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Revenge of the Sith - Vader Edition (WIP) (New Clips Avaiable)

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 (Edited)

My overall goals for the Prequels are:

  • Make them better movies.
  • Make them feel like the true precursors to the original trilogy.
  • Make Anakin consistent with Darth Vader from the original trilogy, and his turn both more fitting for the original character and better on its own.

These edits will be called the Vader edition because while many Prequel edits succeed at improving them as films, not many go out of their way to make Anakin more consistent with Vader.

Darth Vader was a cold, reserved, bold, calculating, terrifying villain who owned every scene he was in. He loved the dark side, even making sadistic jokes about the people he killed. We were told that before he turned to the dark side, he was a great warrior, pilot, and friend to Obi-Wan. The Prequels portray his younger self as too whiny, open and explosive, and he turned because of a lie he should’ve seen right through. Tricked, rather then seduced. His friendship with Obi-Wan was an afterthought.
My edits will change this. Light side Anakin will still be heroic, passionate and caring person. His friendship with Obi-Wan will be emphasized to the best of my ability. Dark side Anakin, however, will feel more like a younger Vader, like Vader from the 2017 canon comics - understandably more emotional, but more cold and reserved like OT Vader.

We will never be able to create the perfect, Walter White-esque turn we really should’ve gotten with what’s available. But this is the next best thing.

Revenge of the Sith marks Anakin’s full embrace of his Vader persona. His personality is consistent with the previous edit, and further edits solidify Anakin’s turn in a more satisfying way then the original by emphasizing Anakin’s general lust for power, including a desire for immortality. Wanting to save Padme is only one of the multiple reasons Anakin turns.
If we’re comparing to Michael Corleone’s arc in The Godfather, the nightmare functions less like the assassination attempt on Vito and more like Apollonia’s death. The final straw rather then the spark.
Anakin does not lie to himself that the Jedi are trying to take over the Republic either. He knows what he’s doing is wrong and selfish, but he does it anyway, because he’s addicted to the dark side. He wants it.
Ideas from Hal9000’s Labyrinth of Evil, NFBisms’ New Canon Cut, and Bobson Dugnutt’s Expanded Edition are labeled as such.

Clips:
Draft of new Opera scene: https://youtu.be/A_h13JYRSBk
Draft of new pre-duel Mustafar scene: https://youtu.be/KV4CaKMZ8I8

New Palpatine lines done by Ryan Golden

Changelist:

