inspired by Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''. The protagonists were the princess of the planet Ophuchi and her protector, veteran General Luke Skywalker, who were chased through the galaxy by the evil Empire. On their way, they were joined by two bureaucrats and later a cadre of juvenile rebels who had revolted against the empire, all of which later had to rescue the princess, sold to the Empire by Yavin aliens, from the imperial capital of Alderaan.
* Lucas tweaked the story in the process of creating a rough draft in 1974, and then a first draft with some naming changes. The story featured Jedi master Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin, who helped free planets to oppose the evil Empire and its ruler Cos Dashit. As Kane was a cyborg (with only his head and right arm remaining organic) and therefore couldn't adequately teach his son the ways of the Jedi, he arranged for Annikin to train under the tutelage of his old friend Luke Skywalker, a general of the Aquilaean system, while Kane himself joined a hulking reptilian alien named Han Solo to perform a mission. The plot then had Annikin rescuing Princess Leia and joining a tribe of Wookiees (originally envisioned as smaller, with heads like that of "giant bushbabies", and not technologically capable), captained by Chewbacca, in order to defeat the Imperial forces in their jungle homeworld of Yavin. The Empire was interested in conquering Aquilae because it had advanced cloning facilities, and characters like Vader, Artoo and Threepio were already there, at least nominally.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller himself, who had been taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to Beru and father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and the planet Ogana Major, Luke joined young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and eventually reached the Rebel base in Yavin 4, from where they destroyed the station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
* The next drafts increasingly resembled the final ''A New Hope'', but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest. Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
* The next version of the story was already called (''The'') ''Star Wars'', and was heavily inspired by Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''. The protagonists were the princess of the planet Ophuchi and her protector, veteran General Luke Skywalker, who were chased through the galaxy by the evil Empire. On their way, they were joined by two bureaucrats and later a cadre of juvenile rebels who had revolted against the empire, all of which later had to rescue the princess, sold to the Empire by Yavin aliens, from the imperial capital of Alderaan.
* Lucas tweaked the story in the process of creating a rough draft in 1974, and then a first draft with some naming changes. The story featured Jedi master Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin, who helped free planets to oppose the evil Empire and its ruler Cos Dashit. As Kane was a cyborg (with only his head and right arm remaining organic) and therefore couldn't adequately teach his son the ways of the Jedi, he arranged for Annikin to train under the tutelage of his old friend Luke Skywalker, a general of the Aquilaean system, while Kane himself joined a hulking reptilian alien named Han Solo to perform a mission. The plot then had Annikin rescuing Princess Leia and joining a tribe of Wookiees (originally envisioned as smaller, with heads like that of "giant bushbabies", and not technologically capable), captained by Chewbacca, in order to defeat the Imperial forces in their jungle homeworld of Yavin. The Empire was interested in conquering Aquilae because it had advanced cloning facilities, and characters like Vader, Artoo and Threepio were already there, at least nominally.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller himself, who had been taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to Beru and father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and the planet Ogana Major, Luke joined young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and eventually reached the Rebel base in Yavin 4, from where they destroyed the station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
* The next drafts increasingly resembled the final ''A New Hope'', but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest. Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
to:
* The next version of the story was already called (''The'') ''Star Wars'', and was heavily inspired by Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''. The protagonists were the princess of the planet Ophuchi and her protector, veteran General Luke Skywalker, who were chased through the galaxy by the evil Empire. On their way, they were joined by two bureaucrats and later a cadre of juvenile rebels who had revolted against the empire, all of which later had to rescue the princess, sold to the Empire by Yavin aliens, from the imperial capital of Alderaan.
