The Star Wars universe is set in a Galaxy filled to the brim with stories. From the Outer Rim to the Western Reaches, every character has a story - and there’s a good chance that their sidearm has a story, as does their ship, their helmet, their droid, and maybe even any stray ration bars they have floating around in the bottom of their backpacks. While the Star Wars movies offer a glimpse of a Galaxy far, far away, there are only so many minutes in a film, and in many cases, it’s only possible to suggest the stories that explain how many of the aliens and characters arrived at the point where they appear on the silver screen.
Fortunately, soon after Star Wars first debuted in 1977, books began to appear on bookstore shelves to offer fans the chance to fill in the narrative blanks left open by the seminal space opera, beginning with Splinter of the Mind’s Eye by Alan Dean Foster. These books soon became known as the Star Wars Extended Universe. Shortly before The Force Awakens was released, the original Extended Universe was given a new moniker: “Legends.” Now considered non-canonical, reclassifying the original Extended Universe heralded the arrival of a new canon of Star Wars books. Unlike the original Extended Universe, which aimed to fill in the blanks left open by the movies, the new books reveal canonical details that cannot be included within the finite run-times of the Star Wars movies. Here are 25 weird things cut from the Star Wars movies (that managed to make it into the books)!
FIRST ORDER CROWD CONTROL
In Star Wars Episode VII, the First Order catches up with defected stormtrooper FN-2187 on the planet Takodana. A stormtrooper identifies Finn as a traitor before charging into battle using a memorable electric baton.
The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary by Pablo Hidalgo reveals that the weapon used against Finn when he fights with Anakin’s lightsaber is a Z6 Riot Control Baton. The weapon is a result of the forceful crowd control that is necessary to keep the population in check on planets governed by the First Order.
KEDPIN SHOKLOP
In a deleted scene from The Last Jedi, a small cycloptic alien named Kedpin Shoklop appears in a scene set in a sauna on the planet Cantonica.
The reason the diminutive Shoklop, who was played by Star Wars legend Warwick Davis in the deleted scene, was enjoying his time in the expensive sauna is explained by Saladin Ahmed’s novella in the Canto Bight collection. This moisture vaporator salesman has a considerably more complicated backstory than his innocent eye might lead you to believe!
THE VISITORS ON AHCH-TO
When Rey finally succeeds in convincing old man Luke to provide her with tutelage in the ways of the Jedi, he agrees by saying he’ll provide her with three lessons. While two appear on-screen, the third is omitted without remark.
A deleted scene reveals that the third lesson would have involved the Visitors. The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary by Pablo Hidalgo explains that the Visitors are male Lanais, the same species as the female caretakers who tend to the Jedi Temple on Ahch-To.
BATTLE OF JAKKU AFTERMATH
In Episode VII, the backdrop of Rey’s first appearance is provided by the memorable image of the ruins of downed Imperial Star Destroyer, decaying amid the sandy dunes of the planet Jakku.
In Ken Liu’s book The Legends of Luke Skywalker, the story “The Starship Graveyard” offers some explanation of the terrible battle the wreckage on Jakku suggests. The story is narrated by an Imperial gunner who survives the crash of the Star Destroyer, only to face a lake of molten glass created by the starships collision with the sandy desert planet!
SNOKE’S RETINUE
In Episode VIII, the loathsome Supreme Leader of the First Order, Snoke, is constantly surrounded by his creepy retinue of imposing alien advisors.
Pablo Hidalgo’s The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary offers some insight into the nature of Snoke’s mysterious retinue: several attendants are enigmatic aliens from the Unknown Regions! These spooky navigators were responsible for the Hyperspace Trails that allowed freeing Imperial war criminals to avoid justice by disappearing into this dangerous and largely unexplored area of a Galaxy far, far away.
RIO DURANT’S TRAGIC BACKSTORY
In the movie Solo: A Star Wars Story, Han joins forces with Beckett’s team of criminals, which includes Rio Durant, a four-armed Ardennian voiced by Jon Favreau and performed by Katy Kartwheel and Dave Chapman.
In Pablo Hidalgo’s Solo: The Official Guide, Durant’s tragic origin is explained. During the Clone Wars, Durant enlisted in the ranks of the Freedom’s Sons, a militia that fought alongside the Republic. But no pension was offered to the soldier who filled the ranks for the Freedom’s Sons, and Durant is forced to turn to a life of crime to survive in the years after the war.
HONDO BORROWED THE FALCON
At the conclusion of Episode VIII, Chewbacca is piloting the Millennium Falcon away from the planet Crait with the surviving members of the Resistance on-board.
In Pirate’s Price by Lou Anders and Annie Wu, the next stage in the Falcon’s long journey is revealed. The notorious Hondo Ohnaka receives a hologram from Chewie imploring the pirate to lend him assistance in locating a compatible Quadex power core to replace the Falcon’s failing unit. Hondo agrees, and the Falcon soon makes its way to Ohnaka Transportation Solutions on Batuu, the planet that serves as the setting for Galaxy’s Edge.
WHY U-WINGS ARE SO RARE
In the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the heroes travel across the Galaxy in a U-Wing, a starfighter previously unseen in the Star Wars universe.
The information in Pablo Hidalgo’s Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide explains why U-Wings are so seldom seen in the Star Wars Galaxy. Designed and produced by the Incom Corporation, the UT-60D never got a chance to complete its first production run before the company was nationalized by the insidious machinations of the emerging Galactic Empire. The rare starfighter also appears in the pages of Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed.
SAW RAISED JYN ON WREA
In the movie Rogue One, the leaders of the Rebel Alliance recruit Jyn Erso to travel to Jedha and confront Saw Gerrera, citing her close relationship with the aging soldier as a suitable foundation to establish contact.
