Wexter

For me it is the best Disney era film, but it’s not like the bar is super high.

I really want to know how the film went before the reshoots. Sure, maybe it wasn’t working, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest the original script provided much better characterisation for at least Jyn and Bodhi. Also, the Saw Gerrera scenes from the reshoots are really messy. After they leave Jedha, the film gets much better and the finale is pretty great.

I agree, however, that making the reactor shaft an inside job was a bad call.

I never once complained about characters being static. My point is they are inconsistent.

As for Luke’s arc, he certainly has one over the course of TLJ. It is his saga-spanning arc that I take issue with.

It means different things for different characters. Obviously the common thread is that there was never any sort of character arc for any of the key players. Things set up in one film were abandoned or outright negated in the next. Luke, Rey and Snoke tend to be most often mentioned when it comes to this, but really it is true across the board.

I don’t find it strange at all that people would prefer heroic Luke over failed and depressed Luke. What I think is a bit unfair is that people tend to put the blame squarely on TLJ and Rian Johnson, when in fact it was TFA that established that Luke ran away when the galaxy needed him the most. Even though I’m not a fan of Johnson’s treatment of Luke, I’m not sure I could have done it much better in his shoes.

In my opinion the entire ST treated pretty much all of its characters – both old and new – absolutely shamefully.

RicOlie_2 said:

Knight of Kalee said:

I agree that season 2 in general improved on the strengths of the first series, though I’ll conceed some of the new faces or references to the lore could became a bit overwhelming for those who hadn’t kept up with all of the Star Wars content (particularly Filoni’s previous animated works). One of the things I liked the most about season 1 was that even someone who grasps only the basic stuff about SW could enjoy the series. Season 2 isn’t as newcomer-friendly in that regard. However, now that the parallel spin-offs (Boba, Ahsoka, etc.) have been properly set-up, the upcoming third season can go back to a more self-contained narrative, even if it’s bigger in scale.

I don’t think it’s confusing for newcomers, just less exciting. I haven’t seen seasons 5-7 of the Clone Wars, so Bo-Katan was just a new character for me, and it worked. And I don’t really know what Ahsoka’s been up to since season 4, aside from the occasional spoiler I’ve had the misfortune to read recently.

Dude, you literally stopped watching The Clone Wars just as it’s getting really good. You need to catch up on that.

Rodney-2187 said:

I can’t believe how well planned all of it sounds. I know they’ve been working on it for years, but it sound like they have so much mapped out. There’s a ton of concept art too and it all looks amazing. I’m all in on this.

Yeah, the amount of planning is pretty impressive. The authors have a clear idea about the state of the galaxy in this era. The characters seem promising as well. Almost looks like Lucasfilm is learning from their past mistakes. I’m cautiously optimistic and definitely will give this a chance.

Dr. Krogshöj said:

Having finished the new season, I am very disappointed. Season 1 in my opinion was MILES better.

Season 1 was an entertaining space Western series with with a simple main story of a traditional masculine warrior archetype developing paternal feelings for a child, complemented by some fun self-contained side quests. It offered a glimpse into a culture previously unexplored in Star Wars films. Its limited scope, patient pace and focus on quiet character moments instead of over-inflated set pieces and heavy-handed thematic messages made it almost unfashionably old-school and thorougly enjoyable for every audience. It was also refershingly original for a Star Wars (despite some unavoidable fan service).

Season 2 had its nice moments in the first two episodes, but then it largely succumbed into unabashed, full-time fan service with little room for anything else. Instead of introducing new, interesting characters like Kuiil, The Armorer or IG-11, the payoffs focused on the return of characters from other media. You were supposed to cheer for Ahsoka and Bo-Katan and Boba Fett turning up not because they were interesting or said interesting things but because they were familiar from The Clone Wars / the OT. It was rewarding for hardcore fans with a capital F, but that’s my problem. It was a series for the hardcore fans, not for the general audience or casual fans like Season 1 was.

