10 Star Wars Moments That Were Almost WAY Darker
4. Ponda Baba Was Going To Lose A Head
In A New Hope, when Luke and Obi-Wan arrive in Mos Eisley, they are quickly drawn into an altercation in the Cantina. Luke is threatened by noted Ballsack Walrus, Dr. Cornelius Evazan, who tells him in no uncertain terms that his companion, the pictured Ponda Baba, doesn't like him. Oh and, while they're at it, Evazan doesn't like him either.
For his troubles, Ponda Baba loses an arm in a flash as Obi-Wan draws his lightsaber. However, originally he was to be decapitated in the middle of the bar, with his head then bobbing away across the floor.
This was cut as it was deemed too violent for what was, in Lucas's mind at least, a child-friendly movie, but it also seems rather harsh for Obi-Wan to kill him for just talking smack to his ward.
These two characters, in the extended universe, were far worse than their appearance here. Evazan was a mad scientist, guilty of horrific crimes, with Baba as his assistant. Giving the old guy the benefit of the doubt here, perhaps Obi-Wan sensed this, in which case Baba should be grateful he only lost the arm in the end.