Details About Luke & Leia's Cut Scene From 'The Last Jedi' Will Hurt Fans' Hearts

If you enjoyed Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but hoped for a little more closure between some of the franchise's most beloved characters, you're in luck. Director Rian Johnson revealed to Entertainment Weekly that a cut scene from Last Jedi starring Luke and Leia actually addressed the loss of Han Solo. While the scene did not make the final edit of the film, it will be available with the DVD of The Last Jedi when it's released on March 13. As EW described:

"Luke goes to his stone hut alone and sits quietly, eyes welling with tears over the old friend he will never see again. As he grieves, the film cuts to Leia Organa in a similar pose, far away. She is sitting beside a window on the Resistance starship Raddus, and the cut is meant to suggest she and her brother are sharing a moment of grief."

Johnson also shared his feelings on the scene being cut. “I was very sorry to lose it. I think it’s a beautiful performance from Mark Hamill,” the director told the magazine. “It’s both of them having the connection, and that also then led you to think that Leia was thinking about Han’s death... It was a really lovely moment." Fans need to see that moment, stat.

According to Johnson, he removed the scene to keep Last Jedi's pace on track. That's fair; cutting in and out of Luke's story and Luke's story with Rey with a note about Han would be a little disruptive. Plus, as it turns out, that wasn't the only moment cut from the film. Johnson explained (or hinted at) at least six of the scenes that will be available with the DVD for EW.

In addition to Luke and Leia sharing a moment of mourning for Han, Johnson filmed a scene that underscored the connection between Rey and Finn. He said,

“I was looking for any opportunity I could to emotionally connect those two. I thought it was a really sweet little scene. I loved John Boyega’s performance in it. Ultimately it was meant to explain his motivation for going [to find Rey and quit the Resistance], but we realized that you understood his motivation, because he tells it to Rose. Once we realized we could get away without it, it was something that just naturally fell away.”

That particular scene involved BB-8 encouraging Finn with a hologram of Rey. “Little sneak,” Johnson described to EW. “You’ve got to watch what you’re saying around BB-8. It’s all on the record.” So true.

CinemaBlend revealed that there are 14 deleted scenes in total, all of which will be available from The Last Jedi's home release. Yes, that's 14 scenes totaling an unknown amount of previously unseen footage. CinemaBlend also announced that at least one scene prolonged the interaction between Finn and Captain Phasma, adding some chilling backstory to Phasma's character. Again, in a film with a 152-minute runtime, it's probably for the best that not everything made it in. Still, it will be fascinating for fans of the franchise to watch Johnson's entire vision for his Star Wars sequel. Whether they loved it or not, it's hard to deny the allure of 14 additional scenes.

It will be interesting to see how perspectives of The Last Jedi change once the additional scenes are made widely available. Will they endear fans to the sequel, or cause a polarizing reaction? Also, how is it possible that not a single one has leaked online yet? Great job, Disney, for keeping it all under wraps. (For real.)

It sounds as if the Last Jedi cut scenes are an equal mix of emotion, humor, and heart, so it doesn't seem like they should shift the plot of the movie too much. If anything, they'll just add to the enjoyment of Johnson's film — and provide a little more context for what exactly was going on on Luke's mountain. *Insert Porg yell here.*