  • Various minor trims of tiny flubs.
  • Added film grain and new color grade to make the film look more in tune with the OT (inspired by DominicCobb’s ROTS edit).
  • New opening crawl to fix misspellings and make it slightly more grim.
  • Intentionally kept lighthearted, heroic Anakin moments in the opening act. He’s still a likable hero, even if he has a dark side.
  • Anakin doesn’t need to be told by Obi-Wan to “Let them pass between us” or destroy the shields to Grievous’ ship. “He was the best star pilot in the galaxy”. (LOE)
  • Lovingly borrowed audio from L8wrtr’s edit in a few spots to remove battle droid voices. (LOE)
  • Cut Anakin sensing Count Dooku and Grievous saying Dooku predicted their appearance. Spoils his appearance, and overloads the audience with too much information at once. (LOE)
  • Cut everything from the original between General Grievous’ first appearance and the duel with Dooku. The hallway scene with the droidekas and battle droids in the elevator makes it unclear whether they want the Jedi as hostages or killed, and footage from the elevator sequence was needed for later use. The scene with R2 and the droids also incorporates the jet boosters that are an inconsistency with the OT.
  • An edited version of the deleted sequence of Anakin and Obi-Wan encountering Grievous as he kills Shaak-Ti and their escape takes their place. Grievous killing Shaak-Ti also does more to legitimize him as a threat (it can be inferred he won a duel with her, a Jedi Master, off-screen). Anakin and Obi-Wan’s coordinated hand signals shows familiarity and precise teamwork. Obi-Wan being proven wrong about Anakin’s plan to hold back the explosion shows Anakin’s growth; they’re equals, now. (EE)
  • Readded the deleted scene with Anakin speaking droid, edited to remove mention of Dooku.
  • A nice lighthearted scene Anakin and Obi-Wan. With the cutting of the elevator sequence, it feels right. (EE)
  • Cut Palpatine’s weird “Get!” after Obi-Wan cuts down the droids that came with Dooku. (LOE)
  • Cut away as the railing starts to land on Obi-Wan. The original made it look like his legs were crushed. (LOE)
  • Palpatine instructs Anakin to kill Count Dooku, and he immediately does it with no hesitation. “Mercy doesn’t defeat the enemy”. Anakin taking vengeance makes him feel powerful. (LOE)
  • Trimmed Palpatine’s justification of Anakin’s actions, with the exception of citing revenge as “natural” and bringing up the sand people. Anakin’s remorse is only seen through his facial expressions.
  • Used Hal9000’s brilliantly reedited version of Anakin and Obi-Wan getting captured in the elevator shaft instead of by “ray shields” (which retroactively create some pretty big world-building issues). (LOE)
  • Grievous refers to Anakin as “General Skywalker”. (NCC)
  • Grievous and Anakin insulting each other’s age and height is still kept. Despite meeting earlier in the movie, this exchange can easily be interpreted as them just being snarky.
  • Hal9000’s reedited version of “Try not to upset him” joke for better payoff. (LOE)
  • Grievous quips, “Time to abandon ship” as he breaks the hull and escapes. His line in the escape pod is replaced with one from The Clone Wars series, “Goodbye Jedi!”. (LOE)
  • Replaced Jar Jar’s one line with Organa referring to him as “General Skywalker”. (NCC)
  • Political subplot with Anakin, Palpatine, and the Council is moved to before the nightmare. This emphasizes Anakin’s conflict with the Council and political allegiance to Palpatine before his conflict about Padme’s impending death. After Anakin and Padme reunite is the deleted scene, “Plot to Destroy the Jedi”. We see the Jedi are well aware of the Chancellor’s growing power and that Obi-Wan is in on the Council’s plans. (LOE)
  • Restored “Adjustments to the Constitution” deleted scene in Palpatine’s office. Anakin says that he agrees with Palpatine’s authoritarian politics as well as his sentiment that the Jedi are holding him back because they know he is powerful and see him as a threat. He may know these are wrong, deep down, but he won’t admit it. He wants to buy Palpatine’s cons.
  • Anakin’s appointment to the Council changed. His outburst is trimmed to his initial “What?”, cold looks of scorn, and “How can you be on the council…” (LOE)
  • Borrowed audio work from MalàStrana to incorporate an eerie rendition of the Imperial March as Windu denies Anakin the rank of Master. (LOE)
  • Rearranged shots so that Anakin sees Obi-Wan shake his head at him for his pride. (LOE)
  • Reinserted the three deleted scenes that make up political subplot with Padme to give her more agency, emphasize the political conflict between her and Anakin. The first takes place between Anakin’s appointment to the Council and Obi-Wan telling him to spy on Palpatine. (LOE)
  • Trim Mace Windu, “I don’t think the boy can handle it”.
  • Grievous arriving at Utapau moved to after Anakin and Padme’s political discussion. Works as a payoff to the mystery of his location and allows for a change in pace. (LOE)
  • After Palpatine tells Grievous, “Soon, I will have a new apprentice…”, we transition to the opera scene. By placing this scene before the nightmare, it establishes that Anakin is intrigued by the power to cheat death before his vision of Padme’s death. Anakin craves the power of immortality for himself. New Palpatine’s lines from a voice actor have been incorporated to change his monologue to be about cheating death rather then keeping loved ones from dying, though he does say that Plagueis could stop both himself and his apprentice from dying.
    • This change was inspired by Anakin’s line in ROTJ when he accepts that nothing can stop his death after Luke initially refuses to take his mask off. Now, Anakin/Vader has an entire arc throughout the saga about accepting his own mortality. This ties in with the almost undead nature of Darth Vader in the original trilogy.
    • I find it odd that Anakin, a person familiar with the fact that the Sith are pure evil and care about nobody but themselves, buys this story that a Sith Lord had loved ones. He literally said they think only about themselves a minute ago. The story being about Plagueis using the power on himself and his apprentice is far more believable. Also, the dude might be desperate, but you don’t notice how awfully convenient and on-the-nose this is? A day after you have a vision of your wife dying, a dude suddenly tells you the Sith could save people? Come on, man. Vader in the OT was perceptive.
  • Intentionally kept Palpatine reducing the Council told Anakin to spy on him. I like the idea that Palpatine is essentially the only person that Anakin finds relief in. It emphasizes how much of a psychological grip he has on him.
  • Remove Chewbacca from all Kashyyyk scenes. (LOE)
  • Second Rebellion scene between Battle of Kashyyyk and Anakin and Obi-Wan saying goodbye.
