Watching the original movie back in the day, we had no clue there would be more. An unexpected hero had big dreams but was afraid to leave the familiar old responsibilities for new ones. Then he was forced too. The hero had a chance to save the beautiful Princess and save a Rebellion fighting a powerful evil empire. Back then it was just called Star Wars and until the extra title Episode 4 A New Hope was attached, we didn’t know more was coming.
We knew the Empire was evil for 2 reasons: we instinctively associated choking a man to death, an intimidating ball droid with needle as a torture device and blowing up entire planets with evil. The fact that the bad guy was clad in black and the heroes in white no doubt had something to do with it too – a color scheme left over from the white knight vs the black knight and the cowboy with white had vs the evildoer in the black hat.
It cost Luke dearly to follow his dreams. He hadn’t even committed when his Aunt and Uncle were killed. Obi-Wan was killed protecting him for reasons we didn’t entirely understand at the time. Leia lost her entire home world trying to help stand up to evil.
Han? Han started on his first steps to being a hero by doing something that wasn’t likely to give him a reward – saving Luke.
We also got hints as to the prequel era. While not all panned out, the basics did. We knew from Obi-Wan that he and Luke’s father were something called Jedi Knights and had fought in something called the Clone Wars. We knew that Anakin was already an incredible pilot, cunning warrior and a good friend. We also learned Vader was involved in why Anakin was not part of Luke’s life….although through Obi-Wan’s ‘lie of omission’.
Now have the complete story that led to A New Hope.
That moment we see Vader entering the ship in A New Hope is leavened with sadness: this is Luke’s FATHER. Once he was a hero, not the stuff of nightmares. He has power, but he isn’t truly free. He and Obi-Wan finally meet again. Perhaps killing Obi-Wan is his act of revenge for being trapped in the horror suit, but Obi-Wan’s vanishing denies him this victory.
We know Leia is Luke’s sister. This is a reunion long in the making. Luke’s instinctive attraction to her om A New Hope apparently isn’t the crush everyone (including him) thinks. It’s more a like a sense of familiarity in the Force (as Leia realizes in Return of the Jedi.)
The scene where Leia is tortured by Vader is suddenly more horrible. In spite of just the intimidating presence and implied injection, we now know the man facing her is her biological Father. And he not only tortures her and tries to break her, he also makes her stand and watch Tarkin blow up her adoptive world and family. Given her similarity in appearance to Padme (and similar role as Senator and Diplomat) it’s all the more tragic.
We know where A New Hope will lead
We now know that Han’s quest to pay off Jabba the Hutt and those bounty hunters doesn’t end well. Ultimately, his friends have to save him. Staying with the Rebels cost him: it cost him time to pay off the debt (though we know he had the reward, he apparently kept losing it before he could pay off Jabba!) As for Chewie: its no wonder, he’s become jaded toward Jedi and heroics. He watched the Republic fall and the Jedi along with it. Still, he’s Han’s conscience.
Foundation of the Expanded Universe
The novelization of the movie came out the year before it hit the screens. The Marvel adaptation hit around the same time. There are basic inconsistency of character descriptions because for some, the writing began before a design was finalized. They didn’t know it would be a hit, so Splinter of the Mind’s Eye by Alan Dean Foster (ghostwriter of the novelization) was commissioned. According to Marvel Comics editorials, George Lucas himself sat down with them to give ideas on direction. Once he knew that there would be funding for a sequel, he wanted to avoid the comics contradicting as much as possible.
There was also a full on radio drama which expanded on scenes which were cut from the movie.
Star Wars A New Hope Special Edition
It’s a bit tricky when referring to A New Hope special edition. The truth is this was only seen in theaters and was on one version of VHS tapes. Later versions of home release had even more tweaks. Controversially, it finished the Jabba the Hutt and Han scene in the Falcon’s hanger, left undone due to lack of a design.
The real upset was the Han shoots Greedo scene. This was universally disliked, since Han shot after Greedo whereas before he shot first, taking Greedo’s words as confirmation he meant to kill him. (Probably because the American view that you have a right to defend yourself is not universal on a cultural level.) Later editions have them shooting closer together. There were also issues with the lip sync with Aunt Beru, and Luke when in his fighter.
Expanded Universe fans were thrilled to see Dash Rendar’s Outrider from Shadows of the Empire added in to the Mos Eisley scenes of the A New Hope Special Edition and later home media releases.
A New Hope Inspiration of the Expanded Universe and Extras:
The destruction of Alderaan is even more painful in A New Hope. While we glimpsed it in Revenge of the Sith and met Bail Organa, many of us have now had the opportunity to experience it in Star Wars: The Old Republic. We’ve explored Organa Castle, wandered and met the noble houses, helped fight to save them for Republic or lead them into the Empire. Carrie Fisher memorials were held there.
For an extra shock, if you play the Imperial side Planetary Story arc, you encounter a rebel faction trying to stop the Thul House and their Imperial Allies. During the Conversation, the leader makes the rather prophetic statement that he’d rather see Alderaan destroyed than part of the Empire.
In the radio drama as well as the comics, we get to know Biggs Darklighter. Even in the A New Hope special edition, all we got was a bit of Biggs added back into the Yavin hanger scene, until cut scenes were added to the Blu-Rays. The radio drama and novelization give us Bigg’s earlier meeting with Luke, when he was going to join the Rebellion and why. Dark Horse comics gave us a view of how those events played out. Suddenly, that sudden death over the First Death Star hurts a great deal more because we’ve gotten to know and like him.
In Tales of the Mos Eisley Cantina we get up close and personal with denizens of the Cantina from A New Hope, each with their own name, species and interesting story. This one is exiled because he was forced to collaborate with the Empire. That one has rebel ties.
The destruction of the Death Star is now a lot more complicated, if one read the novel ‘Death Star’. The space station didn’t just contain Imperial soldiers. It contained all the personnel needed to maintain them, including cooks, librarians, cantina and bar personnel and conscripted Doctors. Even the soldiers didn’t necessarily believe the Death Star would be used for anything but intimidation. The destruction of the Death Star was absolutely necessary: not everyone on Alderaan was a rebel! But it sadly came at a cost that at least some of the people on board were innocent, or at the very least, capable of wanting out.
Yavin 4 first appears in A New Hope, and appears in subsequent comics. This is another one that has had enormous history. You run around this world in Star Wars the Old Republic, taking on the Shadow of Revan. It has a history thousands of years before in Tales of the Jedi, a history of Sith Temples, battles with Jedi and will one day be hope to the home to the new Jedi Academy. We only glimpse it in the movie, but now we’ve had a chance to peek around the corners that we can only imagine.
It’s been a long time since the first movie, a long time since the additional title ‘A New Hope’ was added. The more one knows about the story before and after, the more one sees it differently. But it adds a glorious richness. In 40 years, there have been many discoveries. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
