The Rise of Skywalker: Vader's Legacy Edition (WIP) — Page 9

I’ve added a couple of other ideas to the potential change list:

• Use AI video software to modify the brief footage of one of the Exegol Sith cultists to be operating a machine with a severed hand in it (Luke’s hand) to match current canon. Snoke was created using many genetic sources. I also like the idea that Rey’s father escaped Exegol with the Skywalker saber and traded it off, thus why it calls to Rey when it ends up in Maz’s possession.

• Rey has a PTSD flashback of her parents flying away while the shuttle carrying Chewbacca is flying away, which is what causes her to lose her balance and unleash the lightning. This fits nicely because the ship her parents left in is right next to them; this helps the audience put the pieces together before Rey states it herself, and also shows that Rey is still insecure about her parents leaving her / seeing it manifest with her current “family”.

I think both of these additional changes should fit in smoothly. I’d still like to investigate potential Chewbacca / Kylo audio Rey could hear when she’s staring up at the Star Destroyer from Kijimi, but I’m unsure if this would land in a way that didn’t feel contrived.

Yes, what I posted above are just 2 new changes that I’d like to see implemented.

I’m planning on making more significant strides on this project come late December. Namely I want to assemble all of my AI voice lines in one place and nail down a final cut of the Vader fight. Once I have all of the resources in one place it will just be a matter of implementing it all into the cut.

Thought I’d compile all of the dialogue I’m planning on using for feedback before I re-generate some of it:

Vader/Palpy Duel on Starkiller Base memory:
Kylo: You were never real.
Vader: And yet your fear remains… we both know who is more powerful.
They fight and Kylo loses.
Vader: The girl bested you in this place. You are unworthy!
Kylo impales Vader.
Vader: You are no Sith.
Kylo: I know.

Replace Kylo Ren’s line: “Palpatine wants you dead” with “Palpatine wants us to fight.”

Luke/Kylo Scene:
Luke: The dark side has failed you, Ben… like it failed my father.
Kylo: Anakin was weak.
Luke: His love for his family saved him. I wish it could save you, too.
Kylo: This family made me what I am.
Luke: You chose hate.
Kylo: I chose power!

Dyad Duel:
Kylo: It was Palpatine who had your parents taken. He was looking for your father. But your father was a powerless failure. So he gave the order…
Parent death flashback minus the line about Jakku since Ochi doesn’t even know about Rey yet
Rey: No!
Kylo: So that’s where you are… the Emperor wants one of us to take the throne.
Rey: No…!
Kylo: I’ll come tell you why.

Later in the hangar (while they’re circling each other in silence):
Kylo: Rey… I know why Palpatine wants us to fight for the Sith throne.
Rey: Tell me.
Kylo: Because he saw what you would become. You don’t just have power. You have his power. You’re his granddaughter. Your father was the son of the Emperor. My mother was the daughter of Vader. What Palpatine doesn’t know is we’re a dyad in the Force, Rey. Two, that are one. We’ll kill him. Together. And make a New Order.

Finn & Poe Scene:
Finn: “He was going to Exegol with Ochi of Bestoon.”
Poe: “Why was Ochi going there?”
Finn: “To bring the little girl he was supposed to take from Jakku, to the Emperor. His dagger revealed Rey.”

Ahch-To Scene:
Rey: “…I’m doing what you did.”
Luke: “I was wrong. The galaxy needed a legend to rise above its fear. What are you most afraid of?”
My goal with this new line is to not have Luke admit to being a coward by being on Ahch-To, because he genuinely believed that Jedi involvement would make the situation worse. With this new line, we’re referring to the galaxy being too fearful to show up in Crait, and only Luke and the Jedi’s legendary status being enough to inspire them. Luke was wrong about what was best for the galaxy, but he was NOT a coward himself!

Luke Dialogue to Ben (when Rey is dead):
Luke: “Refuse the hate, Ben… Breathe… just breathe.”

Can’t wait to see how this edit turns out!

TLJ: Rekindled is my go-to but I’ve made a couple of changes to my personal copy of it, namely Ben Kenobi telling Luke to “let go” before Luke dies. His death doesn’t feel as bad if you create the impression that Luke voluntarily ascended because he knew his legend would do the work from there.

Oh yeah, it’s also got the Caretaker Village sequence reinstated along with a couple of their other appearances. I think it’s important how that scene demonstrates that intervention is not always in the best interest of the galaxy, and even when it is the Jedi are usually not allowed to intervene due to their beliefs. It’s one of the only critiques Luke has in the movie that can’t really be refuted.

I do look forward to this even though, sigh, I’m assuming Ben still dies. It looks like you have a lot of fantastic stuff planned.

With this edit I definitely started out wanting to change big things like that but I’ve come to the conclusion that the best fan edits are the ones that don’t change story beats, but rather enhance what is already there. It’s more challenging and fun that way to me.

Plus, I’d want this to be compatible with whatever post sequel trilogy content we get right out of the box. Like, if for some reason the Ben Solo movie is no longer cancelled, they will almost certainly begin that movie with a sequence clarifying how Ben comes back to life.

Fair enough. Does that mean that we at least won’t see his FG though, the?

For now I’m operating off the idea that the Ben Solo movie has been completely cancelled. So his Force ghost will remain.

