Cutting One Important Scene From The Last Jedi Was Painful For Rian Johnson
"The Last Jedi" is one of the most controversial "Star Wars" sequels produced since George Lucas made five hugely controversial sequels to his first "Star Wars," and the most controversial until somehow, Palpatine returned. The film also does a lot of things right, interrogating the idea of the hero's journey and of the Jedi in the story of Luke Skywalker, expanding our understanding of the galaxy far, far away with the politically-charged Canto Bight subplot, and delivering one of the all-time greatest "Star Wars" fights with the duel in Snoke's throne room.
Though "The Last Jedi" features some of the best "Star Wars" movie moments ever (according to us), there were some stunning moments that didn't make it to the film. This includes a scene that really delves into Luke's struggles with the legacy of the Jedi, which adds to the overall message of the film and arguably explains Luke's mindset better than the actual film. The scene sees Luke telling his new "apprentice," Rey, about an impending raider attack on the Caretakers (aka. the fish nuns who reside on Ahch-To with Luke), which prompts Rey to rush to their aid, only to discover the Caretakers were simply having a party. Luke's lesson is that the Jedi wouldn't have reached out to help, and that is why the galaxy doesn't need them.
As part of the "Last Jedi" director's commentary, Rian Johnson explained his reasoning for cutting this scene. "Taken on its own, I love everything in here. But first of all pacing-wise, there was always something about it that kind of stuck and it just felt like at this point in the movie [...] you just wanted to move past it," said Johnson. He added that cutting it makes the film work "just as well in a different way."
'Old failed husk of a religion'
Luke's sick troll (he really learned the proper Jedi way from Obi-Wan Kenobi) was meant to teach Rey that the Jedi were so strict in their old ways that they would rather let villagers get killed rather than upset some idea of balance. He then tries to dissuade Rey from wanting to be a Jedi, arguing that what the Resistance needs are Rebels who disobey doctrines, not an "old failed husk of a religion."
Except, it is not the actual Jedi religion that either the Resistance or Rey are looking for, but the "legend" that is Luke Skywalker, the individual hero who helped defeat the Galactic Empire. This moment would've also pushed Luke to start reconsidering his longstanding position on his legacy in the film, while at the same time showing us Rey's struggles with her emotions and with violence.
Indeed, Rey follows the old Jedi traditions, albeit in her own way. Throughout "The Last Jedi," she sees the Jedi the way the audience saw them in the first two "Star Wars" trilogies, as a police force and as warriors rather than monks. It's telling that the scene pays so much attention to Rey's lightsaber as her source of defense and as a tool for violence (not to mention, a party glow stick for the Caretakers).
This is because, for years, the way lightsabers are used in the "Star Wars" films has created a big contradiction and fallacy for the Jedi, making them warriors of peace who nevertheless employ unstoppable laser swords that transform them into the most lethal force in the universe. As journalist James Whitbrook put it, "Lightsabers are to Jedi as re-purchased military gear is to local police forces."
'Batch Eight heigh-ho!'
As great as this deleted scene is, its message is touched upon elsewhere in "The Last Jedi," which explains why Johnson cut it (as tough as he found that decision to be). The same can be said of a relatively less important but equally notable deleted scene — a longer sequence in which the heroes Rose and Finn sneak aboard Kylo Ren's ship dressed as First Order officers. Years before "Andor," this would've been the first time we got to see Imperial or First Order bureaucracy at work, with paper pushers just spread out across the vessel's deck.
More importantly, however, this sequence gives us the gift that is Tom Hardy's cameo as a Stormtrooper. In the scene, Finn and the others sneak onto an elevator, only for one of the stormtroopers joining them to recognize Finn from his First Order days. That trooper is played by Hardy in the best instance of a British actor using a Southern accent this side of Daniel Craig playing Benoit Blanc (yes, I know Hardy technically did this first). Just when it seems Hardy's stormtrooper is going to rat out Finn, he instead congratulates him for making it as a captain, and very proudly shouts out their military class and slaps Finn on the ass.
It is one of the weirdest, best tension-cutting moments in the saga, one that might've well become a meme had it not been deleted. It recalls the more absurd moments of cartoon comedy Lucas injected into his movies, like the infamous deleted scene from "Revenge of the Sith" where Anakin and Obi-Wan speak in droid while in the middle of their attempt to rescue Palpatine. It's silly, it's funny, and it's pure "Star Wars."