Ziggy, thanks so much for the compliments, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the edit!
Hey there! Yes, I’ve now watched Rekindled several times, and I really cannot get enough of it. I really like discussing it so I hope you don’t mind that I’m going to probably continue to bring things up about it — for better or worse remains to be seen!
Regarding my suggestions, let me first tackle the big one about Ackbar.
I know that it’s a significant change and honestly, it’s not entirely realistic for Rekindled in its current state. Changes like these are bold enough that, if they aren’t pulled off correctly, they’re obvious. They’re what separates an excellent fanedit from others that are more conceptual in their goals.
What I think I’d like to see is an alternate or “experimental” version of Rekindled. Sort of a sandbox for ideas that may or may not make the final cut. (Hell, I say this like it’s mine — it’s your edit and your time, you can do whatever you want with it!) But I suppose I’m just so fond of what you’ve put together here that I am eager to see it combined with some of the more conceptual changes that have been suggested (like the Ackbar addition) without it tarnishing the quality of Rekindled as it is today.
So I suppose what I’m asking is if you would consider an “experimental” version of Rekindled. Or, would you be open to myself or anyone else using Rekindled as a base on which to build in some of these more conceptual changes? That said, it’s been a few years since my last fanedit (that reminds me, I should dig it out…), so I admit that it likely wouldn’t come close to the great work you’ve done.
The other two changes I mentioned — Paige kicking the ladder and BB-8 fixing Poe’s X-Wing — these are both things that I believe can be edited without significant alteration of the film, and therefore they could be as seamless as nearly all your other changes in Rekindled.
If you ever decide to open the project back up again, I’d definitely like to see these two things be something you look at.
I also don’t like the Ackbar stuff. The voice isn’t convincing (though that could be remedied by a better voice actor doing an impression closer to his TFA/TLJ voice), and the ROTJ outfit and mask don’t match. The rotoscoping is mostly okay, but in general I fail to see how it improves anything, unless you really hate Holdo or feel it’s absolutely necessary to hammer home the “there might be a spy” point, none of which I have an issue with (I was surprised to discover that the spy thing wasn’t outright stated as I’d apparently taken it as a given).
I agree with all these points. I’m not crazy about the Ackbar addition, but it does look better than I thought it might. It also does fix some of the issues I’ve had with Holdo. Let me be clear, I do not hate her character. However, what I don’t like is that, after all of the hysterics leading up to the reveal that she does, in fact, know what she’s doing, we’re supposed to suddenly accept the fact that she and Leia are close friends. I imagine we’re also supposed to feel some remorse for her sacrifice to save the Resistance, which I don’t at all.
I am unsure of how to fix that. Ackbar introducing her does seem to help explain her presence and her actions, which I do like. That is my primary reason for wanting to see the roto’d clip inserted.
Obviously, it could still be improved upon — the roto could be even better, and it definitely needs a better Ackbar impressionist. With that said, if the scene had been in the actual film, I do think people would have felt more at ease with her strange decisions and the role she plays with regards to Leia. While I understand that may be the point, it also means I just don’t care about her sacrifice (which is worse, in my opinion).