Saga Not enough...

Are there any characters in the saga that you think should've had way more screen time, lines and/or things to do in the movie?

I have always thought that Moff Tarkin, Darth Maul, Kaminoans and old Ben Kenobi were all underused or that it would've been great if they'd had way more screen time.

 

Tarkin, Dooku, any of the named non Moff Imperials, Biggs.

 

The Jedi Council, perhaps.

 

Honestly I think we got too much Darth Maul when they brought him back from the dead. Haha. I would have to say Dooku. For a guy who orchestrated half the Clone Wars, he didn't get much character development.

 

Dooku stands out as one who should've had better character development. If you read the novels, you get a lot of background information on him and why he turned to the dark side. But the average moviegoer shouldn't have to do that to get a better understanding of a key player in the saga.

If it weren't for the OT, I'd also say Yoda. But since most of us (presumably) saw the OT first, we knew some of his history as an old and wise Jedi Master. For first-time viewers, though, it's obvious that he's important, but not a lot of background information is given on him initially.

I think Tarkin was decently handled. He's not the type of character that needed a whole lot of development, but as awesome as Cushing's performance was, I can see why many would love to see more. I think the nod to him in ROTS was quite great.

 

That seems a rather typical response. Many seem to think a 'bad guy' doesn't need development. I think that's sad. I think Peter did fine it's just a shame it seems so many don't see what's right in front of them via Tarkin. However, given our culture I find it totally unsurprising. BTW, thanks for your thoughts on Tarkin. I'm not trying to seem confrontational just noting an observation set. Disagree about RotS, it didn't flow well and yes I get it couldn't be Sir but still.

 

Wedge.

 

Dooku for the PT.

 

The Rebel Commandos on Endor. Too much cut from Jedi including one commando of the Strike Team (Old bearded one known as Nik Sant) donning the Scout Trooper armour (it's there on film if you look closely as Han, Leia, Chewie and the other troops are led back out of the bunker - he's wearing Biker Scout armour and no helmet). Could have been even more of a killer ground battle.

 

Well, Dooku wasn't exactly a good guy in the films, yet I supported that he needed much more character development.

The fact is that it depends. Some characters, be them progtagonists or antagonists, need strong development while some do not. One of my favorite films of all time is The Dark Knight. The Joker absolutely stole the show and is the most memorable performance from that film. However, we didn't get background information on him. We don't know who he is or why he became who he was. And that works to his advantage. It makes him more mysterious and intriguing. It also makes quite a bit of sense if you think about it. The story in that film is primarily about Bruce Wayne's trials as Batman, Harvey Dent's rise and fall, and a city's ability to endure and work toward overcoming escalation. The Joker just happens to be tearing things up and wrecking havoc during the middle of it all. Now, in the context of A New Hope, Tarkin is a minor player. Was Cushing fantastic in it? Of course. He was fantastic in everything. But that in and of itself, and especially when considering the confines in which ANH was operating, did not necessitate stronger development for his character. As it stands, we learn more about him than perhaps any other Imperial officer in the entire Star Wars saga. We hear from Leia that he is/was a governor. We hear from Tarkin himself that the regional governors are given control over their territories, so it stands to reason that he is in charge of maintaining order in some sector of the galaxy. And we know that he is in charge of the Death Star by the way he operates things and deals with Vader and the other officers. In my opinion, that's all we really need to know of a secondary character who plays a smaller role in the grand scheme of the Star Wars film saga.

 

Bail Organa. I thought his character lent some much needed non-Jedi or Sith, human gravitas to the PT and I would've like to have seen him used a lot more.

 

Definitely Maul, Dooku, Qui-Gon, Tarkin, Aurra Sing, That dude Vader force choked in ANH, and one of those aliens that bit the dust early in the pod race.

 

I also say the Jedi Council. They were given an adequate introduction in The Phantom Menace, but we never saw much of anyone, besides Yoda and Mace, afterwards. Also, Lobot. Seeing this guy spring into action to help the heroes is awesome. The deleted scenes of him only make you wish we saw more.

 

Yeah, it would've been cool to see more of Plo Koon, so his death would've had more resonance.

 

Bail Organa, for sure. I would have liked more fleshed-out senators in general, Mon Mothma especially. She would have merited more development even if her scenes in ROTS had been included. She could have stood a bit more exposure in ROTJ too, for that matter.

Biggs deserved more screentime, but that's just an issue of restoring the cut scene.

A bit more Valorum would have been nice too.

Oh, and I would have liked to hear a conversation between the Emperor and his sycophants.

 

Agree about Mon Mothma. I've also always found the idea of the imperial dignitaries fascinating.

 

Grievous

 

Moving to Saga.

And Count Dooku - waste of a Sith Lord & a brilliant actor.

 

Basically this.

In the OT I'd have liked to see some of the Rebel supporting characters more fleshed out - Wedge, Ackbar, Mothma, Hobbie, Janson, Reikan etc. In terms of Star Wars taken as a whole I hold them dear but that's basically only because of the EU works in which they feature.

I'd also like to have seen a lot more Piett to be honest.

 

Yes! Dooku! How could I forget the amazing Christopher Lee? So not only was he Dracula, Saruman and a Sith, but he also fought in World War II, fluently speaks several languages and has been married to the same woman for 53 years? He basically takes awesomeness to a whole new level.

 

It could had been smaller with more focus on each one of then.

 

Jar-Jar Binks...

 

Grand Moff Tarkin and Count Dooku (and then of course we get more of the incredible Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee respectively).

I would have loved to see more of Wedge throughout the saga as well. Same for more Darth Maul in TPM and I would have liked to have seen Jango Fett live and appear in ROTS.

 

Qui-Gon Jin

Darth Maul

Yoda

Count Dooku

 

I agree that Christopher Lee was practically wasted.

I've always wanted to see a little more of the "masses". The pilots, the engineers, the drivers, city-dwellers, the families in those highrises in Coruscant. Just little snippets of their daily life would be enough. These people are also affected by galactic war - they are not nameless, faceless bodies.