Ronster said:
But it was a heavily cut down sequence. There were meant to be a lot more shot’s showcasing the weirdo’s in Jedha city. So many creature effects and animatronics were totally cut from this part it’s sad. we were meant to not only see the Local’s and the Kyber Miners but some of the abominations created by Dr. Evanzan called the Decraniated (Cyborg Slaves). We also miss a small part where a Bounty Hunter was tracking Dr Evanzan and Walrusman. All in all the sequence is cut down by about 3 - 5 minutes probably.For me, what I keep coming back to is whether or not any of this fits into a narrative or could even be part of a film. If you have a story where Jyn is the main character, then why would it ever be necessary to spend 5 minutes following around some random weirdos on a tangent that is irrelevant to the main story?
That’s probably why it got cut and none of these gratuitous cameos should have even been in the film in the first place. Mon Mothma and Bail Organa? Absolutely. Tarkin and Vader? Possibly. But Dr. Evanzan and Walrusman? And R2D2 and C3PO? And another droid babbling about the odds of…something…why are these things in the movie? What possible creative vision could ever find room for nonsense like this in a well-told original narrative?
And the answer I keep getting stuck on is that it’s still about Lucasfilm and now Disney selling toys.
It’s tricky because it fit’s in a narrative where Jyn Cassian and K2-SO did not leave for Jedha alone. Or if they left alone there was also a squad of x-wings that set off for Jedha also. This sequence very much plays out with the x-wing pilots being marched through the streets also that we saw running out of Yavin Base. They are some of the same pilots. Gary Whitta is also one of those pilots.
The point is considering that the whole brief plot point got cut Dr.Evanzan and Walrus man feel completely forced in the film. When in a previous version there inclusion was probably more natural. The same probably goes for C3-P0 and R2-D2 having their time cut short. Vader meeting Krennic at the start of the film. you can go on and on about what should have been kept and what should have stayed but the main point is. A lot of those moments probably feel the way they do because they were not given enough time for them to feel more natural rather than now they feel shoved in as fan service.
The moment Jyn bumps in to Dr Evanzan is the start of the Tank Battle sequence. It was probably easier to keep it than get rid of all of it. But the Decraniated might have looked a bit too disturbing also. There is one guy without a head and you can see all his intestines also. So there is also other factors to consider not to mention the woman missing the top half of her head with a hard drive stuck in her face.
Dr Evanzan’s technology / surgery probably has some connection to the Death Troopers. Although the Death Troopers were way ahead of the decraniated slave bot’s