RogueLeader

A part of my heart breaks to think all of those hours down the drain, but to be honest most of that afternoon I spent working on that shot was me just figuring out how to do it. Gotta kill your darlings I guess. But now that I know the easiest way to do it, I wouldn’t care to add whatever to those shots if I was provided the drawings and the shots needed to make them (honestly should just snag a high quality digital version of the movie). I need a better quality version of that Jannah shot too.

It would require some creative editing, but maybe the beginning of his dream could depict related his ambitions of greatness, and then the vision devolves into both Padmé and his deaths. Something that shows him in a position of power, as a Jedi Master, or being the celebrated chosen one who achieved his destiny, or in a position of power in the galaxy. Like, he sees this power and greatness he will one day have, maybe alongside happiness with Padmé too, and then he loses it. That way, we know his fear of loss is not only tied to losing Padmé, but losing the power he foresaw him having.

It would be interesting if this could be tied to Palpatine. Like, he know these visions of power are tied to Palpatine, and being associated with him. It would be ironic if he was seeing his future as Vader, but depicted in a way that looks “good”, like he is Anakin rather than Vader, Palpatine rather than the Emperor. So he does he end up getting the power he saw in his vision, but not in the way he saw it. For example, imagine the scene at the end of the film, with Vader the Emperor on the bridge of the Star Destroyer, backs facing camera. You could have the same shot, but we see the backs of Anakin and Palpatine instead. So Anakin interprets that as him bringing peace to the galaxy through military power. Stuff like that.

Anyway, not really sure what imagery you could use. It could be even simpler than that. Just picking a few existing shots and laying the right pre-existing lines underneath it.

I do like the logic of that! It’s better than Rey just happening to flip through that page the day they find out about Exegol.

As of now though, I think we’re changing that page to set up Force healing, since it plays a bit of a role in the movie too and is never really addressed. We can assume she had just scene that read about it before this day. Though your idea would still benefit from her seeing it in a vision for the other reasons you mentioned.

If you stuck with just adding new dialogue to the hologram scene, you could have Palpatine say something like:

Soon, I will have a stronger vessel.
or
Soon, my spirit will have a more worthy host.

It could be a way to address the question of, “Why would Palpatine tell them something that would make them want to kill him less?” It’s like, Rey probably would’ve killed you before you told her that. Yes, I think he tells her because of his hubris and sees that there is no other way (until there is), but it would alleviate that question if the audience could learn about his plans for spirit transfer while he tells a confidant of his intentions.

Also, everyone would probably know he is talking about Rey here, but it is still vague. He could be referring to a new clone body. But then on Exegol when he says, “That is what I want” it would confirm it is Rey.

Ah yeah I see what you’re saying.

It’s not bad! Could be played around with a little more.

I’m wondering if it would flow better if we get both pieces of new dialogue, and then have Poe say, “He calls it the Final Order” afterward. I’m not sure if that is more complicated with how the music and maybe Chewie’s growl is baked into the surrounding tracks.

Hal 9000 said:

The Rey Nobody edit, like all of these fan edits, exists in a parallel universe in which it is the final film that was presented and marketed to the world. (Nevermind that this parallel universe would probably also have its own Hal9000 project.)

In other words, the reader must be assumed to be someone for whom this version simply is the movie, with no other context assumed.

This is a great perspective. My mind is settled then!

CamSMurph said:

Burbin said:

I can’t believe I’m seeing a Finn in this movie that actually feels like he went through TLJ’s character arc.

Neither can I. Still no Duel of the Fates, but we’ll take what we can get. 😃

Unfortunately can never reach the heights of DotF’s imagery for Finn. Maybe not for Ascendent, but I may have a few more tricks up my sleeve for Finn’s story arc…

And regarding the Palpatine hologram line, I think that is why I liked “Only the strongest shall rule”. It says a lot with very little. Plus, I’d rather any new Palpatine lines be vague about Rey’s bloodline so it could be used for both Rey Nobody and Rey Palpatine. Honestly would love to see an edit that actually makes me like Rey Palpatine. How can an edit make that work in a way that isn’t convoluted? Lol.

For the Rey Nobody edit, I thought it would be interesting to have Palpatine still kind of suggest that they could be family, in a literal or figurative sense. Like, he could still call her Empress Palpatine, or something like, “Long have I waited for a family”. And then Rey could just call him a liar. He may be telling the truth, or could just be playing into her desire for belonging. Kind of in a similar way they address if Deckard is a replicant or not in Bladerunner 2049 with ambiguity. That way, a Rey Nobody edit could still kind of work for people who have accepted the Rey Palpatine thing too. But maybe viewers who are aware would just be confused and be like, “Wait I thought this was a Rey Nobody edit??” not realizing it is being framed as manipulation. Plus, someone could still technically view her as Rey Palpatine in a Rey Nobody edit, it is just not addressed in the movie. Probably just better not to mention it at all though.

