HOLY CRAP! I’ve long waited for this fanedit, and it did not disappoint…
Many thanks for your kind words! I truly hoped that I would be able to give something new to the Star Wars community, and I’m really glad to hear that you enjoyed it!
Could I have a link too? I’ve been casually following this edit on r/fanedits, and it looks like it has the potential to be one of the most impressive fanedits I’ve ever seen.
Thank you for your kind words. I humbly hope I don’t disappoint.
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.
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).
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.
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:
Fan Editors:
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.
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
It’s coming along! Just needing to find the time- I might have some meaty time to deep dive it a couple of weekends from now. The third movie is an absolute beast- so much prison content, I need to rebuild a lot of audio transitions. But I’m chipping away.
I totally understand how it is to try to find the time needed. Thanks for all your work!
I’ve really enjoyed your work on this project!
How’s the progress on Film 3? Can’t wait to check out the final version.
This is something I put together:
Palpatine does not appear. Snoke is the villain throughout (even on Exegol!).
Here is an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozgt7T98sVgAs Dev Dog already said, that’s insane! I can’t wait to see your edits to be completed! Though, I suggest you to open a separate thread for them.
Agreed. I don’t want to take any attention away from DevDog. He’s got a cool project going here that people should be following.
As to the concept of what you’re doing, I more prefer them to be separate characters, as I really like all of them and don’t want to use one over the other.
I totally get where you’re coming from. In my project, the ideas behind Legends and Canon are blended to put a new spin on the story. Admittedly, this approach will not be for everyone, but I saw it as a fun challenge to try to merge the new canon into the old Expanded Universe (which I love).
Anyway, I like your ideas, and I can’t wait to check out your edit!
Hey, I’ve been working on a sequel duology too! In some areas, our ideas are quite different, but in others, they are surprisingly similar.
My edit is a merging of Legends and Canon in which Ben and Jaina (Rey) are the Solo twins. Jaina is stolen from Coruscant as a small child by bounty hunters who intend to sell her to the Empire, but then for reasons unknown, abandon her on Jakku. The trauma of her abduction causes Jaina’s memory of her origins to be suppressed.
Palpatine does not appear. Snoke is the villain throughout (even on Exegol!).
Here is an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozgt7T98sVg
My mistake.
Willow: The Tir Asleen Cut (A 21C Peasant Extended Edition)
With the Willow TV series now upon us, I thought it would be a perfect time for me to share my Willow: The Tir Asleen Cut with all of you fellow fan-edit fans. I completed this cut several years ago, but this is its first public release.
The four deleted/extended scenes I have added needed a lot of care to make them flow into the rest of the film, and though they do not add all that much more run time, they bring in the very interesting subplot of Sorsha and her father. Suddenly, Sorsha’s conversion, as well as the importance of Tir Asleen and its king, make a whole lot more sense and add significant depth to the story. All of the new material takes place in the second half of the film.
A couple of very minor trims were made to the theatrical version simply to suit my taste. Everything else is intact.
I’m not able to check my PMs or even this forum all that often, so look me up here for more info on how to watch. https://www.reddit.com/r/fanedits/?f=flair_name%3A"Feature"
Don’t miss this opportunity to see the George Lucas classic as it has never been seen before!
A link would be great!
Thanks
I’m really enjoying your work!
Any idea when you’ll finish your final episode?
When I downloaded the film, the English subtitles were burned into the video.
I wasn’t sure if this was your intention or not.
Thank you for tackling this project! I’m glad to see it was you, as I’ve been a fan of your work for a long time.
The Lord of the Rings is my favorite trilogy of all time as well, so I’ve had a cautious approach to the Rings of Power. Because I have done so many fan edits for my personal viewing, I was considering the possibility of editing the series myself, but I just don’t have the time at the moment to put into so large a project.
In the end, I decided (despite being a Prime Video customer) to pass on watching the series altogether and put my hope and trust in a talented fan editor with a love for LOTR.
