Acbagel

Jimmy Chips said:

That sounds right to me. Another thing I’d have changed, as this was just a pet-peeve when I first saw the movie, is that the music should be more evil and ominous when Kylo kills Snoke. It feels like whiplash when it’s portrayed as heroic and then he’s bad immediately after.

There are some really bizarre soundtrack decisions in this film. Like the one you mentioned, there’s a couple other segments that are just oddly silent or have unfitting music. I’ll definitely be examining my options for fixing some of this. My TFA edit had a lot of audio and soundtrack work done, especially in the final starkiller sequences and I thought that really helped so I’ll be doing something similar here. Will definitely take your suggestion into consideration when I get to that scene as I can’t recall what it sounds like now, thanks.

Jimmy Chips said:

I forgot to ask this. How is Kylo’s fall to the dark side being handled? I don’t think Luke’s going to try and kill him in his sleep in this edit.

Correct, I don’t see any evidence of Luke considering an action like that in Legends and it does just the opposite of what I want for his character. So I’ll have to roll with the vision where Luke went to check on Ben, but he had already turned and attacked Luke for fear of getting caught.

I think the biggest and most unfixable flaw of Kylo’s character is that we are never given a real reason why he fell. All we know is “Snoke turned his heart,” whatever that means. It’s quite a shame, but since the trilogy literally does not explain it at all there is no way I can alter this. I suppose we are left to assume that the Jedi teachings didn’t sustain his curiosity and like many Jedi before him, Ben pursued the temptation of greater power and promises of a future that he could mold into his own.

Jimmy Chips said:

I love the sound of this! How will you deal with the Snoke and Kylo relationship? Since he wasn’t “bested by a girl who had never held a lightsaber”, some things will be different. I liked their scenes in TLJ except for the fact they made Kylo look wimpy.

I think it works for Snoke to be antagonistic to Kylo to aid in his motivation to kill him. However, I agree that it goes so far as to make Kylo look a bit pathetic. That will be toned down some, as well as removing references to TFA for continuity.

I’ll be going through all the deleted scenes to use what I can.

I hope the Luke mourns Han scene is included.

For sure. It baffles me how that was cut in theatrical!

Another scene I’d like to be included is that unfinished Finn and Phasma scene. It bothers me that such a good scene was cut. Maybe some color correction and smoke filters can help hide the unfinished backgrounds. Looking forward to the change list in the future!

Unfortunately, I don’t think that scene is finished enough to be saved in any capacity. I’ll double check to see if any small part of it can be salvaged, because I do think Phasma’s role was almost entirely wasted and I’d like to make her character at least have the tiniest impact on the viewer outside of disappointment.

“A family in balance. The light and the dark. Day with night. Destruction, replaced by creation… Too much light or dark would be the undoing of life as you understand it.” - The Father (Mortis)

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjWElAwnKpI

Hello again,

I am working on editing each movie in the Sequel Trilogy according to my understanding of what it would look like if it shared the themes from Star Wars Legends.

Worprint Released. Pm if interested.

I’d love to have your feedback and suggestions as I create this, so please be open and offer criticism where you feel it is useful.

Goal of my TLJ edit:

1. To more closely align to the themes of Star Wars Legends material. (https://boards.theforce.net/threads/the-crucible-canon-merging-eu-and-new-canon-as-smoothly-as-possible.50053287/)

2. To demonstrate the mistakes of a narrow minded view that Jedi/light side = good and Sith/dark side = bad.

3. To tell stories of Luke, Leia, and Han that are respectful to their OT character arcs and to better align their storylines to that of Legends.

4. To give the new characters more realistic character arcs that stay within the bounds and limitations of Star Wars Legends and paths that logically flow between the films.

5. To tell a good, cohesive, authentic Star Wars story that generally stays within the limits of Legends.

Inspiration behind ST edits: Like many of you, I am a huge Star Wars Legends fan. I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on, comics, novels, short stories, playing the games etc. For me, transitioning into the Disney Era was tough at times. Most notably in the ST handling of the characters I loved. My favorite theme in Star Wars has always been the balance of the force and the failures and evolution of the Jedi. Initially, I had high hopes that Luke would surpass the failures of the Jedi doctrine and lead a new generation of balanced force users as the original Je’daii did. But alas, that was not the case… However, I think there is opportunity to tell the ST trilogy in a way that aligns better with the themes that Legends created. From Dawn of the Jedi to Tales of the Jedi through the KOTOR era, the PT and OT, there was a very clear theme of balance and what happens when either the Dark or Light tries to bend the force to their own narrow interpretation. I found the ST lacking in a clear reason for why it even existed in the Star Wars saga. I want viewers to leave my edit trilogy feeling like they now know something new about Star Wars, the force, and the OT trio.

What I want to fix in TLJ: I was pretty shell-shocked after experiencing TLJ for the first time. As the credits rolled, I had no idea what I was feeling. As soon as the film ended I turned around, bought another ticket, and immediately watched it again. After this second viewing it hit me… For the first time in my life I had just seen a Star Wars movie that I disliked. After spending so many years in Star Wars Legends there was just no way for me to like the new versions of the characters I had always adored. After putting a great amount of thought into this edit, I have come to the conclusion that this film can be transformed into a Legends story that I can love.

Here are the main areas I will be changing in my edit.

1. Luke Skywalker’s motivations. The depiction of Luke Skywalker in TLJ is an abomination of the Legends Luke. Whether you liked the depiction or not, there’s no arguing that he is unrecognizable compared to the Grand Master Luke. This edit is the Legends cut, so I have to find a way to completely change the motivations of Luke’s character. Let’s begin with the reason Luke went to Ach-To. In TFA, Han says that after Kylo turned, Luke felt responsible and went to Ach-To to look for the first Jedi temple. That’s all we get and it’s actually a really cool Legends storyline. It sets up a reason for Luke to evolve the Jedi doctrine. It is true that people keep falling under Jedi teachings and end up wreaking havoc on the galaxy (Dooku, Anakin, Ben Solo). Something is wrong and needs to change within the Jedi religion. However, in TLJ this whole plotline is tossed out as we see that there is absolutely no reason for Luke to be at the first Jedi temple. He goes to this temple and doesn’t accomplish a single thing with it. He literally says, “I came to this island to die.” He cut himself off from the force, became a coward, a hermit, betrayed the trust of his friends and family, and let billions of innocents be slaughtered by the First Order on his watch. How does he turn into that person after reading the original Jedi texts? We don’t know exactly what is in those books according to Disney, but holy crap it must’ve been a depressing read. In Legends, the original Je’daii texts were all about balance. Don’t focus too hard on the light or you will become so selfless and pious that you fail to apply action where needed (see KOTOR 2 Jedi Council in the Mandalorian Wars). Don’t focus too hard on the dark or you become so self absorbed that you fail to consider consequences for anyone other than yourself (see the entire doctrine of the Sith). The dark side is the natural, basic instincts of a person that need to be regulated, and the light side is work towards pushing those things away. You cannot live as a purely selfish, or a purely selfless person… Balance is necessary. This is the original Je’daii code.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no fear, there is power.
I am the heart of the Force.
I am the revealing fire of light.
I am the mystery of darkness.
In balance with chaos and harmony,
Immortal in the Force.

The Je’daii were supposed to meditate on the dark and the light to find balance. “Observing the world around them, they saw two moons in the one sky—light Ashla and dark Bogan—and they understood the dual aspects to the Force, light and dark.” ― Ketu, Dawn of the Jedi. I adore this understanding of the force. The entire conflict between Jedi and Sith began because the sides split as one says light is better and one says dark is. Suddenly each side has flippantly created their own religion based on “a certain point of view” and the galaxy is constantly thrown into chaos by the force powers that be. That is a beautiful storyline with countless applications to our own lives and this world. Let me bring this all back to Luke… These things are what the Grand Master should eventually learn. Anakin, the Chosen One, brought balance to the force by leveling the playing field as he destroyed both Jedi and Sith. Luke didn’t have any understanding of these deeper concepts of balance in RotJ, but by the time TLJ rolls around it is the perfect scenario for him to know these things. He saw the failures of the Jedi religion first hand in Ben Solo, and knew something was wrong. Then he goes to find the original Je’daii temple which should’ve included those teachings above. This new understanding would ascend Luke to a level of power that no one had ever reached, and in my edit… it will.

2. Luke Skywalker’s legacy. Now that you understand my reason for Luke going to Ach-To, let’s look at the implications of that in TLJ. There’s no doubt that he feels a weight and responsibility for his actions. That is classic Luke right there. He can be upset with himself for Kylo’s fall, but any mentions of his wanting to die and his cowardice must be removed. The reason for his staying on the island and leaving his family is not going to be him running away, but him doing what is necessary to save everyone. He is making the sacrifice to dedicate his life to study the balance of the force in order to save countless generations in the future. His decision will truly change the course of the galaxy and the force. However, he still dearly loves his friends and cares about what is happening now. Therefore with his newfound powers, Luke will be the one to save Leia after Kylo “kills” her (yes, Kylo takes the shot). Luke will be the one to heave the Mon Calamari cruiser at the Supremacy to save Leia. Luke will be the one who made the sacrifice to delay the First Order on Crait to save Leia. He loves his sister with all his heart, and is heartbroken that he can’t physically be there with her… because at the end of it all, we will see Luke, present and meditating in the World Between Worlds, a truly ascended Grand Master of the force, and we know that the ultimate hero has became one with the force to oversee peace in the galaxy. Like the Father on Mortis, Luke made the decision to maintain balance. Anakin refused this role in the Clone Wars because he couldn’t let go of Padme, which eventually led to his downfall… but Luke chose to sacrifice life as he knew it to save the people he loved. In Legends, we see Luke make a similar decision in Fate of the Jedi in regards to the Celestials and Abeloth, and I am now bringing that concept to life in TLJ.

