I’m very reluctant to crop off the broom boy ending because to me it just feels so very ‘fan edit-y’ and inauthentic in a way I can’t put my finger on. Star Wars movies always end with a scene without any dialogue, and even if Canto Bight is hardly there, the meaning of the final scene would still read easily.
Hal, I completely agree with you on this. Ending on the Falcon feels rushed to me and just kind of small.
The broom boy scene works so well not because it pays off the fathier scenes, but because it pays off Luke’s sacrifice. Luke accepting his legend and using it to inspire others gives his actions such weight and scope. It’s just epic. And it plays wonderfully after Rey herself expresses doubt about the fate of the rebellion.
Without that end scene, you lose the scale of what Luke has done. He didn’t just save our heroes, he rekindled the rebel spirit.
(Hal, I would also be grateful to see an early rough cut when it is ready!)