* Lucas tweaked the story in the process of creating a rough draft in 1974, and then a first draft with some naming changes. The story featured Jedi master Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin, who helped free planets to oppose the evil Empire and its ruler Cos Dashit. As Kane was a cyborg (with only his head and right arm remaining organic) and therefore couldn't adequately teach his son the ways of the Jedi, he arranged for Annikin to train under the tutelage of his old friend Luke Skywalker, a general of the Aquilaean system, while Kane himself joined a hulking reptilian alien named Han Solo to perform a mission. The plot then had Annikin rescuing Princess Leia and joining a tribe of Wookiees (originally envisioned as smaller, with heads like that of "giant bushbabies", and not technologically capable), captained by Chewbacca, in order to defeat the Imperial forces in their jungle homeworld of Yavin. The Empire was interested in conquering Aquilae because it had advanced cloning facilities, and characters like Vader, Artoo and Threepio were already there, at least nominally.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller himself, who had been taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to Beru and father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and the planet Ogana Major, Luke joined young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and eventually reached the Rebel base in Yavin 4, from where they destroyed the station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
* The next drafts increasingly resembled the final ''A New Hope'', but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest. Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
!!Other changes
Deleted line(s) 18 (click to see context) :
* Darth Vader was originally a rather minor character, and early drafts actually have him spending most of the movie without his iconic suit, as the latter was actually not a permanent life-support system, but a spacesuit that he needed to board the ''Tantive IV'' through space. He was even going to be killed off during the trench run at the end, but Lucas decided to add a shot of him escaping as a SequelHook, and the rest is history.
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* The meeting between the Imperial higher-ups at the Death Star had around ten seconds cut from the very beginning, in which Cassio Tagge explicitly referred to Darth Vader as a "Sith Lord, sent by the Emperor". Had these ten seconds not been cut, the Sith would've been properly referenced for the first time in 1977, rather than in 1999's ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
to:
* The meeting between the Imperial higher-ups at the Death Star had around ten seconds cut from the very beginning, in which Cassio Tagge explicitly referred to Darth Vader as a "Sith Lord, sent by the Emperor". Had these ten seconds not been cut, the Sith would've been properly referenced onscreen for the first time in 1977, rather than in 1999's ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. The dialogue remains intact in the [[ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977 1977 Marvel comic]].
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Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
* The meeting between the Imperial higher-ups at the Death Star had around ten seconds cut from the very beginning, in which Cassio Tagge explicitly referred to Darth Vader as a "Sith Lord, sent by the Emperor". Had these ten seconds not been cut, the Sith would've been properly referenced for the first time in 1977, rather than in 1999's ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
to:
* The meeting between the Imperial higher-ups at the Death Star had around ten seconds cut from the very beginning, in which Cassio Tagge explicitly referred to Darth Vader as a "Sith Lord, sent by the Emperor". Had these ten seconds not been cut, the Sith would've been properly referenced for the first time in 1977, rather than in 1999's ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
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* Creator/WilliamKatt [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79XY3d6-tiY&list=PLC3CD575DE35513CA&index=3 was the runner-up]] for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLukeSkywalker Luke Skywalker]] before Creator/MarkHamill was cast.
* Creator/CharlesMartinSmith, [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Robby Benson]], and [[Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow Perry King]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdqBtPAZzKg&list=PLC3CD575DE35513CA&index=4 auditioned]] for the part of Luke Skywalker as well before the casting of Hamill. King would later go on to [[CastTheRunnerUp voice Han in the radio adaptation]].
* Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/NickNolte, and Creator/ChristopherWalken were the final contenders for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsHanSoloCharacterSheet Han Solo]] before the casting of Creator/HarrisonFord. Check out Russell's audition [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nix_PID3oiA&list=PLC3CD575DE35513CA&index=2 here]]. Nick Nolte would later go on to voice Kuiil in ''Series/TheMandalorian''. Creator/RobertDeNiro, Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/JamesCaan, Creator/TomSelleck, Creator/BurtReynolds, and Creator/AlPacino were also approached for the part of Han Solo. When asked why he turned it down, Pacino responded with this.
--->'''Pacino:''' I remember not understanding the script. I was in ''Film/TheGodfather'' and they didn't care if I was right or wrong for the role or if I could act or not act.
* Creator/BillMurray, Creator/ChevyChase, Creator/SteveMartin, Creator/SylvesterStallone, Creator/JohnTravolta, Creator/RobertEnglund, Creator/JamesWoods, and Creator/BillyDeeWilliams were considered for Han Solo as well before the casting of Ford. Williams would eventually go on to portray [[Characters/StarWarsLandoCalrissianCharacterSheet Lando Calrissian]] in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''.