3. Rey’s training. As my TFA did, this film will open with Rey. She finds Luke on Ach-To which is something he didn’t expect. In fact, Luke never expected to see anyone ever again. But the force works in mysterious ways and brought Rey to him for a reason (which won’t become apparent until my TRoS cut). However, her feeble understanding of the force is what upsets him, as the last thing that Luke wants is another generation of Jedi that could lead to another person falling and starting a new war. Yes, it really is time for the Jedi to end, and Luke says that he will teach Rey so she will know their failings. In fact, Yoda even says it is time for the Jedi to end, which at the end of the Clone Wars was something he was beginning to realize. Luke trains Rey in the doctrine of the Jedi, hoping she will stay and learn its flaws and study this new balanced understanding of the force to share with others. However, as Luke once did in ESB, Rey becomes impatient in her training and runs off, ignoring Luke’s warning that he once experienced himself, “This is not going to go the way you think.” We will have already seen a training montage of Rey to explain her increase in power. Given that she trains with Luke for a time, she is not actually unbelievably overpowered in the film. The most powerful thing she does is battle the Snoke guards, and she is even injured in the battle. She has apparent flaws and strengths, and at most she is no more powerful than an average Jedi in the Clone Wars. Yes, she should need more training (than even the montage will show) but she appears pretty unbalanced in this film so I’m okay with saying the few bursts of power we see are her tapping into the dark.

4. Kylo Ren remains menacing. In TFA, Kylo struggled with the light and the attachments to his family. At the end, when he kills his father, that is him closing himself off to the light. I mean, just read the quote from the TFA novel in my other thread. And the visualization of the red on his face on the walkway, followed by his wounded rage in battle, mercilessly cutting Finn down… Nothing about any of that hints at him going back to the light. Kylo has fully become a monster and this trilogy desperately needs a main villain. He does all these horrible things, we know how quickly committing fully to the dark side can corrupt you (see Anakin and the younglings) and we’re supposed to believe suddenly (the very next day!) that Kylo can’t destroy the entire Resistance because his mother is on the ship? I understand the dynamic they were trying to show with him, but from what we know about the Dark Side, there is no logic in Kylo not shooting Leia. Of course, in my cut, Luke will save Leia, again and again and again, and it will frustrate Kylo to no end. This is all for a reason that will be revealed in my TRoS cut. I need Kylo to be the main bad guy to serve the themes of this trilogy edit. So now when we look at the weaknesses of Kylo, it’s not his wavering between light and dark… It’s him being dark, but being extremely attached to Rey. He cares for her, he wants to rule with her, it may be a bit of an infatuation, and it will ultimately be the thing that changes his character forever. It’s all about Rey. Their relationship is vital to what I’m trying to tell. Kylo and Rey’s story is by far the most interesting part of TLJ, and putting all of Kylo’s motivations into this plot will do wonders for his menacing presence.

5. Finn, Poe, Rose, Holdo, Canto plotline. Alright, this isn’t as complicated as it seems. This sequence has been heavily criticized and I think most of it is justified. I’ll be trimming out the usual stuff from this sequence as I don’t feel it contributes anything to the themes of Legends, and in fact distracts from the main point of this movie. It’s a shame that they didn’t find a better way to utilize Finn in TLJ and there’s really no solution to this. I won’t cut the entire sequence because we still need to see what Finn is doing, and the plight of the fleet is useful to what I do with Luke, so I need to set the scene. Holdo will not be redeemed as a good character though, she will remain as the snobby Admiral to show that the lines between good and bad are more blurred than you’d think. She dies onboard one of the transports that is shot. The purpose of this whole side plot is so that we can see how often Luke has to save the day, which demonstrates why his presence in the force is necessary. No other messaging needs to come from the Canto Blight plot. Finn is not running away as a coward either, he is just trying to leave to check on Rey because he loves her, but Rose mistakes him for a traitor until they begin working together.

I will be inspired by and using content from FGR’s Last of the Jedi and Anjohan’s edit, along with my own personal contributions from editing theatrical release. I also firmly believe that a Star Wars film must be at least 2 hours and anything less harms the movie. There must be a way to pace out the story to that length, even with the edits, or I will have failed.

Changelist:

ACT I:

• Replaced title to “Fate of the Jedi” (Inspired by https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Fate_of_the_Jedi)
• New crawl:

Episode VIII

FATE OF THE JEDI

The FIRST ORDER reigns.
Having decimated the peaceful
Republic, Supreme Leader Snoke
now deploys his merciless
legions to seize military
control of the galaxy.

Only General Leia Organa’s
band of RESISTANCE fighters
stand against the rising
tyranny. As the First
Order speeds towards the
rebel base, the brave heroes
mount a desperate escape.

Rey and Chewbacca race to find
Luke Skywalker, certain that
the Jedi Master will restore
a spark of hope to the fight…

