“There will definitely be no Episodes VII-IX. That’s because there isn’t any story… The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader.” - George Lucas
I feel that the reason the sequels feel so disconnected from the rest of the Saga is because Anakin doesn’t play an integral role in its story. The above quote from George would have you believe that such a trilogy would be impossible to create, but I believe I have figured out a way to make the sequels relevant to Anakin’s story with ONLY changes to TROS. And it also only requires two major changes, at that. Unfortunately, it’s only really possible to execute these ideas in written form - the novelization.
So what exactly are these ideas? Well, Ben Solo should survive past the end of the movie, and Anakin must replace Han for Ben’s return. That last idea might be controversial due to how many enjoy that scene’s parallels with TFA (myself included), but believe me when I say that it will all make sense in the context of the changes I am making to elements unrelated to the overarching storyline.
In general, most of the more minor changes I am making are also implemented by Hal 9000’s The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant edit. However, I am also making changes that reflect my own interpretation of the events portrayed in the movie. The most significant of these is that I have reconciled Kylo’s past killing with his idolization of Vader. Essentially, he believes that Vader desired to eliminate all traces of the Sith and Jedi in favor of a familial dynasty. This is true if you take a look at ROTS or ESB. As a result, Kylo believes his Skywalker bloodline is superior to others, and wants to see it rule the whole galaxy. This is the new order he seeks to create in Vader’s honor, and he wants Rey to be the mother of this dynasty due to her power.
That brings me to my next topic, which is that some might consider the changes I will make to enter into “Reylo” territory. I don’t consider myself to be part of that community, but I do believe some of those ideas are necessary to create parallels with the relationship between Anakin and Padme. For example, the japor snippet will be among the many artifacts Kylo has in his quarters. It plays a role in the conclusion of this edit. When Kylo becomes Ben, he will be setting aside his evil ambitions and placing the one he cares about above himself. That is the central message behind Anakin’s fall to the dark side: his love was too self-centered, which resulted in pain and suffering.
In a nutshell, this is what I am hoping for this edit to accomplish: the tragedy of Darth Vader carries on even after his death through his grandson. Kylo glorifies all the mistakes that Anakin made, and Anakin himself has to watch from beyond the grave as his grandson suffers from repeating them. That is a true tragedy right there. Not to mention that Leia, his own daughter, still hates him. It’s only through Leia’s intervention (at Anakin’s plea) that Ben’s eyes will be opened again, and Anakin is able to appear to him.
I’d like to thank Captain Faraday for the inspiration on this project. Be sure to check out his novelization project as well.
I greatly appreciate any suggestions and feedback so long as they align with the goals of this project, outlined above. I’m definitely considering making an alternative version of this project without the two major changes though, because there are a TON of quality of life changes in this edit as well. So don’t let those throw you off. A TLJ novel edit is also a possibility later on down the line.