Over the years, I have seen a number of fan edits (ones said to be great improvements over the originals) before ever having seen the originals themselves (although I did purchase copies before my viewing). And I must say, it’s kind of nice once in a while to be able to lean on the hindsight of a good fan editor so that your first experience of a story is aided by their vision.
Best of luck with the finishing touches. And thank you once again for taking this on!
One of the major issues that I had with the show (and one of the very first things I tackled in my personal edit) is that Leia is portrayed as being so sassy.
This is a major misunderstanding of what makes a strong child character. Even if the writers were trying to make this some sort of an arc for Leia, it just doesn’t sit well that she would be so disrespectful to legitimate authority and, at the same time, so wise beyond her years. I was fine with her telling off her cousin, but her rudeness to her mother and to Obi-Wan made her virtually unlikeable. And Obi-Wan was basically sealed as a loser by constantly getting dissed and one-upped by a spoiled child. Fortunately, with a number of small cuts here and there, Leia came much more in line with what we should expect from her — gutsy but classy, outspoken but just. She can still have a character arc without her starting out as a total brat.
Enough of my ranting!
Overall, I’m really liking your Legends approach. Can’t wait for more details!
Does anyone know if there is a high-quality deepfake of Hayden as Darth Vader when Luke removes his helmet? I’ve seen a couple of these on youtube, but I’m looking for someone more polished.
A minor thought:
When Vader says, “Prepare my ship”, it reminds me too much of Kylo. I’d prefer “Prepare my shuttle”, possibly taking “shuttle” from ESB.
To me, that just sounds way more Vader.
Anjohan said:
However, the hallway growing exceptionally wide is still something that will need fixing.
Agreed.
SC38 will be mixed in at the end of the film, BUT - with that being said - I will definitely have to do a lot of rotoscoping work because there are many flaws between that footage and the original film. The background lights change intensity and sometimes shades of white all over the place, and the corridor also looks to get bigger as we switch to the SC38 footage. But I’ll have to see when I start work on that.
First off, I tip my cap to Fixinitpost for their awesome work on SC 38 Reimagined. Second, I think most of us would agree that simply inserting SC 38 into A New Hope is just too jarring. Third, after Vader’s performance in Rogue One, the duel in ANH just doesn’t hold up when viewing the films in chronological order. I grew up with the OT and I love it as it is, however, updated versions are cool too.
For inspiration, I thought I’d share my current cut of this scene. I created some new composite shots and kept tweaking old and new to bring things closer together. My goal was to use as much of the original duel as possible, while only using SC 38 to supplement. Is it perfect?..No, but it certainly gives Vader the ferocity we have come to expect, especially toward his old master.
The video is in 1080 if you download it.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L6U8UYmWlbz5q-4pSrDQgJds8xvOthmZ/view?usp=sharing
I totally agree with the way you want to improve Boba’s character.
Even Temuera Morrison thought he had too many lines.
Great work as always and thank you for sharing your workprint.
I’m left with one major thought:
This is probably just my preference, but I feel like it would be more compelling to end the film with Grogu trying to make his decision. The resolve afterward of him in the ship with Mando just comes too quickly (not your fault — just what you have to work with). Plus, the suspenseful ending could be intriguing.
I know that we don’t know what to expect in the coming season, but one way or another, we will see Grogu end up with Mando, so his decision will be apparent in the next film. Also, the current closing shot could very well be used in that film.
Even if we were never to get another season, I still find that ending to be the most interesting and thought-provoking.
Just my thoughts
Thank you again for the chance to view in advance. I look forward to the finished product!
I’m a big fan of your past work.
I’d really like to check out your workprint when it’s ready.
Thanks
I’m really looking forward to this!
A couple years ago, I tried watching the old Batman movies in black and white, and wow what a difference! Everything felt different, and even the campy stuff seemed just dark and creepy. With your cuts and new score, this should be a huge improvement on an otherwise disaster of a film.
Actually, I just found your info on The Last Jedi.
Is this a finished project or are you re-working it?