• This film starts with Rey. As my TFA cut did, we will begin with a quiet, emotional, serene experience with Rey as the focus. I have re-cut the end of TFA into the beginning of this film, but with some major changes! As soon as the Falcon begins its descent into the atmosphere of Ach-To, we cut to Luke. He turns and looks to the sky. He senses someone arriving. Right off the bat we are going to know Luke is Luke, and Luke has the force. The shot cuts between him looking at the sky and Rey’s face, indicating that they already sense one another. Chewie gives Rey a puzzled look. This all works so well it really blew me away to be honest.
• With the changes to my TFA ending, I adjusted this version to be fully compatible. This means that upon finding Luke, Rey only briefly locks eyes and then immediately offers him the lightsaber (this also helps the pacing a few of you mentioned about how ridiculously long they used to stare at each other, now that already took place in a dream in my TFA edit where it is honestly much better suited). The pacing and musical swings work so much better here, and that lightsaber fully bears that heavy burden now.
• New soundtrack on the scene of Rey handing Luke his saber [Anjohan]. Luke does not throw his lightsaber away. He gives it back to Rey in what should now be an emotional scene. You can see the torment on his face during this scene, but it isn’t because he is afraid of the saber anymore. His struggle is with how badly he wants to take up the blade and fight next to his sister again. We hear a very familiar soundtrack, reminding him of his RotJ days… but he somberly hands it back, knowing that his role is here now, studying the force and keeping the balance. Of course Rey is confused as Luke heads back to his hut.
• The very next thing we see is Luke beginning to unfold his Jedi robes. He is preparing for the challenge that has just disturbed his meditations. Rey knocks on the door, and I have removed Luke’s, “Go away!” line as he has already decided what he must do. We briefly see him pondering his robes before Chewie tears the door down and the scene continues as usual.
• Cut Rey interpreting Chewie to Luke, “He says you need to come with us”. The lines are delivered sarcastically and it’s done in a way that makes Rey lack respect for Luke which is 100% opposite of how we saw her admiration for him in Episode 7.
• After, “Where’s Han?” we do not cut away from this scene like theatrical. My goodness, this is a powerful moment for Luke and we need to feel it. So after Luke’s line, it cuts to an island shot and we hear Rey, “There’s no light left in Kylo Ren,” and we continue that conversation with a devastated Luke.
• After Rey says, “We need Luke Skywalker,” I removed Luke’s response saying he isn’t needed. Um, yes, he is desperately needed, and Luke knows it, but it’s not in the way Rey expects. Instead of his grumpy line, he continues to simply glare at her, still reeling from the loss of Han. Removed the line from Rey “Did you hear anything I just said?” and Luke’s initial antagonism “You think what?!” She looks up to the legend of Luke and her berating him minutes after telling him that his best friend Han is dead is stone cold from her and not in character. Luke also now appears more mysterious/somber instead of frustrated. “You think I came to this island for no reason at all?” and then he walks back to his hut for the deleted Luke mourns Han scene. Luke is only snippy in this conversation because he lost Han. That’s it. He simply wants a moment of peace to weep for his friend. The whole point of this sequence is to feel Luke’s reactions, and hopefully in my edit we can all share the pain of our beloved Jedi Master a bit more clearly this time around.
• Big scene rearrangement here, so after Luke mourns Han, we switch to the opening space evacuation battle. So now tge first 7-8 minutes are on Luke and Rey which works much better for storytelling the overall picture. Afterwards we carry through the full space battle until Finn wakes up and asks, “Where’s Rey?” which then will cut back into her following Luke around the island learning his routine.
• Heavily trimmed the Hux/Poe prank call, now it’s just cut down to a minor distraction tactic by Poe with minimum humor involved. More along the lines of something Anakin would’ve done in the Clone Wars rather than the abominable “your mom” joke that somehow made it on screen. There are few times across the ST where dialogue seems akin to a Marvel movie, and that is not acceptable in Legends.
• A few minor edits throughout the space battle adjust for a more serious tone. Less BB-8 antics in the ship and such.
• Cut Finn falling and flailing as a gag. Now he simply wakes up and begins to get out. Ahhh, the beauty of normalcy.
• Rey continues to follow Luke as he goes about his daily routines (less the part of him actually drinking the milk, because his grotesque reaction doesn’t really fit the Legends depiction of his character that I’m going for). When Rey is once again at his door, I cut his line, “You’re wasting your time,” because in my cut Luke isn’t a grumpy failure. He just glares at her and continues working, teaching her patience until she senses and approaches the tree. At this point Luke realizes there’s something really special about Rey.
• I have re-organized many shots in the tree scene to completely change the meaning of it. Cut Luke’s line, “Okay, that is pretty much nowhere,” as Luke himself is from Tatooine which is arguably as nowhere as Jakku so I never understand his levity with that statement. The scene works much better with the serious tone throughout. This is the first time we see Luke in a Master role, and I don’t want that distracted by out of place humor.
• Cut Luke’s lines of misery and death in this conversation. In my film, there is no mention of Luke acting like a failure. His whole mystery is why won’t train anymore Jedi. It’s due to their flawed doctrine, but he is ultimately willing to train Rey in the force and why the Jedi need to end. Of course Rey doesn’t understand these nuances and has a deified view of the Jedi, hence her frustrations. Now when Luke says, “You need a teacher,” Rey immediately jumps in front of him and says that he isn’t busy, implying that she wants him to do it. It is time for the Jedi to end, and Luke is eventually planning on teaching Rey why. His sadness in this scene is still due to Han’s death, because Han himself died as a result of the Jedi failures, which explains Luke’s frustrations with another person showing up at his door wanting to learn to be a Jedi. With the first 12 minutes of the movie only on Luke and Rey, there are no distractions from Luke’s sadness over Han or his disappointment in the Jedi teachings. The tone of everything on Ach-To is completely different when we aren’t jumping around like theatrical. It’s all about Han’s death, Luke’s pain, and Rey’s questions.
• After the tree hut scene I now brought in the R2-D2 scene from Act 2 with Luke boarding the Falcon. (Thanks Atom-88 for the idea, this works REALLY well) This does a number of great things for the story. First, it helps set a better day/night cycle to represent the amount of time Rey is spending on the island and how the First Order is chasing the Resistance. Second, it gives Luke motivation to save Leia in a whole new way. This is such a beautiful place for this scene to occur and I am super excited someone thought to suggest it.
• Removed Luke’s line to R2 about “I’m NEVER coming back”, because with the new scene placement it’s all about him realizing he can’t stay away from the fight, as much as it pains him. I also removed his quip to R2 “That was a cheap move” because the tone of his voice and his facial expressions no longer fit the context of the scene. The Luke we have seen is greatly burdened by something, but he has not been presented as a failure or coward at all. Seeing the scars in his soul through his expressions in silence is more convincing.
• At the conclusion of the R2 + Luke scene we now instead cut to the Throne Room scene with Kylo. It works really well because R2 had just played the recording and you just know Luke is thinking of her, Han, and Kylo here. Now BOOM, Kylo is instantly on screen for the first time.
• Cut mentions of Kylo failing against Rey in the throne room scene since that doesn’t happen as clearly in my TFA edit. I edited this scene to make it seem like Snoke is only upset at Kylo’s lack of balance in killing Han. Even though he did the job, it wasn’t good enough for Snoke (and it never is). This garners motivation for Kylo to immediately head out and kill Leia to prove that he doesn’t hesitate, to both himself and to Snoke. After Kylo smashes his helmet we cut to a mourning Leia, who appears to sense his anger through the force.
• Overlaid Palpatine’s voiceline saying “Vader” underneath when Snoke says it. I will do this a few times throughout the film where you almost feel as though there are two voices speaking some of his lines, but it’s vague enough to not be a direct giveaway.
• The throne room scene plays out through the end of space battle Part 2, and now it works so much better to see Luke reach out to save Leia at night time because we just saw him with R2 at night. I also added another voiceline of Leia saying “Luke” during the tension with Kylo and you can really feel the connection the three of them share. Especially when Luke responds with “Leia” after the missiles are launched. It’s really poetic, and you almost feel like Kylo pulls the trigger knowing it’s not going to work anyways.
• The entire sequence of Kylo in his starship attacking Leia’s cruiser is restructured by combining [Anjohan] and [FGR] edits. Another sequence that is hard to explain, but essentially I have edited Kylo to be the one to shoot Leia and Luke is the reason for her survival. This is the best way for me to tolerate Leia’s spacewalk and it demonstrates, for the first time, the incredible, unmatched power that Luke wields. It also works well as a motivator for Luke to begin training Rey. This scene takes place at night for Luke which follows right into my next scene.
• Removed the brief scene of Kylo’s destroyed mask in the elevator after he departs for his ship. I do love the visual but it hinders the pacing and is an artifact that gets in the way of my new scene orders.
• With this new scene placement, it’s so sequential how now immediately after saving Leia, Luke walks straight to wake up Rey to tell her he will teach her the lessons. And this scene is still at night, so everything happens in a much more logical way. Moving that R2 scene up really changes the entire first Act.
• We immediately cut from Luke waking Rey to the next morning where she begins her training. These scenes work so much better when referring to Kylo because Luke just witnessed him attempt to murder Leia mere hours ago instead of in the future. It’s a great contrast for the viewer, as we see how Luke’s powers just saved the day, but he STILL wants the Jedi to end which would point to there being a much bigger meaning than he is just being a coward. He actually has some untold reason for this, and it’s not mere fear. I hope you love how this Act flows as much as I do now!
• Cut Rey’s line of “Master Skywalker, we need you to bring the Jedi back, Kylo Ren is strong in the dark side of the force” during her first lesson at the rock because it is delivered in a way that makes her treat Luke like a doofus. Again, it is tone that does not at all match the respect that Rey has for Luke in other scenes. Luke knows already knows that Kylo is strong with the dark side and she knows he knows that. They kept making Rey take a condescending tone to Luke in theatrical and explain basic concepts to him like he is a total moron and it is so polar opposite of how she thought of Luke the very day before this film in Episode 7. Clearly the difference in directors did not translate ideas consistently.
• Removed the grass smacking hand gag. Luke is serious here, and he is presented as a caring mentor with no antagonism. The tone of this scene is so different without it!
• Using some of [Anjohan] edit training montage, I have painstakingly re-organized an entire training sequence for Rey’s first lesson. Rey trains on the island during the events of the film. There are multiple sessions. The audience can expect her to have been there learning for a decent amount of time. It’s hard to explain everything about this first lesson, but it’s epic.
• Another new scene order, we now jump straight from Luke talking about Rey going to the dark, only “seen this power… in Ben Solo”, and then straight cut into the scene of Kylo getting his stitches removed where Rey has her first connection with him. It makes so much sense that right after Rey touched the dark that their connection would bridge (especially what we know from Episode 9 that Palpatine is actually the one bringing them together). You should now notice throughout the film that everytime Rey struggles with her darkness is when she connects to Kylo, it’s no longer random.
• Inserted the caretaker explanation deleted scene after Rey shoots the building. The caretakers will be shown again in the third lesson for Rey so it’s important to have context on who they are.

ACT II:

• After the Poe and Holdo introduction, I have added the deleted scene where Finn decides to go after Rey. In theatrical he keeps wanting to run away and desert the Resistance. Not in my cuts. As I said in TFA, his character is loyal to a fault, and this deleted scene shows that he actually has a reason to head to the escape pods to help Rey.
• Cut BB-8’s dance in the deleted scene when he tries to cheer up Finn. I didn’t even notice it before, but it drags the scene on so long and it’s just weird… Imagine R2 dancing for Han.
• Heavily trimmed the Finn desertion scene because in my cut… he’s not actually deserting. He just wants to make sure Rey doesn’t come back to trouble. Removed some of the writing around Rose to make her character a little more normal, and removed all of Finn’s hammy reactions about desertion. Now the scene plays like a legitimate misunderstanding.
• Again with the stomach churning sexual references about Maz… REMOVED.
• After Finn and Rose sneak off the cruiser, we go back to Rey trying to contact the Resistance and her second connection with Kylo.
• Trimmed down the Canto Bight antics. The pure goofiness is removed, as well as the whole fathier scene. These segments have been heavily criticized elsewhere and I also feel they don’t work well within the bounds of Legends or this film as a whole. They’re looking for the codebreaker and we get to see most of the weirdness of Canto Bight without going too far.
• After Finn and Rose are arrested, Rey continues her training with the second lesson. This is the scene in the evening within the meditation chamber. Luke teaches Rey about the hypocrisy and hubris of the former Jedi Order. I had to change a lot… Where to start… Well, first off there are no more parts where Rey lectures Luke. He teaches her about the Jedi failings, but she still holds them in a deified view. He then tells her the story of Ben, but doesn’t lament on his personal failures and despise his own name. He tells the story in a mournful way, but doesn’t bend it over to trash himself afterwards. When Luke tells Rey about Kylo’s betrayal, I cut “that MiGhTy Skywalker blood” because his tone is mocking and cut “In my hubris”. Now Luke appears to have genuinely tried to train Kylo without fear, and the blame lies more squarely on Kylo. It’s the same dynamic of Obi-wan and Anakin where sometimes the training is good, but the apprentice still falls. The surviving master always bears the weight that they could have done something more. As the story ends, Rey says, “I need someone to show me my place in all this.” Instead of a defeated Luke, we now see a humbled Luke. He sees the innocence inside Rey and empathizes with her, as he once viewed the galaxy, the force, and the Jedi just as she does right now. Removed a few more sentences of Rey condescending Luke so now she just appears determined, but naive.
• Inserted the Rey’s third lesson scene. Really does wonders in explaining the flaws of the Jedi doctrine. However, at the end of it Rey lashes out at Luke, frustrated at the lack of practical results from her training. I cut out more references of Luke’s failures, leaving this scene as Rey throws blame at Luke for Han’s death as she storms off. We see Luke hurt by this, and perhaps he wonders if he has made the right choice in remaining on this island to keep the balance or if he should’ve been beside Leia and Han all along.
• Cut a few lines of DJ’s awkwardness. I don’t really understand the direction for his character and it becomes distracting at times.
• I looked through the entire Fathier chase sequence for anything that could be salvaged, but it’s just not worth it. I do like the scene of Rose showing the kids her Resistance ring, but there’s no way to toss that in without the drag around it. Finn and Rose escape through the sewers and that’s enough.
• Since the Luke + R2 scene is moved out of Act 2, we now go right from Finn + Rose escaping the Canto Bight cell straight into another force connection with Rey and Kylo. Again, this works so well because the last we saw of Luke and Rey was them arguing in the deleted scene of the caretaker village. Now each time Rey has lashed out she is making some connection with Kylo instead of it being totally random like theatrical. The next we will see of Luke is him busting down the hut after sensing Kylo’s presence. The Rey/Luke relationship now has the tension it deserves to reach the breaking point.
• After Luke discovers them, Rey hits him with the staff and then immediately goes for the lightsaber without the battle. Removed the other Luke failure flashback and Rey offering Luke a chance to fight. There is nothing about Luke’s cowardice or failures, it’s all about Rey being brash and not completing her training. This is a mirror to Luke’s training in ESB when he ran away. He doesn’t stop her as he sees so much of himself in her, but he knows the trials that will follow her decision.
• Inserted the deleted scene of the extended Finn, Rose, and DJ Supremacy infiltration. This is one scene where I felt some humor actually connected, and it’s because it wasn’t a forced gab, it was a natural, tense scenario with a nice release. I like seeing more of the First Order stormtroopers up close and this whole situation feels straight out of a Tarantino movie. I love it, and with how much was removed from Canto Bight earlier I think some more time with this trio is deserved.
• Placed the scene of Luke burning the Jedi tree after Rey enters Snoke’s throne room. At this point, Luke is fully convinced that the Jedi doctrine leads to nothing but trouble and heads to destroy it. In my edit, Luke does not hesitate, he marches right up with the torch and is only cut off by Yoda who destroys it for him, showing his support of Luke’s decision. Removed a few of Yoda’s lines and Luke’s lines where they talk about Luke’s cowardice and such. Now both old Masters are in unison about what must be done, and Yoda encourages and teaches Luke as an equal. This moment of clarity from Luke prefaces the power we will soon see him wield.