  • Intentionally kept Anakin’s apology and goodbye to Obi-Wan. Anakin is still a good person at this point. He’s self-aware of his flaws and is still capable of making the right choice.
  • Cut Obi-Wan telling him he’s “trained him since he was a small boy”, as if he’s not an independent knight now. (LOE)
  • After Obi-Wan leaves Coruscant is the final scene in the Rebellion subplot. This scene reinforces that Anakin wants Palpatine to be the Emperor of the galaxy. (LOE)
  • After Obi-Wan arrives at Utapau is a modified Anakin-Padme apartment scene. Anakin does not admit that he feels lost, that the Jedi “don’t trust” him, etc. However, despite Anakin’s humble apology to Obi-Wan, he still craves power (“I want more”).
  • The scene ends with Padme saying, “You expect too much of yourself” and Anakin responding “Is that bad?”. (NCC)
  • Afterwards is Anakin’s nightmare of Padme’s death, the straw that breaks the camel’s back. He doesn’t tell Padme about it.
  • Removed the first half of Grievous’ line, “It is a volcanic planet. You will be safe there.” Volcanic equals safe? (LOE)
  • Centered the extreme close-up of Obi-Wan as he says, “Oh I don’t think so”. This always bugged me.
  • Removed the now redundant war room scene about the plot to destroy the Jedi. (LOE)
  • Palpatine revealing himself to Anakin changed significantly. Palpatine doesn’t know of Anakin’s nightmare of Padme’s death. He pitches the dark side as the key to the power to cheat death, and that together they can learn the secret. Palpatine states that he knows of Anakin’s desire for the power of immortality just as much as he does, and he also promises that if he becomes his apprentice, he will be second in-command of his Empire, that they will rule the galaxy together forever.
    • It makes far more sense for Anakin to believe Palpatine here. Palpatine isn’t even actually lying to him, here. Anakin knows that the Sith’s ultimate goal is immortality, and that the dark side is the only path to it, as the light side is all about respecting the natural course of life. Palpatine craves the power of immortality as much as he does, and Anakin has great reason to believe Palpatine would actually make this offer to him, even for purely selfish reasons. Palpatine wants an all-powerful immortal being to enforce his empire. Originally, Anakin has no reason to believe Palpatine would actually have any investment in saving Padme and isn’t just lying. If anything, he’d want her to be out of the picture.
    • This also gives Palpatine a more solid plan. In the original version, it’s absolute happenstance that Anakin had the nightmare about Padme when it’s convenient for Palpatine. But here, Palpatine is preying on a desire Anakin has had and he has known about for years. The execution of Dooku and telling of the legend of Plagueis was what he needed to know it was finally time to pitch it to him.
  • Anakin catches onto Palpatine being a Sith quicker. (LOE)
  • Anakin does not want to kill Palpatine. He only ignites his lightsaber because he knows what the right thing to do is, which conflicts with his selfish desires.
  • Palpatine trying to manipulate Anakin into thinking the Jedi are taking over are also gone, and he doesn’t mention the Jedi as much. Palpatine gave up on that idea in the opera scene, and he now outright states his intentions to rule as Emperor with Anakin as his enforcer. He is strictly seducing Anakin with the promise of power. This removes any idea that Anakin is even lying to himself that the Jedi are evil; Darth Vader knows that he’s a power-hungry bastard, but screw it, he wants it. Just as in the OT.
  • Added music from the soundtrack to the General Grievous chase.
  • Removed Palpatine’s voiceover as Anakin waits in the Council room, talking about Padme again. (LOE)
  • Cut Anakin’s, “What have I done?”. (LOE)
  • Other then Palpatine mentioning Plagueis’ ability to cheat death, saving Padme isn’t referenced during the knighting of Vader scene. Saving Padme’s life is the spark that ignites a myriad of other factors for Anakin’s turn toward evil, most prominently his desire for immortality. (Labyrinth of Evil)
  • Dialogue cut in Palpatine’s office to remove them feigning belief of a Jedi plot, that they’ll kill the Senate, referring to them as “relentless”, etc. Vader and Sidious are on the same page: they know they’re power-hungry monsters, they don’t need to speak in propaganda. Palpatine refers to the Jedi as a threat to “our new Empire”, not to the Republic.
  • Trimmed excess Kashyyyk battle fat during the Order 66 sequence. (LOE)
  • Anakin does not kill the younglings on-screen. (Labyrinth of Evil)
  • Cut Yoda saying goodbye to the Wookiees. (LOE)
  • Anakin does tell Padme propaganda, but this makes sense. He’s lying to her. That’s it.
  • Padme doesn’t hear about a youngling slaughter, nor bring it up to Anakin. (LOE)
  • Palpatine does not give Vader propaganda about bringing peace and justice to the galaxy.
  • Anakin and Padme’s conversation on Mustafar edited and rearranged to emphasis the clash between love and power. We reinforce that Anakin’s turn into Darth Vader is brought about by his lust for power, not love. Even the desire to save Padme is possessive. (LOE)
  • No discussion about Anakin trying to save Padme; she never knew about Anakin’s fears about that. Anakin doesn’t seem focused on it himself anymore. (LOE)
  • Remove Anakin deflecting anything on Obi-Wan, or trying to justify his actions by saying “his new Empire” has brought “peace, freedom, justice, and security”. Vader isn’t making excuses for his actions. As he says himself in the Canon Vader comics, he knows he’s a monster (this canonically takes place days after ROTS, by the way).
  • Cut Padme’s, “You’re breaking my heart!”.
  • Move Anakin’s, “Don’t make me kill you”, back to the shot of his back turned after Obi-Wan states his allegiance to the Republic, replacing the really cheesy, “If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy.”
  • Cut Anakin and Obi-Wan, “From my point of view the Jedi are evil" conversation for the same reason I removed all of Anakin’s deflections. The only words exchanged are, “I have failed you Anakin…” and “This is the end for you my Master.”
  • Qui-Gon’s voice (from The Clone Wars) added to Yoda’s meditating scene. (LOE)
  • Padme dies because of Vader’s force choke. No “losing the will to live”.
  • Thanks to Snooker and Sir Ridley, removed R2 and 3PO from the birth of the twins. Eases continuity issues regarding R2 knowing Yoda. (LOE)
  • De-softened Darth Vader asking about Padme. He asks about her whereabouts in a very cold manner. He sees her as a possession, as he does in the Canon Vader comics, and his children in the OT.
  • Vader’s “Nooooo!” replaced with a haunting, echoed angry scream.
  • Imperial March added to the credits.

