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"First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story" The first ever 3-in-1 Sequel Trilogy edit (Released)

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 (Edited)

Hello, there!

I posted this over at the Reddit fan edit sub to very positive response. A user commented on Youtube and encouraged me to create a listing here. While I’m new to the site, I’m well aware of OriginalTrilogy.com - please let me know if there’s a better / standard way information is usually presented.

My edit (sourced from the episode VII-IX blu-rays) drastically alters Rey and Kylo’s characters and completely changes the ending. I feel strongly that the first 6 movies are self contained. So my edit most appropriately resembles Rogue One or Solo in that it tells a less essential but still entertaining story in the Star Wars universe. Hence the title First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story.

My main goal

Tell a compelling, coherent Star Wars story in the space of one movie, cutting over seven hours of film down to just under 2.5 hours (though I never had to limit the length, I felt it cheating if it became longer than any existing Star Wars movie).

The second goal

To give Rey and Kylo proper character arcs. Rey’s acceptance of her destiny with the Force. Kylo’s descent to the dark side. To accomplish both, it was always my intent to remove Palpatine entirely.

The big picture / major changes

My story begins with the destruction of the republic. The remnants of the military and government by default become a resistance. Through Leia, Rey is already a Jedi in training. But she’s holding onto her past while uncertain where her destiny with the force leads. The first act is a condensed telling of Force Awaken’s second half with scenes from Rise of Skywalker inserted.

The second act has Rey seeking Luke’s help in fighting the First Order. The resistance goes on the run, constantly trying to buy time while they attempt to get word of the threat to their allies. Canto Bight is completely removed as well as the mutiny sub plot. Otherwise it’s a condensed version of Last Jedi with the misplaced humor softened or removed.

While individual scenes of Rise of Skywalker are used earlier in the edit, the third act is an absolute Frankenstein of RoS scenes. Rey has a final showdown with the now unredeemable Kylo Ren as the resistance makes a desperate attack on the First Order fleet, hoping their messages have reached the rest of the galaxy in time.

Total Run Time - 2 hours 23 minutes

Consisting of (approximately) -

23% Episode 7 (33 minutes)

51% Episode 8 (73 minutes)

20% Episode 9 (29 minutes)

Credits @ 8 minutes or 6%

Arbitrary rules

I limited myself solely to footage from Episodes 7-9. The only manipulation I did was one scene of color correction (to match the look of Exegol), one reversed shot and one mirrored shot. I also inserted a couple lines OS (off screen) that helped with exposition. However, I allowed myself to use music and voice over from any Disney related Star Wars properties. Specifically, the opening uses music from Rogue One and VO from Mandalorian to give context to the rise of the First Order.

Shortcomings

Character introductions are minimal or missing, so there is a certain benefit of having seen at least Force Awakens before watching my edit, though definitely not essential and my story vastly changes the plot and some of the characters. It’s sorta assumed you’ve seen the original trilogy.

As with any fan edit, especially one that remixes the original material so much, there are inevitable continuity issues. I avoided major characters being in two inconsistent places at once but some minor characters show up in the background in places they seemingly shouldn’t be. Also there are erratic costume and hair changes occasionally.

Random thoughts

I made it a small goal to keep Kylo’s face concealed until Han confronts him. It was important to me to keep a sense of mystery about his appearance until that moment. I also added back the Luke mourning scene that was cut from Last Jedi. Such a great deleted scene!

I really made every effort to have high quality audio transitions between scenes. Without access to the music stems, there are limits to what can be done, but I’m satisfied with what I was able to accomplish here. It forced me to create some really engaging moments where sound drops out and it’s only music taking you through a short emotional section of a scene.

Similarly, I really strove to connect the emotional beats of the story together. When Rey is hitting her emotional lows, I wanted to match that with the resistance. I’m really proud of some of the cross cutting I was able to accomplish throughout.

My only disappointment is having to cut the bombing run scene from Last Jedi. There’s an earlier draft where I had it during the climactic battle and the tone was there but it dragged the ending a little long and cut Finn’s big moment. Plus, despite being edited with Exogol shots it still was a little jarring in how different it looked. Too bad because at least the bombs made more sense being dropped in atmosphere - and I love the emotions in that scene!

Random complaint - I did a similar (though less ambitious) Prequel trilogy edit a while back and noticed the overabundance of planetary transition scenes in those movies. George Lucas loves that stuff! The opposite was true with the Sequel trilogy. There was sometimes a frustrating lack of shots showing people moving from location to location!

