The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released) — Page 697

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (LioZ’s Cut), made by LioZ, will be released June 9th.

https://youtu.be/lmwvbsRvXI8?si=m27hDBNYJbRicruc

Gotta agree with DZ on this one. Now, that being said, I think edits like these do have a certain reason to exist, that being to draw more casual people into the fan editing community. Yes, it all sticks out terribly, but it’s flashy enough to draw people in and have them rally around the message behind it. Once the excitement fades, though, people will realize that it doesn’t particularly fit in, and will probably go looking for alternative works that are more tame but fit in nicely.

Think of it like a gateway drug, lol. This is basically how I found this site. I saw a bunch of fan edit materials on YouTube and then went looking for where a lot of them originated from.

I can’t bash this guy all too much because at least he’s going about this in the right way, from what I can tell. No pay walls to see content they don’t own the IP for. But yeah, Ascendant is in a whole different league compared to that video.

I made two takes of your line, although I made another wording that’s personally my favorite (labeled as PREFERED):

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ytA9EU11nYZANGJYGB38D7wE5xNtRpsA?usp=drive_link

I think, to blend seamlessly with his other line, it needs to evoke that same sense of awe and wonder in his tone, which I think is effectively captured in the one I prefer. I think the concept that he is having his own “delusions of grandeur” is hilariously ironic.

Remind me, did we already decide on if Leia’s “Come home” line was going to be incorporated? And also this test right here could bring more life to her character

Luke’s dialogue over the Leia flashback may also need some minor adjustments if we are able to nail down your first bullet point. At the very least, I’d recommend making the following change - adjust the order of the lines Luke gives Rey immediately after the flashback.

This is the way we currently have it - “A thousand generations live in you, now. We’ll always be with you. But this is your fight.”

This is the way it should be to avoid the clunky feeling it currently has - "A thousand generations live in you now. (Staying onscreen with Luke) But this is your fight. Some sort of line here that replaces “You’ll take both sabers to Exegol” This way we avoid a slow-mo effect on the shot of Rey.

EDIT: Lines I’d recommend for that spot - “Leia’s legacy will guide you on Exegol” or something generic like “Leia believed in your strength” / “A fight you can still win.”

Here are a couple of tests to illustrate what I was talking about in my last post:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dLI9swXfR-v8wreY-X7tlOnO1n3imMgS?usp=sharing

I’m still working out the exact wording of the Luke flashback dialogue, but I’m imagining something like this in its entirety:

“She was quick to learn in our training. But Leia feared giving in to hatred like our father, choosing instead to follow our mother’s path. Leia lost everything in her life, and everyone, yet she still chose compassion over hatred. A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight. Let Leia’s legacy guide you on Exegol.”

My intention here is to indicate that confronting her fear is what Leia should have done all along (remaining a Jedi), because she was an expert at resisting the allure of hatred due to her nature of showing compassion for others. Rey has that same capability within her. So Rey has to face her fear of giving in to hatred like her grandfather. This is what she says to his face later on: “All you want is for me to hate, but I won’t. Not even you.” She then proceeds to choose compassion (aka Ben, Leia’s legacy) over hatred (killing Palps and becoming Empress).

EDIT: One other thing worth noting is that Rey’s own parents would take the place of Padme in the mirroring between Rey and Leia’s character journeys. They both look to other relatives they have that weren’t massive d-bags and were loving for inspiration. In Leia’s case, she pursues politics because she wants to ensure she upholds Padme’s values. In Rey’s case, she talks about how her parents were strong because they sacrificed themselves to save her from Palpy. So Rey is likewise willing to sacrifice her own life to save her friends from Palps. Which gets cancelled out in the end by Ben’s own sacrifice, but that’s besides the point. The point is that Rey’s parents being good would no longer diminish Rey’s own struggle with the dark side, but enhance it because she’s directly following Leia’s example.

I’d say that passion has too much of a positive connotation. I think we should remain within the thematic language already present in this film (and the saga in general). Compassion literally translates as “to suffer with” and I think that’s the perfect way to describe Leia’s approach in life. Even way back in the original Star Wars she was the first one to offer Luke some consolation after Ben’s death. “Empathy” sounds a bit too modern and psychological to me. It’s probably best to remain with this more grounded language.