Changes that make Anakin more like Vader: Anakin’s personality is once again more like Vader’s. You get it by now.
Moving the political plot with Palpatine and the Jedi Council fighting for Anakin’s allegiance and Anakin’s tension with the Jedi Council earlier, feeling like he’s not being afforded enough respect or power, allows the nightmare to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Attachment is part of a greater whole.
The Jedi hurting his ego by not giving him a rank he doesn’t deserve reinforces to Anakin that “there are things about the Force they’re not telling me”. This is, of course, not true, but his ego prevents him from admitting the truth.
Vader boasts about the power of the dark side so much in the OT because he loves feeling invincible. He doesn’t feel like he’s being held back like he felt like he was by the Jedi. Even just having power for power’s sake is appealing to him.
Anakin also wants the power of immortality for himself, emphasizing that his turn is more about himself then Padme. Even him trying to save Padme isn’t about selfless love, it’s about not wanting to go through the pain of losing her, to keep her as if she’s a possession, at whatever cost.
Every edit ultimately emphasizes the truth of Vader: his cold, dominant persona is a mask for his soft inside that was powerless, scared, and in pain, and he spends the rest of his life until his redemption feeding his ego by boasting his power through being the Empire’s enforcer.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits

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Not too bad. My main concern though is how it downplays how much Anakin cares about Padme. While his twisted possessive love is what ultimately made him evil, he still does love her. He does things because he cares deeply for people he loves. That is why Palps mentions saving Padme from certain death because he knows this and is dangling it in front of him to remind him why he is doing this (It also shows why he chose to save his son. He loves his family more than anything).

I get what you are trying to do with vader when he is put in the suit. You want to show us how cool vader is to set up the next trilogy. But while vader is this opposing, unflinching force, deep down he is meant to be a pathetic man. He is broken and hides it away in the suit, just like his broken body. The scene when he is put in the suit better shows how broken he is from losing what he cared for most. Later on he denies his true feelings but it is best to save that for the next trilogy that already shows that very well.

So I would suggest adding back the scene where Palps mentions Padme in the knighting scene and the raging scene after he gets the suit. Maybe you can add the “means nothing” line later at the end if it is even possible.

Also why get rid of the youngling scene? It shows how brutal vader was and I actually wish it showed more. If you don’t like the “master Skywalker! There are too many of them. What are we going to do?” Line then just cut it off after “Master Skywalker!” Then cut to him igniting the lightsaber.

Hope this helps! Everything else looks great! 👍

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Don’t get me wrong, I respect your way to interpret the movies and the way you want to make Anakin/Vader’s character look like, and I obviously don’t want to say that your intentions for the movies and the character are wrong, because everyone is free to do whatever he thinks it’s right for these movies. But your Revenge of the Sith edit (and also your other two edits) is one of the examples of why I ultimately don’t like the Canon Vader and prefer his Legends counterpart. I prefer Vader being a week, pathetic man who intentionally makes excuses for his actions, even though he knows deep down that what he did and what he’s doing is wrong. I don’t like Vader being a cool badass that kills everyone and is deeply convinced that he’s doing good for the Galaxy.

I agree with what Squeaky Water Wheel said.

«No one is guilty of being born a slave. But the slave to whom not only aspirations for freedom are alien, but who justifies and paints his slavery in rosy colors, such a slave is a lackey and a brute who arouses a legitimate sense of indignation, disgust and repugnance.»

— Vladimir Lenin

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I think it’s a good idea and I agree with your decisions.

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Spartacus01 said:

Don’t get me wrong, I respect your way to interpret the movies and the way you want to make Anakin/Vader’s character look like, and I obviously don’t want to say that your intentions for the movies and the character are wrong, because everyone is free to do whatever he thinks it’s right for these movies. But your Revenge of the Sith edit (and also your other two edits) is one of the examples of why I ultimately don’t like the Canon Vader and prefer his Legends counterpart. I prefer Vader being a week, pathetic man who intentionally makes excuses for his actions, even though he knows deep down that what he did and what he’s doing is wrong. I don’t like Vader being a cool badass that kills everyone and is deeply convinced that he’s doing good for the Galaxy.

I agree with what Squeaky Water Wheel said.

Well I do like that it seems like he is making it so Anakin isn’t whiny. He is a cool character like he is portrayed in the clone wars series but is pathetic in ways. Most of the edits seem like he does that but I haven’t seen it yet so not sure. Just a few changes in them that make it go a little too far.

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Spartacus01 said:

I don’t like Vader being a cool badass that kills everyone and is deeply convinced that he’s doing good for the Galaxy.