I’ll get those to you Hal when I get a chance!

And true. It’s the only hologram scene so you can excuse it sounding different than everything else, especially if you just replace all of the scene’s dialogue.

Have we hammered down the Poe line in the briefing?

Thanks Neerb! Maybe it’s just because I’ve been imagining it for so long, but I do feel like I have more of a emotional reaction to this scene now than I did before.

I had another go at the “And you” version, and touched up things here and there.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gfn_2npNuyDawhQUpbNYrDRLoHEwxU2o/view?usp=drive_link

Jar Jar Bricks said:

RogueLeader said:

The “And you” version I just slapped together quickly because the reading came to me. I’m curious if people would prefer that line reading if I nailed it down, or like the v1 line reading. Again, not based on quality but just the line alone.

EDIT: Also, is the new shot okay?

What is this “new shot” you’re referring to? 😉 Don’t tell me or it’ll stand out all of a sudden.

New Shot? I meant new show. Is Ahsoka any good? 😅

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Haha, and thanks Jar Jar! Honestly I just spend way too much time thinking about this stuff.

The “And you” version I just slapped together quickly because the reading came to me. I’m curious if people would prefer that line reading if I nailed it down, or like the v1 line reading. Again, not based on quality but just the line alone.

And that’s a good point krlozdac, but my train of thought was like Jar Jar’s. Finn’s story planted the seed. But, I don’t think they ever collectively planned to defect. Them laying down their weapons just sort of happened in the moment. Maybe Finn’s story planted a seed of morality in them, and it began taking roots, and then bloomed suddenly. It’s like, before hearing about Finn, they may have slaughtered those civilians. But it awoke their consciouses.

EDIT: Also, is the new shot okay?

I had a go at the Finn and Jannah scene.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JVfNWEHbAeUcyaNeV9w66N-iYoT2XSiJ

Jar Jar Bricks said:

Hal 9000 said:

Changed Rey’s line to Leia as she turns over the lightsaber from “your brother’s saber” to “your family’s saber” to begin to plant a seed about eventually identifying herself with the Skywalker family (AI voice provided by Jar Jar Bricks)

In a callback to a line modified earlier, when Leia hands Leia the saber before she departs the base, she tells Rey, “You are family” (AI line provided by Jar Jar Bricks)

I had nothing to do with these two. RL did both of these 😉

Did not mind at all but thanks for the credit Jar Jar!

Jar Jar Bricks said:

Jar Jar Bricks said:

• Jannah AI voice to make it clear her company views Finn as their inspiration for rebelling

So yeah, here’s this:
https://youtu.be/3DCC0abhlw8?si=Ldy4RsWbMnQocf-E

I think the first line sounds pretty good but the second one could be improved (or removed entirely). Really it’s only the first one that’s important.

This is really good! Did you use the whole sample you sent me, or just the lines from this scene?

I NEED this.

I think you could just replace all of it to make it the same, and add new hologram distortion effects, because it isn’t a lot of dialogue.

It is better than I thought it would be! I’m also sort of in the camp of not adding AI dialogue to Exegol unless necessary, but adding something in to his hologram convo with Pryde potentially. A part of me feels it will still be a challenge to make it blend into the sound mix, like Hal mentioned. At least we know that it actually might be doable though if we are set on something!

That’s true! Maybe we could play with a few different variations of that. Though it might not be obvious initially that destroying the throne is the key.

And yes, I’ve considered that too. I wanted to keep it vague so we don’t really know if Palpatine is hearing Anakin. But even if he did, he might not realize what that fully means until he gets a taste of their power. And Anakin doesn’t say anything about that means beyond “balance”, wish means nothing to Palpatine.

EDIT: He knows they have a bond, but maybe his evil Sith heart just wouldn’t even consider the power something like the dyad would have. It’s possible if you were watching it from a first-time perspective, you wouldn’t think it is contradictory for him to react like that.

EDIT: I know others have considered reintegrating his trailer line, “Your coming together will be your undoing”, and this could be an appropriate context to add it back in. I’d probably swap it out with “Unseen for generations”, which just raises more questions than answers.

Thanks! And yeah, that’s what I was thinking too.

With all that throne stuff in mind, it does make me think Palpatine and Rey’s dialogue could go a little different in that final interaction. To enhance that selfish/selfless individual/collective theme, maybe they could say:

Palpatine: I am the Sith!
Rey: And I, I’m all the Jedi.

I know Ascendant changed that, but it would make sense in this context. I also think you could shorten this Palpatine line to just:
Kill me, and my spirit will pass into you.

I think “all the Sith” stuff just muddies the waters, and it would be better Palpatine didn’t refer to himself as being a part of anything but himself.

Honestly I think you’re better off spelling it out for the audience. It’s like, if I showed this to someone who wasn’t an Uber-fan, I’d want them to be able to tell me at the end of the movie, “Oh yeah, the throne had the power to keep the bad guy alive, so Rey destroyed it!” I might be wrong though!