I really like DZ’s shorter/edited one. I’d just add on the “over hatred” part so it’s a little more clear that their mother’s path is to compassion as their father’s path was to hatred. I think it clears up the sentence structure and just lets things flow a bit better.

I’m not sure there would be enough room for the original line of “Leia knew it, too” without it all feeling too congested. Also, the training we witness Rey doing (for obvious reasons) is without Leia present, so I think “Leia sensed it as she trained you” works well to clarify that isn’t normally the case. After all, Leia would need to be observing her very closely to sense such a thing.

It would definitely be cool if “We’ll always be with you” could fit over the X-wing lift scene. I don’t see any particular reason why the original line couldn’t suffice here, but worst case scenario another AI line could say the same thing.

As for the main paragraph, I’ll get to it at some point this week. Honestly, it just boggles my mind that the original film, instead of talking about Leia’s character and legacy, decides to introduce not 1 but 2 prophecies given by her that spoil the end of the movie (Ben dies and Rey finishes Leia’s Jedi path by killing Palpatine). What we’ve got here not only honors the character’s legacy but also ties her in with the themes of the movie and Rey’s own journey.

Turns out I don’t have a lot to do this week so I decided to put together a test of the big paragraph. I had to cut it off abruptly before the part about Leia’s legacy guiding her on Exegol because Ascendant v4 isn’t edited to accommodate for that yet:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s4sKRL0aG50yIHTo4XKWHo77rYjpw9gv/view?usp=sharing

Yes, that would have to be done the same way I’m currently pursuing it on my thread.

I’m considering changing my thread to simply be a Special Edition of Ascendant that has the Kylo v Vader duel, Luke and Kylo convo, and other little things I recommended here which might not have made it into the final product. But it would still be Rey Palpatine.

I’m really loving the idea of Leia knowing about Rey’s heritage, and I don’t think any other Rey heritage/background idea really touches those same heartstrings. So I’ve kinda come around to it, tbh.

idir_hh said:

Can we get Luke talking to Kylo somewhere in this film?
I feel like Luke has to make good on the promise “See you around kid” from TLJ. Otherwise we got ourselves another empty chekhov’s gun.

Yes, this is one my wishlist too and would make the sequel trilogy feel more cohesive. I think Hal may have ruled it out though.

That’s why I ended up dropping it. I understand these films are supposed to be for 12 year olds but I thought that was a bit heavy-handed even for them.

Here’s what Google AI said:

Compassion is a feeling of empathy and understanding. It’s a selfless action that involves forgiving others and feeling their pain. Compassion is also the motivation to reduce suffering, not because it’s aversive, but because it has a loving motivation to end it.
Love is about treating others with kindness and care. It’s wanting others to have happiness. Love is often selfless, but it can also be selfish

I guess you’re right that love in a generic sense can be applied to Rey and co., visualized by the group hug at the end and Reylo kiss. But my thinking was that compassion is what is always shown by Leia to both Kylo and Rey. Kylo definitely doesn’t deserve it, but she realizes he’s in pain over everything he’s done. Leia could also have every right to hate Rey because her grandfather caused so much suffering in her life. Ya know, destroying her homeworld. She could refuse to train her. Instead, she noticed how pure of heart she is and how devastated she was by that vision. She wants both of them to be free of their suffering, in a motherly sort of way.

I think it all goes back to the sand serpent scene. Rey certainly doesn’t have love for it, per se, but she is showing compassion because she understands it’s been hurt and just wants it to feel better. Which ultimately leads to the serpent being her friend and showing them the way out.

Sorry for the double post, but I thought it was worth sharing this exchange from AOTC here:

Padme: “Are you allowed to love? I thought that was forbidden for a Jedi.”

Anakin: “Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi’s life. So you might say, that we are encouraged to love.”

I think compassion is the best trait to emphasize because Rey ultimately chooses to become a Jedi. And it also demonstrates that, despite leaving the Jedi path, the lessons Leia learned from her training benefitted her for the rest of her life and impacted her journey significantly.

There’s also the mythological archetype of the nurturing mother whose love and guidance are crucial to the hero’s journey. Which is what I’m trying to shoot for here.

In my own thread, I’ve attached the concept of love to Vader saving Luke, and Ben saving the life of Rey. So more of a sacrificial thing going on there.