ACT III

• Removed Holdo’s “redemption” arc. I never understood the point of her withholding information from Poe, only to have her end up being a good person… And since she is not the one piloting the cruiser later in the film there is no reason for her not to remain as an antagonist. Now Leia simply tells her to board a transport and she obeys. This is the last we will see of Holdo as it is assumed that she dies aboard a transport that is destroyed by the First Order fleet.
• In the throne room before Snoke tortures Rey, I removed his line about wrongly assuming Luke would be the one to rise. Now the conversation plays as though Snoke wants Rey mainly for her knowledge on Luke since Luke has risen.
• Continued to remove scenes of Holdo onboard the cruiser or mentions about how she was actually a hero. I never felt that way, even in theatrical. At the end of it all she is still a horrendous leader that got dozens of her people killed for absolutely no reason, so a failure is how she will remain.
• Overlaid a line from Palpatine underneath Snoke’s command to kill Rey in the Throne Room battle. “Fulfill your destiny”. It actually sounds really cool and the very subtle hints throughout my edits point to his spirit still being present.
• Trimmed out the Snoke dialogue, “He ignites the blade… strikes his TRUE enemy!” The whole thing so clearly telegraphs Kylo’s decision that it takes away any shred of surprise. Now it is cut to actually be somewhat shocking. And with the way I have built Kylo thus far, it makes more sense for him not to join Rey after this action. This is classic sith behavior of the apprentice killing the unsuspecting master. It is more than that in that he didn’t have the strength to kill Rey, who he cares about, but he cares for different reasons than she thought.
• Cut the initial overly shocked face that Snoke makes when Kylo kills him. Now we only hear a lightsaber ignite, see Rey fall down, for her to then look back at Snoke to see what just happened. It preserves the surprise for another few seconds and cuts that weird facial expression.
• Re-edited the ENTIRE “Holdo maneuver” so that Luke is the one who throws an empty cruiser into the Supremacy through the force. I removed all lines or scenes that interfered with continuity and used Luke’s illusion meditation scenes as his focusing shots (I am doing something else with the Kylo v Luke fight that won’t use these shots again). After throwing the cruiser into the Supremacy, Luke collapses and crawls back up to look at the horizon as Leia looks back, knowing her brother saved her again… as she misses him dearly.
• Greatly reduced the nonsense around Finn and Rose’s escape from the destroyed Supremacy. Cut it down to the bare minimum of the Finn v Phasma confrontation and reduced some of the lighthearted quotes from Finn as well. There’s really no way to redeem what they did with Phasma’s character, but it’s at least good to show Finn breaking away from his chains once and for all.
• Inserted a small portion of the deleted scene with Finn and Rose in the shuttle. With everything cut from their time together so far, it’s good to show their friendship grow with as much decent content as we have.
• Cut Poe’s line “… all of ‘em!” during the Battle of Crait. It’s good enough when he just says “She drew them off!” His delivery is goofy after that and it doesn’t make sense that every single TIE fighter would go after the Falcon.
• Used some of the [Anjohan] Battle of Crait visual edits to tone down some strangeness in this battle and to alter Finn’s sacrifice. Now he and Rose are both shot down by the AT-AT’s before reaching the laser. Like Canto Bight, I don’t feel there is a need to get into the reasons behind these decisions. There are plenty of discussions elsewhere explaining why some people felt aspects of TLJ didn’t sit well with what they expect from a Star Wars movie.
• When Luke meets Leia in person, I cut part of her phrase “at the end” because with how much Luke has been involved in saving her in this edit and them sensing one another, it makes it more touching for her to simply say “I’m just glad you’re here”. The “at the end” implies that Luke has been more absent than I portrayed him so it’s gone now.
• I also cut the icebreaker about Leia’s hairstyle. It doesn’t really work in my version of Luke because there is no awkward tension to break. They are endeared to one another, truly loving siblings as we have always known them to be. This scene is now purely somber, as they both know what must be done. Removed all of Luke apologizing for his failures to Leia. Of course he has regrets for how things turned out with Ben, but there really isn’t anything to genuinely apologize for in my cut. He did what was necessary to protect the galaxy, so now they share a more touching moment together, not bogged down by Luke’s cowardice.
• Did you happen to tear up at the end of the Mandalorian Season 2…? Well boy do I have a surprise for you in the soundtrack department. The Luke + Leia scene will tug your heartstrings like never before 😉
• Continued the above soundtrack as Kylo lands to meet Luke.
• Completely transformed the Kylo v Luke post-duel confrontation with new visuals and audio. With audio work from the brilliant [Karl Veiga], the end of their fight is completely rescored. Alongside the new soundtrack, I have woven in new visuals to completely remake the meaning of their interactions. Visions of the Resistance, Han, and Leia haunt Kylo. Instead of this scene merely being a badass Luke moment, it is now a heavy, emotional, breakdown of Kylo’s soul. His pain seeps through the screen and sounds, and I promise you will feel it. This is the best part of the film.
• As Kylo stabs the illusion of Luke, I inserted Luke becoming a force ghost as his body fades away from Ach-To. Force Projection is a cool ability and his voluntary death here also pays homage to Ben Kenobi’s. We immediately see Luke take the form of a force ghost, indicating his Grand Master status.
• Rey and Leia sense Luke in the World Between Worlds instead of him dying on Ach-To.
• Added lines of Palpatine talking in Kylo’s head as Rey escapes in their final force connection. We see Palpatine speak in Kylo’s head much more drastically in my Episode 9 edit so I want to foreshadow that even more here.
• I didn’t like how uplifting things end when it’s just the Falcon jumping off into hyperspace again exactly like my TFA ending. It doesn’t have any weight, and this film should have weight like ESB. The broom boy scene also does not give the vibe I am looking for, so I have added a scene of Palpatine’s “The Dead Speak” speech as more of a cliffhanger ending with alternate credit music [lantern51]. This is atypical of a Star Wars film, but I think it’s worth trying out in this workprint. I gave the opening crawl an atypical intro (fading the stars into a hyperspace jump) so I feel like this alt-ending could also work. TLJ is supposed to be the odd egg of the bunch in the saga anyways with the red lettering and such so maybe this works. Let me know what ending you think.

If you have any ideas on how to make TLJ feel more like Star Wars Legends please post your suggestions below. I hope to make a beloved trilogy for those who didn’t enjoy parts of the ST, or even those who adored it, but want a new take on it.

May the force be with you all.

stretch009 said:

Please send me the link. Thanks!

Sent! Let me know if you see any bugs outside of the list I have posted.

Ice said:

This seems to be the best edit by far I’ve heard for this film. Can’t wait to see it. I’ll wait for a link for the next iteration however.

I appreciate the kind words. I hope it lives up to your expectations when I cut a final draft. Shouldn’t be too long as I’ve already made the initial fixes, just waiting on a couple more people to watch and send feedback to catch the rest of the mistakes.

TestingOutTheTest said:

Acbagel said:

Oops, changelist should’ve said cut mention of the “trash compactor”, just fixed that in OP. I left the initial line about the garbage chute just so we know why Phasma is no longer in the film. There’s actually a comic that shows how she escapes in time.

No one should have to go outside of a film and rely on stuff such as comics, sequels, etc. in order for it to make sense.

Oh, I 100% agree. It’s a terrible movie storytelling decision. I just don’t have any other solution. Either the audience knows that Phasma got tossed down a chute or she randomly disappears while in their custody.

Jimmy Chips said:

I really hope you can fix Luke’s arc in the next one because I disagree with it on almost every level. Rey just need to be depowered a bit in the first one to make her needing training feel more important and Kylo needed to feel intimidating throughout. Both of these you accomplished!

I’ll make a thread on my TLJ cut sometime this week and begin that process, but my plan for Luke is to reframe the reason he wants the Jedi to end. It’s not because he has become a failure, but because he has seen that the strict Jedi doctrine isn’t the right way to view the force and it keeps leading to fallen Jedi. Dooku, Vader, Kylo… All products of the failings of the Jedi religion. Luke will no longer have cut himself off from the force or have gone to Ach-To to die. Instead, he went to study the first Jedi temple and original texts (like Han says in TFA) to learn exactly what went wrong. As a result, Luke will be more powerful than you have ever seen him on screen 😉

TestingOutTheTest said:

Cut the mention of a garbage chute

I love how you remove this, it avoids the plot hole in The Last Jedi of Phasma somehow being there after being thrown into a trash compactor on a planet that promptly exploded after.

Oops, changelist should’ve said cut mention of the “trash compactor”, just fixed that in OP. I left the initial line about the garbage chute just so we know why Phasma is no longer in the film. There’s actually a comic that shows how she escapes in time.

Removed Finn saying, “Come get it!” and then charging at Kylo.

The point of that line is to show that Finn is no longer running away from the First Order, he is now willing to stand up to them.

Jimmy Chips said:

The problem with that line to me is Finn trying to sound tough and in this he gets wiped, so it would feel almost comical.

I think that’s a valid point, Testing. However, after further consideration I do agree with Jimmy that it doesn’t help his character, especially since I re-cut the fight to have Finn get destroyed even harder. I think this is really the one time in the film where we should actually see Finn showing more fear. So now it’s more of a blind rage charge since Kylo hurt Rey. Also, I made Kylo appear much stronger in my edit so I like the other characters being more afraid of him.

