Do you sense a disturbance in the Force? Maybe that’s because May 25 will be the 40th anniversary of the original release of Star Wars in theaters. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, we’ll be posting Star Wars stories all month, including choice vintage interviews, original videos, and some of our favorite pieces from years past, like this one, a version of which was originally published in 2015. Just keep coming back here all month to see what’s happening in our galaxy.

By Gwynne Watkins and Jordan Zakarin, Yahoo Movies

What do you do after watching the original Star Wars trilogy for the millionth time? How about watching the scenes that didn’t make it into that beloved series of films?

As with most movies, George Lucas and his collaborators shot a whole lot more than what ended up on screen, eventually leaving everything from silly digressions to major characters and plot points on the cutting-room floor. For years, many of those lost scenes were just legend, while others wound up being repurposed for story books or such non-canon fodder as The Star Wars Holiday Special. But recent Blu-ray and digital box sets have collected many of these moments for your viewing pleasure. And to help you navigate this bonus content, we’ve created this guide to the best (and goofiest) scenes that never graced the big screen.

Luke and His Binoculars

Movie: A New Hope

The scene: Luke Skywalker copes with his dull life on Tatooine by keeping his eyes on the skies — even when he’s supposed to be repairing his uncle’s moisture vaporators. This scene, in which Luke watches distant spaceships through his binoculars, was originally supposed to be the audience’s introduction to A New Hope’s protagonist. It was cut to make room for C-3PO and R2-D2’s opening escapades — but alas, the pretty light-show effect of the space battle doesn’t appear elsewhere in the film.

Biggs Darklighter and Friends

Movie: A New Hope

The Scene: When Luke Skywalker tells his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru that his friends had left for the Imperial Naval Academy, he was telling the truth: In a long sequence of scenes that were ultimately cut from the film, we see Luke palling around Tatooine with his friends Biggs Darklighter, Laze Loneozner, and Camie Loneozner. Biggs was Luke’s mentor, BFF, and frequent racing opponent. According to Lucas himself, the scenes were written and filmed after he was told by multiple people that his film wasn’t human enough, but the footage just didn’t seem to work in the final cut. Darklighter shows up later, though, as part of the Rebellion, and gives his life in the Battle of Yavin.

C-3PO Drives the Speeder

Movie: A New Hope

The Scene: Soon after Luke buys C-3PO and R2-D2 from the Jawas, little Artoo slips out of Uncle Owen’s shed to continue his search for old Ben Kenobi. Once Luke discovers that Artoo has gone missing, he and C-3PO hop in a land speeder to search for him across the barren terrain of Tatooine. The scene, as it appears in the final version of the film, gives us our first glimpse at Luke’s piloting skills; in the cut version of the scene above, it’s C-3PO driving the speeder, taking Luke on a bumpy ride against a backdrop.

The Giant at Mos Eisley

Movie: A New Hope

The scene: Jim Henson never formally got involved in the Star Wars films — his colleague Frank Oz created and controlled Yoda, at Henson’s recommendation — but you’d be forgiven for thinking that Big Bird made a cameo after seeing this deleted seen at the Mos Eisley Cantina. The wretched hive of scum and villainy was filled with all sorts of odd creatures, and apparently, being able to fit into the frame was a requirement for making it into the final cut.

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