New details and images tease Star Wars: The Force Awakens deleted scenes

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Those of us who are hungry for more of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS will likely be devouring the film's upcoming Blu-ray/DVD release which, in addition to other special features, will contain a handful of deleted scenes from the film. If you would like a sneak peek at what we're in store for, Entertainment Weekly has revealed several images and details which should give you something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS director J.J. Abrams told EW that “there are so many things that end up getting cut because of the greater good, because of the rhythm of the sequence or the need to get on with it, a sense of redundancy. You don’t know any of these things when you’re making the movie, of course. It was sometimes after months of working on something that you realize finally — you just don’t need it.”

Early in the film, Finn (John Boyega) is thrust into his first battle and it's nothing what he expected. Following the death of a friend, Finn and the other stormtroopers are ordered to round up the villagers. A deleted scene from that moment will show a "conscience-stricken Finn coming face-to-face with a woman in the shadows of a small building. He raises his weapon…and makes a fateful decision."

Another deleted scene will take place when the First Order attacks Maz Kanata's (Lupita Nyong'o) castle, as Han, Chewie, and Finn run into a little trouble in Maz's basement when they're cornered by a squad of stormtroopers. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) busts out his famous "smart-ass swagger" and attempts to talk his way out of trouble.

We've seen a snippet of this deleted scene in the Blu-ray promo trailer, when Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) leads a squad of stormtroopers to the crash-site of the Millennium Falcon on the surface of Starkiller Base. Bittersweet memories stir in Kylo's mind, as he's still battling the pull of the light side, but he now knows for certain that his estranged father is conspiring against him.

Additional deleted scenes will include an earlier introduction to General Leia (Carrie Fisher) as she "weighs what to do after the First Order's massacre on Jakku," Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) leading a squadron of Resistance fighters into the assault on Starkiller base, Rey (Daisy Ridley) watching over the critically wounded Finn (John Boyega) at the Resistance base, as well as Rey and Finn hijacking a First Order snowspeeder and making a desperate escape from the depths of Starkiller Base.

“You never go into a day of shooting and say, 'This is probably going to be on the cutting room floor,'” says J.J. Abrams. “Every day feels as essential as anything else. It’s always annoying to realize that you wasted anyone’s time on shooting something that wasn’t necessary." While most of the deleted scenes of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS won't alter the story in any big ways, they will deepen our relationship with characters both new and old.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS will be released on Blu-ray/DVD on April 5, 2016.