10 Deleted Star Wars Scenes That Explain Confusing Moments
4. Why Did Qui-Gon Not Notice Maul's Probes? - The Phantom Menace
Hunting down Queen Amidala of the Naboo in the sands of Tatooine, Darth Maul is shown setting up a series of probe droids to go into the nearby town and locate either her or the Jedi Knights protecting the her.
For the remainder of the scenes on the desert planet, these probes are seen buzzing around and getting pretty up close to each and every one of the main characters, presumably feeding all of that information back to their Sith Lord owner in the process. One question most Star Wars fans have wondered about is why none of the Tatooine residents, or the force-sensitive Jedi ever even mention them.
One deleted scene from the film however does show Anakin and Qui-Gon Jinn on their way to the Naboo spacecraft, when the Jedi Master suddenly lashes out and destroys one of the probes stalking up behind them. Qui-Gon remarks that he has never seen a probe like this before, and the two of them begin running off towards the horizon.
This scene also helps to provide some context around why exactly audiences see Anakin and Qui-Gon running towards the spaceship before Maul attacks them.