* Creator/JodieFoster was the original candidate for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLeiaOrgana Princess Leia]] before Creator/CarrieFisher was cast. However, Foster turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Film/TaxiDriver''. Creator/SissySpacek auditioned, while Fisher auditioned for ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'', as Lucas and Creator/BrianDePalma were holding joint auditions and they got each other's roles (Fisher denied the rumor that she chose ''Star Wars'' because she refused to do nudity). Creator/TeriGarr [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqBwnCr3fY also auditioned]].
* Creator/KarenAllen, Creator/NancyAllen, Creator/ChristineBaranski, Creator/KimBasinger, Creator/BonnieBedelia, Creator/LindaBlair, Creator/GlennClose, Creator/GeenaDavis, Creator/FarrahFawcett, Creator/MelanieGriffith, Creator/CatherineHicks, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/AmyIrving, Creator/MargotKidder, Creator/ChristineLahti, Creator/JessicaLange, Creator/BernadettePeters, Creator/JaneSeymourActress, Creator/CybillShepherd, Creator/MerylStreep, Creator/KathleenTurner, Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Creator/DianneWiest and Creator/DebraWinger also auditioned for the part of Princess Leia before the casting of Fisher.
* Creator/MelBlanc and Creator/StanFreberg were considered for the voice of C-3PO before it was decided to let Creator/AnthonyDaniels, who performed the role physically, to voice him as well.
* The role of [[Characters/StarWarsObiWanKenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi]] was originally written with Creator/ToshiroMifune in mind. Depending on who you talk to, either Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox wasn't keen on giving Mifune another whirl (although Mifune could speak English, all productions where he was speaking English ended up dubbing over his voice due to his thick Japanese accent) or Mifune wasn't available. Either way, the role went instead to Creator/AlecGuinness.
* Mifune was also up for the role of Darth Vader at one point. At Tokyo Comic Con, his daughter Mika clarified that her father didn't want to do the film because he felt it was disrespectful to Japan's samurai culture, as this was back when many people still considered sci-fi to be a low-budget and juvenile B-grade genre. She went on to say that were he still alive today, he likely would have jumped at the chance to appear in a ''Star Wars'' movie.
* The general story of what we now know and love as ''Film/ANewHope'', and by extension the entire ''Star Wars'', varied heavily from draft to draft. The very first treatment written in 1973, ''The Journal of the Whills, Part 1'', centered around a "Jedi-bendu" by the name of Mace Windy (who would become the character of Mace Windu in ''The Phantom Menace'') and his apprentice, C. 2. "Chuiee" Thorpe. According to the existent plot, Windy worked as a warlord for an Alliance of Independent Systems, but was kicked out because his peers believed he was too powerful, after which he and Thorpe found themselves involved in a mysterious mission. Lucas brought the thing to his agent, Jeff Berg, who was quickly confused by the [[CallARabbitASmeerp massive amounts of jargon]] used in the treatment, and recommended he start simpler.
* The next version of the story was already called (''The'') ''Star Wars'', and was heavily inspired by Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''. The protagonists were the princess of the planet Ophuchi and her protector, veteran General Luke Skywalker, who were chased through the galaxy by the evil Empire. On their way, they were joined by two bureaucrats and later a cadre of juvenile rebels who had revolted against the empire, all of which later had to rescue the princess, sold to the Empire by Yavin aliens, from the imperial capital of Alderaan.
* Lucas tweaked the story in the process of creating a rough draft in 1974, and then a first draft with some naming changes. The story featured Jedi master Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin, who helped free planets to oppose the evil Empire and its ruler Cos Dashit. As Kane was a cyborg (with only his head and right arm remaining organic) and therefore couldn't adequately teach his son the ways of the Jedi, he arranged for Annikin to train under the tutelage of his old friend Luke Skywalker, a general of the Aquilaean system, while Kane himself joined a hulking reptilian alien named Han Solo to perform a mission. The plot then had Annikin rescuing Princess Leia and joining a tribe of Wookiees (originally envisioned as smaller, with heads like that of "giant bushbabies", and not technologically capable), captained by Chewbacca, in order to defeat the Imperial forces in their jungle homeworld of Yavin. The Empire was interested in conquering Aquilae because it had advanced cloning facilities, and characters like Vader, Artoo and Threepio were already there, at least nominally.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller himself, who had been taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to Beru and father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and the planet Ogana Major, Luke joined young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and eventually reached the Rebel base in Yavin 4, from where they destroyed the station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
* The next drafts increasingly resembled the final ''A New Hope'', but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest. Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
* Even with the general script finished, there were aspects of the script that were tweaked during production. In the script used in the audition for Luke, Alderaan was called Organa IV, Han seems a lot more knowledgeable about the Empire, Kenobi is not present as Luke and Han react to Alderaan's apparent disappearance, and Luke admits that he does not have the money to pay Han.
* Darth Vader was originally a rather minor character, and early drafts actually have him spending most of the movie without his iconic suit, as the latter was actually not a permanent life-support system, but a spacesuit that he needed to board the ''Tantive IV'' through space. He was even going to be killed off during the trench run at the end, but Lucas decided to add a shot of him escaping as a SequelHook, and the rest is history.
* The Emperor's original concept was a PuppetKing who got into his position thanks to Vader and Tarkin. This characterization was de-emphasized from the film's script, but the novelization retained it. It was in the later films that he was changed to a Dark Side mastermind.
* In a later draft, Han and Chewbacca do ''not'' actually have a ship when they agree to fly Ben and Luke to Alderaan. They steal the ''Falcon'' just before the passengers arrive. Han's lines bragging about how great his ship is were actually meant to reflect that he was obviously scamming them.
* Jabba was originally conceived of as a SmallNameBigEgo gangster, who's nonetheless powerful enough to make Han's life difficult unless he's paid off. It's clear from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw1gkNd6Z_8 deleted scene]] with the human version of Jabba that Lucas still had this interpretation of Jabba in mind as late as when the movie was being shot. There were also plans to make Jabba a big furry alien, voiced by Declan Mulholland.
* The scene where Luke and Han rescue Leia was originally going to end with Luke punching Leia in the face in order to knock her out.
* Obi-Wan was originally going to survive the duel with Vader, but George Lucas changed this to a more thematically interesting HeroicSacrifice when he considered that the character would have had little to do for the remainder of the movie. His death also fulfilled the need to give the villains more menace, as Lucas was worried that the Empire seemed very weak and was left with egg on its face as the heroes outwitted and escaped them; previous drafts did include some scenes of extreme violence and the (potential) rape of Leia by the Empire's men, but Lucas took this out because he did not want the film to do as bad as his then-rated PG (now R) ''Film/THX1138''. Putting Obi-Wan's death in gave Vader and the Death Star more status and power, bringing the stakes back up.
* The Battle of Yavin was originally going to be much less exciting — the final battle had Luke taking two full runs at the exhaust port, no appearance of the ghost of Obi-Wan, and Han scaring Vader away from Luke much before Luke takes the shot.
* The artistic aspect was also heavily subject to changes. For instance, R2-D2 and C-3PO had different [[http://www.df.lth.se/~ola/Starwars/StarWars/starwars6.html character designs]] in the beginning: the former was meant to be tripedal, and the latter bore an androgynous appearance similar to Hel from ''Film/{{Metropolis}}''. Artoo's design was changed after tripedal locomotion proved to be too difficult to accomplish on sand. Lucas also decided to make Threepio more distinctly male in the end.
* In early versions of the script, R2-D2 could speak standard English, and he had a rather foul vocabulary. Although all of R2's English speech was removed, many of C-3PO's reactions to it were left in.
* Chewbacca originally [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060528003603/starwars/images/b/bf/ChewieConceptArt.jpg had a bat-like face]]. This design was reused for the Lasat species, whose most notable appearance was in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''.
* According to Ben Burtt, Darth Vader's life support systems were supposed to make constant beeping and clicking sounds which, in addition to his loud, mechanical breathing, would make Vader sound like "a walking emergency room". This was deemed too irritating and the noises were cut down to just the iconic VaderBreath.
* Lucas originally envisioned Tatooine as a jungle planet. Gary Kurtz traveled to the Philippines to scout locations; however, because the idea of spending months filming in the jungle made Lucas "itchy", the director refined his vision and made Tatooine a desert planet instead.