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale

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Sounds interesting. Is the climax of your edit Rey and Kylo fighting on the Death Star II ruins while the rebel fleet battle the first order above Exogal?

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Yorick said:

Sounds interesting. Is the climax of your edit Rey and Kylo fighting on the Death Star II ruins while the rebel fleet battle the first order above Exogal?

That’s exactly it! I crosscut that light saber battle in place of all the Palpatine scenes. Slightly more involved but that’s the gist of the new ending.

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale

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If there is no Palpatine and no wayfinders why are Rey at Kylo at the Death Star ruins?

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Hey sounds cool. any chance you can pm me a link please.

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Welcome to the forums! Mind shooting me a link?

Peace is a lie
There is only passion…

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Yorick said:

If there is no Palpatine and no wayfinders why are Rey at Kylo at the Death Star ruins?

In my hopeful head canon, it’s because fate has brought them there. In my cynical head cannon, it’s because there’s no way to escape the choices Disney made 😃

You definitely have to give some dramatic license and a few character assumptions, particularly in the third act. We’ve had great response thus far so hopefully you enjoy the cut as well!

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale

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I’ve gotten a few PMs looking for more info. If anyone wants to know more about the editing process and creative choices, here’s a Youtube video my friend and I made about the project - https://youtu.be/NkLiYY3pvt4

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale

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Can I get a link please?

You’ve got to ask yourself one question: “Am I making Carrie Fisher’s ghost proud?”
Well, are ya, punk?

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Maybe you could say in the opening crawl:

“The remnants of the old empire have gathered near the ruins of the second Death Star”

This would explain why Rey and Kylo travel there at the end of the movie.

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Yorick said:

Maybe you could say in the opening crawl:

“The remnants of the old empire have gathered near the ruins of the second Death Star”

This would explain why Rey and Kylo travel there at the end of the movie.

There is no opening crawl. I’ve envisioned this cut as a Star Wars story, more in line with Rogue One. One interpretation I like is that Kylo Ren was obsessed with his grandfather so he uses his connection to Rey to subtly influence her into meeting him there. You’ll have to watch the edit to see how it plays out! PM me if you want a link.

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale

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This is the most ambitious of any sequel trilogy edit I’ve seen. And I love it.

SPOILERS

Right away General Hux is using the starkiller weapon. By starting with this I feel this scene has more impact , and we get that the First Order is as strong as the empire or even stronger, and must be dealt with.

Leia and Han from the beginning are fighting on together with the Resistance in the midst of planning their attacks on the first order. We know right away that Kylo is Han and Leia’s son. We see that Rey is with the Resistance and Leia has trained her. Finn and Poe are also just Resistance fighters along with Han and Leia also.

I love seeing Leia and Han so early in this. It just works better for me continuing on from ROTJ. Taking the Emperor out of the movies works better for me also.

I would like to see this edit tinkered more with so that the cuts flow better because obviously the amount of cutting is enormous with this edit.

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Oasissky said:

This is the most ambitious of any sequel trilogy edit I’ve seen. And I love it.

SPOILERS

Right away General Hux is using the starkiller weapon. By starting with this I feel this scene has more impact , and we get that the First Order is as strong as the empire or even stronger, and must be dealt with.

Leia and Han from the beginning are fighting on together with the Resistance in the midst of planning their attacks on the first order. We know right away that Kylo is Han and Leia’s son. We see that Rey is with the Resistance and Leia has trained her. Finn and Poe are also just Resistance fighters along with Han and Leia also.

I love seeing Leia and Han so early in this. It just works better for me continuing on from ROTJ. Taking the Emperor out of the movies works better for me also.

I would like to see this edit tinkered more with so that the cuts flow better because obviously the amount of cutting is enormous with this edit.

Really appreciate hearing such positive feedback! You’re seeing all the things I was trying to put on screen.

Definitely ended up being a lot of work - I started as soon as the blu-ray released and hoped to have it done in time for May the 4th. Ended up giving myself mild carpal tunnel so had to slow down!

Audio transitions really are the only area of criticism I’ve gotten so far. They’re absolutely the biggest obstacle - I feel great about some but there are others that just don’t have much room for improvement without grabbing the full soundtrack and matching up music cues with scenes. It’ll take a bit more time and gusto, but I’m not opposed to trying to up the quality!

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale

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This was excellent and will be my go-to for saga rewatches. I’ll write a thorough review next week.

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Can I have a link? i love 3 in ones and this sounds amazing!

