OK, I saw a press screening of Episode I in Houston, and in the scene where Darth Maul is killed, his body falls down the shaft and on the way down his body separates in TWO HALVES. This was the same for people at the charity screenings around the US. Now we got the following report. Normally I'd think they were mistaken, but this is not the only report we have received. This one is from Brett Michel:
On Sunday, I attended the local benefit screening at the Chestnut Hill Cinema just outside Boston. One of the moments in the film that elicited palpable and very vocal audience excitement more than any other was the image of (**spoiler warning**) Darth Maul as he is shown tumbling downthe molten pit in two halves.
Imagine MY reaction at this morning's 12:01 screening at the Framingham Cinema when I found myself the only one making any noise in theauditorium at the sight of Maul's frame falling into the pit. The noise coming outof my mouth? Not a cheer, but a gasp! The shot of Darth Maul's severed frame, which had made such a striking visual impression just a scant two-and-a-half days earlier, had been REPLACED with a substantially less dramatically satisfying shot of Maul's body falling backwards IN ONE PIECE!
Immediately, my mind began to race. Had Lucas backpedaled and thought better of showing such a potentially disturbing sight in a film that he has publicly stated is aimed at twelve-year-olds? Or has he simply decided to leave the door open for a future appearance by everyone's favorite new "Boba Fett"? These thoughts continued to plague me straight out into the theater lobby, whereupon I discovered something seemingly more insidious.
In talking with others in the lobby, I was amazed to find that of the 5 screens that the film played on, this variation only occurred on thissingle print. From a random sampling of other patrons, I discovered that the other 4 prints in the cinema contained the original "halving" of Maul!
WHY ARE THERE TWO STRIKINGLY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THIS SCENE?!?
Well, this is interesting! Bryan Ferreira sent in an identical report, but they were BOTH near the Boston area. We'll continue to investigate!