* Luke was going to be surnamed "Starkiller" until fairly late in the process, when it was realized that the name uncomfortably reminded people of UsefulNotes/CharlesManson. The name "Luke Skywalker" was then brought back from the first draft script. However, the name Starkiller got far enough into production that, according to Mark Hamill, they had to reshoot Luke and Leia's first meeting in the detention level. (The name was eventually repurposed as the codename of Vader's secret apprentice in ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' and then later as the name of the base housing the First Order's planet-sized superweapon in ''Film/TheForceAwakens''.)
* The "Lost Cut" — the first rough cut of the film, which has never been seen publicly and has been detailed in various articles over the years — was apparently intended to be "''Film/AmericanGraffiti'' in Space". It featured many extra scenes, including extra footage of the Jawas and the Sandcrawler, a midget human confronting a creature much larger than himself (seen in a BetweenMyLegs shot) at the Mos Eisley spaceport which was later reused for the "Life on Tatooine" segment of the ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'' , and more.
* The incident in the cantina was originally filmed as much more gruesome, with Ponda Baba/Walrusman not only having his arm severed by Obi-Wan's lightsaber but also getting ''beheaded''. Unused footage exists of the severed head moving around on the floor of the cantina.
* Kabe, the little bat-faced alien seen briefly asking for a drink in the cantina, was originally supposed to be part of the group harassing Luke and can be seen standing near Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba in several shots. Several still photos exist of Kabe reacting to the aftermath of the altercation with Obi-Wan.
* Luke and Leia's kiss almost got axed because test audiences laughed at it. Lucas' wife Marcia convinced him that they were laughing because it was so sweet and unexpected.
* In the original filmed version, the Death Star was also not actually attacking Yavin IV. The idea of having the Death Star preparing to blow up the Rebel base was added in editing by Marcia Lucas through insert shots and recycled footage to give the scene more tension, which is why nobody on the base has dialogue in the control room.
* Darth Vader originally had no powers, and the Force was a general sixth sense and some basic mental tricks, as opposed to the final product, where it's far more powerful.
* [[WordOfSaintPaul According to]] [[https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/1379135290787258368 Mark]], Lucas "really wanted" the classic cartoon short ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgersInTheTwentyFourthAndAHalfCentury'' to be shown before ''A New Hope'' during the original theatrical release, as a signal to the audience that what would follow wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. Unfortunately for Lucas, he was unable to secure the rights.
* The meeting between the Imperial higher-ups at the Death Star had around ten seconds cut from the very beginning, in which Cassio Tagge explicitly referred to Darth Vader as a "Sith Lord, sent by the Emperor". Had these ten seconds not been cut, the Sith would've been properly referenced for the first time in 1977, rather than in 1999's ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
* Creator/CharlesMartinSmith, [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Robby Benson]], and [[Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow Perry King]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdqBtPAZzKg&list=PLC3CD575DE35513CA&index=4 auditioned]] for the part of Luke Skywalker as well before the casting of Hamill. King would later go on to [[CastTheRunnerUp voice Han in the radio adaptation]].
* Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/NickNolte, and Creator/ChristopherWalken were the final contenders for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsHanSoloCharacterSheet Han Solo]] before the casting of Creator/HarrisonFord. Check out Russell's audition [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nix_PID3oiA&list=PLC3CD575DE35513CA&index=2 here]]. Nick Nolte would later go on to voice Kuiil in ''Series/TheMandalorian''. Creator/RobertDeNiro, Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/JamesCaan, Creator/TomSelleck, Creator/BurtReynolds, and Creator/AlPacino were also approached for the part of Han Solo. When asked why he turned it down, Pacino responded with this.
--->'''Pacino:''' I remember not understanding the script. I was in ''Film/TheGodfather'' and they didn't care if I was right or wrong for the role or if I could act or not act.
* Creator/BillMurray, Creator/ChevyChase, Creator/SteveMartin, Creator/SylvesterStallone, Creator/JohnTravolta, Creator/RobertEnglund, Creator/JamesWoods, and Creator/BillyDeeWilliams were considered for Han Solo as well before the casting of Ford. Williams would eventually go on to portray [[Characters/StarWarsLandoCalrissianCharacterSheet Lando Calrissian]] in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''.
