Unusual Sequel Trilogy Radical Redux Ideas Thread — Page 3

Move the action to the OT’s planets:
Jakku » Tatooine
Takodana » Endor
Starkiller Base » Hoth

Makes the universe smaller 😉

TBF, there is merit to making Jakku Tatooine, as it’s kinda jarring both thematically and visually that it isn’t.

[Double Post]

Small universe fixes the problem with Starkiller base firing being visible from other planets (they must be close).
Also addresses how those X-Wings can travel between planets (without major food & water storage).

Just like the PT went to the OT’s planets, I’d like to see that on the Sequel Trilogy.

Sure!
But for the sake of discussion, on radical edits it’s better to have your characters near each other.
That way, you are free to have them appear with no need for extra explanation or FX sequences. So you can move scenes around easier.

I agree with the sentiment that TFA and TLJ are just too busy with the character focus being all over the place. I was thinking about this and comparing ANH and TFA and where the character focus is, it is clearly on Luke in ANH. Other than the initial droid bit in ANH the focus is on Luke for the good guys. Luke goes and discovers Old Ben, we do not get a back story scene prior to meeting Solo or Ben or Leia for that matter. Well we kinda get one for Solo with the Greedo scene, but that takes place after Luke and Ben talk to him in the bar. Their backstories show up through the dialog with Luke. Geez, ANH is such a good movie.

Also, to Luke’s scenes there is also the foil of Darth Vader. The foil in TFA is Kylo.

I think an excellent edit would be to cut out the back stories of Finn and Poe, at least initially. Maybe open the movie with Rey and her life on Jakku and then she runs into BB8 and then eventually Fin. This would add some mystery as to the characters and what is going on. We do not need to know that Fin is a stormtrooper and instead we discover that. This would not be a bad thing. Try and keep the focus completely on Rey and make Poe and Finn solid supporting roles.

I think that’d be a little for such a reveal.

OutboundFlight said:

BleuAsh said:

I think an excellent edit would be to cut out the back stories of Finn and Poe, at least initially. Maybe open the movie with Rey and her life on Jakku and then she runs into BB8 and then eventually Fin. This would add some mystery as to the characters and what is going on. We do not need to know that Fin is a stormtrooper and instead we discover that. This would not be a bad thing. Try and keep the focus completely on Rey and make Poe and Finn solid supporting roles.

That’s a great idea! Perhaps footage of Finn’s betrayal could be played as a flashback while he’s in a coma in TLJ?

I started playing around with an edit where we pan down from the scroll to Finn’s Tie Fighter escaping and crashing. No Poe until we meet him for the attack on Starkiller. My biggest complaint about all of the new films is Poe disappearing from the crash, only to show up later with a poorly written (only option) excuse for how he escaped Jakku. So I am trying to fix this.

Also no codebreaker and no trip to Cantobite in TLJ. Just a failed attempt to board the First Order Ship. They were monitored all along and captured upon their arrival.

Brady1138 said:

Cut Snoke completely. Have Kylo be ahead of the First Order (and rename them the New Empire or something) from the start. Have the fact that he trained with Luke be the reason he’s actually powerful and cunning enough to resurrect the Empire. I think that would make the First Order feel more natural and would more directly have the trio more involved since they all know they played a role in not just making Kylo what he is, but also for indirectly causing the Empire to rise again.

I like this a LOT. This may be the solution I needed to make combining Ep.7 and Ep.8 actually work. Rey can now go directly from Training with Luke to Crait.

Brady1138 said:

jrs81 said:

I like this a LOT. This may be the solution I needed to make combining Ep.7 and Ep.8 actually work. Rey can now go directly from Training with Luke to Crait. < <<

Can’t wait to see it!

