Hi, I posted some ideas for episode I in the community focus thread, and I think that some of them maybe could work in an edit like yours:
Most of these ideas are to some extent in the original TAL, which is very ironic if you haven’t actually seen my edit! I like the way you think!
Suffice it to say, I like the ideas! The Maul footage will need to thoroughly and seamlessly be incorporated to work (which I feel they only did at about 60% in TAL) and if I don’t find the right balance of color grade and perhaps motion, then I will exclude most of the footage and use the working bits (like a Yoda vision scene).
As for the only idea I haven’t tinkered with, Maul controlling the murderous sea creatures is actually very intriguing. The problem is that this will require major restructuring and probably some new VFX to introduce Maul in a way that doesn’t break the flow of the edit nor what I am aiming for with the story beats. Therefore I find it difficult if such an early introduction to Maul would actually work.
Perhaps if you watch the first 20 minutes of TAL you can conjure up some ideas. I am always open to them, but the most important thing here would be for the story to flow seamlessly. I fear that such an event would break the original flow of the edit, and also the mystery element of the first act.