* Creator/JodieFoster was the original candidate for the role of [[Characters/StarWarsLeiaOrgana Princess Leia]] before Creator/CarrieFisher was cast. However, Foster turned down the offer due to scheduling commitments to ''Film/TaxiDriver''. Creator/SissySpacek auditioned, while Fisher auditioned for ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'', as Lucas and Creator/BrianDePalma were holding joint auditions and they got each other's roles (Fisher denied the rumor that she chose ''Star Wars'' because she refused to do nudity). Creator/TeriGarr [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqBwnCr3fY also auditioned]].
* Creator/KarenAllen, Creator/NancyAllen, Creator/ChristineBaranski, Creator/KimBasinger, Creator/BonnieBedelia, Creator/LindaBlair, Creator/GlennClose, Creator/GeenaDavis, Creator/FarrahFawcett, Creator/MelanieGriffith, Creator/CatherineHicks, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/AmyIrving, Creator/MargotKidder, Creator/ChristineLahti, Creator/JessicaLange, Creator/BernadettePeters, Creator/JaneSeymourActress, Creator/CybillShepherd, Creator/MerylStreep, Creator/KathleenTurner, Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Creator/DianneWiest and Creator/DebraWinger also auditioned for the part of Princess Leia before the casting of Fisher.
* Creator/MelBlanc and Creator/StanFreberg were considered for the voice of C-3PO before it was decided to let Creator/AnthonyDaniels, who performed the role physically, to voice him as well.
* The role of [[Characters/StarWarsObiWanKenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi]] was originally written with Creator/ToshiroMifune in mind. Depending on who you talk to, either Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox wasn't keen on giving Mifune another whirl (although Mifune could speak English, all productions where he was speaking English ended up dubbing over his voice due to his thick Japanese accent) or Mifune wasn't available. Either way, the role went instead to Creator/AlecGuinness.
* Mifune was also up for the role of Darth Vader at one point. At Tokyo Comic Con, his daughter Mika clarified that her father didn't want to do the film because he felt it was disrespectful to Japan's samurai culture, as this was back when many people still considered sci-fi to be a low-budget and juvenile B-grade genre. She went on to say that were he still alive today, he likely would have jumped at the chance to appear in a ''Star Wars'' movie.
* The general story of what we now know and love as ''Film/ANewHope'', and by extension the entire ''Star Wars'', varied heavily from draft to draft. The very first treatment written in 1973, ''The Journal of the Whills, Part 1'', centered around a "Jedi-bendu" by the name of Mace Windy (who would become the character of Mace Windu in ''The Phantom Menace'') and his apprentice, C. 2. "Chuiee" Thorpe. According to the existent plot, Windy worked as a warlord for an Alliance of Independent Systems, but was kicked out because his peers believed he was too powerful, after which he and Thorpe found themselves involved in a mysterious mission. Lucas brought the thing to his agent, Jeff Berg, who was quickly confused by the [[CallARabbitASmeerp massive amounts of jargon]] used in the treatment, and recommended he start simpler.
* The next version of the story was already called (''The'') ''Star Wars'', and was heavily inspired by Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''. The protagonists were the princess of the planet Ophuchi and her protector, veteran General Luke Skywalker, who were chased through the galaxy by the evil Empire. On their way, they were joined by two bureaucrats and later a cadre of juvenile rebels who had revolted against the empire, all of which later had to rescue the princess, sold to the Empire by Yavin aliens, from the imperial capital of Alderaan.
* Lucas tweaked the story in the process of creating a rough draft in 1974, and then a first draft with some naming changes. The story featured Jedi master Kane Starkiller and his son Annikin, who helped free planets to oppose the evil Empire and its ruler Cos Dashit. As Kane was a cyborg (with only his head and right arm remaining organic) and therefore couldn't adequately teach his son the ways of the Jedi, he arranged for Annikin to train under the tutelage of his old friend Luke Skywalker, a general of the Aquilaean system, while Kane himself joined a hulking reptilian alien named Han Solo to perform a mission. The plot then had Annikin rescuing Princess Leia and joining a tribe of Wookiees (originally envisioned as smaller, with heads like that of "giant bushbabies", and not technologically capable), captained by Chewbacca, in order to defeat the Imperial forces in their jungle homeworld of Yavin. The Empire was interested in conquering Aquilae because it had advanced cloning facilities, and characters like Vader, Artoo and Threepio were already there, at least nominally.