Canon Vader isn’t deeply convinced that he’s doing good for the galaxy. On his first mission to steal a kyber crystal from a Jedi, he literally outright admits that he’s monster before bursting a dam with the Force, drowning an entire city.

Canon Vader sees himself the way all Sith see themselves. “I’m evil, but that doesn’t matter. I’m more powerful then everyone else, I can do and take whatever I want.”

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
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I think Vader having his tantrum in the suit in front of Palpatine simply does not work. I agree with g&gfan that Vader is better suited hiding his feelings from the emperor as it fits with OT Vader.

However, if someone could perform VFX work to have Palpatine leave the operating room, then at that point Vader’s rage could be justified as he now can do it privately. I am not so sure if someone would be willing to go through all that effort though.

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As I think about it more, I’m debating the change of Anakin’s vision foreshadowing his burning on Mustafar, as I think it almost victimizes him a bit too much. Vader being born partially from what’s pretty much self-preservation, while still making him look selfish, might border a bit too much on him being a victim rather then a power hungry monster. The only thing is, short of AI dialogue, I can’t really think of another way to add the “Anakin wants to be immortal” angle, which is important to my version.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
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It would require some creative editing, but maybe the beginning of his dream could depict related his ambitions of greatness, and then the vision devolves into both Padmé and his deaths. Something that shows him in a position of power, as a Jedi Master, or being the celebrated chosen one who achieved his destiny, or in a position of power in the galaxy. Like, he sees this power and greatness he will one day have, maybe alongside happiness with Padmé too, and then he loses it. That way, we know his fear of loss is not only tied to losing Padmé, but losing the power he foresaw him having.

It would be interesting if this could be tied to Palpatine. Like, he know these visions of power are tied to Palpatine, and being associated with him. It would be ironic if he was seeing his future as Vader, but depicted in a way that looks “good”, like he is Anakin rather than Vader, Palpatine rather than the Emperor. So he does he end up getting the power he saw in his vision, but not in the way he saw it. For example, imagine the scene at the end of the film, with Vader the Emperor on the bridge of the Star Destroyer, backs facing camera. You could have the same shot, but we see the backs of Anakin and Palpatine instead. So Anakin interprets that as him bringing peace to the galaxy through military power. Stuff like that.

Anyway, not really sure what imagery you could use. It could be even simpler than that. Just picking a few existing shots and laying the right pre-existing lines underneath it.

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The main issue I see with it is that if Anakin had a vision like that, he would stay as far away from somewhere like Mustafar as possible.

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I just rewatched the Prequels as a part of my annual Star Wars marathon, so they’re now fresh in my mind. I’m making changes to my plans for my edits (and what I’ve done so far), taking into account my latest experience watching the films. TPM is especially gonna change dramatically (I liked it the least of the 3), but I’m still figuring out how (so it hasn’t changed much).

I’ve updated the changelist, but I’ll summarize the most important things here.

Anakin having a vision of himself burning on Mustafar isn’t happening anymore. I was trying to add an element of Vader craving immortality, but all it does is make it seem like he’s turning to the dark side out of basic self-preservation, which makes Vader too much of a victim, the opposite of my intent. Instead, I plan on adding this element through AI dialogue, mostly through Anakin’s scenes with Palpatine, as well as smart editing, emphasizing “the power to cheat death” over “saving Padme”. How exactly I will do it and what the exact dialogue will be, I don’t know. But it’s too important that I’m willing to resort to AI to accomplish it. The symmetry with his death in ROTJ is just too good of an idea. I’m also gonna use AI dialogue to have Palpatine outright promise him second in-command of his new Empire, thus further highlighting Anakin’s general lust for power.

I’m gonna attempt to keep Anakin’s scene with Yoda about his dream while keeping the Anakin/Palpatine/Council political subplot before the dream by moving Yoda going to Kashyyyk to later in the movie. It’s just such an impactful scene. It could mess up the pacing badly, but it’s worth an attempt.

I really appreciated the tight pacing around Anakin on rewatch, and am considering only keeping the third of the three Padme political scenes, or maybe just cutting the second one (it really doesn’t add anything). I think the third scene stands fine on it’s own, and if additional info is needed, the first is enough. Not final though, so I haven’t added it to the changelist.

Other then that, besides a couple minor things, the changelist remains mostly the same.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
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New idea: what if the Darth Plagueis scene takes place before Anakin’s nightmare?

What this would do is show that Anakin has an interest in the power to cheat death before he even has any idea that Padme is going to die. Anakin is immediately intrigued by the prospect of cheating death and asks how to learn it. This would make Palpatine stating in their scene together later that he knows Anakin has always wanted immortality come less out of nowhere, and it also would do more to show that Padme’s death is the final straw rather then the sole reason.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits

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Thankfully, I will not have to resort to AI, at least for Palpatine’s new dialogue. Someone has reached out to me who can voice act Palpatine.

