It'd be great if we could finally see on Blu-ray the complete version of the pre-Death Star battle talk between Luke, Biggs and Red Leader (as played by Drewe Henley), where the latter mentions having previously flown with Luke's father- a line of dialogue omitted by a sneaky Rebel trooper walk past edit in THE SPECIAL EDITION of STAR WARS in 1997 (but available to read in its entirety in the MARVEL comic of 1977) presumably so as not to contradict anything that might have been coming up concerning Anakin Skywalker in the then to be filmed Prequels. As we now know, the line didn't clash at all- Red Leader, who's in his early forties at least, could have been a young pilot fighting in the Clone Wars near the end of the conflict somewhere in the galaxy, so I say it should be re-instated in full!
Filming the scene at Shepperton Studios in Summer 1976. |
Let's also hope that, with the newly revised version of the original film, that they can at least bother to get Drewe Henley and Denis Lawson's names spelt correctly this time on the end credits-a mistake that has endured on the film since 1977!
UPDATE 16/9/2011. This scene finally made it intact on to the Blu-ray! Sadly, LUCASFILM still didn't correct the cast credits.
Check out British journalist Ben Falk's enjoyable deleted scenes feature relating to Biggs, plus a great interview with the actor who played him, Garrick Hagon, here: Star Wars on Blu-ray…Plus Biggs Darklighter Speaks! (y’know, that guy with a ‘tache who gets shot down at the end) | BEN FALK
In the expanded universe it is said that during the Clone Wars Red Leader was a member of a fighter squadron called the Rarefied Air Cavalry on his home planet of Virujansi.
ReplyDeleteDuring the Battle of Virujansi he fought alongside Anakin Skywalker, and therefore had met Luke's father before, as he claimed in those lines from Ep IV. Whether he actually knew Luke was Anakin's son at the time of the Battle of Yavin though is unknown.
Thanks for the info. It would be great if the CLONE WARS animated series could pick up that thread.
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