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Star Wars: The Legend of the Solo Twins
Part One: The Hunt for Skywalker (2h:18m)
Part Two: The Destiny of a Jedi (2h:30m)
I have many things to say, and I’ve found it difficult to determine the order in which to say them, so I will present this in kind of a bullet-point/FAQ style. Thanks for bearing with me.
Why did I make this edit?
After editing and re-editing the sequel trilogy with the Palpatine connection still a major plot point, I found that another idea kept nagging at me. What if I could somehow bring the whole plot closer to what I love about the old Expanded Universe? In the EU, Han and Leia had a set of twin children, a boy and a girl. The boy, Jacen, fell to the dark side. The girl, Jaina, did not. Also in the EU, there are cloning experiments, insane dark Jedi, an imperial remnant led by Grand Admiral Thrawn, and lots of other cool stuff that many of us wish had never been un-canonized.
This project began as an experiment to see if I could blend the old and the new together (much like I feel that Dave Filoni is attempting to do) while giving the story more of the old Legends spirit. The boy’s name remains Ben. The girl’s name becomes Jaina, though following the trauma of her abduction and her mysterious abandonment on Jakku by bounty hunters who had planned to sell her to the Empire, her early memories are suppressed, and so she takes on the name “Rey”—a name inscribed on the old flight helmet she has found. This detail about the helmet is true; I did not make this up, and it further proves that “Rey” is not her real name. Ultimately, the power of this story comes from the intuitive bond between the sister and the brother and how it will shape their final destiny.
Admittedly, this new plot approach will not be for everyone. We all would do it differently, and that’s okay. Please remember that I simply saw this as a fun challenge to try to make this all happen. The story works for me and my test audience, but it would be cool if others enjoyed it as well. In the end, I’ll just be happy if I can share something a bit different with the Star Wars community (and maybe even inspire some others to make edits of their own).
Why is this fan edit a duology (two films) instead of a trilogy?
This was necessary to streamline the plot so that no references to Palpatine would be included. I also needed to trim down TLJ because, other than in holograms, Snoke is not physically present anywhere but at the Sith temple on Exegol. Film 1 is basically an extensive edit of The Force Awakens with a new prologue montage while Film 2 is a merging of The Last Jedi with The Rise of Skywalker.
Other than the sequel trilogy films, is there any other source material for this fan edit?
Yes, this project includes the work of many other talented people. Footage from numerous fan films and fan edits as well as bits from other Star Wars films, shows, and video game trailers have found their way into this edit. There are even some clips that I really am not sure where they came from, but below is a list of those I know of. Thank you to all of you talented people! My apologies if I miss anyone.
Fan films:
- Force of Darkness
- Star Wars: Rey’s Origin Story
- Boba Fett: No Disintegrations
- Star Wars: One Day I’ll Become…
- Star Wars: The Dark Redemption
- Thrawn: A Star Wars Fan Film Teaser
- Han Solo: A Smuggler’s Trade
Fan Editors:
- NeverarGreat
- Hal 9000
- Immersion VFX
- Jon H
- SpenceEdit
- poppasketti
- Movies Remastered
- Fixing Disney Star Wars (audio)
- Adywan (for inspiring me to get into fan-editing over a decade ago)
How many changes were made in this edit?
Tons and tons and tons! The base for this project was my own set of Sequel Trilogy edits which already included the work of others. Most substantially, my latest Force Awakens edit was a combination of my Version 1 edit and NeverarGreat’s Starlight Project which used Hal 9000’s The Force Awakens: Restructured edit as a base. Yes, it’s complicated.
I will not be presenting a list of every single change, because there are simply too many and, to be honest, I wouldn’t remember half of them by now anyway.