Jimmy Chips said:

The narrative fixes/rearrangements really help the characters and help the plot feel less like New Hope V2

Good to hear. That’s really the main fix of this TFA edit since I don’t think are any major Legends breaking decisions that I need to alter like I will in TLJ and TRoS.

Just added it and the Vader lightsaber effect works really well in the vision. Thanks for the suggestion!

Jimmy Chips said:

I loved every part of this! There were two bugs to fix: the opening crawl music starts a little late and Han’s you “hurt chewie you’ll deal with me” is duplicated. This edit has me excited what you can do with the rest. I really don’t like the others. Two editing things I’d have changed/fixed is to change the lightsaber noise when Darth Vader appears in the vision to match his and re-edit the Maz conversation because Rey says “what fight” when the line that triggered that one has been deleted. Other than that, amazing stuff from everyone involved in the clips/footage used! Can’t wait for more!

Thanks for the feedback! I’ve added a section in my OP to keep track of the fixes I need to make before final cut.

I haven’t sat down and watched my cut all the way through in one sitting yet. How did the narrative flow with this cut? Did it seem like the changes helped the character arcs?

IlFanEditore said:

Could I please have a link?

Sent! Thanks for your interest.

Jimmy Chips said:

I’d love a link to this when it’s ready!

PM sent!

Workprint is released.

I’d appreciate if you could post in this thread with a review. There are a few technical things to still work out that I’ll fix before the final release, but let me know if you notice anything else. Thanks, hope you enjoy!

UPDATE: I have pretty much completed the workprint and plan on rendering a cut tomorrow. Let me know if anyone sees anything in the changelist that you think could be improved, otherwise I’d love your feedback on the draft if you choose to see it. PM me if interested.

TestingOutTheTest said:

Acbagel said:

TestingOutTheTest said:

At 0:15 the shot is in a room with small bars in the background, the next shot we cut back to the blue-ish metal room Rey is in.

Hmm, it’s all the same room though. All those shots are from the same scene. I think from the different camera angles you’re just seeing the ceiling and thinking its a different room.

Regarding 1:15, I meant to say 1:14 when the hand is moving, it’s in the same room with the small bars in the background.

Same thing here. It is all the same room from the same scene. I think the background difference that’s throwing you off is just seeing the camera angle from below which shows some of the ceiling. Nothing here is changed from theatrical version in regards to what you’re saying.

TestingOutTheTest said:

Where’s the extra footage of Rey’s hand moving from? Because that isn’t in the actual film.

It’s from the first scene of Rey in the binders (before Han crashes). I just tossed on a horizontal flip, some scaling, and a crop on there to make it look like the same hand that is freed from the cuffs.

Also, the backgrounds in 0:11 and 1:15 look out-of-place in comparison to the rest of the Rey scenes in the clip.

Could you expand on this? I’m not seeing what you mean. The background at 0:11 is just what is in the film. I didn’t change anything regarding backgrounds. Same at 1:15, that’s just how it is in the movie. It’s all from the same scene, just re-ordered and the backgrounds weren’t touched.

Cut and uploaded a draft of Rey’s escape from her cell without using a mind trick. Not 100% complete in terms of sound effects and a few video frame adjustments, but I’m happy enough with the concept to continue on with the workprint and revise before release. I think this works so much better as this is the first time Rey is doing something intentionally with the force and she is shocked.

https://vimeo.com/498447945

ELAYEM said:

I’m completely in love with how all of this sounds, man
Have you thought about removing the superweapon aspect of Starkiller Base? I think it was RogueLeader the one who suggested to turn the mission into getting the the other half of the map to Skywalker, and rescuing Rey (But this would mean that the Republic isn’t destroyed in VII)
Anyway, I will watch how you structure your edit with great interest

Thank you. While I do believe another Death star-like superweapon is a tired trope, unfortunately I do find it necessary to the bigger picture of the politics in the galaxy for Starkiller to destroy the New Republic. I have seen cuts that remove any mention of the superweapon and just frame Starkiller as the First Order base, but in my opinion they didn’t work as there isn’t enough dialogue to justify our heroes and the fleet going to Starkiller for any other reason. So while it’s not something I like as a storytelling device again, it’s also not something that I feel interferes with any of the themes from Legends that I want to be highlighted. I think the NeverarGreat structure of the superweapon sequence creates enough variables that it doesn’t feel as much of a copy of ANH.

I want my cuts to feel much darker than theatrical, so having the Resistance fail to stop Starkiller’s laser in the last battle is really an irreplaceable dark moment for our heroes, and also differentiates the movie from ANH.

I will be trimming the briefing scene to remove the jokes about other Death Stars and such. There are a lot of lines in this movie that are written to give the viewer a quick chuckle at the cost of lessening the seriousness of the events that are about to occur. I like humor in Star Wars, but I want it to contribute something to our characters personality rather than be a nostalgia plug for the audience to snort at for 2 seconds before moving on.

stevepaynter said:

This sounds great…I’m a big fan of the EU (Legends) so color me interested.

I’m happy to check out any Workprints and give feedback.

I appreciate that, I’ll send it to you when I have a full workprint done. I’ve edited through the first 50 minutes of the film and got that into a place I’m happy with as a first draft. Tackling the Takodana sequence tomorrow.

TestingOutTheTest said:

Acbagel said:

I am not having her use a mind trick on the guard, as my original post explains that she doesn’t even know what that is. I am hoping I can find a way to cut this into a scene of her simply concentrating on her bindings and using the force to spring them open. I find that much more believable for a neophyte force user to achieve rather than using a very dominating mind trick.

Let alone how to use it (properly).

Very true, from the Shadows of the Empire novel we see that, “This power required the complete concentration of the user. Worries such as whether or not it would work or allowing one to be distracted by the insight gained into the mind of the subject would cause the trick to fail.” If there’s any truly impossible feat Rey achieves in TFA, it would be this one.

Its improbability is followed closely by “using the force” to defeat Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel. In Legends, anyone unfamiliar with a lightsaber was always shocked by how awkward the weapon felt and how it was nothing like anything they’d used before. Toning down Rey’s early force abilities also makes for a much better shock when Rey force pulls Luke’s saber to her hand. That should be the first time as a viewer we are shocked by her power, and that is a more impactful moment if it hasn’t been overshadowed by her flippant uses of the force earlier in the film.

RogueLeader said:

You explain the reasoning of your decisions really well! I also think framing the objective of your edits as a way to make the characters and universe more in-line with their depictions in Legends. Although obviously you’ll still make decisions based on personal preference (as you should), it also gives you an extensive framework to both guide your choices and justify your decisions. It definitely makes me interested in your project and eager to see what you come up with. I liked the ST for the most part, but I always enjoy new takes on these films!

Thank you, of course this is all simply my own interpretation of events and themes and there is no “right” answer. I will be editing according to my own understanding of the content and materials, but I do want to take the views of others into account as well.

To remove Han returning to the smuggler life, I’m assuming you’ll cut the Rathtar sequence?

At this point I’m not convinced that scene needs to be entirely cut, but it certainly does need key lines removed or re-organized. I have no problem with Han Solo returning back to smuggling as a general principle, the man needs to make a living somehow and I can’t imagine him doing anything else as a career outside the rebellion… My problem with the scene is in the portrayal of his smuggling career post-Kylo’s fall. They present him as a low-level swindler, unable to repay debts, not respected, and barely competent. The gang insults him with, “Your game is old” and various comments, all which lead the viewer to look at Han as a bit of a failure. They revert Han’s career back to that of Act 1 of Solo: A Star Wars Story rather than even Act 1 of ANH where at least he has the reputation to work for Jabba, let alone the place his reputation should be after decades of being a war hero. I want to maintain a stronger appearance of his character, one that still presents who he is deep down, both a smuggler and rebel rather than a washed up common criminal. Thinking perhaps I can make it more seem like the gangs that show up are there to collect a bounty on his head (and the droid/fugitives) rather than jumping him for failing yet another deal.

I would be interested in hearing about other specific ideas you might have that maybe stand out from other edits. Are there big changes your still trying to figure out how to implement?

Sure, I mentioned the edits I am using to shape my cut so I’ll go through a few of the features from each that I think work within my goals.

1. Digmod’s Heir to the Force (and FGR additions) | I definitely like his title better than The Force Awakens. However, due to my Legends inspiration I might adjust this to “Heirs of the Force” https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Young_Jedi_Knights:_Heirs_of_the_Force . I actually think the theatrical crawl works pretty well for what I am doing, but I am open to ideas on that since I will likely be editing the title, I might as well take a look at the whole crawl. I will mostly be using this edit as a base when it comes to toning down some of the humor, maintaining the Kylo identity and mask until later on, and some of his soundtrack adjustments that I appreciate. What I will not be including from this is his decision to leave the Starkiller base superweapon scenes in theatrical order, I think those work best in the “Restructured” format to move to the end of the film. The FGR additions are minor things like adding a brief flash of Vader to Rey’s vision and other minor adjustments like that. I’ll have it listed in my changelist once I build that up. Also ending the film with no Luke. I want each film in my trilogy to be focused on the legacy of an OT character. TFA is Han’s, TLJ is Luke’s, TRoS is Leia’s.

2. Anjohan’s edit | I really like his intro to the film by starting with the desolate Jakku landscape, and then moving into the Rey scenes before the attack on the Jakku village. I want TFA and TLJ to open with her, framing her as the representation of the Light side of the force, and Kylo as the Dark. The back and forth Yin Yang between the characters is key to my retelling of the ST and I need to show why ultimately both of them will fail to accomplish their initial goals (remember, balance of both dark and light is the theme I am trying to hammer through). I also like Anjoan’s cut of the forest fight that doesn’t show Rey defeating Kylo in battle, rather the planet separates to end the fight for them. I am planning on assuming TLJ takes place at least a few weeks after TFA so Kylo’s scars will be assumed to have happened off screen, potentially in the time where Snoke says he wants to “complete Kylo’s training”.