Here are the new lines I’m planning:
“He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep himself and his apprentice from dying.”
“Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep before he could heal himself.”
“Learn to know the dark side of the Force, and you will be able to unlock Plagueis’ secret to cheat death.”
“I know you’ve always craved the power of eternal life, to deny death, just as much as I do. It is only natural. We must conquer the Jedi Temple, take back the Sith holocrons they have kept from us. Use what we can. With our powers combined, I know we can unlock Plagueis’ secret. If he could discover the secret, certainly the son of the Force itself could.”
“Together we will rule the galaxy forever. Me as Emperor, and you as my invincible enforcer. You will answer to no one but me, son.”
“Know the power of the dark side. The power of eternal life.”
“Every single Jedi, including your friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, are now enemies of our new Empire.”
“Only then will you be strong enough with the dark side to cheat death.”
“Once more the Sith will rule the galaxy… forever.”

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits

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I’ve got the new lines from the Palpatine voice actor. And guys, these lines sound amazing. I actually got chills hearing them. I can’t wait to edit them into the movie

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits

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Updated the changelist.

It now reflects everything I have come up with to successfully implement the idea that Anakin turns because he wants the power of immortality. I’m also including some deleted scenes in the opening act.

Unlike what I initially planned, a rough draft of this edit is likely coming out before the other two. Partially because I’m more enthusiastic about this one.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
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Will gladly watch when done.

For seventeen years the renegade Pfhor scoutship jumped between the closely packed stars of the galactic core. And all over the ship, dancing through the wreckage of the Pfhor computer core, Durandal was laughing…

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 (Edited)

New plans for the Vader scene for this edit.

This is the first edit of Vader’s no (turned into an angry yell) that actually works. Someone actually did it. I’m quite impressed, honestly.
https://youtu.be/G8V0-vRYOAU

It matches better with the 2017 Darth Vader comics, which I always intended to be canon to my edits. They are my favorite Star Wars material after the OT, genuinely incredible stuff that understands Vader so well.

It starts with Vader angrily attacking Palpatine for failing his promise to save Padme, which is great. Vader’s rage is done similarly to his OT cold, tranquil rage (as generally for the comic) whilst also being fitting for this younger, angrier Vader that still feels like the same person (he’s even a bit more emotional in ANH then ESB and ROTJ).

While I liked the idea of having Vader just go cold upon hearing Padme’s death for the edit’s own sake, because I didn’t see a better alternative, it’s when I came across this new edit that I realized that including an angry reaction from Vader in the film itself could work and be in-line with the comic.

I also wasn’t entirely sure how to bookend the scene, originally. The scene is designed for a bigger payoff, so I didn’t want it to just end on Vader’s new line, but nothing else felt right.

I also feel like the intent could’ve easily gotten across wrong. The original plan of Vader saying his dead wife now means nothing to him wasn’t meant to be entirely honest, but rather another instance of using his cold persona to bury his feelings (like in ROTJ).

In the Vader comics, though it isn’t his focus until the final arc, Vader attempts to resurrect her, and the way it executes it is excellent. He’s still Vader, cold, selfish, and most importantly, in this instance, possessive, as he was of his children, in the OT. He wants to resurrect her to keep her as an object of lust in a very Sith fashion. The Emperor doesn’t even object to it. It’s brilliant, creepy, and expands on an already existent facet of Vader’s character, which is one of the many reasons why Fortress Vader is my favorite arc in an incredible comic run.



While the original version could still mesh with the comics on that front, I feel like the angry yell fits better with the overall throughline of the comic.

That being said, I would like to “de-soften” Vader when he says, “Where is Padme?”, especially removing him saying, “Is she safe, is she alright?”. It doesn’t feel in-character even for a possessive Vader. It almost feels like it wants me to think that this is Anakin and he doesn’t become Vader until the very last scene observing the Death Star… but then why does he have him act like Vader when he’s first knighted, and when he visits Padme after the massacre? He should be Vader when he’s in the mask. Seeing him act like Anakin here is so jarring.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits

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First attempt of the new opera scene: https://youtu.be/A_h13JYRSBk

New Palpatine lines done by Ryan Golden

Palpatine doesn’t criticize the Jedi by saying they don’t trust democracy. It’s subtle but the less he makes himself look like a hypocrite in his early attempts at manipulation, the more believable Anakin’s turn is. Palpatine and Anakin’s almost unspoken opinion is that a dictatorship is better, so there’s no need to pretend in their private conversations.
Anakin is quicker to dispel Palpatine’s claims about the Jedi. This is also the only time Palpatine tries to sow doubts of the Jedi in Anakin. As said in my cut list, he ditches that and goes straight to Anakin’s desire for power over death. This exchange now serves to outright prove that Anakin/Vader has no illusions about the Jedi and Sith’s morality.
New Palpatine lines have been implemented so he says Plagueis was able to keep himself and his apprentice from dying rather then “the ones he cared about”, and that Plagueis was killed by his apprentice in his sleep before he could heal himself (to explain why he couldn’t resurrect himself; the idea was that the wound was just too quick and severe for him to have used the power quick enough).
Used Anakin looks of curiosity to smooth over the line delivery and also make his intrigue clear.
This is just a first draft. I’m aware that the change is a little jarring for now.

