Revenge Of The Sith’s Padme Deleted Scene Is Officially The Birth Of The Rebellion

While they were deleted from 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, key Padmé scenes have since been made canon as the true Birth of the Rebellion in Star Wars. As part of Chancellor Palpatine’s master plan to turn the Republic into his very own Empire, he’d long been laying seeds of corruption with the Galactic Senate while also using the Clone Wars and his emergency powers to amend the constitution as he saw fit. As a result, Revenge of the Sith nearly featured Padmé Amidala’s involvement with the Delegation of the Two Thousand to show how some senators tried to resist.

While the Revenge of the Sith deleted scenes with Padmé and these other senators have been acknowledged as canon before, they’ve notably been given a prominent placement in the new Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion reference guide by Pablo Hidalgo, confirming it is indeed – as George Lucas originally planned – the birth of the Rebellion itself. Fearing Palpatine’s growing power such as the appointment of new governors before officially declaring the birth of the Empire, 2,000 senators signed a petition protesting Palpatine’s actions during the Clone Wars, requesting that he cede his emergency powers in the name of restoring democracy. Signatories include:

The seeds of corruption had long been sown by Palpatine, eventually growing so out of control that establishing his Empire was all too easy. However, seeds of hope and rebellion were sown as well with the canonical Delegation of the Two Thousand, many of whom would become key leaders of the Rebel Alliance in the following years.

The Delegation Of Two Thousand Opposed Palpatine’s Power

A Committee Was Formed To Fight Senate Corruption

As seen in these deleted Revenge of the Sith scenes, Padmé was initially wary of what was being proposed behind closed doors. After all, Palpatine had been one of her most trusted advisors when she was Naboo’s queen. However, she was eventually convinced that Palaptine’s power and the Senate’s corruption had grown out of control, beyond the scope of the Republic as it should be. As a result, Padmé herself helped lead the Delegation as seen in one of the deleted scenes from Revenge of the Sith, presenting the petition to Palpatine himself who claimed that he appreciated their concerns.

Padmé also wanted to ally the Delegation with the Jedi Order (particularly her secret husband Anakin Skywalker). However, she was convinced to wait until after the petition was made and the Delegation’s voices were officially heard in the Senate as it was unclear how the Jedi fit into the greater crisis, especially considering that they’d become the Republic’s generals and commanders during the Clone Wars. However, Palpatine’s plans were put into action far too soon, and the Empire was formed all the same.

Additionally, the initial secrecy of the Delegation became another tool Palpatine used to push Anakin to the dark side. As seen in the deleted scenes, Palpatine helped generate the paranoia that Padmé was hiding something from Anakin. Nevertheless, one can only imagine how things would have turned out if the Delegation and Jedi Order had been able to join together against Palpatine.

The Delegation Of Two Thousand’s (Surviving) Senators Established The Rebellion

Mon Mothma and Bail Organa Were Critical Leaders

The day after the Empire was formed, Imperial Intelligence went after several Delegation members on charges of conspiracy and treason. However, those who survived to have positions in the new Imperial Senate became key leaders in the eventual Rebel Alliance. This included Bail Organa and his adopted daughter Princess Leia, as well as Mon Mothma who became Chancellor of the New Republic once the Empire was defeated. Regardless, the Delegation of the Two Thousand being official Star Wars canon proves Padmé Amidala would have been a key figure of the Rebellion as well had she lived beyond Revenge of the Sith.