In the pages of Rebel Rising by Beth Revis, the relationship between Saw and Jyn is further explored. Amid the dangerous starship route known as Smuggler’s Run, the ruins of a Republic Clone Wars comm tower on the planet Wrea served as a home for Saw, who taught Jyn how to fight like a rebel during her time living with him.
HOLDO’S OUTFITS
After Resistance leadership on-board the Raddus is devastated by Kylo Ren’s attack, Vice Admiral Holdo steps up to lead the rebels as they flee from the vengeance of the First Order.
While most members of the Resistance are seen wearing standard-issue khaki uniforms, Holdo’s style includes flowing dresses, eye-catching jewelry, and brightly colored hair dye. The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary by Pablo Hidalgo explains that Holdo’s stylistic statements are an intentional choice that pays respect to the culture of the Vice Admiral’s home world, Gatalenta.
WHEN LEIA MET HOLDO
When General Organa and Vice Admiral Holdo part ways in The Last Jedi, the two women share a touching goodbye that alludes to the pair’s longstanding friendship.
The origin of the longstanding relationship between the characters is revealed in the novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray. As members of the Imperial Senate’s Apprentice Legislature, Leia and Amilyn bonded during Leia’s first steps into the daunting realm of Galactic politics. While many things change in the Galaxy in the intervening years, the friendship between the two characters remains constant.
THE DECRANIATED
In the movie Rogue One, the Holy City of Jedha is filled with characters both familiar and previously unseen. Among these varied denizens are the ghastly cyborgs known as the Decraniated!
Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide by Pablo Hidalgo reveals the origin of the Decraniated. The result of the ghastly medical experiments performed by the notorious Dr. Evazan, the Decraniated are wounded members of the local insurgency who have been made to be as subservient as droids thanks to a process that involves replacing their cranium with cybernetic technology.
KYLO’S LIGHTSABER
The moment Kylo Ren first activated his lightsaber in Episode VII, fans could tell that there was something different about the sputtering and unstable laser sword wielded by the villain.
In The Force Awakens: The Visual Guide by Pablo Hidalgo, it’s revealed that Kylo’s lightsaber is based on an ancient design that originates with the Great Scourge of Malachor. However, the crackling and unstable quality of the blade comes from the fact that the Kyber crystal that power’s Kylo’s blade has been cracked!
THE FATE OF THE GUNGANS
While the Gungans played a significant role in Episode I and Jar Jar had cameos in Episode II and Episode III, the Gungans have seldom been mentioned in Star Wars stories since the prequels.
But in Last Shot by Daniel José Older, a Gungan named Aro N’Cookaala is working a desk in Substation Grimdock’s Administrative Sector. After mocking Han’s clumsy attempt at code-switching, Aro reveals that attempts to include Gungans in Naboo culture have largely consisted of clumsy tokenism and empty promises that failed to bring any meaningful unity to the two species who share Padmé’s home planet.
IMPERIAL MINERAL ACQUISITION
While the Galactic Empire possesses a seemingly unending supply of enormous grey starships and space stations, the Star Wars movies never explain where the raw material for these fantastic construction projects are mined from.
In the novel A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller, the nature of the Empire’s acquisition of these materials is explored through the case of the planet Gorse and its unstable moon, Cynda. Under the command of Count Vidian, a veteran of the private sector who uses the authority of the Empire to apply his corporate business strategies without legal or moral restraint.
SNAP WEXLEY’S BACKSTORY
In Episode VII, Poe Dameron leads Black Squadron, a team of pilots who fly starfighters during the battle of Starkiller Base. Among the pilots in the ranks of Black Squadron is Temmin “Snap” Wexley.
Snap’s backstory isn’t explored in the movie, but the novel Aftermath by Chuck Wendig reveals some of the adventures Wexley had during his childhood, including the creation of Mr. Bones, a reprogrammed battle droid with a unique personality that includes a thirst for gory battle and some pretty impressive dance moves.
ELLO ASTY
Poe Dameron’s Black Squadron is seen on-screen in Episode VII, but the nature of the team isn’t explained in the movie. According to Pablo Hidalgo’s The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, Black Squadron is a combination of Blue Squadron and Red Squadron and takes its name from the color of Poe’s X-Wing, otherwise known as Black One.
One member of Black Squadron who isn’t mentioned by name during the movie is Ello Asty, whose namesake comes from a Beastie Boys albums.
HAN’S IMPERIAL ACADEMY DAYS
In the early scenes of the movie Solo, Han enlists in the Imperial Academy in the hopes of becoming a pilot. A scene cut from the movie shows Han crashing a TIE fighter and subsequently facing a military tribunal that sends him into service on the front lines.
In the novelization of Solo by Mur Lafferty, Han’s time in the Imperial Academy is still included, and includes the somewhat unsurprising revelation that the time he spent enrolled in the Empire’s training programs were characterized by a failure to respect authority.
TAM POLSA
Another character glimpse on the streets of Jedha in the movie Rogue One is Tam Posla.
In Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide by Pablo Hidalgo, it’s revealed that Posla was a police enforcer for the Milvayne Authority until continued over-extension of his authority caused him to cross over into a career in bounty hunting. Posla is on Jedha in pursuit of two wanted criminals that bear responsibility for the ghastly Decraniated seen elsewhere in the Holy City on Jedha.
ORIGIN OF PHASMA’S ARMOR
First appearing on-screen in the movie The Force Awakens, Captain Phasma of the First Order is an unforgettable and imposing figure. Her armor is identical to standard-issue First Order stormtrooper fare, but with a chrome finish that demands attention and raises immediate questions.
Those questions are answered in Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson, a novel that reveals Phasma’s beginnings on the brutal planet of Parnassos, her ruthless rise to power within the ranks of the First Order, and the origin of her unforgettable armor.
