Hello! This summer ended up being unexpectedly busy for me, which took me away from editing for a while. But, I am happy to say that things are progressing! My main focus has been on enhancing the new dialogue for this edit with additional bits of AI-generated content, splicing it all together in order to get the most natural, emotive performances possible. So far, I have around 75 lines of “reconstructed” dialogue, i.e. dialogue for named characters, whose voices are already established.
To that end, I’m excited to finally present a significant scene that I’ve been working on: Leia’s death. If you’re interested in reading more about my thought process behind these changes, you can do so below.
Explanation:
Leia’s death never worked for me in the film. We’ve seen characters - including Leia herself - use the Force to sense even hear each other across great distances plenty of times before, so I refuse to believe that that’s what killed her. So the only explanation I can see is that Leia, like her mother before her, lost the will to live. It’s stupid at best, and disrespectful at worst.
My goal here was to give Leia an actual reason for dying; and what would be more fitting than sacrificing herself to save her son? Rey channels Leia’s life force into Ben - which also explains how Rey is able to heal a mortal wound without dying, while the same action costs Ben his life at the end.
In addition to the plot logistics, I believe this version is much stronger from a character perspective. Leia gets to have a final conversation with her son, reaffirming him of her love. This then helps to justify Ben’s redemption in the next scene. (Leia: “Ben…” [dies]. Ben: “Oh okay, I guess I’m good now.”)
This also helps to push Rey’s new character arc along very nicely. In my version, she’s not going to fall due to the abstract concept of genetic moral inheritance; she’s fighting against her own innate anger and darkness. At this point in the story, she has lost control of her emotions entirely. In her anger, she stabs Ben when his back is turned, destroying Leia’s efforts to save her son. Leia now has to sacrifice herself to save Ben, to fix Rey’s mistake. Leia’s death is now Rey’s fault, because Rey lost control. It’s no wonder, then, that Rey would flee to Ahch-To, afraid and ashamed of what she’s done.
This scene involved a whole slew of original Leia dialogue, and the score and soundscape have been completely replaced. Feedback is always welcome, especially in regards to the “Force Voice” reverb effect.
Additionally, just to put it out there, I still need help wrapping up two VFX shots, involving paint outs and tracking. If you have some experience with After Effects and are wiling to help, please reach out!
Thanks for watching! More (hopefully) soon!