The Last Jedi: Rekindled (Released) — Page 63

Greetings,

It’s been a while since I watched these movies, mainly because they had so many issues that were distracting it was often hard to sit through. I’ve done some of my own edits to movies, but mostly just to PG-ify certain movies for my kids.

When I heard there were Star Wars cuts, I thought, brilliant! Especially with AI entering the scene, it may be possible to create content that didn’t previously exist in the movies.

Anyway, I’d love to check out what you did with this. When I looked over your list of edits it almost perfectly mirrored what I would consider doing for a cut. I think you really nailed the weakest parts of the movie and it sounds like you’ve created a much stronger film.

FYI: I legally own all these movies (multiple times between blu ray and digital) and fully support the exceptional artists who helped make these films, even if they had some really weak leadership writing and directing them.

Also, if anyone was interested in dabbling with AI models for audio / video creation, let me know.

Didn’t use any AI on this, but lots and lots and rotoscoping!

I know this project has been considered finished for some time now, but did somebody ever make the following change recommendation?

Essentially, the problem is that Luke alludes to balance being equal parts light and dark during Rey’s first lesson. And yet, in his second lesson, he alludes to balance being broken by Ben’s rising darkness. Obviously the definition of balance should be the latter and not the former. Even though Luke at this point wants the Jedi to end, it’s clear that he’s still operating off of their philosophy and not some Sith-skewed definition of balance.

The easiest way to fix this would be to simply cut out when Luke says the word “balance” in their first lesson. So his whole line would be: “Powerful light, powerful dark”. This is fine, as Star Wars has never shied away from the concept of every Force user having a dark potential / shadow. The island itself is essentially its own entity in the Force. But the whole concept is that you have to deny that part of yourself in order to achieve balance. That part of yourself shouldn’t be just as powerful as your good part in order to achieve balance. That’s counterintuitive.

Snoke’s concept of “darkness rising and light to meet it” still makes sense, as the Force is correctional only in that direction. It’s why it created Anakin to begin with. Anytime the dark side (a disease) is growing out of control it’s like it activates its immune system by flooding it with light in order to restore balance by purging the dark. In other words, if there is a powerful darkness, then yes, there will be an equally powerful light to counteract it. But that’s just the first step toward balance. The two forces will not reach true balance until the dark side is no longer “powerful”.

Sorry, had to get a bit nerdy with it 😉

To be fair, the ridiculousness of that move is likely meant to be another hint that he isn’t actually there. And help bolster his legendary status.

But yeah, it does feel very prequel-trilogy coded in a trilogy that usually sticks to original trilogy type of fight choreography. And this edit already does remove Leia doing something Force related that feels awkward…

Sorry for such a laggy response, but I haven’t quite been checking in here the way I used to. I’m not necessarily against the first change, but I’d have to watch in context to see how I feel about it.

The matrix move never bothered me, and for me it’s part of the build-up to the reveal. In small ways, every shot contributes to the pacing and sometimes chipping away too much at little moments can take away from the whole. So I’d have to test it and watch it many many times to see if I’m okay with removing it.

Thanks so much for your interest. I’m blown away that going on 8-9 years now I am still getting link requests on a weekly basis. It really means more to me than I can say to have found this community.

poppasketti said:

Sorry for such a laggy response, but I haven’t quite been checking in here the way I used to. I’m not necessarily against the first change, but I’d have to watch in context to see how I feel about it.

Here’s a half-assed attempt at what I was saying:

https://youtu.be/vzr5JQ3HFcI?si=L4ML71zo-7n6og-f&t=63

You’d have to shift the music forward slightly instead of just snipping out his line like I did. But I think you get the idea.

Well that’s a good sign lol

I removed Luke referring to “balance” as equal parts light and dark since this goes against canon. A “powerful light” will eventually exist wherever there is a “powerful dark” because that is essentially an immune response from the Force, so that part makes sense. Balance is only achieved when the dark is no longer “powerful”.

It’s definitely a residual of the DOTF script where Colin Trevorrow was going to redefine balance this way (bleagh). Along with Rey and Poe’s introduction scene hinting at some sort of attraction between them. Honestly, that could be removed too because in general people are way too cheery in that scene.

I would absolutely love a mini fix up release of this great edit! The recommended changes sound perfect.

I’ve decided to start compiling all of the changes that could take advantage of AI lines for this movie in one place. So these are here in case somebody takes an interest in the ideas, or if I inevitably set out to make an edit of some sort myself.

First, I wanted to cover a tiny little line that, in my opinion, salvages Holdo’s entire character and Poe’s arc in this movie. It replaces a line that was obviously ADR’d in already, so it shouldn’t stand out more than it already does in the original movie:

Poe: “… I just want to know what’s going on.”

