Yeah, it would require a lot of intense vfx work on the armour - more than just recoloring. Probably not worth it but I’m curious to see if it could be pulled off.
I agree that if you go the Poppasketti route, it would be ideal for Phasma to not be in it at all. I have no clue how tough this would be, but what if fx work could be done to make Phasma a different commanding officer by changing her armour colour, dubbing a new voice with some alternate lines, and maybe something else to make her not so obviously Phasma. This would keep in line with other movies where we introduce cool characters only to have them die immediately, but doesn’t further do a disservice to Phasma. Maybe it’s the lesser of two evils??
If I manage to find time tomorrow I’ll give them a quick scrub!
I’d be interested in the workprint, but honestly, it’s not necessary! Don’t do more work than you need to! We will patiently wait for a V3 - I’m sure you’ll have plenty of new things to attempt after Ep. 9 is released.
I’m guessing you’re pretty set on keeping the lightsaber battle between Yoda and Dooku out, hey? It works SUPER well in TAS with it removed - I just remember being blown away as a 9 year old and have had a soft spot for it ever since.
I honestly think this works best! While I have major issues with the original droid factory scene, the pacing in the existing version of TAS always seemed a little… off. I think this is a very good compromise and would be happy for this to be a part of V6!
Yeah, you’re right - Finn’s arc really doesn’t change much by removing the scene. I suppose that including it just makes it all a lot more obvious.
I REALLY wish I could see TLJ:L with fresh eyes. I can’t help but feel like Canto Bight is rushed and that including more of the scene would help that, but perhaps it’s perfectly fine the way it is! It’s definitely the version I’ll be watching come Fall when I start my annual rewatch.
It’s been a while so I can’t remember exactly what my plan was, but essentially I would have kept the intro to the scene exactly as it is in Legendary, but after the champagne pop, continue the scene as it is in the theatrical release. That way we see are introduced to the slave children and the fathiers, and manage to have a tiny bit of character development for both Rose and Finn. I understand that you might not like Finn all that much, but in my mind this really helps sell the idea that he’s realizing there’s more to life than self-preservation and saving Rey - that he can help others and fight injustice.
And then yeah, I guess I’d cut the entire fathier chase? Not sure if a truncated version could be pulled off. But basically I’d play the rest out exactly as you have it already.
Oh, and maybe it’s overkill, but I’d want to redub the “parking violation” alien to make him sound less “southern American”. A more neutral accent or alien language would help him blend into the story a little better in my opinion. Right now he just stands out.
Hal, I’m glad you brought this up! I’ve been wondering the same thing ever since V1 of this project was released. I even tried making this change myself until I realized I was completely useless with editing software and didn’t have the time to invest in learning how.
I don’t know how exactly one would pull it off but I think it’s worth looking into / discussing!
Yeah, it might be too obviously Phasma still.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Gwendoline Christie - I suppose I just feel like as your edit stands, she’s been reduced to an unfulfilling cameo and she deserves more! Honestly, that goes for her role in both sequel movies as well and isn’t a jab at what you’ve done with Rekindled. I definitely understand wanting to keep as much of her as possible. Part of me just thinks I wouldn’t be so bothered by her lack of screen time if she wasn’t present at all! Haha.
I was thinking a little more about Phasma in the hangar today and was wondering if it would even be possible to change her to a completely different trooper altogether. I don’t know much about video editing, but if you could change Phasma’s armour to a gold or copper, you could get someone to record new lines and turn her into another high ranking trooper who still looks unique and badass. It may be a little awkward and out of nowhere, but it’s not like Phasma was ever utilized effectively either. It’s almost a trend in Star Wars to waste the coolest looking bad guys and could be a funny nod to that!
I’d be eager to send in recordings of new lines to you if you ever considered following through with this idea (I’m the person who did the new line in Hal’s TFA:R). For example, Phasma’s line when she captures Finn and the gang could be changed from “so good to have you back” to “I’ve heard a lot about you.” Also, they have a bright red trooper and gold trooper in the animated Resistance show, so having another unique colour wouldn’t be that ridiculous if you ask me.
