but as is it would mess with the pace and tension release too much
You mean provide a welcome break from the snail’s pace of the Tatooine section?
Maybe for everyone who is used to Star Wars that’s how Tatooine feels, as a kid I loved the mystery of the barren planet with the droids before meeting Luke. And yes if there was an exciting chase through a tight winding cavern in the beginning of the movie it would cause diminishing returns by the end of the movie, the sequence the entire story is building up to.
100% agree. The theatrical version of ANH has damn-near perfect editing, and I think messing with the pacing like that would be for the worse. But it might be a pretty interesting addition to something like an extended version. A bunch of scenes added for someone who’s already fallen in love with the movie.