Well, removing Snoke, I was able to get a combined edit under 3 hours. The Last Jedi down to about 1 hr and 26 minutes and The Force Awakens down to 1 hr and 31 minutes (minus crawl and credits). This is some major cutting going on… Here are the highlights:

TFA:
No Poe on Jakku
No Treasure Map to Luke
No one is after BB-8, only Poe & Rey
No Rathtars
No Snoke

TLJ:
No Paige heroics
No Maz cameo
No code breaker
No Cantobrite
No Snoke

Hope you all dont mind me jumping in here. There is an idea that I had ages ago that might mesh well with some of these other ideas. I actual have a rough cut of this and it works well. Might properly start this project after 9 comes out and I can get a better grip on how the mashup will go. Anyway:

Episode 7 - Have most of the opening of TFA as it is (until i can think of something else) up until Rey and Finn escape Jakku with BB8, ties destroyed. BB8 tells them where their base is and they go straight there. Destroyer is still over Jakku (we know this from Finn and Pow escaping said destroyer, ties came from it too). Snoke is angry at Hux, says that they are "tied to the end of a string. They get to the rebel base and thats when Han enters the falcon so, basically, Han is still a general and fighting. No reset of his character arc.

Its from here that Rey speaks to Maz about Lukes lightsaber. Less coincidental that the rebels have the saber and the “Mazs castle planet” actually blends well with the “rebel base planet” (lucky that Disney only do wood, snow and desert planets). Like I said, I have tested this and it works but needed a little bit of background replacement. Rey now needs to go to Luke (due to now having a map to the jedi temple) but getting an explanation in there that Leia isnt going is tough. May be because the First Order attacks and she needs to stay to do commander stuff. Not sure, its shot too calmly. Anyway, this is how the “tied to the end of a string” line fits. They tracked the falcon there. They now have to escape and the film merges from 7 into 8. Rey starts training with Luke and the Rebels are forced down to crait. Movie ends during training with Rey.

Episode 8 - A few days have gone by while the First Order regather their troups for an assault on crait (not sure I like this, too close to Ep5. Maybe remove those half broken speeders). Because of the regroup of the first order, Rey has trained for the same length of time. Rey and Luke now go to crait together.

Theres a lot of edited out scenes that can be used later but will have to see what can be done when 9 is out. If I can get the movies to be 1.5 hous ill be happy. Might have to rethink the whole thing but i WILL be doing something like this. Will require quite a bit of VFX work though.

VII

Opens over the planet Jakku, goes down to meeting a scavenger named Rey. We learn about her life. Rey encounters a mysterious droid named BB-8 near the junkyard settlement where she lives. Finn, a former stormtrooper on the run, encounters Rey and BB-8, but the First Order is tracking BB-8 and launches an airstrike. Finn, Rey, and BB-8 flee the planet in the Millennium Falcon, which they steal from the junkyard settlement.

Somehow the falcon escapes the First Order ship in orbit. They want to take the droid to the resistance. But they are captured by a larger ship piloted by Han Solo and Chewbacca, looking to reclaim the falcon. The crew ditches the larger ship and travels to the planet Takodana in the falcon.

The Falcon crew determines BB-8’s map is incomplete. Han explains that Luke attempted to rebuild the Jedi Order but exiled himself when an apprentice turned to the dark side, destroyed the temple, and slaughtered the other apprentices.

On Takodana they meet with cantina owner Maz Kanata, who offers assistance getting BB-8 to the Resistance. Rey is drawn to a secluded vault and finds the lightsaber that once belonged to Luke and his father, Anakin Skywalker. She experiences disturbing visions and flees into the woods. Maz gives Finn the lightsaber for safekeeping.

At the First Order’s Starkiller Base, a planet converted into a superweapon that harnesses star energy. Snoke questions Kylo’s ability to deal with emotions relating to his father, Han Solo; Kylo says Han means nothing to him.

The First Order attacks Takodana in search of BB-8. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn are saved by Resistance X-wing fighters led by Poe Dameron. Leia arrives at Takodana with C-3PO and reunites with Han, Chewbacca, Rey, and Finn.

At the Resistance base on D’Qar, BB-8 finds R2-D2, who has been inactive since Luke’s disappearance.

R2-D2 awakens and reveals the rest of the map, which Rey follows to the oceanic planet Ahch-To. She finds Luke and presents him with the lightsaber.