Summary of changes:
Film one: The Hunt for Skywalker
- Extensive new prologue montage to bridge the 20-year gap from ROTJ
- Jaina’s abduction is included in the prologue
- Several cameos are included in the prologue
- Many dialogue changes throughout the film to make the new story work
- To my knowledge, no AI dialogue was used unless it was part of a fan film
- Restructuring of original TFA plot-lines to provide more tension and set it apart from the OT (special thanks here to Hal 9000 and NeverarGreat)
- Several deleted scenes re-instated
- Repurposed shots used in numerous places
- A number of new quick Force-inspired flashbacks created
- Rey/Jaina’s character is improved in many ways. Just knowing that Han Solo is her dad makes her attitude a lot more fun. And knowing that she is the granddaughter of the chosen one makes the immensity of her Force abilities more plausible and way cooler!
- Extended credits
- And many more changes…
Film two: The Destiny of a Jedi
- Many, many dialogue changes to make the new story work
- Several deleted scenes re-instated
- Repurposed shots used in numerous places
- Luke and all other main characters have more dignity (we can only work with what we’ve been given, but I’ve always been amazed at how a few trims and cuts can change a character’s image). Luke’s character is greatly improved, but he still does have some painful regrets. Just about anyone with older children can relate to this to some degree. No matter how optimistic the beginning, we cannot control the destiny of our apprentices, and this, at times, can be a cause of great pain.
- Hux’s character is more consistent with film one
- Luke does not chuck his lightsaber
- Driven by his desire to be the new Vader, Kylo Ren has begun a search for Vader’s Holocron
- By Snoke’s manipulation, Kylo Ren has a delusional confrontation with Vader, spiraling him closer to insanity
- Numerous new Force-inspired flashbacks created
- New Snoke hologram speaks to Kylo—no more red room. Snoke is now just more of a mystical creep (though a very powerful one) who sits upon a throne of stone in the ancient Sith Temple on Exegol. This serves to further set him apart from the Palpatine we knew from the PT and OT who lived in luxury and sat on high-tech thrones on monstrous battle stations.
- The space chase is much reduced
- Rey learns that Han and Leia are her true parents, Luke confirms it
- Extended Kylo-goes-to-Mustafar sequence
- No lightspeed skipping
- In the second half of the film, Leia and Luke begin calling Rey by her real name— “Jaina”—while others still call her “Rey”
- Jaina calls Leia “Mother” in one scene
- The new fleet discovered belongs to Snoke who has risen from the shadows to command the Imperial remnant
- No mystery tour to find a knife and heal a snake and find a ship and kill a wookiee and find a droid doctor and get directions to Endor, etc., etc., etc…whew!
- Snoke is not seen in person until Jaina confronts him before the throne of the Sith
- Many new shots of Snoke on Exegol! If that didn’t work, the whole thing was a bust
- Snoke’s true identity is revealed at the Sith Temple (it’s purposefully subtle, so keep your ears open to the chants of the Sith worshippers!)
- Ben Solo calls his sister by her true name
- Jaina Solo does not need to say her name at the end of the story
- Extended credits
- And hundreds, if not thousands, of more changes…literally
How to watch and final thoughts:
For those of you still reading, I will be trying to get this edit on the Fanedit Network before I announce the release. Otherwise, please PM me for a link, but please do not request links in the forum.
In conclusion, I just want to say that, although I spent forever working on this edit, it is not perfect, and it never will be. Part of the reason for this is that the footage used comes from a variety of sources in varying degrees of video and audio quality. I have attempted to clean everything up to the best of my abilities, but in the end, it is what it is. This current version, due to the reasons I’ve just stated, is presented in 1080p and stereo audio.
Another reason for this edit’s imperfections is that I am not perfect. I have poured my heart into this project, but at the moment, my life is very busy and I have many other things to attend to, so despite its limitations, it’s time to let it fly.
I ask one thing of you: Go into this like a kid! That’s my approach when seeing anything Star Wars for the first time. I try to remember how excited I was back then, even if I was watching it through a dirty windshield at a drive-in movie theater or on a little TV hooked up to a cheap VCR. It was STAR WARS, man, and I loved it! (And yes, I am that old)
Thanks to all those interested!
Enjoy!
—21C Peasant