3. NeverarGreat’s workprint | This edit has some of my favorite TFA additions in it. Some of the visual and audible cues he places throughout the film really work in my opinion. I definitely like his take on the Starkiller base weapon and battle better than any others, and I love how he uses Rey to have visions of Luke on the island. This will explain the bigger time gap between Ep. 7 & 8 in my trilogy. Rey is largely looking for Luke from an incomplete map and her own visions/dreams which takes a little bit of time.

4. Personal edits from theatrical | I’m sure I will run across some minor edits in this area, but the main one I can think of that I haven’t seen before is dealing with Rey’s escape from her Starkiller base cell. I am not having her use a mind trick on the guard, as my original post explains that she doesn’t even know what that is. I am hoping I can find a way to cut this into a scene of her simply concentrating on her bindings and using the force to spring them open. I find that much more believable for a neophyte force user to achieve rather than using a very dominating mind trick.

“Everything is built on the push-pull tension created by two sides of the equation. Right from the very beginning, that was the key issue in Star Wars.” -George Lucas, Times Magazine, 2002

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdNi1BGj-6Q ).

WORKPRINT RELEASED - If you are interested in seeing the full film, please post here or send me a DM.

Hello OT community,

I am now working on editing each movie in the Sequel Trilogy according to my understanding of what it would look like if it shared the themes from Star Wars Legends. My work begins with TFA.

I’d love to have your feedback and suggestions as I create this, so please be open and offer criticism where you feel it is useful.

Goal of my TFA edit:

1. To more closely align to the themes of Star Wars Legends material. (https://boards.theforce.net/threads/the-crucible-canon-merging-eu-and-new-canon-as-smoothly-as-possible.50053287/)

2. To demonstrate the mistakes of a narrow minded view that Jedi/light side = good and Sith/dark side = bad.

3. To tell stories of Luke, Leia, and Han that are respectful to their OT character arcs and to better align their storylines to that of Legends.

4. To give the new characters more realistic character arcs that stay within the bounds and limitations of Star Wars Legends and paths that logically flow between the films.

5. To tell a good, cohesive, authentic Star Wars story that generally stays within the limits of Legends.

Inspiration behind ST edits: Like many of you, I am a huge Star Wars Legends fan. I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on, comics, novels, short stories, playing the games etc. For me, transitioning into the Disney Era was tough at times. Most notably in the ST handling of the characters I loved. My favorite theme in Star Wars has always been the balance of the force and the failures and evolution of the Jedi. Initially, I had high hopes that Luke would surpass the failures of the Jedi doctrine and lead a new generation of balanced force users as the original Je’daii did. But alas, that was not the case… However, I think there is opportunity to tell the ST trilogy in a way that aligns better with the themes that Legends created. From Dawn of the Jedi to Tales of the Jedi through the KOTOR era, the PT and OT, there was a very clear theme of balance and what happens when either the dark or Light tries to bend the force to their own narrow interpretation. I found the ST lacking in a clear reason for why it even existed in the Star Wars saga. I want viewers to leave my edit trilogy feeling like they now know something new about Star Wars, the force, and the OT trio. I want to start this trilogy off with a look into the legacy of Han Solo as we search for the reason Luke is nowhere to be found.

What I want to fix in TFA: I’d say this was my favorite film of the trilogy and the easiest to fix. Upon release, I rather liked the film, but did feel it was far too safe in its formulaic structure. Though I wouldn’t have ever called it a bad movie, with the ST now complete it’s hard to look back on this one fondly knowing the roller coaster of different themes and character arcs ahead.

Here are the main areas I will be changing in my edit.

1. Rey’s development as a force user. Rey just learned the force was even real in the first act of this movie… I despise how fast her powers develop in this film. Some things work, but others are flat out unbelievable when we look at what Legends characters experienced in similar situations. She pilots the Falcon with incredible skill (Somewhat plausible, but that first chase needs toned down). She resists Kylo’s interrogation, and flips it in reverse (Again, rather plausible, maybe tone it down a little). She uses a Jedi mind trick without even knowing what one is (Impossible, she will be escaping her cell in a much more believable way: Check out the draft https://vimeo.com/498447945). She defeats Kylo Ren in battle during her first time ever feeling the weight of a lightsaber (Nearly impossible, the fight will be edited to display her escape as more of “luck” as the planet explodes). These power spikes cheapen her development, and prematurely affect her arc in TLJ, as well as diminish the power of every character around her. No more. She will now be consistent throughout the film, using only minor force sensitive powers by instinct. Nothing strong, barely anything intentional, as she would have no idea where to even begin focusing her power. Stop and realize she literally thought the force was a myth a few hours before these incredible feats. Nothing in Legends ever showed someone developing their force powers that quickly and using those powers in a relatively controlled light side manner for good. There is a reason the Jedi took children and trained them for decades. I want to create Rey as a character I can appreciate and respect due to her realistically paced growth as a force user, not someone I have to roll my eyes at and wonder how its possible for her to even know what that power is, let alone use it. These changes aren’t to diminish her character, but to enhance it and will make her training in TLJ so much more worthwhile and impactful. Imagine if Luke was this powerful in A New Hope… All of the tension of ESB is gone already. This is the flaw in TFA that I want to fix.

2. Han Solo’s legacy. Han will be edited to remain as true to his RotJ arc as possible. It will be impossible to change the main storyline around his character, but references of him transitioning back into a swindling smuggler will be largely toned down. In my edit, his personal struggles are purely due to Ben’s fall and his whole character is about redeeming his son, no matter what. He isn’t a total deadbeat dad who gave up for years. He is someone who went through an excruciating experience losing his son to the Dark, then losing his wife to the pain of that situation. Deep down he remained a good person and wants to make things right. He is sad, wounded, but still the Han we know.

3. Kylo Ren is menacing. Kylo will remain a terrifying figure throughout the film, and as the TFA novel says, “Accepting without quite believing, Han stared back into the face of the creature that had been his son. There was nothing to see there. Only darkness in the shape of a face: alien, unthinking, unfeeling.” This act will shape Kylo’s arc and his darkness will be more prevalent. I actually like his “tantrums” and don’t feel they harm his character, especially with leaving the mask reveal towards the ends of the film. He will have no problem handling a non-force user in Finn and an untrained Rey. Kylo is an EXTREMELY important character in my trilogy and he must be growing, not regressing in this film for him to have a satisfying conclusion by TRoS.

4. Finn is no longer a slapstick comedy outlet. His character will be more serious and portrayed as a loyal, competent companion rather than a bumbling, frazzled grunt. Most of his over the top humor, his hammy reactions, and his general confusion is removed. A Stormtrooper defecting from the First Order is arguably the most interesting origin story of any of the new characters and I want to make Finn as cool as possible. Finn is clearly a decisive individual with a strong moral compass. He refused to kill innocent civilians on Jakku and he’s unwilling to continue in an organization that is in conflict with his own ethical stances. If Finn is such a confident, decisive individual based solely on his actions, I don’t know why is he always showing such doubt and fear in his words. He will now have a more consistent impact.

I will be inspired by and using content from Digmod’s Heir to the Force (and FGR’s cut of his edit), Anjohan’s edit, and NeverarGreat’s workprint, along with my own personal contributions from editing theatrical release. I also firmly believe that a Star Wars film must be at least 2 hours and anything less harms the movie. There must be a way to pace out the story to that length, even with the edits, or I will have failed.

Changelist:

Act 1:

• Replaced title to “Heirs of the Force” (Inspired by https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Young_Jedi_Knights:_Heirs_of_the_Force)
• New crawl:

Episode VII

HEIRS OF THE FORCE

An era of peace has ended.
Risen from the ashes of the
Empire, the FIRST ORDER
seeks to destroy the New
Republic. General Leia Organa
leads a brave Resistance
against the new threat.

Luke Skywalker has vanished to
the unknown regions of space.
Kylo Ren, warlord of the First
Order, will not rest until the last
Jedi has been slain.

Leia has sent her most daring
forces to search for Luke on
Jakku, where scavengers and
brigands ransack the remnants
of the old war….

• Re-organized the entire First Act to make it seem like a day->night->morning cycle has passed.

1. Film opens with Rey’s scavenging until she scratches the wall, indicating she is going to bed and the day is over.
2. First Order assaults Lor San Tekka’s village later that night.
3. Added brief new scene of BB-8 at looking up to the night sky right before Poe’s interrogation. [NeverarGreat]
4. Poe’s interrogation scene with Kylo happens the next morning. (Relative to the village and Rey on Jakku, as Poe is on a ship somewhere in orbit)
5. Sunrise begins with Rey cooking breakfast and hearing BB’s capture.
6. Finn and Poe escape from cell and are shot by the cannons midday.
7. Rey refuses to sell BB-8.
8. Finn wakes up from crash, and then we continue the film into the Falcon chase.