Meanwhile, Rey arrives on Ahch-To with Chewbacca and R2-D2 aboard the Millennium Falcon to recruit Luke Skywalker to the Resistance. Disillusioned by his failure to train Kylo as a Jedi, and under self-imposed exile from the Force, Luke refuses to help and believes the Jedi should go extinct. Unbeknownst to Luke, Rey and Kylo communicate through the Force, puzzling the two enemies. As Rey and Kylo learn about each other, both have visions of themselves as future partners.

R2-D2 persuades Luke to train Rey. After Kylo tells Rey what happened between him and Luke that caused him to choose the dark side, Luke confesses that he momentarily contemplated killing Kylo upon sensing that Supreme Leader Snoke was corrupting him, causing Kylo to destroy Luke’s new Jedi Order in retaliation. Convinced that Kylo can be redeemed, Luke prepares to burn the Ahch-To Jedi temple and library, but hesitates. Yoda’s ghost appears and destroys the temple by summoning a bolt of lightning, claiming Rey has all she needs to learn, and encourages Luke to learn from his failure.

End VII

VIII
Opens with starkiller base.

Meanwhile, Kylo captures Rey in a forest on Ahch-To and takes her to Starkiller Base, but she resists his mind-reading attempts. Discovering she can use the Force, Rey escapes by using a Jedi mind trick on a nearby guard.

As Starkiller Base prepares to fire on Hosnian/D’Qar, the Resistance devises a plan to destroy it by attacking a critical facility.

Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the facility, find Rey, and plant explosives. Han confronts Kylo, calling him by his birth name, Ben, and implores him to abandon the dark side. Kylo refuses and kills Han, enraging Chewbacca, who shoots Kylo. Starkiller Base fires and destroys the Republic capital star system and a portion of its fleet. Chewbacca sets off the explosives, allowing the Resistance to attack and destroy Starkiller Base.

The injured Kylo pursues Finn and Rey to the surface. Kylo defeats Finn in a lightsaber duel, leaving him badly wounded. Rey takes the lightsaber and uses the Force to defeat Kylo before they are separated by a fissure as the planet begins to disintegrate.

Rey and Chewbacca escape with the unconscious Finn in the Falcon. Snoke orders Hux to bring Kylo to him.

Following the battle of Starkiller Base, On D’Qar, the Resistance celebrates while Leia, Chewbacca, and Rey mourn Han’s death. Leia leads Resistance forces to flee D’Qar when a First Order fleet arrives.

Poe Dameron attacks the First Order dreadnought, but after the Resistance escapes to hyperspace, the First Order tracks them and attacks the Resistance convoy.

Kylo Ren, Leia’s son, hesitates to fire on the lead Resistance ship after sensing his mother’s presence.

Meanwhile, Kylo brings Rey to Snoke, who says he facilitated the mental connection between her and Kylo as part of a plan to destroy Luke. Ordered to kill Rey, Kylo instead kills Snoke and defeats Snoke’s guards alongside Rey. Rey believes that Kylo has returned to the light side of the Force, but he instead invites her to rule the galaxy with him. Refusing, she fights Kylo for possession of Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber, which splits in two.

Leia allowing the evacuation to begin. Holdo remains on the ship to mislead Snoke’s fleet as the others flee to an abandoned Rebel Alliance base on Crait. The evacuation transports are slowly destroyed.

Holdo sacrifices herself by ramming Snoke’s fleet at lightspeed; Rey escapes in the chaos. Meanwhile Kylo declares himself Supreme Leader.

When the First Order arrives, Poe and Finn attack with old speeders. Rey and Chewbacca draw the TIE fighters away with the Falcon. The First Order siege cannon subsequently penetrates the Resistance fortress.

Luke appears and confronts the First Order to enable surviving Resistance members to escape. Kylo orders the First Order’s forces to fire on Luke, to no effect. He then engages Luke in a lightsaber duel; upon striking Luke, Kylo realizes he has been fighting a Force projection of him. Rey uses the Force to help the Resistance escape on the Falcon. Luke, exhausted, becomes one with the Force and dies peacefully on Ahch-To. Rey and Leia sense his death, and Leia tells surviving rebels that the Resistance has all it needs to rise again.

End VIII

Instead of summarizing the whole plots of both films, you could just said which parts you’d moved around.

That sequence of events doesn’t seem to have any sort of a climax for VII.