Filmmaker George Lucas is known for capturing the imagination of millions with his Star Wars franchise. He directed 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, which served as an important juncture in the Skywalker saga. However, Lucas has been extremely notorious when it comes to making these movies.
The filmmaker constantly tinkered with the finer details until the last moment. Lucas’ tinkering affected some of the scenes in Attack of the Clones, including one Natalie Portman scene, which would have provided more screentime to one underrated character. Here is everything you need to know about the deleted scene from Attack of the Clones.
Natalie Portman’s Scene With Anakin’s Family Was Deleted From Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones marks the second installment in the prequel trilogy of films directed by George Lucas. It explores Anakin Skywalker’s relationship with Padmé Amidala, played by Natalie Portman, along with his training as a Jedi Padawan.
The film also showcases Anakin’s relationship with the Lars family, particularly his mother’s husband, Cliegg Lars, and the latter’s son, Owen, and daughter-in-law, Beru.
The latter was played by actress Bonnie Piesse, who revealed that one scene featuring her and Portman was cut from the movie. During an interview with ComicBook.com, Piesse revealed that Lucas added a scene between Beru and Padmé at the last minute. She said:
It was a big dialogue scene with Natalie Portman on Tatooine, in the Lars homestead kitchen.
Piesse revealed that she came under pressure since she is an Australian and had to learn an American accent at the last minute. She said:
I think it was the night before, and suddenly there’s a script.
Piesse stated that while the scene between her and Portman was filmed, it was ultimately cut from the final movie.
Moreover, Piesse’s comments also confirm that Lucas continued to tinker with his script until the last minute as the scene was filmed with extremely short notice for the actors. As a result, it is safe to say the deleted scene fell prey to Lucas’ infamous last-minute decisions.
George Lucas Made Another Infamous Last Minute Change to Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
The deleted scene featuring Portman and Piesse was not the only last-minute change Lucas made to Attack of the Clones. One of the more significant changes came during the film’s climax, which features a battle with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Master Yoda facing off against Count Dooku.
According to the stunt coordinator Nick Gillard, Yoda wasn’t meant to appear during the lightsaber duel in the earlier versions of the script. During an interview with Star Wars Theory, Gillard revealed how the climatic fight scene was changed to include Yoda.
So, we get there to shoot it as it was, with a much bigger fight with Obi and Anakin, and George said he wanted Yoda in it.
Gillard made the above statement revealing that the fight was originally set to be between Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Dooku. However, the director decided to add Yoda seemingly on a whim.
Nonetheless, Lucas’ tinkering resulted in one of Yoda’s most popular lightsaber duels. Gillard added that on the day of the shoot, Lucas revealed that no matter how the fight was choreographed, he would have Yoda make an empathic entrance by blasting the doors giving the Jedi master an iconic moment.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones is streaming on Disney+.