The only difficulty (other than changing the armour colour) would be redubbing part of Hux’s “well done, Phasma.” Perhaps replacing it with a similarly mouth-shaped name. Or maybe that line could be removed completely! I’m not sure.
Then again, you may not be at all interested in making any more changes to that scene. Just had a moment of inspiration and wanted to throw it out there!
This is exciting! I love what you did with Rogue One and was hoping you would work your magic on Solo at some point.
Any chance you’d consider keeping the Maul cameo? I understand that it’s quite unnecessary, and potentially confusing for some, but it was the one scene in Solo that got my nerd juices flowing full force. Seeing the PT and OT come together was awesome. Maybe I won’t miss it after you improve the rest of the film, but I know it’s a highlight for a lot of people (in my circles at least).
Hey, that makes a lot of sense! Thanks for the reply. It’s true that the edit really does work as it is - I’m just an advocate for not leaving too much for the audience to have to assume. Lots of “stuff” happened between Ep. VI and Ep. VII that were only addressed in novels and comics, and that kinda sucks. Hopefully we don’t run into that issue when dealing with VII, VIII, and IX as a cohesive trilogy!
I am aaaactually on the fence on this one. While I think my reason for doing something different makes sense, Hal’s edit is so smooth, and if that’s the way the film had been released initially I don’t think anyone would have thought it was anything other than more of Poe being a bad-ass. So, I’ll definitely consider it!
I’m an advocate for this as well! In my hypothetical hybrid cut involving yours and Hal’s, Hal’s version is the one I prefer. I also lean towards keeping Space Leia, but that’s been debated to the point of exhaustion so no need to say anything more on that matter! 🙂
Out of curiosity, will this edit be subject to change after Ep. IX comes out? For example, I ADORE your version of Finn’s sacrifice, but if Finn and Rose have any sort of romantic relationship in Ep. IX, somehow tagging on what Hal did which includes the kiss but gets rid of the cringey dialogue would help with keeping consistency between the films. Does that even make sense? Hah.
Same goes with Phasma - if she truly is dead in Ep. IX, doesn’t that make her death in XIII a little anticlimactic? This one’s not as big of a deal to me, but I thought I’d mention it! It might have even been brought up on here before.
Hey Hal! Just finished rewatching TFA:R for the n’th time and realized that at the very end when Rey is on Ach-to, there are plenty of bird noises, but no Porg sounds! Might be nice to toss a couple in the background for consistency. Just a thought!
Looking forward to V3!
Finished your final version this morning! Wow - such a wonderfully executed edit! My preferred version would probably be a mix between what you’ve done here and Hal’s, but in the end I could throw either edit on and be perfectly content.
On the topic of Phasma (and the Finn/Rose sideplot), a dream of mine would be to somehow include more of Finn’s sideplot without all of the cringey moments (that you have very competently removed!). His character really gets butchered when so much is cut out and I think he deserves more! Finn goes from just caring about himself and Rey and doing whatever he can to save her, to identifying as a rebel, understanding that there’s more to the galaxy than just his self-preservation and Rey, and taking that next step to becoming the hero that Rose thinks he is when they first meet.
I would LOVE to:
Wow, I apologize for the ramble. It’s a pipe dream, but if possible, it might just be the cherry on top for me.
If it’s possible, I would like to find a different shot to place immediately prior to the Hosnian system being destroyed, instead of cutting to Leia. If we can avoid cutting to Leia, it can be left slightly ambiguous about whether she is reacting via the Force to the planetary destruction only or if Han’s death is part of it. This one may need to stay as is, since it was hard enough to find enough shots to include!
THIS! I mentioned this back when you were completing V2, and I’m glad you’re still considering making this change. I understand that in the end this might be impossible, but I really think it’s worth a shot!
As far as the Rey/Finn/Rathtar scene and editing out Chewie from the Rey/Leia scene, I’d say go for it. But honestly, these changes wouldn’t make or break the edit for me. I didn’t have any (major) issues with them being there in the first place, but I guess it could be nice to have them dealt with.
I am beyond excited for this edit! While Hal’s edit suits my needs perfectly well, if there’s one edit that can finally get my friends out of the “haters corner” it’s this one. This will be the one to show when we marathon the movies next December. Looking forward to getting a hold of the finished product!
Also, in order to reinstate the shot of Finn’s speeder’s guns from melting, I would have to reinstate the majority of the part of the sequence which was cut. Therefore, the lack of gun melting is going to have to be part of the package, weighed as such.
All good! It’s not the biggest of deals; I was just partial to it. If I didn’t know it was there I wouldn’t miss it!
Just finished workprint 2, and I have to say, I’m very impressed! I do have few questions/suggestions/etc…
Luke’s saber toss is a bummer. I remember seeing a clip somewhere in which Luke simply drops the lightsaber at his feet. Is this not doable? The lightsaber completely leaves the frame so maybe all that would be needed would be a sound effect of it hitting the ground? I’m no film editor, so perhaps there’s much more to it, but I remember the clip being fairly convincing.
To my surprise, I actually missed the complete introduction of Rose. You removed the fan-girly moment very well, but in the end, I don’t think the edit is necessary. Just a personal preference.
During Finn’s “sacrificial moment,” I missed the shot where his ship’s gun peels back from the radiation being emitted by the battering gun. It was at that point in the movie when I realized that Finn wouldn’t be able to fire a shot down the centre of the barrel, therefore making Rose’s interference make a little more sense. I also just thought it was a cool shot.
Finally, I would love to see that little speck in the sun disappear during Luke’s final moments. It’s such a minuscule detail, but the first time I watched TLJ, I actually thought a ship was on its way to save Luke at the last second.
Fair enough.
As it currently stands, having Luke go inside for a little cry only to leave his hut moments later feels a little weird, but I’ve only watched the clip once. It really does seem like a cut to the Resistance should happen after Luke’s moment, but from what I understand that would also be awkard, hey? Maybe I just can’t get that cut to Leia out of my head that I just love so much!
This is part of the reason I advocate for a restructuring to include most of the deleted first act Finn stuff - it makes it easier to keep the Luke scene, and helps balance the film with so little Canto Bight and, by extension, so little Finn.
I’m an advocate of this idea as well! It’s actually been on my mind for quite some time. With the axing of Canto Bight, we need as much Finn as possible!
Just for the sake of continuing this tangent a LITTLE longer, in one of the original drafts for TFA, J.J. included a moment where Han Solo returns his dice to the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Rian wrote his script based on J.J.'s early treatments (as TFA was not filmed yet) and that’s why Han’s dice seem to suddenly become a plot point out of nowhere in TLJ. Turns out it’s actually not as random as some people think! Dang it, J.J.!
Wow! This is all very exciting! And yet borderline terrifying. Let’s all try to remember that the colour of Mace Windu’s lightsaber, renaming Snoke “Plaguis”, and removing “Darth” from other Sith’s names aren’t continuity issues whatsoever. They are personal preferences, and the only way a group this size is going to come remotely close to a consensus will be if we stick to issues that specifically affect continuity. For example, the ST doesn’t really consist of any continuity issues at this point. Especially since 9 isn’t even out yet. While it sucks that the background of the Resistance and the First Order isn’t covered extensively in the films, their existence makes sense and doesn’t contradict anything other than people’s expectations.
Just wanted to get my 2-cents in, as it seems like very recently this thread has been on the verge of containing too many purely subjective opinions. RogueLeader and EddieDean (among others), your level-headedness will prove very helpful in this regard! Thanks for keeping this thread on track.
By the way, I’m the guy who did the very brief voiceover in TFA: Revisited and would be willing to do some VO work if needed. I’m gonna continue following this thread with great interest!
Here’s a clip of the battle of Crait. The usual trims others have already made, along with removing Rey’s triple-combo TIE shot.
Not included here is the truncation of Finn’s suicide run, but that’ll happen too.https://vimeo.com/263432552
password: fanedit
Hope I’m not being too picky here, but I’d be interested to see if the porg’s scream could be shortened slightly. It’s always gone on a bit too long in my opinion and the music nearly cuts out during the scream so I’d imagine a small edit wouldn’t be particularly difficult.