* The second draft from 1975, ''Adventures of the Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars'', had almost all the recognizable elements from the final product. In its backstory, the Galactic Empire had been built over a Republic toppled by trader barons, while the Jedi-bendu, who protected the galaxy with their knowledge of the Force of Others, had been exterminated by a mercenary Force sect named the Black Knights of the Sith. The protagonist was now Luke Starkiller himself, who had been taught the Jedi arts along with his three brothers (Biggs, Windy and Deak) by their uncle Owen Lars (husband to Beru and father to Leia) and therefore received the title of "The Skywalker". In order to save Deak and the planet Ogana Major, Luke joined young space pirate Han Solo (who had stolen a ship by rigging it so it appeared to be about to explode and letting the rest of the crew evacuate themselves) and his crew, the Wookie Chewbacca (who ''was'' technologically capable) and the cyborg Montross Holdaack. After finding Ogana had been blown up by an Imperial unnamed space station, they were captured and taken to a prison complex in a floating city, but escaped and eventually reached the Rebel base in Yavin 4, from where they destroyed the station in a way similar to the Death Star. A SequelHook where Luke completed his training with his father, the ancient Jedi leader of the Rebellion, was also included.
* The next drafts increasingly resembled the final ''A New Hope'', but contained some differences in naming and character traits, with one of them having Ben Kenobi revealed as a cyborg and being a bit of a curmudgeon.
* Around the time of the second draft, Lucas was concerned that there weren't any major female characters, as Leia Lars was very minor, so he considered changing Luke to a girl (presumably fusing him with Leia) and making Han her love interest. Also, the Kyber/Kaiburr Crystal — a crystal which amplifies the power of the Force in its bearer — was a major part of the plot in those draft scripts, to the point that in the third, while the others are rescuing Leia, Ben Kenobi goes to take back a Kyber Crystal which had been stolen by Vader when he betrayed the Jedi. In the final version this was replaced by him deactivating a tractor beam holding the ship.
* Even with the general script finished, there were aspects of the script that were tweaked during production. In the script used in the audition for Luke, Alderaan was called Organa IV, Han seems a lot more knowledgeable about the Empire, Kenobi is not present as Luke and Han react to Alderaan's apparent disappearance, and Luke admits that he does not have the money to pay Han.
* Darth Vader was originally a rather minor character, and early drafts actually have him spending most of the movie without his iconic suit, as the latter was actually not a permanent life-support system, but a spacesuit that he needed to board the ''Tantive IV'' through space. He was even going to be killed off during the trench run at the end, but Lucas decided to add a shot of him escaping as a SequelHook, and the rest is history.
* The Emperor's original concept was a PuppetKing who got into his position thanks to Vader and Tarkin. This characterization was de-emphasized from the film's script, but the novelization retained it. It was in the later films that he was changed to a Dark Side mastermind.
* In a later draft, Han and Chewbacca do ''not'' actually have a ship when they agree to fly Ben and Luke to Alderaan. They steal the ''Falcon'' just before the passengers arrive. Han's lines bragging about how great his ship is were actually meant to reflect that he was obviously scamming them.
* Jabba was originally conceived of as a SmallNameBigEgo gangster, who's nonetheless powerful enough to make Han's life difficult unless he's paid off. It's clear from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw1gkNd6Z_8 deleted scene]] with the human version of Jabba that Lucas still had this interpretation of Jabba in mind as late as when the movie was being shot. There were also plans to make Jabba a big furry alien, voiced by Declan Mulholland.
* The scene where Luke and Han rescue Leia was originally going to end with Luke punching Leia in the face in order to knock her out.
* Obi-Wan was originally going to survive the duel with Vader, but George Lucas changed this to a more thematically interesting HeroicSacrifice when he considered that the character would have had little to do for the remainder of the movie. His death also fulfilled the need to give the villains more menace, as Lucas was worried that the Empire seemed very weak and was left with egg on its face as the heroes outwitted and escaped them; previous drafts did include some scenes of extreme violence and the (potential) rape of Leia by the Empire's men, but Lucas took this out because he did not want the film to do as bad as his then-rated PG (now R) ''Film/THX1138''. Putting Obi-Wan's death in gave Vader and the Death Star more status and power, bringing the stakes back up.
