Okay, this is something I did very quickly to test out a few ideas. The audio isn’t mixed super great; it’s just a “What do you think about this?” kind of deal.
- Removed “You’ll take both sabers to Exegol.”
- New placement of “Always be with you.” Wish it could be padded out more, but what can you do? Maybe it could work; probably it’s still too cramped.
- Another attempt at a purpley sunrise. I don’t care much either way - I love Nev’s coloring in the scene - but I thought there was some interest in the Leia-symbolism of using some purple in there.
- Replacing Yoda’s Theme. (Screw you all! It’s wrong to include Yoda’s Theme! Wrong, I say! You’re defiling forty years of film scoring artistry!) No but seriously…what do you think of the new score? Does it work?
Even ignoring the blatant lack of Yoda, I like the idea that the key scene of “The Rise of Skywalker” is accompanied by “The Rise of Skywalker” Theme. Plus, Skywalker’s ship is “Rising” to “The Rise of Skywalker” Theme, Luke Skywalker is Skywalking to “The Rise of Skywalker” Theme, Rey is figuratively “Rising” to “The Rise of Skywalker” Theme…
Or, Yoda.
Wouldn’t it add so much more depth and meaning to this film than, “Hey, Luke is doing the same thing Yoda did 40 years ago! This is now special to me because I’ve watched the Star Wars-es!”? Does everything in this film have to be so superficial and empty? When I saw the film in theatres, I literally caught myself thinking, “Oh, ha, I get it. They’re doing the Yoda thing.” It took me completely out of the movie, and thereby destroyed any emotional connection I might have had to the scene. (AKA, “The exact opposite of what music is supposed to do in a film.”)
And something else to consider: for a film so frustratingly determined to stay stuck in the past, this would be a genuine chance to push it out in new directions for once.