Jabba the Hutt’s appearance has changed a lot since the first time he appeared in A New Hope‘s script, but one fan-made video proves that George Lucas missed the best way to introduce him. Lucas always had plans for Jabba to be the unsettling alien he is today, but the CGI of 1977 wasn’t up to the task, so a human actor stood in for the time being. As the movies progressed along with the digital effects, there were several versions of Star Wars that tried to match Lucas’ original vision for Jabba, but there’s one trick the movie hasn’t used.
Bookmarked with a human actor, the scene where Jabba threatens Han Solo for owing him money was removed from the theatrical cut of A New Hope until it could be reinserted with Lucas’ vision in mind. YouTube channel Star Wars Story displays the many versions of the scene, including one of the creator’s own design.
Starting with 1977’s original deleted scene in the top right corner of the screen, the video continues counter-clockwise, showing the 1997 special edition’s CGI version, followed by an upgraded version from 2004 and, finally, the fan-edit that shows Jabba communicating through a hologram.
George Lucas’ “Fixes” For The Jabba The Hutt Scene Didn’t Quite Work
When Lucas reinserted Jabba the Hutt into Star Wars, the 90s CGI couldn’t quite capture a realistic interaction between the gangster and the already-existing Han Solo. This created a rather distracting disconnect in the scene in the attempt to achieve Lucas’ vision. At several points, Han and Jabba appear to be looking past or gesturing through each other. Though today’s CGI might create a more believable view of Jabba slithering on Tatooine’s dusty setting, the original movie could have used the same 1977 effects used for R2-D2’s message from Princess Leia. This would have given the audience an introduction to Jabba without being limited to the effects of the time.
Jabba’s appearance was important enough to Lucas to withhold the character until his expectations could be met. Though they’ve been met with mixed reception, the updated editions of the original Star Wars trilogy have proven that Lucas was committed to constantly improving the movies’ connection with the audience. Should another update to A New Hope happen in the future, modifying Jabba’s introduction with the addition of a hologram would be the perfect course of action.