* The Battle of Yavin was originally going to be much less exciting — the final battle had Luke taking two full runs at the exhaust port, no appearance of the ghost of Obi-Wan, and Han scaring Vader away from Luke much before Luke takes the shot.
* The artistic aspect was also heavily subject to changes. For instance, R2-D2 and C-3PO had different [[http://www.df.lth.se/~ola/Starwars/StarWars/starwars6.html character designs]] in the beginning: the former was meant to be tripedal, and the latter bore an androgynous appearance similar to Hel from ''Film/{{Metropolis}}''. Artoo's design was changed after tripedal locomotion proved to be too difficult to accomplish on sand. Lucas also decided to make Threepio more distinctly male in the end.
* In early versions of the script, R2-D2 could speak standard English, and he had a rather foul vocabulary. Although all of R2's English speech was removed, many of C-3PO's reactions to it were left in.
* Chewbacca originally [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060528003603/starwars/images/b/bf/ChewieConceptArt.jpg had a bat-like face]]. This design was reused for the Lasat species, whose most notable appearance was in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''.
* According to Ben Burtt, Darth Vader's life support systems were supposed to make constant beeping and clicking sounds which, in addition to his loud, mechanical breathing, would make Vader sound like "a walking emergency room". This was deemed too irritating and the noises were cut down to just the iconic VaderBreath.
* Lucas originally envisioned Tatooine as a jungle planet. Gary Kurtz traveled to the Philippines to scout locations; however, because the idea of spending months filming in the jungle made Lucas "itchy", the director refined his vision and made Tatooine a desert planet instead.
* Luke was going to be surnamed "Starkiller" until fairly late in the process, when it was realized that the name uncomfortably reminded people of UsefulNotes/CharlesManson. The name "Luke Skywalker" was then brought back from the first draft script. However, the name Starkiller got far enough into production that, according to Mark Hamill, they had to reshoot Luke and Leia's first meeting in the detention level. (The name was eventually repurposed as the codename of Vader's secret apprentice in ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' and then later as the name of the base housing the First Order's planet-sized superweapon in ''Film/TheForceAwakens''.)
* The "Lost Cut" — the first rough cut of the film, which has never been seen publicly and has been detailed in various articles over the years — was apparently intended to be "''Film/AmericanGraffiti'' in Space". It featured many extra scenes, including extra footage of the Jawas and the Sandcrawler, a midget human confronting a creature much larger than himself (seen in a BetweenMyLegs shot) at the Mos Eisley spaceport which was later reused for the "Life on Tatooine" segment of the ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'' , and more.
* The incident in the cantina was originally filmed as much more gruesome, with Ponda Baba/Walrusman not only having his arm severed by Obi-Wan's lightsaber but also getting ''beheaded''. Unused footage exists of the severed head moving around on the floor of the cantina.
* Kabe, the little bat-faced alien seen briefly asking for a drink in the cantina, was originally supposed to be part of the group harassing Luke and can be seen standing near Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba in several shots. Several still photos exist of Kabe reacting to the aftermath of the altercation with Obi-Wan.
* Luke and Leia's kiss almost got axed because test audiences laughed at it. Lucas' wife Marcia convinced him that they were laughing because it was so sweet and unexpected.
* In the original filmed version, the Death Star was also not actually attacking Yavin IV. The idea of having the Death Star preparing to blow up the Rebel base was added in editing by Marcia Lucas through insert shots and recycled footage to give the scene more tension, which is why nobody on the base has dialogue in the control room.
* Darth Vader originally had no powers, and the Force was a general sixth sense and some basic mental tricks, as opposed to the final product, where it's far more powerful.
* [[WordOfSaintPaul According to]] [[https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/1379135290787258368 Mark]], Lucas "really wanted" the classic cartoon short ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgersInTheTwentyFourthAndAHalfCentury'' to be shown before ''A New Hope'' during the original theatrical release, as a signal to the audience that what would follow wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. Unfortunately for Lucas, he was unable to secure the rights.
* The meeting between the Imperial higher-ups at the Death Star had around ten seconds cut from the very beginning, in which Cassio Tagge explicitly referred to Darth Vader as a "Sith Lord, sent by the Emperor". Had these ten seconds not been cut, the Sith would've been properly referenced for the first time in 1977, rather than in 1999's ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
