By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Back in 1998, the cool Star Wars video game quietly landed on the PC. Star Wars: After the Magic it was a mini-game and an interactive encyclopedia, filled with all kinds of weird secrets about the franchise. It was from this odd little CD-ROM that I first learned about Act Two, something that would become a big deal in the Prequel Trilogy. This was the first time I learned more details about Darth Vader being a Sith, something that was surprisingly absent from most of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Of course, i the coldest of all something about After Magic it was an insert of deleted scenes from A New Hope.
To be honest, most of the deleted scenes from the first Star Wars movie are great it's badand it's easy to see why they were cut from the film. However, one deleted scene that many fans have never seen (it certainly wasn't on that old CD-ROM!) was an extended version of the Death Star conference scene. It's actually surprisingly good, with world building and politics that feel out of place Andor. This incident also paints General Tagge as one of the strongest officers in the entire Empire. Most interesting, however, is that the scene referred to Tagge as Darth Vader's “Sith,” a name we'll never hear on screen. 22 years!
Tag, You are
An extended version of this scene from A New Hope it has only one angle, and is fixed on Tagge the whole time. As strange as that is, it also allows us to appreciate how much love the late, great Don Henderson put into his performance. Tagge expresses appropriate paranoia, saying that Vader has “gone too far” and that this guy sent by the Emperor will be “a setback.” He goes on to explain how dangerous the Rebel Alliance is and that the Death Star is more of a vanity project for Tarkin than a useful military asset. Another scene plays out as it did in the first movie.
Despite Henderson's excellent performance, this extended scene is compelling because it offers something Andor-style Imperial worldbuilding. We find out that Motti isn't the only one who doesn't trust Vader. We also find out that Vader was sent by the Emperor; the original movie made it seem like he was Tarkin's attack dog. Speaking of Tarkin, it's interesting that Tagge calls the Death Star part of “Tarkin's bid for recognition” rather than “a brilliant military strategy.” Just like that, we have an interesting look at Imperial politics, including a senior official saying that his boss is putting his ego before the needs of the Empire.
When the Sith Hit the Fan
Of course, the main reason this extended scene is so exciting for Star Wars fans is that it represents the first time the word “Sith” has been spoken on screen. “On screen” is the key word here: the novelization of A New Hope he called Darth Vader the “Dark Lord of the Sith,” and had the same title in the first Star Wars commercial. He has also been referred to by this title or, more simply, as the “Evil Sith Lord” in other Kenner toys. Despite Dark Horse Comics providing more details about the ancient Sith in similar comics Legends of the Jediwe didn't get much information before the prequels about the specifics of Vader's Sith.
This is because George Lucas was reluctant to allow the writers of the Star Wars Expanded Universe to compromise certain aspects of his fiction. That's why the EU was filled with so many evil Dark Jedi, like Joruus C'baoth. Lucas had no problem with people writing about a corrupted Jedi, but he had his own plans for how to portray the Sith. Those plans played out in the Prequel Trilogy, where the word “Sith” was officially mentioned on screen for the first time. The Phantom Menace. In those prequels, details about the Sith were a well-kept secret, best known to Jedi and Sith practitioners like Palpatine.
Keep It Private, Keep It Safe
Is this scene extended since A New Hope reached the final film, the fans were going to destroy it decades I would like to know more about Sithi. Plus, they'll probably want to know how an Imperial commander knows all about the most secret cult in a galaxy far, far away. However, Lucas cut this dialogue, leaving the Sith a mystery that he explored extensively on screen in the prequels and, later, The Clone Wars TV show. Now, it's up to fans like us to spread the word about the deleted scene that almost changed everything.
Don't know how to introduce it to your friends? I recommend that I begin by asking if they have heard of the tragedy of General Tagge, the wise man. Tell them it's not a story George Lucas would tell them, and wrap up that cute beanie!
