14 Awesome Star Wars Deleted Scenes

3. Echo Base's Wampa Problem

Which Episode? The Empire Strikes Back

Where would it be in film? Alluded to throughout the opening, finally paying off when the Imperial troops enter the base.

What happens? Wampas weren't just a danger for those scouting out the area around Echo Base. It turns out the Rebel's home on Hoth was plagued by attacks from the Yeti-like locals; you can see when Han leaves the base early-on there's a mauled Taun-Taun being attended to after one such incident. The wampas were eventually trapped in one part of the base, which proved useful when the Imperials arrived; in a fit of uncharacteristic smarts, C-3PO removes the warning and tricks the Stormtroopers into entering their cage. This was in the film for so long a shot of it appeared in the trailer.

Should it have been cut? There's very little need to mess with Empire and the opening Battle of Hoth is so expertly constructed that, while this is certainly a cool sequence, we're not too upset to see it reduced to curious extra.