Padmé Amidala was originally one of the Rebellion’s earliest creators in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, but the scenes depicting this were left out of the final cut. These deleted scenes showed that the earliest iteration of what would become the rebel Alliance to Restore the Republic was formed towards the end of the Clone Wars. Republic senators, frustrated with the Republic’s gradual transformation into an authoritarian regime, sought to preserve democracy, even if it meant another war. They were nothing like the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS), who wished to burn down the Republic and replace it with a system run by corporations. These early Rebels saw the Republic in decay and wanted to reverse the damage.

The Clone Wars was a manufactured conflict, orchestrated by Palpatine (in reality, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious) to weaken the Republic and allow him to corrupt it into the fascist Galactic Empire. As Sidious, he and his apprentice Dooku founded the Separatist CIS, a movement with a massive military force, as well as a Clone Army for the Republic to fight them with. All the while, this perilous situation led the Republic to repeatedly grant Palpatine emergency powers, disregard their constitution, and allow him to stay in office long after his term ended. Although many within the Republic objected to this obvious descent into autocracy, Palpatine’s plan succeeded, and the Republic became the Empire.

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Three deleted scenes showed how Padmé helped create the early Rebellion in Revenge of the Sith. In these scenes, Padmé, along with Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and numerous other senators, form the Delegation of 2000, which protested Palpatine’s continually growing emergency powers and the establishment of regional governors (Moffs), which rendered the senate impotent. In addition to defining the goals of the fledgling Rebellion, these scenes also showed the growing distance between Padmé and Anakin. Palpatine, aware of Anakin and Padmé’s secret marriage and having the former on his side, used this to sow mistrust between the two. Although Padmé didn’t live long enough to see it, many members of the Delegation of 2000 became key Rebellion leaders.

Padme Amidala, Bail Organa, and Mon Mothma in Revenge of the Sith

These deleted scenes were featured in the Legends-era Revenge of the Sith novelization, along with additional dialogue between Padmé and Bail Organa, where she urged him and Mon Mothma to play along with the newfound Empire while secretly forming a Rebellion against it. In the following years, various Rebel movements would eventually coalesce into the Rebel Alliance and go to war with the Empire. The deleted scenes’ appearance in the Revenge of the Sith novel makes them part of the Legends continuity. The Delegation of 2000 is also mentioned in several Canon sourcebooks, such as Star Wars: The Rebel Files, meaning that the scenes may be part of the current continuity as well.

For such a vital and fascinating subplot, both for Padmé and the Star Wars saga in general, one may wonder why were these scenes removed from the final film. Revenge of the Sith is the final and most action-packed entry in the prequel trilogy, and one of the most common complaints about its predecessors was too strong of a focus on politics. The scenes may have been deleted to mitigate these complaints. If the scenes remained in the final cut, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith would have not only had given Padmé more character development but teased the origins of the original trilogy’s Rebellion as well.

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