OK, so if you’re trying to keep this close to canon for future films… in canon, there is no Ben FG. That leaves the door open that he could come back. A FG says, nope, he’s dead because a FG is a ghost. In canon, there is a WBW nexus point on Exegol. In reality, clearly, Adam Driver has great interest in returning to Star Wars. So, if preserving this film for canon purposes for potential future films, a Ben FG wouldn’t apply. I mean, that just makes sense to me.

I think if a project that explained his absence already existed (could even be Clone Wars animated for all I care) I would exclude his FG. But since it doesn’t currently, there’s a bunch of unanswered questions that arise for a more casual audience member if Ben doesn’t show up as a FG. Like Hal said, as soon as it’s explained in a canon show or movie, I think we’d remove it. Less likely if it’s just a comic or book, personally.

Alirghty, I finally have something of substance to share! What do we think of this?

https://youtu.be/v2LSqXSdR18

I realize that it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, but that was my intention. I don’t think AI video can hold up outside of that. Any feedback would be appreciated here nonetheless.

With how (relatively) easy it was for me to do this, I am wondering if there are any other small moments I can adjust to enhance the film. I’d appreciate any ideas in that regard as well.

It’s from the canon Vader comics that it’s on Exegol. One of the last lines said by Palps before this moment is “I made Snoke”. Without the vat of Snokes (which doesn’t make sense because Snoke should have been his own one-time creation), the hand is meant to explain the source of the majority of Snoke’s DNA. It also canonically helped in the creation of Palpatine’s clones, like how Grogu’s blood was wanted in The Mandalorian.

My personal head canon is that both the Skywalker blade and the hand made their way to Exegol. Perhaps one of the Emperor’s agents was spying on Vader during Cloud City and managed to get both of them. When Rey’s father escapes Exegol, he takes the Skywalker blade with him. He trades it off and it ends up in Maz’s possession. This is why the Skywalker blade calls to Rey, as her father rescued it from the Sith.

I could technically work this concept in with what I’ve currently got. But maybe it would require a longer shot of the hand earlier in the movie to land correctly. After all, this is the only unanswered question in the entire trilogy and has a horrible line that goes along with it: “A good question, for another time”.

Old:

Kylo: “Tell me where you are. You don’t know the whole story… It was Palpatine who had your parents taken. He was looking for your father. But your father was a powerless failure. So he gave the order…”
Rey: “No!”
Kylo: “So that’s where you are… the Emperor wants one of us to take the throne.”

New:

Kylo: “Tell me where you are. You don’t know the whole story… Your father had escaped Exegol with your lightsaber. He sold it, because he couldn’t touch the Force. So Palpatine sent an assassin…”
Rey: “No!”
Kylo: “So that’s where you are… The Emperor wants one of us to take the throne.”

This creates the impression that perhaps her parents were merely Sith cultists that wanted out. The reveal later in the hangar that her father is Palpatine’s son makes this previous reveal even more distressing to Rey. So a reveal on top of a reveal. I deliberately made Kylo’s dialogue vague enough to suggest that Palpatine could have sent an assassin because her father couldn’t use the Force, which is of course the real reason, and not merely for taking the Skywalker blade.

I can definitely do that, and considered it initially. There are three reasons I went the way I did:

1. All canon instances of a bacta tank are blue. Palpatine’s clones don’t need a bacta tank, they’re fresh tissue, which is why they’re this new Sith red type.
2. In the canon comics, Luke’s hand is kept in a blue receptacle like this one.
3. Because the clip is so brief, I DID want it to stand out. If you’ll notice, there is a red glow on the blue tank from a nearby red tank, so it at least matches its surroundings.

If enough people want the red tank I could be convinced, though.

Back to the lines, I think it’s important to clarify that Ochi was never on Jakku. This edit is intended to be paired with one where her parents being buried on Jakku is never mentioned in TLJ. It’s honestly kind of wild that Ochi never notices the screaming child in his rear view mirror and put the pieces together. There’s also a lot of dead space during these lines in the original movie, so a little bit of extra dialogue would fit.

Kylo: “Tell me where you are. You don’t know the whole story… Your father stole Ochi’s ship to escape Exegol. He took your lightsaber from there. But he sold it, because he couldn’t touch the Force. So Palpatine granted Ochi vengeance…”
Flashback where he stabs her father and then approaches her mother to do the same
Rey: “No!”
Kylo: “So that’s where you are… The Emperor wants one of us to take the throne.”

This explains how her father could escape Exegol in the first place without flying a day in his life and no Force skills - he took the only vessel on Exegol that had a Sith Wayfinder on board. This also explains why Rey touching the Skywalker blade would trigger a flashback of her being left behind - the lightsaber could have been on board her parent’s ship.

Do we think I’d need a longer shot of the hand earlier in the movie in order for the lightsaber reveal to land correctly? Or does the blue bacta already make it stand out enough?

I would likely need to remove the brief shot of the attendant at a red tank just before the second shot that I modified. So it would be a long shot of the hand before the shot of the Palpatine clone vat. I’m trying to avoid having to mess with the audio mix at all costs lol.

EDIT: I think the previous shot is long enough that I could shorten it slightly, placing more emphasis on the next shot. See below for a slightly extended version:
https://youtu.be/j_30T77lxXM