<P> Aided and abetted by restless, power - hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic . He promised to reunite the disaffected among the people and to restore the remembered glory of the Republic . Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace . Soon he was controlled by the very assistants and boot - lickers he had appointed to high office, and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears . </P> <P> Several other portions of the novel deviate from the film, including scenes that were filmed but not inserted into the final cut of the movie . Most notable of these are scenes with Luke Skywalker and his friends at Tosche Station on Tatooine . Also included is the scene with Jabba the Hutt that was re-inserted in the Special Edition of the film; however, in this novelization he is written as a fat biped with an ugly, "shaggy skull" and "jowels" that shake with his head, and he has scars that are a sign of his ferocious reputation in combat . This differs both from the script's version of Jabba (which is described as a creature with "eyes on stalks"), and the giant slug creature that finally appeared in Return of the Jedi . </P> <P> There are various small details throughout, such as Luke's squadron in the Death Star assault being Blue Squadron, thus Luke's call sign is "Blue Five" instead of "Red Five". The official term for "droid" in the novelization is "mechanical", and it is implied that "droid" is a slang term, spelled with an apostrophe preceding it as a contraction of the word "android". Additionally, the word "rebel" is never capitalized, unlike its appearance when describing the Rebel Alliance in the film's opening crawl . The novel and various merchandising tie - ins also refer to Darth Vader as a Sith Lord, although he is not referred to as such in the movie . The term was not mentioned in the films until 1999's Episode I: The Phantom Menace . However, in a recently released deleted scene from the original film, General Tagge describes Darth Vader as a Sith Lord during the Death Star meeting . </P> <P> In the novel, the Imperial stormtroopers board the Tantive IV through the ceiling rather than blasting through a door . Luke's landspeeder has an enclosed cockpit, unlike its open cockpit in the film . Obi - Wan Kenobi lives in a cave instead of a hut, and he smokes a pipe . The scene in the Mos Eisley cantina where Obi - Wan defends Luke involves three aliens, as opposed to two in the film, and Obi - Wan cuts one of them in half . Chewbacca is described as having bright, yellow eyes . Admiral Motti, the man Darth Vader chokes in the conference room in the movie, is not included in the novel, instead replaced by a character named Romodi, who has severe facial scarring . The call sign of the stormtroopers guarding the Millennium Falcon is THX - 1138 (referencing Lucas' directorial debut), as opposed to TK - 421 in the film . Grand Moff Tarkin is present during Princess Leia's torture . The destruction of Alderaan is not described in the book, nor does Obi - Wan sense it . Kenobi's death is also different in the book, in that Vader succeeds in defeating him during their lightsaber duel, while in the film Obi - Wan allows Vader to strike him down to provide a diversion for Luke and his allies to escape . </P>

Did the star wars movies come before the books