First attempt at new pre-duel Mustafar scene: https://youtu.be/KV4CaKMZ8I8

Vader isn’t pinning any blame on the Jedi or Obi-Wan. He’s cold about his actions and mad Padme found out (because earlier he lied).
He doesn’t go on a diatribe about how “his new Empire” has created “peace, justice…” to attempt to justify his actions (which would be fine if it was Padme, but it’s clear he’s saying it to himself, which isn’t Vader).
Lots of cheesy lines gone.
I think I’ve done a good job making this feel more like Vader, though I know some of the musical transitions are rough.

Also updated changelist on first page.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
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Some things I’ve been mulling over.

Payoff to Anakin/Vader craving Immortality
I’ve felt like I need to have a payoff for Anakin becoming Vader because he wants immortality, to coincide with the payoff with Padme. The OG film is constructed to have his arc revolve entirely on Padme, while my goal is to make that part of a whole.
I considered using footage from the Kenobi show of Vader speaking to Palpatine, but I didn’t want to contradict the Fortress Vader comic arc unless I had to.

Today, I realized that there already kind of is a payoff: Vader surviving getting burned.
By diving his soul into the deepest crevices of the dark side, consumed by rage, hatred, his now blood cold, he achieves what Plagueis had to learn to do (bc he’s the Son of the Force).
It makes sense, as in the new Canon especially, Vader is this nigh unstoppable monster (putting emphasis on nigh, however), symbolically like the Grim Reaper.
He can be pushed off a cliff, lose limbs, have a lava lake thrown at him after fighting an army, and then fighting an ancient Sith lord, and still comes out victorious.
I need a way to emphasize this power specifically in this edit. Some kind of visual. Maybe even have him actually fall into the lava like originally planned, so the audience will straight up be like, “There’s no way he survived that without a supernatural element”. Probably in conjunction with something else, because otherwise they might just straight up lose suspension of disbelief.

The power only works when actively using the dark side, which is why Plagueis was able to be killed in his sleep and why it’s ultimately useless to resurrect Padme.
After you’ve successfully use it to survive something, it remains “healed” even if you let go of the dark side, but you have to be consistently using it in order to keep surviving things like that, to stay that powerful.
It meaningly reinforces OT lines, such as, “If you only knew the power of the dark side!”, “You don’t know the power of the dark side.”
It’s also why, in ROTJ, he loses to Luke due to internal conflict, and when Anakin finally redeems himself, he succumbs to the injuries from the lightning and the disabling of the suit. Letting go of the dark side leaves him in this weakened withdrawal period, like a drug, which would last for days or even weeks, meaning he wouldn’t be able to survive the lightning in that state. He knew saving his son would kill him (which is the point of that scene in ROTJ).
This ties into his arc of accepting the natural course of life. No longer using the dark side, a twisted perversion of nature.
This is a general theme with the Sith: their usage of the dark side corrupts their appearance. Vader’s cybernetics (and his overall symbolic “undead” nature), Palpatine’s monstrous appearance, etc.

Darth Vader, in a twisted irony, essentially he gets part of what he wants, in terms of power for himself, but it costs him everything else. His wife, his mentor/older brother, even much of his flesh. He’s almost this Force demigod, yet deep down, repressed under his cold hardened persona, he’s miserable.
In Canon, Vader is more powerful then Palpatine, in terms of raw power; Palpatine’s hold over him is mostly psychological and based on contingencies; he has skills, such as his sorcery, that compliment Vader’s. Ultimately, despite all his power, he’s still unhappy.

Palpatine’s Monster Face

Speaking of the dark side corrupting the appearances of Sith, I really want to remove the element of Palpatine’s face being a result of lightning from Windu; his face needs to be dark side corruption related. That’s far more interesting and doesn’t create inconsistencies.
I personally go with the head canon that it burned off his “Force mask” or whatever, but for this edit, I want to remove any implication that it’s due to Windu.
Labyrinth of Evil does this by excising the entire force lightning beat, but at the expense of Anakin’s deliberation that emphasis his turn as a choice. Perhaps I could excise that but re-edit the scene in other ways to emphasis a conscious choice as opposed to a spur of the moment decision (which is not in line with my goals)? I’m gonna have to do some tests, but I’m open to suggestions.

New Final “Cold” Darth Vader Scene (ambitious)

Now that I’ve decided to keep his angry reaction to losing Padme (which I do believe is in-character, when presented correctly), I would ideally like some scene, with dialogue, showing that Vader is now completely hardened, like in the canon comics and the OT. I don’t know specifically what or how, though. Just something on the backburner of my mind.
I do feel that final scene on the Star Destroyer does convey this concept visually, but I still feel some kind of interaction would make it better. Not life or death though.
Even more ambitious would be to straight up film new suited Vader material, both bc the ROTS suit is odd, and I’d love to adapt a couple scenes from the comics. But that’s not really likely, especially in the near future. It won’t hold back this edit from being released.