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May I have a link as well?

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Ditto!

“Get over violence, madness and death? What else is there?”

Also known as Mr. Liquid Jungle.

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I’ve gotten a few requests on Reddit, Youtube and DMs for artwork to use with Plex or other media servers. I’m no graphic designer but I put together a really minimalist poster. I’ve added it as a link in the Youtube video description I posted above. Thanks for the encouragement!

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale

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Nice work dude! There’s some really interesting choices and arrangements here. Really like what you did with TFA scenes. Actually making me think about rearranging my own edit again.

How long did this take?

Check out - http://www.youtube.com/moviesremastered

Promote your own Fanedits here: https://www.reddit.com/r/moviesremastered/

MR Discord Community (Only taking fanedit requests via Discord with proof of ownership/subscription) - https://discord.gg/EBdQVXhDUh

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Movies Remastered said:

Nice work dude! There’s some really interesting choices and arrangements here. Really like what you did with TFA scenes. Actually making me think about rearranging my own edit again.

How long did this take?

I started the week after the RoS bluray dropped (I had looked at the other movies prior but didn’t dig in until I had them all). I would say 2 or 3 weeks of actual editing over the course of 3 months. I had to take breaks, both to step back and re-think certain choices but also because I was going so gung-ho early on that I started giving myself mild carpal tunnel!

So glad you liked it! It was a lot of fun and I really can’t wait to see what other people do with the trilogy. There’s definitely potential for a coherent story there, the same as the prequels. Pretty sure I’ve seen some of your videos on Reddit - love how collaborative you are. Keep up the amazing work!

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale

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TriggeredPuppy said:

Movies Remastered said:

Nice work dude! There’s some really interesting choices and arrangements here. Really like what you did with TFA scenes. Actually making me think about rearranging my own edit again.

How long did this take?

I started the week after the RoS bluray dropped (I had looked at the other movies prior but didn’t dig in until I had them all). I would say 2 or 3 weeks of actual editing over the course of 3 months. I had to take breaks, both to step back and re-think certain choices but also because I was going so gung-ho early on that I started giving myself mild carpal tunnel!

So glad you liked it! It was a lot of fun and I really can’t wait to see what other people do with the trilogy. There’s definitely potential for a coherent story there, the same as the prequels. Pretty sure I’ve seen some of your videos on Reddit - love how collaborative you are. Keep up the amazing work!

Thanks, Dude, Sorry I didn’t reply before. I didn’t get a notification that you replied.

That’s pretty good going. Gung-ho is always a great buzz at the start but it’s knowing when to quit that’s the real art. Always good to come back with a fresh eye.

Yeah, I don’t think TROS and be fixed by myself alone and it’s been awesome meeting so many amazingly talented people in this forum. Makes a change for all the arrogant bitchiness on Reddit. I’ll let you know when I do my next test screening…

Check out - http://www.youtube.com/moviesremastered

Promote your own Fanedits here: https://www.reddit.com/r/moviesremastered/

MR Discord Community (Only taking fanedit requests via Discord with proof of ownership/subscription) - https://discord.gg/EBdQVXhDUh

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Awesome! Would love to be part of it!

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale

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TriggeredPuppy said:

Awesome! Would love to be part of it!

I’ve taken a bit of a step back as I’m struggling to finish the last 12 small scenes. If you think you could help the list is on my faneditors assemble video.

Always happy to help where I can too.

Check out - http://www.youtube.com/moviesremastered

Promote your own Fanedits here: https://www.reddit.com/r/moviesremastered/

MR Discord Community (Only taking fanedit requests via Discord with proof of ownership/subscription) - https://discord.gg/EBdQVXhDUh

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Love that we both wanted Kylo’s mask to stay on until his father confronts him! And one of the only shots that bothers me in my edit here is Jannah in the background on the Death Star… !

Watched the video. Unfortunately I’m not really skilled in After Effects or roto work. If no one else has done it, I can make a crawl for you. I did one for my Prequel 3 to 1 edit. PM me if that’s of use to you!

Edits:
First Order, Last Jedi - A Star Wars Story (the first Sequel Trilogy 3-to-1)
Star Wars Episodes I-III: A Machete Order Edit
Lord of the Rings: The Less Extended Editions
Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 0 (a Discovery S2 edit)
Watchmen (2019): The Bass Reeves Cut
Blade Runner 2049: The Joi-less Cut
The Watcher in the Woods: Best of Both Worlds
The Fall (2006) 4k Upscale