I also felt that the purpose of several episodes/scenes wasn’t to tell a self-contained story or serve the arc of the season, but to set up spin-off series, which turned out to be exactly the case. This is the real Marvelization of Star Wars, which I regret, but I am aware that I am in a minority, and most fans actually want this and will enjoy the myryad upcoming series.

I think this is a fair point, however I don’t blame Lucasfilm for going this route. I also believe when season 3 eventually comes around, it will be much more in line with season 1, only with bigger stakes. Clearly with the success of season 1 they have finally found a way to keep the audiences satisfied and they want to capitalise on this direction. Season 2 set up a lot of stories going forward, but it is not sustainable to announce and introduce a dozen new projects each year.

EddieDean said:

Question for the community: Should I have not called this a release version? I don’t want anyone to feel like they were duped into watching an incomplete episode. I always want to refine my “release” episodes based on feedback, so I’d guess that my version 1.1s will always quickly follow my version 1.0s, but am I misleading you guys by calling what I released a 1.0 release version?

I wouldn’t worry about this. Version 1.0 is a completed episode with its intent a fully realised. It is quite common for fanedits to receive revisions years after the initial version has been unearthed. Plus this version is still only available for whoever has access to the tracker. If you are worried about the nomenclature, just call the first complete cut of an episode “beta” or something like that 😃

Oh and one more thing. I love how the Christopsis episode ends on Obi-Wan saying “I best be on my way” as he leaves for his ship. It flows right into the intro of the Mandalore episode. If there is a way to further strengthen this connection, perhaps by adding in a line of dialogue, that would be amazing.

I have just watched both of your edits. I’m not so sure about the inclusion of the elements from the prequel Christopsis episodes (Ventress and Bail). I don’t want to dismiss those ideas right away as I realize this is only a rough cut and you probably want to work on it some more.

I think the Mandalore episode is pretty much good to go. I can’t believe how well the conveyor belt scene cut works. I’ll echo some of the notes already mentioned. The mention of Satine’s “daring rescue” probably needs to go. All she really does is provide a brief distraction during the fight. As for the elevator cut you could probably fix this by adding in the SFX of the door opening. I believe Smudger solves this cut by intercuting to a brief shot of the ship in hyperspace, which should also work out nicely.

Hey, can I get an access to the tracker too? Can’t wait to check this out.

JadedSkywalker said:

We must have seen a different movie. Rey as Luke’s heir is going to keep the jedi flame alive.
Finn, Rey and Poe will rebuild the Republic along with all their friends. The balance has been restored by Palpatine finally being defeated once and for all. The last gasp for the Empire and the Sith.

It isn’t that Luke and co failed, its that the next generation has to pick up the torch and now its their job to secure the future that Han, Luke and Leia fought for.

It is just my opinion and your mileage may vary, you could just as easily say Rise of Skywalker was just a remake of Return of the Jedi. And Han, Leia and Luke were replaced by Poe, Rey and Finn, and that everything ends up the same.

I struggle to see it this way for one simple reason: Return Of The Jedi does a much better job at setting up these future paths for its characters than TROS does. Luke is bound to rebuild the Jedi order because of that final conversation with Yoda. The Alliance is bound to restore the Republic, because with the emperor dead, the Empire might as well pack it up.

On the other hand Rey rebuilding the Jedi order is never a part of her character arc. Her arc ends with her coming to terms with her family identity. In a similar manner, it is never stated that defeating Palpatine’s Final Order would in any way make way for the Republic to be restored (if it is indeed all gone, we don’t know for sure). Most of the galaxy is not even aware of Palpatine’s return mere hours before he is defeated once and for all (and is he, really?), yet the First Order still reigns supreme. Sure, thanks to Lando, the galaxy now finally seems to be willing to fight back, but the true meaning of their victory over Exegol is never made clear.

While I agree that the development you laid out seems to be the most logical, it doesn’t seem to be based on the text of the sequels, but rather on the striking similarity of the current state of things to the situation after Return Of The Jedi

While that’s pretty much what I realistically expect, the Skywalkers would still be extinct failures and the Rebel Alliance would have achieved nothing of any lasting significance.