More OT Tone/Aesthetic (ambitious)

This is more radical side, pushing the limits of what I’m capable of. While I can’t and don’t necessarily desire to remove all CG in the films, it’d like to do things to make the entire trilogy more OT-like. I’ve grown majorly attached to the theatrical OT, the practical models, costumes, and sets, gorgeous matte paintings, more classical designs and music, less over-the-top overall. The OT has some cartoonish comic relief that’s a part of Star Wars’ whimsy, but way too much in the Prequels. There’s much more of a balance of all of these elements that the PT doesn’t have.

In this movie in particular, the fights, often, are too much. I feel this way about most of the Prequel action. Even Duel of the Fates, when the time comes. It’s so overstimulating to me I often can’t even keep track of the characters.
In my opinion, the peak of Star Wars duels is Darth Vader vs. Luke in ESB and ROTJ. Perfect blend of ferocious fighting and character work. Not too over or under stimulating.
I also really need to make them not so extreme so as to allow for Vader, Luke, and Obi-Wan to shine as the amazing duelists they’re canonically supposed to be. Obviously Vader’s always been more of about brute force, this walking tank, with little agility, but I still need to tone down the speed of the PT duels so the OT duels don’t look so weak.

I definitely feel like I can edit down the duels, tone down the color grade, remove overly cartoonish stuff and the overly busy nature of so many shots (we don’t need random shit constantly thrown on the screen). Perhaps I can find the resources on the internet to make OT style mattes too. However, some ideas are beyond my capabilities.
A lot of this stuff will also not hold back release of this edit. Because even without it, I feel I’ll make something pretty good. But it’s a dream.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
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Love it all until I read the end, death by force choke. I love how you kept it as faithful to the original trilogy as possible but, the scene in Return of the Jedi; Luke asks about Leia’s mother. You’ve essentially created an inconsistency like George did

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TDS91939 said:

Love it all until I read the end, death by force choke. I love how you kept it as faithful to the original trilogy as possible but, the scene in Return of the Jedi; Luke asks about Leia’s mother. You’ve essentially created an inconsistency like George did

I can try to make her survive until Leia’s like, 2-4. I don’t know how to, but I can try to mull over it. And I want her to die in the movie. While I do believe the OT should be watched first in terms of the official versions of the saga, I want to attempt to make these edits successful as the first 3 movies. Because the OT is the best, and I think it’s cooler if the movies get better as you watch. As such, I need to show what happens to Padme before the OT. Otherwise ppl may go into ANH thinking she’s still alive and Vader just doesn’t know about her. Not my intent.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits

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I definitely feel like I can edit down the duels, tone down the color grade, remove overly cartoonish stuff and the overly busy nature of so many shots (we don’t need random shit constantly thrown on the screen). Perhaps I can find the resources on the internet to make OT style mattes too. However, some ideas are beyond my capabilities.
A lot of this stuff will also not hold back release of this edit. Because even without it, I feel I’ll make something pretty good. But it’s a dream.

At this point, I think it would be much more simple to just rewrite the entire trilogy.

«No one is guilty of being born a slave. But the slave to whom not only aspirations for freedom are alien, but who justifies and paints his slavery in rosy colors, such a slave is a lackey and a brute who arouses a legitimate sense of indignation, disgust and repugnance.»

— Vladimir Lenin

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Spartacus01 said:

At this point, I think it would be much more simple to just rewrite the entire trilogy.

Most of the reason I’m making these is to make versions of the Prequels that I can enjoy watching alongside the OT. They’ll never be perfect, but still. I could and might still rewrite the trilogy, but it’s not the same as watching movies. Besides, there’s still things about ROTS I still enjoy despite my problems, just enough that I want to make an edit of it.

A lot of this is still doable I feel. If I can’t do everything I want, I’ll get it as close as I can.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
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G&G-Fan said:

It’s also why, in ROTJ, he loses to Luke due to internal conflict, and when Anakin finally redeems himself, he succumbs not only to the injuries from the lightning disabling the suit, but all of them.
This ties into his arc of accepting the natural course of life. No longer using the dark side, a twisted perversion of nature.

I want to clarify: the intent isn’t that Anakin/Vader can’t live without the dark side after Mustafar. That takes too much agency.
A big point of the 2017 comic run, which I think matches the OT, is that Vader chooses the dark side during his reign as a Sith lord, due to ego and power.

The reason he dies after letting go of the dark side and killing Palpatine in ROTJ is because without the dark side’s power, he’s too vulnerable to withstand the lightning and damage to the suit.
But he wouldn’t drop dead if he had let go of it prior. He’d go through a weakened withdrawal period for a bit, like a drug addict would, but he wouldn’t die. He chose not to let go of the dark side. This also means that he knows that saving Luke and turning back to the light will kill him due to the Emperor’s lightning and withdrawal, which is the point of the scene in ROTJ.

I don’t want him using he dark side for self-preservation, like he can’t live without it. I feel it victimizes him too much.

Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits