AbramPT

All the changes sound great, Hal! Glad to see those porgs getting the credit they deserve 😉

As far as the rathtar and no-look shots, I can go either way. I was originally an advocate for keeping the no-look because of Ben’s no-look in TROS but in the end it doesn’t really matter.

VD V3 - This is the way.

Though the repeated shot at the end definitely gets to me still. One repeat isn’t a big deal but two seems too obvious in my opinion. But perhaps its the only way to pull this off. I wonder if someone who hasn’t seen TLJ would even notice… Maybe my seasoned eyes are doing me a disservice.

@TheAlaskanSandman, that is super interesting and incredibly helpful! Thanks for the resources. And good news - I’m not colour blind 😃

I’m intrigued! The prequels could definitely do with a nice colour correction. I think you’ve got the right idea but some the colours don’t seem… accurate. Does that make sense? Definitely too much blue sometimes (as already mentioned) but other colours as well seem a little off. I wish I knew more about all of this to properly explain what I’m thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving what I’m seeing!

Keep up the good work!

Hal 9000 said:

If I skip rocks on the surface of a pond, the rock doesn’t bounce around to New York, Paris, or Tokyo.

Good point! Hadn’t considered that. It’s a cool visual but if you think too much about it the logic totally falls apart.

I hope it’s alright I’m posting so much! I just can’t stop thinking about this movie… I’ll just continue to throw out my ideas - take 'em or leave 'em.

A recent Reddit post (I think you’ve read it) hinted at the possibility of additional locations originally existing during the lightspeed skipping. If these were released as a deleted scene, would you consider keeping the skipping? I don’t love the scene per se, but I appreciate that it’s one of very few things that wasn’t retconned from TLJ. Honestly, I’m at the point where anything that makes this trilogy seem cohesive is a positive.

Also, I don’t mind Rey mentioning the sinking fields since it’s a reference to TFA, but maybe there’s already too many references to that movie.

I actually did notice the additional radios! Well done. Correct me if I’m wrong, but even with the new radios, shouldn’t Kylo be looking to his right? Currently, he’s looking left. Maybe I’m just being a dingus and am missing something!

All of your potential V3 changes are impressive from a technical perspective! I’m just not sure if they’re all needed.

1. I didn’t look at what the change was before watching the clip and I struggled to find out what was different. But I think in this case that’s a good thing.

2. I don’t think this is necessary. It works but maybe it’s too on the nose? Playing off of idir_hh’s idea, I think it would be cool if the silhouettes could be altered so that it starts as one person, splits into two, and then back into one revealing Rey. It would show the significance of grandpa Palps rather than her parents, and would be one of those things that makes more sense after watching TROS. Granted, it might be too hard to achieve fx-wise.

3. Great!

4. I’m not sure if this can be pulled off. As other people have mentioned, 4A is the best option but it has repeated shots which are noticeable and Kylo looks in the wrong direction when he goes to look at the computer screen.

Personally I think 1, 2, and 3 would be enough foreshadowing for TROS and as much as I love the work you’ve done for 4, I’m not convinced. Amazing work though, as always!

DominicCobb said:

If anything I’d say TROS clarifies the situation in a way that fits better with LOE as is. In TROS when Palpatine is rejuvenated he has the melted look, which implies that is his true visage.

Valid point! Didn’t consider that.

Octorox said:

To quote Palpatine, “please don’t!”

I’m assuming you mean “please don’t” entertain AbramPT’s suggestion? 😉

I just remember my Star Wars newbie friends being considerably confused by the reason behind Palpatine’s transformation in LOE. Also, TROS would provide some payoff now that we can finally witness the full power of force lightning redirection that was hinted at in ROTS.

Then again, maybe LOE simply isn’t the ROTS edit for me. Perhaps I’ll finally learn how to use video editing software and attempt my own micro-edits instead of trying to convince Hal to do all the hard work for me!!

Proooooobably not worth mentioning, but in light of Palpatine having his skin melted/torn off his body from force lightning at the end of ROS, would it make sense to include Palpatine being disfigured from his force lightning in LOE? I feel like there’s always been an argument over whether Palpatine was hiding his true form prior to being “lightninged” in ROTS or if he was truly disfigured from the process. ROS seems to clarify that, but maybe I’m reading into it.

Also, I know you deeply want to leave these edits alone at this point so feel free to ignore this post.

Can’t remember if this has been mentioned yet, but I’d like to see the “Rey Skywalker” line removed from the final scene of the film.

Literally leave everything else, but cut to the next shot before she says “Rey Skywalker”. I think her formally taking the Skywalker name is silly and that having her only look at Leia and Luke’s force ghosts provides the opportunity for people to choose for themselves what Rey decides to tell the old woman, be it Rey Skywalker, Palpatine, or “just Rey.” It’s also a little less on the nose and provides some ambiguity but in a sophisticated way (at least from my perspective).

Thoughts?

All of your suggestions look really good! I’m eager to see actual clips of how it’s implemented. I agree about leaving the holochess alone.

Hal, I think you’re referring to the EXACT post on Reddit I stumbled upon this morning. Absolutely infuriating.

Also, if you need some masked-Kylo dialogue I can do a half decent Adam Driver impression. Not good enough to stand on its own but with a shit ton of mask muffling and other effects it could work.

This thread came sooner than I expected! Excellent…

In response to your original post:

• I don’t mind the 16 hour ticking clock. Like you said, it explains the hurry everyone seems to be in.
• Removing lightspeed skipping seems like a difficult thing to pull off since there’s a whole exchange between Rey/Poe/Finn/Chewy/BB-8 where it is featured quite heavily. But removing it could possibly help with pacing.

I’ve had a chance to watch the movie three times now and have a few of my own thoughts:

• Potentially remove Chewy receiving his medal from Maz
• Remove Lando and Jannah’s useless interaction at the end of the film
• John William’s cameo on Kijimi felt a little off - not sure if removing it would help with pacing
• I wonder if it would be possible to postpone the reveal of Chewy actually being alive. We think he’s dead for like 3 seconds and seems kinda lame.
• On that note, this movie is FULL of fake out deaths: Chewy, 3PO (kinda), Kylo, and finally Rey. I think showing Chewy being alive could be delayed a little and something could be done re: 3PO. You could absolutely remove the line about R2 backing up 3PO’s memory, but I also think that you could leave that line intact and instead remove the whole “taking one last look at my friends” line. It could turn into a whole Spanish Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 3 situation where 3PO is reset and we have goofy interactions with him not knowing anything, but in the end we know that R2 will be able to fix everything.
• The shot where Poe, Finn, and Chewy get captured on Kylo’s destroyer could be trimmed at the very end. When they’re being told to drop their weapons, it feels a little awkward.
• When Rey and Kylo talk on Kylo’s destroyer, keep “you’re his granddaughter” but remove “you are a Palpatine”. Might make the moment feels a little less ridiculous.

And finally, a couple thoughts about how this could impact your edits of TFA and TLJ:

• Bring back Han shooting without looking in TFA. Kylo does it against the KoR in ROS and is a cute father/son parallel
• Include some porg sounds on Ach-To when Rey arrives in TFA (I know you didn’t like this the first time I suggested it but here’s one final attempt to change your mind)
• In TLJ, Snoke says he bridged Kylo and Rey’s minds. Is this still the case? Or is their connection a result of the force dyad. Don’t know if changes could/should be made to clarify this.
• Can’t remember if you’ve done this already, but removing Kylo’s line to Rey in TLJ about her parents selling her for drinking money. That’s very clearly not the case anymore.

Shit, this is getting long. Sorry! One last thought about Rey Palpatine: Her lineage doesn’t bother me. TLJ implies that where you come from doesn’t make you any more or less important and ROS kind of continues that thought process but just from a different perspective. Different side of the same coin kinda situation. You can be something if you come from nothing, and can be good despite coming from evil. It’s not amazing, but I think it is better to keep rather than mess too much with the narrative.

Octorox said:

Here are some of the cuts I would make, not knowing what deleted material we have to work with:

1.) Try using a mixture of cuts and alternate Kylo Ren dialogue (perhaps from the video games?) to remove the “Rey Palpatine” reveal from the film. Ideally, I’d also like to remove any implication that Rey’s parents were trying to hide her or protect her from Palpatine. To me, this twist cheapens the the reveal at the end of The Last Jedi: that Rey is ‘no one’ and needs to forge her own path forward. It’s as if, after The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi came around and said “no, actually Darth Vader was lying, Obi-Wan was your father”. I found it supremely unsatisfying.

I think it would be enough just to imply that Palpatine senses Rey’s growing power and wants Kylo to nip it in the bud by killing her. However, when he notices Rey straying toward the dark path and Kylo coming to the light, he changes his plan and encourages Rey to strike him down and take his place, the same tactic he tried with Luke and Anakin before him. Stuff like the force lightning reveal and Dark Rey could still work in this context imo, as could the idea of the “Force dyad”.

I don’t even mind the ‘Rey Skywalker’ moment at the end in this context, as it makes sense to me for Rey to adopt the legacy of the people who helped her find her place in the world, although I’d trim the old woman specifically asking for her surname, so it’s just “Rey… looks at force ghosts of Luke and Leia Rey Skywalker”

2.)I’m okay with Luke catching the saber, it feels like a nice reversal of that controversial moment in the Last The Jedi and further cements the arc that Luke went through in that film. However, I really dislike the line he says about “treating a Jedi weapon with more respect”. Imo it feels like a pointed dig at The Last Jedi rather than a natural evolution of Luke’s character. I think that line could be safely excised from the movie.

3.) I’d remove the throwaway line about the Holdo maneuver. Again, it feels like unnecessary lampshading of a moment in The Last Jedi and ripped me out of the movie.

4.) I’d remove Finn trying to tell Rey something and not getting a chance throughout the film. I know the implication is that Finn is trying to tell her he’s Force sensitive, but I don’t think this is clearly communicated or paid off satisfactorily in the film.

5.) I’d remove that last conversation between Lando and Jannah. This moment confused me in the film and felt like a vestige of a cut plotline. I saw it as a sort of fatherly interaction but other people I’ve spoken to thought Lando was hitting on her…so I think it’s safe to say that this scene didn’t land for a lot of people.

6.) I’d remove the sequence of the Star Destroyer blowing up Kijimi. I think the massive size of the fleet creates enough stakes on its own. Do we really have to go back to the superweapon well and make each one a Death Star?

7.) This one is more debatable, but I’d consider removing the implication of a romantic history between Poe and Zorri, as well as Poe’s attempts to get her to kiss him. I like that the two of them have a history but the romance angle feels unnecessary and, in my opinion, isn’t given nearly enough time to feel properly developed.

8.) There’s a lot of fanservice in this film, And i’d have to give it more thought as to which fanservice moments worked for me and which didn’t. Off the top of my head, the one only that seems like a no-brainer to remove is Chewie getting his medal. in hindsight this felt super out of left-field.

I have a TON of my own opinions that I might share at some point but I like a lot of what you’ve said so I’m gonna respond to a few of your suggestions:

1. Rey is a Palpatine. I don’t know if there’s any realistic way to work around it. Regardless of how people feel about it (it worked well enough for me once I just kinda accepted it) I don’t think there’s a way of cutting it out without butchering what’s already a pretty choppy movie. I understand your sentiment, though, and if you figure out how to actually pull it off then more power to ya!

2. I think Luke’s line works well if you’re able to look at his story arc in TLJ separate from all of the internet backlash. Luke Skywalker at the end of TLJ on Crait would probably say something very similar if given the chance (he even uses the Skywalker lightsaber, which in my mind, indicates that he has come to terms with what he represents as a legend).

3. I agree, except that it looks hella dope. Also, I’ve just accepted that Palpatine has a massive hard on for destruction on a planetary scale and wonder if maybe all ST films should just embrace Death Star tech, especially since now we know that Palpatine was somehow behind Starkiller Base a la Snoke…

4. Poe and Zorri is amazing. Especially the silent interaction between the two of them at the end of the film. I’d consider it a crime to remove it.

I agree with all of your other suggestions. I think the toughest part of all of this is gonna not just be improving ROS, but creating a cohesive sequel trilogy!

RogueLeader said:

Very well articulated thoughts, like always! I hate petitions over trivial things like movies, but this is the one time I wouldn’t mind if fans made a petition to release an extended cut of this film.

I’m so glad you brought this up! I don’t necessarily need an extended cut, but TLJ-quality deleted scenes at the VERY LEAST. Based on the leaks, they probably have a ton of unused footage - I’m curious to know how much of it has finished fx.

Oh, I see! Sorry for jumping the gun on that one. I definitely don’t mind what I saw in the video and it does cut together pretty seamlessly.

I haven’t seen the TiMartyn clip, but my gut instinct is that I would really miss “Matrix” Luke. I don’t even see it as Matrix-esque, but rather Luke integrating physical and force training in a really awesome way. Before we know it’s a force projection we finally have a chance to see Luke at his best and it kicks ass!

My Skywalker Saga watchthrough crew just finished up this past Saturday. Despite their hesitation, we watched Restructured and Legendary (well, we actually watched Poppasketti’s edit but only because my one friend HATES space Leia). With all of us being in our 20s, I think nostalgia blinded most people from truly enjoying your prequel edits; they appreciated the work the went into them but would have rather watched the originals. HOWEVER, after Restructured, many of them agreed with my one friend who said, “now I have seen what fanedits can truly accomplish and I understand why you enjoy them so much.” Plus, they also got a kick out of my voice work which I only pointed out to them after the scene had played out.

Long story short, TFA:R is kinda incredible, and I wanted to share some love with ya. We’ll see how well it holds up in 4 days!

Hal 9000 said:

Thank you for sharing that; I’d have liked to be a fly on the wall.
That’s a good point about the nightmare and lack of spelling it out. I would think it’d still be comprehensible, given the following scene’s discussion of saving people from death. In TAS Anakin doesn’t dream that his mother will die, just that she’s suffering. Dreaming the dream we see of Padmé in LOE may actually be more resonant with that, though kept in subtext and not spelled out with exposition.
And yeah, these edits aren’t beholden to ‘memes,’ and suppose that they were what was released in an alternate universe; pretending this is the case isn’t always going to work effectively. Palpatine’s antics might just be the biggest difference between LOE and ROTS in actuality, and that’s a fair thing to miss. When I exhibited these a few years ago, Yoda’s missing saber duel was everyone’s main/only critique of Ep2. On this and similar points I’d more value the newbies’ take.
I wish you a happy OT viewing next weekend, also.

EDIT: Maybe it’d be fun to load up both versions of LOE and either randomly pick one or have someone else who doesn’t know the difference flip a coin and click on it. You wouldn’t know what happens with Padme until it does at the end.

Thanks for the response! Yeah, Yoda not using a lightsaber in LOE and TAS was another big complaint from Star Wars veterans, but after going back afterwards to watch those moments on YouTube, they agreed it was a little silly and realized they only appreciated it for nostalgic purposes.

And in case it wasn’t clear enough in my original post, the following are critiques exclusive to the newbies:

• Confusion surrounding Anakin’s dream of Padme and him trying to save her life (as mentioned in the previous post)
• Anakin and Padme spending so little time actually interacting with each other until the end (as a result of removing the balcony and dream exposition scenes which they were unaware were cut)
• How Palpatine became deformed so quickly
• Finally, there were comments made about how Yoda was underwhelming - “he’s hyped up to be a ‘grand master’ and yet doesn’t ever do much.”

So I know these versions are “final”, but I figured I’d type up a quick review of sorts for LOE (alternate ending), specifically from the perspectives of two women who haven’t seen any Star Wars films/the prequels.

COD and TAS were very well received by both the two aforementioned women and some of my friends who have seen the prequels dozens of times. There were a few complaints about pacing issues, but I’d argue that those exist in the theatrical versions as well.

LOE was definitely received a little less positively - some of that was because many of the Palpatine moments you removed are also fan-favourite moments (despite being ridiculous and cheesy). That’s not a big deal though. The two issues that everyone seemed to have were in regards to Anakin motivation to turn evil, and Palpatine’s deformation. Without the scene that follows Anakin’s dream of Padme, both of the prequel newbies didn’t understand that Padme was dying. They just thought that she was crying/in pain from giving birth and didn’t understand why Anakin was suddenly so paranoid about losing her. If I remember correctly, TOS removes Anakin’s dream of his mom - perhaps if that had been included it would have been easier to connect the two moments from each movie? And in regards to Palpatine, the newbies didn’t understand why he was suddenly so deformed. The theatrical version doesn’t do a good job of explaining this either, but it’s less sudden and perhaps makes a little more sense.

Everyone LOVED the additional deleted scenes. They appreciated how it gave Padme more to do in the film and planted the seeds of the rebellion. Many initially wished the killing of the younglings hadn’t been cut, but after seeing the newbies’ responses to Anakin killing in the holograms, they agree that it was a powerful edit. The Chewbacca and droid edits were seamless and people didn’t even realize they were changed.

This got long - Sorry! Very well done overall. We’re all excited to start the OT next weekend. Thanks again for all your hard work!

Downloading ESB now and glad to hear that ANH is on its way!

Do you think ROTJ will be done in the next little bit or should I stick to the workprint you’ve made available? Also, you had mentioned releasing an updated workprint for TLJ:L - is that still the plan?

Ditto. I figured I’d grab a 1080p copy of TFA:R while I wait for LoE to become available but I’m receiving the same error. Anyone know how long the “rest period” is until a file can be downloaded again? kraahkan, your solution works wonderfully if the file size is small enough to fit on your Google Drive account, but these 1080p files are over 20 gigs and I only have 13GB available.

EDIT: Changed my P.S. requesting someone upload these to a certain P2P website after I checked and realized that they’re already there. Hah.

Wow, the idea of adding Phasma’s helmet is one of those things that is so “simple” but will have such a major impact. Great idea!