So I suppose this will pass as an unpopular opinion…

I really wish for the rumours regarding the sequels’ possible de-canonization to be true.

I know they most likely aren’t and even if they were, that scenario would come with its own set of problems. But then again leaving the canon as it is has its problems too and I’m not sure why should the fandom live forever after with the narrative choices made by JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson and Chris Terrio. I don’t even blame those guys, they are filmmakers and they are not expected to be super versed in the larger Star Wars lore – the story direction really should have been the responsibility of the Lucasfilm Story Group, who dropped the ball big time, in my opinion. This is not even limited to the sequels as I feel like the nu-EU often struggles with continuity issues to a much larger extent than the ‘Legends’ canon ever did. However, this issue seems to be most apparent with the sequel trilogy, as even the individual chapters don’t gel too well with each other, much less with the larger lore.

Sure, the sequels have made a lot of money, but they have also dealt significant damage to the brand going forward. The lead actors of the sequel trilogy – all of whom did a great job with the material, as far as I’m concerned – don’t seem to be too keen to reprise their roles in future projects and frankly, there doesn’t seem to be a huge demand for them to do so.

Although I feel figuring out a way to shift the sequel storyline to an alternate timeline would be a good call in the long-term, I don’t think Lucasfilm would dare going this way. It just wouldn’t be a great look for them, especially after they have been very reluctant to acknowledge any sequel criticism. They would also need to do right by the fans who genuinely enjoy the sequels. Some might also see this as tarnishing Carrie Fisher’s legacy, so an extraordinary amount of sensitivity would be required in order for this to work.

I am still keeping my fingers crossed, though. Recent success of the Mandalorian and the final season of Clone Wars has shown, that the notion that you just cannot satisfy the Star Wars fandom has been greatly exaggerated in recent years. The animated series, which make up a significant proportion of the current canon, have actually introduced some concepts that might make something like this possible. And what’s more, it seems like those concepts might be further explored in the Ahsoka show. Sure, Star Wars has a long history of retcons and revisiting established stories “from a certain point of view” and I’m absolutely certain we’ll get at least that when it comes to the sequels. But at the same time I feel like ironing out the confusing nature of the sequel politics or the details behind the supposed Palpatine family (and so much more) might require more than that.

I’m probably going to be in a minority on this issue, but hey, a man can dream, right? 😃

Son of Mortis said:
“The future by its nature can be changed.
Join me, and together we will destroy this emperor you see in your visions.”

jedi_bendu said:

This is correct, but that wasn’t my question - how much did we see of Plo BEFORE he died?

Not too much, but he was a recurring character in a bunch of Legends comic stories, games and even some novels. Those were all still canon when TCW started.

Ironic. She could play a Star Wars character, but not herself.

The first Star Wars film I’ve seen in the theatre was Attack Of The Clones. Each film I saw on the big screen up to and including Rogue One I’ve initially really loved and the cracks only begun to show with time.

The last three Star Wars films seemed really disappointing from the get-go. Can’t tell if they were really that much worse or I’ve just become a cynical asshole. Possibly both.

Man must be such a trill reviving all those threads from 15 years ago, I wonder what new grounds might we break

Janskeet said:

Has Lucas gone completely crazy??!!! You just don’t get it George, nobody wants to see your wet dreams. After 3 strikes of the PT and then Indy 4, nobody is going to be fooled this time. Face it, it’s over. The only way anyone will pay attention to this is if Jar Jar Binks dies a violent death! George, why don’t you use all those computers for something useful for a change, have that thing killed a gruesome death so the world can gasp a sigh of relief. Of course, that will contradict your super-duper special edition since you arguably put him in ROTJ, but who cares!!!

 

 
The 2008 ‘The Clone Wars’ animated theatrical movie - Wookieepedia Page : Lucasfilm Wiki Page : IMDB Page : Wikipedia Page

This post has aged well…

sade1212 said:

• The new intro music is alright, but I think I’m in the minority who quite liked the original, more melancholy music. While having Ahsoka’s theme there certainly helps cement her as the main character, I wouldn’t want a prospective audience to get sick of it, or for the repetition to reduce the impact of its use at the end of Season 5 (which I presume you’ll replicate to some degree).