• Film opens with some extra scenes of Jakku landscape from [Anjohan]. Swapped the opening scene order to show Jakku environment before Rey scavenging + a slight color correction to these scenes but nowhere near final. Really want to make Jakku feel less like Tatooine but I’m not there yet. I somewhat like the white-sand effect from other editors, but it doesn’t work with the day/night cycle effects I’ve put into place in other scenes. (I have seen concept effects with Jakku sand being a dark grey with a yellow sky and it looks incredible, maybe one day…)
• Remove Unkar Plutt’s first lines in favor of an introduction to Rey which is completely without dialogue. [NeverarGreat]
• Removed the Poe, “who talks first” and “apparatus” lines that seemed to diminish the fear of Kylo Ren’s presence. No more Poe levity in this capture. Poe is a battle hardened war hero and his silence indicates that he is refusing to divulge any information.
• Added Force noise as Kylo stares at Poe in the village. [Digmod]
• Clipped Poe’s line as he is forcefully picked up, now it sounds like he was going to start saying something but the jolt of being hoisted up stops him. [Digmod]
• Removed Kylo Ren’s “comfortable?” line and Poe’s response during Poe’s interrogation scene to avoid turning a terrifying moment into a back and forth of lighthearted quips.
• Augment Kylo’s interrogation of Poe to include various sound effects and voicelines. [NeverarGreat]
• After Finn breaks Poe out, cut the scene after the line, “Because it’s the right thing to do.” I want to show Finn as more resolute, not constantly afraid.
• Removed Finn’s comment, “I’m talking to myself.” Now he is actually just telling Poe to stay calm. No self deprecating humor for no reason.
• Removed Finn’s flippant massacre of his fellow Stormtroopers as he escapes the hangar. He is running away, not turning back to slaughter those he served with.
• Cut Finn and Poe’s celebration after blowing up a turret and the scene of TIE flying away from Star Destroyer. Celebrating doesn’t seem appropriate considering they could still be killed at any second. They are nowhere near safe and the celebration distracts from the imminent danger.
• Cut Poe’s, “Nice to meet you Finn.” Scene flows quicker and better by removing some of the lighter moments.
• {v2 change} Added [NeverarGreat] island sketch to Rey’s hut
• {v2 change} Feathered a few of the linear wipes to have that Star Wars transition feel
• {v2 change} Added the [SirRidley] concept of Rey seeing the Island as she looks out into the Jakku sand
• Cut the tie fighter blowing up after sinking in the sand. It’s an awkward pause that seems to say, “Trust us, Poe is REALLY dead,” but instead has the exact opposite effect.
• Cut Finn’s, “I had a pretty messed up day.” This is modern 21st century language, not classical Star Wars language. The scene works better when Finn is angry about getting shocked rather that whining about his hardships.
• More Finn fixes by cutting the, “This is what we look like, some of us,” lines. It becomes painfully obvious that he is not Resistance and the attempted humor isn’t needed for his character to be intriguing to us.
• Cut Rey’s, “I know how to run without…” line. First, try saying this full line while sprinting a hundred yards at full speed where any blaster could pop your head off and tell me how that goes. Second, we already heard her say, “Let go of me,” which gets the point across that Rey feels like she can take care of herself. Disney really wanted to get the point across that she is strong and independent, but keep violating the show, don’t tell technique. It’s almost insulting to the audience when Rey reiterate this exact same point 3 times in the same sequence.
• Remove Finn’s, “I can do this. I can do this.” It’s strange seeing them both say it back to back, and I want Finn to appear more sure of himself. He just did a very similar thing with the TIE fighter gun system so I’m not sure why he is suddenly so afraid again.
• Cut Unkar’s, “hEy, tHat’S mIiiIiiNeeEE!” line for no other reason than it makes me cringe.
• Toned down the Falcon chase by a few scenes, specifically ones that show Rey in the cockpit intentionally pulling off professional piloting maneuvers. I did leave in the final “cut-engines, turret locked” shot to show how they finally escape, but hopefully the rest of the trims make it seem like the force is guiding Rey rather than her somehow having incredible piloting skills. I also put a vertical flip on the dizzying upside down trailer shot, and removed JJ’s weird Battlestar Galactica camera zoom.
• Removed Finn and Rey’s excessive circling celebration after they make it to space. Now their congratulations is more like a normal adult interaction.

Act 2:

• Toned down Kylo’s tantrum by a couple seconds. I like seeing his rage, but theatrical takes it so far to make it seem like a joke. This trim makes it more intimidating like he could kill the officer at any second.
• Removed Finn asking if Rey has, “A boyfriend? A cute boyfriend?” That line isn’t Star Wars lingo.
• Removed Finn pushing down on Rey’s head. Who does that to a stranger? Combined with the forced hand holding and the double boyfriend inquiry, it all starts to cross the line into actual creepy behavior. That is the last thing in the world I want viewers to think about Finn.
• Cut Han’s line when he says he “used to be Han Solo.” Also removed Finn and Rey’s confusion about who he is. Now it’s just Rey’s, “You’re Han Solo!” so it’s pure admiration. Han’s following annoyed reaction now appears not because he is frustrated that he isn’t remembered anymore, but because he is a celebrity who is tired of dealing with fanboys for the last 30 years.
• Added the [SirRidley] restored scene of Han putting his dice back on the Falcon.
• Removed the brief hallway scene after “What’s a Rathtar?” This way we don’t see an unnecessarily afraid Finn, and Han doesn’t appear as though he failed another job by losing all of his crew. Also preserves the mystery of what a Rathtar is just a little longer.
• Trimmed the gang confrontation scene to remove any insulting comments directed towards Han’s abilities or career. Now the frequent cuts below floors are close enough together where the audience should understand they aren’t hearing the full conversation up above. It’s sufficient to know that there’s a gang hunting Han. No mentions of his inability to repay debt or his previous job failures. In fact, the second gang appears as though it’s just more members arriving from the Zaguava-something Death Gang rather than a new, second gang.
• Cut down the Rathtar scene; Han and Chewie run down a corridor, they turn, Chewie is hit, Han blasts the raiders, Rey and Finn pop up from the hatch, Han shoots the door and yells “come on!” [Digmod]
• Move the first Snoke scene to just after the map scene for better pacing. After all the gangs and Rathar nonsense we need a significant payoff with these characters, and the discussion of Luke fills that void.
• On the Falcon when Han is telling Finn/Rey about Luke, I have cut his negative line about “Luke just walking away from it all”. It doesn’t necessarily fit in with the sequence of events I have built into my Episode 8. Now Luke’s journey remains more mysterious instead of angering to Han which fits much better into my TLJ plot.
• Added hologram effect to Snoke [Digmod] but used the audio of this scene from [NeverarGreat] to hide the mentions of Han and the Falcon, as well as preserve some of Snoke’s lines for use later in the film.
• Cut Maz’s redundant line “I like that Wookiee” and removed the Maz line about Chewie being her boyfriend as I desperately want to avoid the uncomfortable sexual references about Maz in TFA and TLJ.
• Removed Maz’s line about Han “Running away from this fight for too long.” I want it to appear as though Han hasn’t totally given up and that he still helps the Resistance every once in a while (hence the reason he is delivering BB-8). Now we just see that for some reason Han is worried about seeing Leia again, but don’t yet know exactly why yet. Even in theatrical I barely understand why they need to go to Takodana at all, but now hopefully as my viewers look back it will just appear as though Han is giving BB-8 to Maz to avoid the emotional toll seeing Leia would bring. It’s now simply Han being dramatic which is something he and Leia have always shared instead of Han running from the whole war like a coward.
• Removed Han’s line “Leia doesn’t want to see me” in Maz’ cantina. I am attempting to show their relationship as less disastrous, and simply strained due to Ben’s fall. Theatrical presents them as entirely separated, but mine will retain their bond from RotJ while reflecting the trauma they have experienced over the years.
• Since Maz’s previous line is removed, I also must cut Rey’s “What fight?” line and part of Maz’s response. Now right after Finn says, “We need your help,” Maz says, “Against the dark side…” as if she’s continuing his thoughts.
• Added lightsaber sfx and enhanced (echo & reverb) Vader lines “You are not a Jedi yet” and “You don’t know the power of the dark side” along with the Emperor’s laugh to Rey’s force vision [Digmod]. Inserted previously removed footage of Rey calling out to Finn from the Rathtar scene to emphasize her care for him. [NeverarGreat] And finally replaced the final scene of Kylo knocking Rey over with a scene of Vader performing a similar action [FGR].
• Removed Maz’ line about Anakin’s lightsaber “calling” Rey. It’s not a concept that is ever explored again (aside implied from the later fight with Kylo, but her pulling the lightsaber from the snow is easily explained by Kylo just not even paying attention to or respecting her ability to wield the force)
• When Rey runs form her vision, she now heads to the ship Finn was going to escape on [NeverarGreat].
• Place Kylo’s prayer right after Rey runs from the vision to better reflect the Yin Yang of the two characters.
  *Insert shots of Star Destroyer to Maz’s Castle instead of Hosnian system destruction, along with SirRidley’s new music. [Credit to whoever initially made this]
• Add sound effect of Destroyer exiting Hyperspace to help explain why everyone suddenly notices its presence. [NeverarGreat]
• Rey’s frightened look upon killing Stormtroopers is accompanied by a sinister whispering taken from The Last Jedi. [NeverarGreat]
• Cut Han’s forced swagger no look shot and his use + surprised comment of Chewbacca’s Bowcaster strength because Han has plenty of experience using Bowcasters in Legends (Not to mention that he even used the Bowcaster earlier in the movie), “Chewbacca paused in his efforts just long enough to throw the crossbow with one hand to Han. Han caught it, turned in one smooth motion around, went to one knee and pressed the plunger to his cheek. He pulled the trigger, and the explosive shell hit the approaching machine at the junction between shoulder and arm. The metal limb fell off, and the robot trembled, but moved on.” - Chapter 14, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy.
• When Rey is first ambushed by Stormtroopers on Takodana, I removed one of her killshots that was over the top. The transition works better when Kylo turns to her running rather than turning to her shooting canon fodder
• Various soundtrack additions and minor video edits to the Takodana battle from [Digmod]
• Added [NeverarGreat] TR-8R audio to Lightsaber Finn v stormtrooper (this is incredible work!)
• Cut down on C3P0’s antics about his red arm. I left the initial comment in as it is in character, but as TFA did SO much in theatrical they try and milk every piece of humor with as much screentime as possible, so I trimmed down the other 9 times he looks back and forth. Now he quickly realizes his foolishness and moves on
• Cut Han’s lines about seeing their son, Han now only says, “I saw him, he was here,” so we still aren’t 100% sure if Kylo is from Luke or Leia at this point.
• Integrate Leia’s deleted scene with Kor Sella directly after Finn disembarks from the Falcon. More Leia is good at this point.
• Remove Poe’s mention of Hosnian System destruction for continuity.
• Removed Leia’s bitterness towards Han after arriving to the Resistance base, again to further my above reasoning. Now the scene just ends with her saying “Don’t do that” which is much more in line with their usual banter instead of this new storyline of her resenting him.
• Place the interrogation of Rey directly after Leia’s “Tell me all you know”. There’s a lot of briefing in the Resistance base and I think Rey gets lost for too long in theatrical. This brings us back to Rey to remind us of her capture before they devise a plan to save her.
• Cut Kylo Ren’s “You’re my guest,” line, so now he just coldly stares at Rey. Same justification as removing Kylo’s quip to Poe in in the earlier interrogation. We’re going for a menacing Kylo, not a weird one.
• Preface interrogation with Rey fitfully dreaming of her recent vision of Luke and R2 as well as visions of the island and the interior of the Jedi tree. [NeverarGreat]
• Used the Rey interrogation scenes from [Digmod] to preserve Kylo’s masked identity. Cut Rey’s reverse mind probe so now it only appears as though Kylo cannot penetrate her mind due to her force sensitivity. I didn’t feel like the storyline of him being afraid of not surpassing Vader goes anywhere in the trilogy. It’s never mentioned or shown as a part of his fears ever again, so in my opinion it becomes another unnecessary diminishing of Kylo’s presence. I also trimmed some of his dejected body language after the failed interrogation so he now seems more disappointed/frustrated than afraid.
• Used the [Digmod] Kylo helmet and Snoke hologram edit for this second Snoke scene.
• Place the scene with Chewie and the doctor right after the map scene.
• Remove Leia’s lines which refer to Snoke by name, keeping the focus solely on the loss and potential redemption of Ben. At this point I don’t think there is any hiding Ben’s identity. I know the [Digmod] cut tries to preserve it until the walkway but I think it’s plainly obvious through Han and Leia’s conversation who Kylo is, even with his edits. This scene is impactful enough as a confirmation to the suspecting viewer.

