Hey Acbagel, it’s been a while, hope you’re well!
A little while back you shared the final cutlist for Book 5 and said the VFX was nearly complete - are we close to release? (I’d be happy to view a draft if you don’t have time right now for your own final pass!)
One note on your Book 5 cutlist stood out to me - “Added a few new wipe transitions throughout the mines to cover up old Grogu scenes” - do bear in mind that wipes can absolutely be overdone, and you might not need any at all. It’s normal in movies (including Star Wars ones) to convey a longer period of travel as a series of regular cuts (not wipes), which might be plenty here to carry us through.
Finally, since you’ve mentioned a v4 pass on Books 1-4 incorporating feedback, just one more note on Book 1: Regarding the fish guy’s bounty capture and subsequent scenes, I know you tried two approaches. The first approach was “I can bring you in cold or hot” hard cutting to him being slammed into carbonite. I remember suggesting privately that you extend that out a bit more, to get the better introduction to the Razor Crest. You then extended it out for approach two, including the scene of the snooty dude whistling for a cab to take them to where the Razor Crest was parked (a scene originally used presumably to give Mando some early combat, since in the original he fights a beast out on the ice). Your second approach also includes the good scene of fish dude saying “The Razor Crest is a nice ship” and asking about why Mandos don’t take off their helmets - which then hard cuts to carbonite. You want to keep that scene on the ship as it adds a bit of context for introductions and the movie’s themes, plus gives fish dude a bit more character which will pay off later. However (though I know I suggested it), the scenes of Mando picking up his ship frankly drag. But you can have it both ways! I’ve made an alternate cut of this that works very smoothly, cutting right from “I can bring you in cold or hot” to Mando’s ship taking off above the cantina (no scenes of it parked on the ice) and then into fish dude talking, before he gets frozen. It’s much cleaner, gives you the best of both worlds, keeps the pacing up, and is a very easy cut to make as the music smooths out nicely. I’d recommend you try that!