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Reimagining TFA/TLJ - both films cut into a singular 48 min epilogue tribute (Released)

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As I was re-editing The Last Jedi, I started having some off-shoot ideas. I was inspired by popular fan edit, “The War of the Stars”, a sequel to the Star Wars grindhouse edit which reimagined the Original Trilogy, reordering scenes and completely changing huge aspects of the films. Watching it is an entirely new experience. It’s fantastic.

I was curious if this could be accomplished with The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Both films have scenes which feel conclusive, as if they belong at the end of a trilogy. I took advantage of this and created a “one-off” epilogue to the Star Wars saga, acting as if Disney never created any additional films and this was the finale. I made it as a tribute to the galaxy of George Lucas, and had a blast putting it together.

The list of things I’ve changed feels endless. Snoke is no longer Snoke. Luke is no longer a recluse. Force ghosts appear. Some characters who died don’t die, and some who lived don’t live. There’s a new Force projection from Luke. There’s a somewhat new lightsaber battle. There’s a redemption story.

Some sequences are simply re-edited to give the impression that you are watching an entirely new film. At 48 minutes long, I intended to give a short but sweet finale inspired a bit by the EU to my favorite film series of all time.

This remix is titled “A New Order,” as a reference to the fan favorite title of Episode IX as well as the literal new order of scenes.

Message me for a link! I hope you have fun watching it. Let me know what you think!

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On OT.com you cannot have public links to fanedits. It is part of the copyright rules or whatever. Instead you’ll want to remove that link and send it to people who request via PM.

This edit sounds VERY interesting. I’ll watch it tonight and give some feedback later.

Maul- A Star Wars Story

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OutboundFlight said:

On OT.com you cannot have public links to fanedits. It is part of the copyright rules or whatever. Instead you’ll want to remove that link and send it to people who request via PM.

This edit sounds VERY interesting. I’ll watch it tonight and give some feedback later.

Got it. I wasn’t 100% sure as it is not a direct link. Thank you! I appreciate it very much!

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Sorry for the late reply, but I have watched the edit in its entirety.

I like the direction you tried to go down. When written down I think it works great. But when it comes to such radical editing, it becomes challenging to convince the person watching what is happening is how it is supposed to work. The best edits are the ones you don’t notice, and I am sad to say that many of your cuts felt that way for me. That’s not to say you didn’t do a good job: it is clear you tried, but certain sequences just have different lighting, costumes, or shots. And I think there may be a way around that: if we have the proper setup.

Let’s begin with the first scene. Setting it on Vader’s Castle is cool, I like this change. But it does bring about some logic questions. Hux says the machine is ready, Snoke says to use it. But Hux is at Mustafar. And Snoke is on Starkiller? Or is he on the Supremacy? You can see how just the first line has so many unintended consequences. There’s this paradox where an editor cuts something and it makes sense- to them, but when you show it to someone without any explanation it becomes confusing. I, unfortunately, felt that way many times.

But enough with the specifics. Starting with Takodona cuts right to the chase. BUT, we don’t get a proper introduction to these two new characters Rey and Finn. Who are they? The crawl mentions “a scavenger” but what about Finn?

My solution: Start the movie as The Force Awakens starts. Have the cool shot of Stormtroopers prepping for battle, then cut straight to a fight removing Poe. Kylo Ren makes a big entrance and everyone gets a moment to meet this guy. Then he talks to the old man, and it is implied the old man has already sent the map away. Kylo kills the old man, and we jump cut to Rey’s scavenger mask. The movie plays as usual, only we don’t know about BB8 until Finn says he’s got the map. To save time we’ll make Finn a real resistance agent (I think this was what you were going for).

While they are on the run, we get to keep cutting back to Kylo and Hux. This builds their presence in the story. Rey and Finn team up and fly the falcon away, then they are caught by Han and Chewie who will also be resistance agents. Add some “happy” music and have Finn say “resistance”, it should get the job done. Han and Chewie could have just lost the Falcon on one of their adventures in the rebellion.

I think that alone will really help the edit, not only increasing the runtime but giving us a reason to care about these new faces.

However, my biggest concern has to be the setup of the final battle. There is a lot at stake here, but it doesn’t flow too well. First Leia’s death. The random cut to the Supremacy was the only moment I was entirely taken out of the experience. It didn’t work for me. I think the solution would be to have the Raddus join the battle at Starkiller. You can have the shot of the fleet emerging at of nowhere and then cut right to Starkiller. This will convey the message and explain why Kylo is out in space. The Supremacy could be one of many ships guarding it.

That all being said, I loved the Leia death. It’s a bold choice that plays out perfectly. Ben smashing the helmet brings chills.

So keep Leia’s death but give it a bit more continuity. Onto the Han/Finn plotline, does Rey just appear out of nowhere? I am confused regarding this point. What if instead, Rey surrenders herself willingly to the First Order, and is then “rescued”/found by Finn? It is a bit convoluted but would explain her temporary change of clothing.

My final suggestion concerns Starkiller Base. The emphasis on the epilogue is clearly on Kylo Ren. The result, in my opinion, is the entire “battle” feels on the backburner. This may just be my POV, but I was never invested in the third death star angle. So I suggest Starkiller succeeds in destroying the Republic near the end of the movie. Make all hope seem lost. As the sky turns red, Kylo finally turns to the light just as they are too late. This would be a bittersweet ending. Plaguies would have a clear overconfidence syndrome. But this suggestion isn’t really about the continuity… more of a preference.

Overall, I enjoyed your vision. Leia’s death was great, and Ben’s redemption a real conclusion. I think looking at what you had (only two movies and some deleted scenes, no dallies or voice actors etc) you did a great job. These kinds of “creative” edits are my favorite.

Maul- A Star Wars Story

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OutboundFlight said:
Overall, I enjoyed your vision. Leia’s death was great, and Ben’s redemption a real conclusion. I think looking at what you had (only two movies and some deleted scenes, no dallies or voice actors etc) you did a great job. These kinds of “creative” edits are my favorite.

Thank you for the detailed analysis! I appreciate it a lot that you took the time to write your thoughts. I’m in agreement with you on most of your critiques. Some aspects of the films had to be sacrificed for one reason or another. Finn is almost cut out from the story completely. As I’m sure you know, as great of ideas we might have for a fan edit, the footage I have access to isn’t always as ideal as I’d like it to be. Also, I only have iMovie, which is a whole other challenge in itself.

I worked on this project entirely out of fun, as I focused on another edit I referenced in the original post. I wanted a chance to experiment. Obviously with “creative” edits like these, things like wardrobe changes become challenging. Continuity gets strange, and ultimately feels like something I can’t always do anything about.

I won’t be going back to revise my edit anytime soon, as I’m spending energy on an entirely different one that’s been in the works throughout the past year. When I release it, I hope you’ll be there again to provide your feedback. Thanks for being so insightful! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

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When The Rise of Skywalker comes out on DVD…

Do you plan on using the opening shot of Mustafar just before Kylo begins his assault to get the wayfinder instead of the shot you used from Revenge of the Sith?

Can I also have a link to the edit?

The unfortunate reality of the Star Wars prequel and Disney trilogies is that they will always be around. Forever. They will never go away. It can never be undone.

I also prefer to be referred to as “TNT”, not “Freezing”.

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This sounds intriguing, but idk how well it works in execution. Imo there’s too much content to cut it down to 2-3 hours. But that’s just me.

“Star Wars has, and will always be a restaurant.”