For decades "Star Wars" fans have heard how imporant the Biggs Darklighter character is. Now there’s a short documentary that pays tribute to one the saga’s most popular minor characters.
In “Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope," we're introduced to Biggs, a mustache-rocking ol’ buddy of Luke Skywalker who perished in Luke’s X-wing trench run to destroy the Death Star.
On the surface, Biggs was just one of the Rebel X-wing pilots we grew a liking to during the battle sequence, like Wedge Antilles and Jek Porkins. But in previous versions of George Lucas’ script for "A New Hope," Biggs played a much larger role in the film, as he’s Luke's best friend back on Tatooine.
Now in Jamie Benning’s documentary, “Blast it Biggs! Where are you?!,” Biggs Darklighter is finally in the spotlight.
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The 16-and-a-half minute short looks at rare photos and the Biggs' deleted scenes, with voiceover throughout from an interview with the actor who played Biggs, Garrick Hagon.
One Briggs deleted scene was supposed to be in the beginning of “A New Hope” where Biggs tells Luke he’s leaving the Imperial Academy to join the Rebel Alliance. The other is later in the movie when the two reunite before they get in their X-wings to take on the Death Star. The latter scene George Lucas put back into the movie for the film’s 1997 rerelease.
In the short, Hagon admits his disappointment when he first saw the film and realized that most of his scenes were taken out.
“It was admiration and a thrill mixed with disappointment,” Hagon said in the short. “Because I realized what a chunk [of my scenes] had gone.”
But Biggs has lived on in the “Star Wars” universe. The novels and comics that were published following the popularity of the original trilogy get into more detail about Biggs and Luke’s friendship, as well as Biggs’ time at the Academy.
Watch the short below:
