I extended it due to the requests of several people awhile back. I may dial it back in if enough people think otherwise.
I’ve been thinking about this project for the past week or so. I’ve got a whole 2 weeks off of work this month, so I’m thinking I’ll make some significant progress during that time.
One thing I’ve also been considering is some light VFX work to insert Luke Skywalker’s severed hand to Palpatine’s lab. This would be the (canon) missing piece of the puzzle for this movie that would make the trilogy all feel a little more planned out from the beginning. The idea being that Luke’s hand finally allowed Palpatine to finish what he was studying in the Bad Batch, and have a clone prepared for his death in RoTJ. It’s also what makes Snoke so powerful since he has some Skywalker DNA mixed in there (those bright blue eyes were Luke’s lol). Ideally, it would appear right after Palpatine’s line “I made Snoke”.
The other light VFX idea that coincides with this is having Luke’s lightsaber attached to Rey’s father’s belt when he runs into the tent in the flashback. The idea here is that her father escaped Exegol with Luke’s lightsaber (which came with the hand), and gave it to Unkar Plutt so that he’d take care of Rey. They are supposed to be scavengers with no money to speak of, so technically Ascendant introduces a plot hole here by saying that they’d be able to afford for Unkar of all people to take care of her. Plus, if they had money, they should go to literally anybody else. But if the only item of value they have is Luke’s lightsaber, then it makes sense Unkar would be the only one interested in the trade. Kylo’s line after the flashback could easily be updated: “They paid for your safety with that lightsaber. And in blood…”
It’s already been established in TFA that Unkar is collecting valuable items from the OT (starting with the Falcon), so this tracks with his character. Furthermore, it explains why the Skywalker blade calls out to Rey: her father saved it from the Sith. It also explains why, when Rey touches the lightsaber in TFA, she is shown visions of her OWN past (that’s not how psychometry works). The lightsaber was on Unkar’s person. The only thing that is left unexplained is how it ended up with Maz, but it can be safely assumed that she bartered for it herself upon travelling to Jakku at some point. I personally think this is better than Leia having the lightsaber all along and giving it to Maz for safekeeping for… reasons. The latter is what TFA Starlight v2 was seeking to do. Maz seems to indicate that there is a “good story” behind her encountering it, so I’d imagine it would have involved blaster fire and thievery, anyways.
The problem here is of course that I am not skilled in VFX whatsoever. If I need to release a v1 without these two changes, that would be fine, but I’m hoping this idea resonates with somebody on the forum and it can be finished sooner rather than later. Heck, I’d be satisfied with just the first VFX change, I wouldn’t necessarily need to complicate Rey’s backstory any further, despite how cool it is to me.