Regarding the dyad, it has always bugged me that the dyad concept isn’t even mentioned until halfway through the movie, when Kylo calls them that. And what that means isn’t even explained until Palpatine starts draining their power at the end of the movie.

Right now, my idea is to set it up in the vision when Kylo touches Vader’s helmet. For a more normal approach, you could just add the line when Palpatine says it with some “dyad” imagery perhaps.

I have had this plan to use the Jedi whispers Rey hears on Ahch-To in the other movies. Like in TFA, when Rey is being drawn to the saber, and maybe subtly while Rey and Kylo are in each other’s heads during the interrogation. Finally, we’d hear the whispers when Rey is saying “be with me” at the end of the film, and they morph into the voices of the Jedi. On top of that, I wanted to include the voice of Anakin briefly whispering “Rey” when she being called to the lightsaber and the Jedi tree.

In this version I have planned, Kylo connects with Vader’s helmet again after meeting Palpatine to try and get some answers. Because at this point he knows Palpatine was using the helmet to manipulate him. But he wants to try and gain insight if he can, and he does, a little bit. This time, even though Palpatine’s influence is strong, Anakin gets through slightly.

Kylo: Show me.
Palpatine/Vader: Join me.
Ben: Grandfather.
Anakin: Palpatine lies!
Palpatine: I can give you…
Anakin: I brought you together.
Palpatine: everything…
Anakin: A dyad in the Force.
Palpatine: The Throne…
Anakin: Balance.
Palpatine: Power.
Shots of dark Rey and Kylo.
Anakin: No!!

I still want it to be stream of consciousness and vague, but basically, we see a Force battle in Kylo’s mind between Anakin and Palpatine. Anakin manages to get some info to Kylo, don’t trust Palpatine, him and Rey are a dyad. But Palpatine makes him misinterpret what Anakin is trying to say.

It doesn’t have to be Anakin, or he could say, “We brought you together” in a collective Force sense, but these things would be a way to show how Anakin’s influence has actually been countering Palpatine’s influence all this time. And, it actually shows where Kylo even heard the term “dyad in the Force”.

Nev, was thinking about your idea, and I had this thought.

During the Resistance briefing, you could change C-3PO’s line from this:
Exegol does not appear on any star chart, but Legend describes it as the hidden world of the Sith.

To this:
A lost Sith world. Legend says the Throne of Exegol held the power over death itself.

This actually would be the perfect place to put this type of exposition. This is the scene where we get the Palpatine exposition dump, with our characters speculating (and us wondering) on how he’s alive.

With this line, we are told why this place is important, and what’s special about this place that allowed Palpatine to survive. Also, it is the antithesis of the Dyad in the Force. The Dyad has the power of life itself, the Throne has the power of death. Only one person can sit on the throne, representing selfishness. But the Dyad is two that are one, representing selflessness. The Dyad is a human/spiritual connection, the Throne is a material/physical connection. Love vs Power.

So I wouldn’t interpret Palpatine as “alive” until he absorbs the dyad energy. Up until then, he is just “undead”. A Sith lich.

It would work with the theatrical since the throne is destroyed in the explosion, but all you would need to do at the end is just add more lightning VFX that go past/through Palpatine and hit the throne. And make sure it is depicted so Palpatine is shooting lightning the whole time up until the throne is destroyed, so all Rey is doing is deflecting/redirecting it.

And if you wanted to use Jedi voices to remind the audience, it could be something simple like, “The throne, Rey.” You could also make the Jedi voices give just random pieces of vague Jedi wisdom, like Yoda’s knowledge and defense line, but allows us to connect the dots that adds up to this conclusion. I like the idea of this moment being generally inspiring and carry a more personal character/story-driven message, but maybe it can be framed in a way that kills two birds with one stone.

Honestly I think this would be a really satisfying way to address how Palpatine won’t just come back again. And even better, Rey uses her wisdom to realize how she can defeat Palpatine without just straight up killing him up, which it currently seems like she does.

I think some troopers recognize him, like the trooper he fights in TFA and the trooper on the Supremacy from the TLJ deleted scene, but I don’t think most would recognize them. It seems like only troopers who knew him personally, or were in the same company/legion as him, have seen his face during day-to-day life.

And it’s possible some knew of his betrayal, or the FO kept it under wraps, but overtime stormtroopers came to learn of his story. Maybe Resistance propaganda pushed that idea and it stormtroopers encountered it in the field.

And I agree with Jar Jar. I think Jannah exclaiming “You?!” could be recontextualized once we imply she’s heard of FN-2187.

krlozdac said:

I like the idea but I feel like it is important to reestablish her parents importance in her story considering the movie is about to talk a whole lot about that.

That’s true, at least for a Rey Palpatine edit. Not necessarily a Rey Nobody one.