Holdo: “Of course you do. I understand. I’ve dealt with plenty of trigger-happy flyboys like you. You’re impulsive. Dangerous. And the last thing we need right now. So stick to your post, and follow my orders.”

The problem with the original line is that it’s dismissive in a borderline misandrist way, instead of acknowledging the fact that Poe has a legitimate problem with disobeying orders and causing plans to fall apart in spectacular fashion. People of any gender can have this problem. So here is my revision:

“Of course you do. I understand. But for security, the plan stays need-to-know. You’re impulsive. Dangerous. And the last thing we need right now. So stick to your post, and follow my orders.”
You can listen to a rough test of this here.

Some bonus points for the replacement line:

1. When Threepio tells Poe that Holdo will never approve of their plan, he responds “Yeah. You’re right, Threepio. It’s a need-to-know plan. And she doesn’t.” This always felt to me like he was referring to something she said to him before, and now it actually is!
2. It lines up better with Leia’s explanation of Holdo’s character - “She was more interested in protecting the light than she was seeming like a hero.”
3. Less whiplash from Holdo saying to Leia - “That one’s a troublemaker. I like him.” I thought she hated flyboys?
4. Holdo is actually right now instead of being portrayed as unnecessarily antagonistic. As a result of Poe finding out the plan, he tells Finn about it who was in earshot of DJ, who then sells the info to the First Order. If the plan had remained on a need-to-know basis, this wouldn’t have ever happened.

The next thing I’m going to try to tackle is the Luke voiceover that I previously discussed on here. Once again, I’ll leave the raw lines for anybody that wants to use them.

I like Eddie’s idea of smoothing it over with the next sentence for seamlessness. I think this would be possible, although I might change the wording a tad:

“But for security, the plan’s need-to-know, and… You’re impulsive. Dangerous. And the last thing we need right now.”

Yup, that did it! It’s nearly seamless now to my ears. Even matches her limited mouth movements better than the original movie’s ADR line in this location:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1A9eKubUkqy9FI2sG42IeFIolT5lApEI4?usp=sharing

Yeah, I’m not an audio editing wizard, so these are very much rough tests. The main reason I make the video tests is to determine if the line delivery fits with the surrounding dialogue in the scene.

I’ve updated the folder with my preferred version of the Kylo Ren origin story told by Luke. I didn’t realize how limited the space was in this scene, so I had to condense down Luke’s voiceover quite a bit compared to what I had originally planned for.

I saw darkness. I’d sensed it building in him. I’d seen it in moments during his training. But then I looked inside, and it was beyond what I ever imagined…

Leia, Han, and countless others would die because of what he would become. I saw no future in which I could save him. And for a moment, I thought one sacrifice would stop it all.

It passed like a fleeting shadow, and I was left with shame, and with consequence. And the last thing I saw were the eyes of a frightened boy whose Master had failed him…

My problems with the original dialogue:

1. Snoke feels increasingly irrelevant to this moment in hindsight. Luke saying “Snoke had already turned his heart” places too much emphasis on Snoke, when the deeper issue is Ben’s fear, darkness, legacy, and Luke’s own failure.

2. “The briefest moment, of pure instinct” feels like Luke trying to minimize what happened. The footage does not really support that. We see him standing over Ben, processing the vision, slowly drawing the saber, looking at it, and only then igniting it. It does not play like a random reflex. It plays like a terrible thought he actually entertains, however briefly.

What the new dialogue adds:

1. It clarifies what Luke sees and why it breaks him. Luke has always been vulnerable to fear when visions or threats involve the people he loves. In Empire, he sees Han and Leia suffering, abandons his training, and walks straight into Vader’s trap. In ROTJ, Vader threatens Leia, and Luke nearly kills his own father in rage. He does stop himself, which is his great victory, but that vulnerability does not simply disappear forever. In this version, the hut scene becomes a darker echo of those same weaknesses: Luke sees Han, Leia, and countless others dying because of Ben, sees no future in which he can save him, and for one terrible moment believes that one sacrifice would stop it all.

2. It gives the scene a stronger mythic shape. Framing Luke’s thought as a dark inversion of Abraham and Isaac makes the moment richer. This is not a holy sacrifice made in obedience or atonement; it is a false sacrifice born from fear and control. Ben is not a spotless lamb, because the darkness Luke sees is real, but Luke’s sin is reducing a frightened, conflicted boy into an offering that might prevent future pain.

3. It creates a powerful symmetry for Ben’s arc. Kylo Ren is born from a failed, dark sacrifice: Luke almost takes Ben’s life in an attempt to control the future. Ben Solo is redeemed through a true sacrifice: he freely gives his own life to save Rey, without control, possession, or expectation of reward.