Seconded. Also, you may want to adjust the timing of the text. There is quite a lot of it and on my first watch the second screen text disappeared before I was able to take it all in.

assuming you mean the “old” EU…

the Shadows Of The Empire multi-media project
the X-Wing book series and its characters
the Republic comic series
Knights Of The Old Republic
Mara Jade and Trawn
Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars
the basic idea behing The New Jedi Order (the execution didn’t always work for me)

JackNapier said:

JadedSkywalker said:

People would have been bored out of their minds watching Luke train Younglings, Leia sitting behind a desk signing bills as Chancellor of the republic, or Han training pilots for the new republic academy.

That is most likely what would have happened in Lucas sequels.

Naw ruining characters doesn’t make a good story Rian.

While I think JadedSkywalker makes somewhat dishonest argument (“you can either have Rian Johnson or the worst of the prequels”), I believe this thread’s purpose is to be able to voice potentially controversial opinions without having to explain yourself to others.

Ooooh I love this. Would probably go with a more traditional Star Wars crawl, but if you want to make it your own, this actually works really well. Haven’t noticed any technical issues.

Perhaps couple of years down the line it will become a running joke of Grogu always dodging the bullet every time the Jedi are exterminated in the Star Wars galaxy.

JakeRyan17 said:

Wexter said:

Ed Slushie said:

Wexter said:

QEXP said:

I haven’t looked through all 3,000+ replies to this topic, so forgive me if someone has already pitched this.

Is there a feasible way to remove both Snoke and Palpatine from the entire sequel trilogy, and have Kylo Ren as the sole main villain?

Getting rid of Snoke in The Force Awakens is no problem, he only has a few scenes.

The Last Jedi would be a bit more of a problem. The Snoke’s Throne Room scene would have to go, or at least be heavily altered.

Snoke isn’t a problem in Rise of Skywalker, but the Emperor poses some major issues. The Force battle finale on the ground on Exegol would have to go. Maybe the space battle could be salvaged, but Rey v Grandpa Sheev would definitely get cut. Maybe the Rey/Kylo lightsaber fight on the Death Star wreckage could serve as the final battle?

Anyone has any suggestions on how to make this crazy idea work, hit me back!

I think this could work reasonably well as a 2-in-1 edit of TFA and TLJ. I’m not so sure there are any parts of TROS that are worth salvaging (or even useable for a project like this).

Other than that just edit out any scene involving Snoke and any reference to him. Make Kylo turn to the dark side simply because of his ambition and his Vader fanboyism. Luckily both of the sequel trilogy’s big baddies feel pretty tacked-on and don’t really connect to any of the backstory until Rey becomes a Palpatine, so this idea could be feasible and could even make for a stronger story.

I actually had an idea kind of similar to this, though I don’t remember posting it. Basically, remove the cave scene and its aftermath from TLJ. Instead, reinstate the “caretaker village” deleted scene and have Rey leave the planet right after it - this way it seems like she’s going to go help the resistance herself instead of confronting Kylo. Then she doesn’t reappear until the battle of Crait.

I’d have TLJ play out pretty much the way it does (besides heavily reducing the Resistance “B” plot). Then I guess you could end on the final scene from TROS with some alterations. Rey buries Anakin’s broken lightsaber at the Lars homestead and comes to terms with being “Rey Nobody”, having realised that’s what the cave on Ach-To has been telling her. But the original TLJ ending probably works better than that.

Taking elements from TRoS to augment the ending of TLJ could definitely work. You could even have the civilian fleet be responding to the Crait call, going into Exegol’s space battle and the Kef Bir dual as the final fights.

The fleet could be pretty interesting, but I wouldn’t include the Kef Bir fight, mainly because I don’t find it too compelling. I’d actually prefer to leave Kylo’s fate open-ended.