Via Polygon.com:

Mark Hamill has confirmed that the opening shot of Star Wars: The Force Awakens everyone has seen was not the original version.

Talking to The Sun, as reported by Birth Movies Death, Hamill said that director J.J. Abrams had shot a different version of the opening where a severed hand holding a lightsaber floats across the screen before disintegrating and falling onto the planet of Jakku. The planet would eventually become a home to Rey and would be where her adventure with turncoat stormtrooper Finn begins.

Hamill added that after the lightsaber falls onto the planet, an alien hand reaches over and grabs the weapon, carrying it away before the movie continues. Hamill said while he wasn’t sure if it was Maz or not, there was good reason to suspect it was either her or one of the many travellers who occasionally passes through her palace.

Abrams hasn’t said anything about the opening scene, but it was rumored to be the original back when the film was still in its production phase.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is currently available to purchase on Blu-ray, DVD and can be downloaded through various digital retailers. The next Star Wars installment, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, will be released this December, with Episode VIII scheduled to be released Dec. 15, 2017.