Act 3:

• Created a new transition from Han and Leia’s scene to Hux’s speech.
• Move Hux’s speech to directly precede the Resistance Briefing scene. Made a custom cut of the [Digmod] & [NeverarGreat] Hux speech that combines their ideas. The important thing to know is that the weapon is charging at this point as it siphons the sun. When Hux shouts, “Fire!” it sounds almost like “Forward!” as all the stormtroopers turn around to watch the weapon charge. Or it could just mean “Fire the charging sequence”, either way I find it to work well.
• Removed Han’s “There’s always a way to do that,” line after asking how to blow it up. Removed Leia’s following, “Han’s right,” line. Again, I strongly dislike this movie’s trend of constantly diminishing the threat of the enemy with purely nostalgic jabs.
• Remove all comparisons of Starkiller to the Death Star to avoid the tired trope as much as possible.
• [NeverarGreat]
• Added [NeverarGreat] audio about the senate into the Resistance briefing scene
• When Leia approaches Han as he is leaving for Starkiller, I have cut out their mentions of their relationship being in tatters for years. Now it should appear somber but friendly and endearing.
• After the briefing and the Han/Leia farewell scenes, added Kylo watching Starkiller charging with an unused shot from Hux’s speech.
• Re-organized the Starkiller infiltration.

1. Rey escapes her cell
2. Han and Finn discuss how the Force works
3. There is an update on Starkiller charging which has been changed from 15 minutes to 50 [NeverarGreat]
4. Rey runs through the halls
5. Chewie blasts the trooper.
6. Rey enters the hangar
7. Rey avoids the guards by hiding on the wall
8. Phasma is captured and shuts off the shields
9. Kylo senses Han.

• Split Rey’s escape attempt into two parts, with her sensing Kylo and panicking initially. Kylo then begins his return to her cell.
• The Falcon landing is significantly shortened to feel more like a crash and less like Han intentionally hitting every tree in a forest. [NeverarGreat]
• Completely removed Rey’s mind trick as the reason she escapes. She doesn’t even know what a mind trick is and has zero possibility of successfully executing one. Instead, Rey continues to sense Kylo approaching her cell. She then focuses all of her feeble force powers into her bindings in a panic… and SPRING! They fly open. Kylo walks in seconds too late.
• Removed the Stormtrooper’s footsteps audio from Rey’s escape from her cell since in my edit there isn’t a stormtrooper present inside.
• Kylo’s rage has been trimmed to remove the stormtroopers running away joke, and his screams are faded through the transition.
• Cut the Stormtrooper’s goofy, “Hey,” after opening the door to Chewie. Now he gets obliterated in an instant.
• Finn’s over-the-top antics with Phasma are greatly reduced. He is not the laughing stock in my trilogy. He is a brave and loyal friend.
• Cut the mention of a trash compactor and Finn’s way-too-into-it response. Enough with the ANH references, and cool it with janitor jokes already… I really want to take these new characters seriously but this movie does its darndest to avoid that.
• Edited a new version of alarms yammering around Starkiller set to the villainous First Order theme, which sets off a chain of events ending with Hux launching waves of TIE’s to intercept the coming attack. [NeverarGreat]
• Removed Poe’s lines reiterating how the sun draining works, in order to more quickly show the TIE interception.
• Remove another Finn butt of the joke moment with his head nodding. Now ends with, “Why are you doing that?”
• Insert deleted scene of Kylo on the Falcon, altered to include new music and sound effects indicating his happy memories on the ship. [NeverarGreat]
• Move 3PO’s line ‘It would take a miracle to save us now!’ until later, and include unused lines from Poe indicating that they are switching focus to dealing with the TIE fighters before attempting another run on the Oscillator. [NeverarGreat]
• Added a combination of the cue Finn’s Trek and Finn and Poe Reunited from the FYC Star Wars TFA soundtrack along with the Han and Leia cue to the Catwalk scene [Digmod]. I also recut some of this scene to keep the focus more on Han and Ben. Less reaction shots from others looking around.
• [NeverarGreat] Han/Leia voicelines added as a flashback for Kylo. When I now play Kylo’s theme right at a key point he really appears like a beast out of hell as Starkiller burns around him. Kylo is a scary dude in this edit. Transitions right into Leia mourning for a heart-wrenching contrast.
• Remove Chewie running for cover before detonating the explosives, implying that he is willing to sacrifice himself to prevent the weapon from firing. He roars as he detonates the explosives and Rey shouts “CHEWIE!” [NeverarGreat]
• Remove the cutaway to Hux being informed of the Starkiller’s imminent firing for continuity.
• Place the Ackbar scene right after Poe exits the burning Oscillator, expositing that the Oscillator is still functional and the weapon will fire in two minutes.
• Inserted shot of Kylo activating lightsaber from the trailer.
• Added The Force Unleashed (Infiltrating the Junk Temple) during Finn and Kylo Ren’s duel [Digmod]
• Removed Finn saying, “Come get it!” and then charging at Kylo. That seems counterintuitive to his words. Instead he just charges in, ignoring Kylo’s comment about the saber.
• Rescored [Digmod audio] and re-cut the Finn v Kylo duel. Finn no longer lands a blow on Kylo’s arm. It’s possible he could sneak in this lucky shot, but it makes Kylo seem so much stronger if he doesn’t even get touched by a non-force user. Kylo absolutely eats Finn’s lunch in my edit. He toys with Finn, psyches himself up by pounding his gutshot, burns Finn’s shoulder, then blocks, spins, punches, and slices him open.
• Rescored [Anjohan audio] and re-cut the Rey v Kylo duel. Rey does not “win” over Kylo Ren in the duel because this is the first time she has ever ignited a lightsaber and Kylo has been training for decades. There’s just no way she is standing up to that. Kylo now relentlessly pursues her through the ravine and she’s always on the backfoot, they lock sabers and Kylo offers to train her, Starkiller tries to fire destroying the Oscillator and breaking the ground apart between our combatants. Rey embraces the dark side briefly to wound Kylo [NeverarGreat] and runs off in fear as the planet divides them, Starkiller starts to explode, and Rey collapses beside an unconscious Finn with some previously unused Snoke lines playing in the background after the scene with Hux. This is all a custom cut combo of [Anjohan, Digmod, and NeverarGreat’s sources].
• I have completely re-cut how Starkiller base is destroyed in its firing sequence. It does not actually get the laser off and is destroyed as it attempts to fire. The battle between Kylo and Rey is happening around these events, while Starkiller crumbles. It works better, it really does. There is no payoff at all with the Hosnian system destruction and it is never referenced again in the entire trilogy. It is pointless.
• Removed fighter pilot reaction shots from the Starkiller destruction and re-scored the scene for a more somber tone.
• Cropped Chewie out of the shot with Leia after the battle so he doesn’t get dissed with the no hug.
• I added some new visual effects and additional scenes to Rey’s final dream sequence, further indicating the it is in fact a dream. She sleeps at the Resistance base and dreams about Luke. I have also cut out the portion of the dream with her handing the lightsaber to Luke (this will be remedied in my TLJ version). Now Luke locks eyes with her, and suddenly she jolts awake in real life, presumably with knowledge that will help R2 + BB find Luke. I think I nailed this dream sequence and it will bring a ton of unity and cohesion into the beginning of Episode 8.
• Remove the overly formal “my friend,” from Rey saying “Thank you, my friend”.
• Remove the final journey to Luke’s island, which has already been partially seen in Rey’s dream. The final shot of the film is the Falcon jumping to Hyperspace, rescored with a cue from The Last Jedi. [NeverarGreat] The next film will open with Rey physically arriving on Ach-To.

If you have any ideas on how to make TFA feel more like Star Wars Legends please post your suggestions below. Once I have completed this film I will be moving onto TLJ. I hope to make a beloved trilogy for those who didn’t enjoy parts of the ST, or even those who adored it, but want a new take on it.

May the force be with you all.

Could I get a link to check it out? Thanks

Anjohan said:

Thank you for this!

V2 OF ANCIENT LORE not clear.

Sorry, I meant if you were still making V2 of the ST. A post above said you were planning to dub Snoke and make some updates to connect with Episode 9 a little better.

Hello, I’m Acbagel! I’ve done video editing on and off for the last 10 years and I am also a humongous Star Wars fan. I’ve been following this forum for a couple years and watching some edits, but now I’m ready to take a crack at it myself.

Going to be focusing on editing the Sequel Trilogy into something that I enjoy. Excited to share my ideas and hear yours. Looking forward to interacting with everyone.

Any updates on V2? I think your edits are some of my favorites ever!

Could I have a link to this? Thanks