10 Secret Subplots You Didn’t Know Were Cut From Popular Movies
6. Kyber Crystals - Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
A New Hope is a masterpiece of science fiction - a sweeping, franchise-making epic which ushered in the modern era of the blockbuster. It was, all told, a seriously ambitious project, with much of its influence taken from Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (1958).
In The Hidden Fortress, a pair of peasants help a princess and a general cross enemy lines safely in return for gold.
This was Lucas' biggest inspiration for the first Star Wars' script, in which a major subplot showed a group of Rebels search for kyber crystals, which would possibly give them the chance to destroy the Death Star.
However, the whole sequence was cut due to financial restraints, and the kyber crystal arc was replaced with R2-D2 having the Death Star plans stored within his system, leading to Luke being the one who destroys the Emperor's weapon with just an X-Wing and some great aim courtesy of the Force.