DarthYcey

Seems like most of the talk these days is about fixing TROS, but I thought I’d share my ROTS edit I recently finished, in case anyone was interested. This combined edit merges in the parallel events from the Siege of Mandalore and presents a more powerful introduction into Order 66, among other other changes, as I blend in the Ahsoka/Maul arc to its conclusion.

The film still doesn’t use everything (a lot actually) from the final four episode-arc of TCW, so it still feels like ROTS, just with essential TCW material incorporated. In other words, it’s under 4 hours (2:52:00, if you stay through the credits – which I recommend you do)! 😉

Just a quick note, old grand Jedi Masters or elite Sith don’t use lightsabers, in my opinion, so you won’t see Yoda or Palpatine use them in this film. However, Yoda still confronts Palpatine in a Force duel, and I’ve made an interesting change to still incorporate Palpatine’s arrest sequence. There are other things you’ll just have to see for yourself.

If you’re interested, shoot me a PM or ask for one. Feedback in this thread is also welcome.

-Yce

Hal 9000 said:

I was perusing the review thread and saw a good point raised by NeverAr: Kylo shouldn’t have been able to take the TIE fighter from the Death Star II to Exogol, as ANH made clear that they do not have hyperdrives. Given that we see it for all of one shot, standing still, it should be feasible to replace with something else, like an Imperial shuttle or a TIE variant.

What I want to know is how he was able to get to Exogol at all. Rey took his actual interceptor with the wayfinder so did the first order come looking for him (after he told them he was facing Rey alone) and brought him a TIE to use that just happened to have a hyperdrive (I get the handwaved ‘experimental’ nonsense but that’s dumb)? Plus without the wayfinder, did he commit the path to memory having only been there once? Seems unlikely but the movie needed him to be there so he magically was. Lazy writing. Maybe they stored the path in some memory banks after Kylo returned from there the first time. Pryde and the other ships needed to know how to get there too after palpatine told them to come to Exogol.

The even lazier way would have been to just have him run into frame without showing the ship. Then at least you can use your imagination how he got there instead of getting into a debate how ships work. Just a lazy plot hole that really doesn’t have an ideal solution. But replacing with something that’s been established to be hyperdrive capable would be the best compromise here.

What would have been really cool is if Rey sensed his planned redemption and “dyad transported” him to Exogol. I admit the lightsaber transfer to take down the knights of Ren was a cool moment set up multiple times earlier in the film. But this would have been the most realistic way to get Kylo to Exogol as quickly as the movie does. It’s hard to see accomplishing this though in an edit without ruining the lightsaber transfer moment (where the technique hadnt been used since kijimi so it’s a surprise).

kewlfish said:

DarthYcey said:

https://vimeo.com/419416620
fanedit

I didn’t even see that you made your clip! Yours was way better than mine was!

Haha thanks. I’ve made a few versions today. Naturally there’s going to be some dissenting opinions but this arrangement makes the most sense to me personally, as I’ve explained in great detail.

jarbear said:

Also the topic of moving the Han scene with Kylo is interesting and I dod recall this topic some time back. I would need to sit on it and think, since I like it help bolster the idea of “Leia used all she could to project Han’s memory and not just saying “ben” and then die.” That aspect I like and all. But visually it doesn’t jive for me since Ben/Kylo is scarless. Unless someone “put back” his scar to rearrange it … it doesn’t work. A person can rationalize why he doesn’t have the scar for Reason A or Reason B during that sequence … but a person watching it would catch that.

It’s Reason A…it’s in Kylo’s mind/a vision, so I don’t think it’s a deal-breaker. 😃 In all seriousness, I’m not against someone restoring it if Hal wants to go that route, just seems like a lot of unnecessary work.

Anyway, as I mentioned, I’ve made a few more tweaks since that earlier clip. Now, Leia also says ‘come home’ before Han does, which is wedged in between her ‘Ben…’ and Han’s ‘Hey kid’. I also removed Han’s mention of ‘Kylo Ren is dead…’ since that probably works better if Rey’s already stabbed him. I toyed with a reverb too…may be unnecessary since Kylo actually talks about this convo being a memory but left it in this latest version for effect so you could hear what it sounds like – I think it works either way. Alright, here’s the extended clip, now leading into Kylo throwing the saber (to give you a full sense of the new sequence). Again, just some visuals for consideration:

https://vimeo.com/419416620
fanedit

specialk2121 said:

Leia does distract him. She’s not the one who redeems him, it’s Rey. Kylo starts second guessing his dark path after Rey “kills” him and then revives him. The “hallucination” of Han is a personification of Ben’s internal struggle. He’s reliving a memory of his darkest moment and realizing it could’ve gone differently.

I see what you’re saying, but I don’t think that’s enough. Kylo isn’t good again all the sudden just because someone he just tried to kill just seconds earlier decides to save him. Leia’s sacrifice proves the great lengths she and Han were willing to go to in order to bring their son back to the light. Rey can’t redeem Kylo, he needs to decide that for himself, and I think Leia and the Han convo actually is more effective in helping to move that along better. Rey just seals the deal by only wanting to take Ben’s hand, not Kylo’s. Again, just my opinion, no disrespect meant. Anyway, I’ve made a few tweaks since the earlier clip, so a new one is coming up shortly.

idir_hh said:

The only thing I would change though is the implication that Han’s just a memory, I personally didn’t like how he just forgives himself and suddenly he’s good again.

He’s interacting with the memory though…the idea is that Leia is basically making him re-live it because he felt so torn in TFA. He claims Han’s death set him free but you can tell he still has remorse. And he couldn’t pull the trigger on Leia in TLJ either. There’s still good in him apparently. Personally, I’m more a fan of irredeemable Kylo in the DOTF script, but TROS is what we got, so we need to make it work. If Kylo were to be redeemed, what’s the best and most feasible way to do it…? I just think it’s more impactful that Leia’s sacrifice had a bigger hand in his turn. Not just, ‘Well, Rey healed me and now my mom is dead. Oh, and there’s dad’. When I saw that in the theater for the first time, it didn’t land with me at all. Is his redemption earned regardless of how we edit this? That’s debatable. But Leia being the instrument here in making him re-face his hardest decision seems to have the most impact. And it gives more justification for why Rey would heal him. She senses it. Otherwise, why would she heal the guy that was going to kill her just seconds earlier…? It’s because she still feels he can come back to the light and is giving him that chance. Leia was trying to show Kylo that, as well…that it’s never too late to reject the dark path.

Anyway, that’s my two cents…just a visual suggestion, but Hal is free to go in the direction he feels is best. It’s primarily his flick after all as the editor/director. 😃

idir_hh said:

DarthYcey said:
https://vimeo.com/419340064
fanedit

Wow I never thought this idea would translate well on screen but you proved me wrong, now the scene is so much more impactful.

I just don’t buy Leia’s final act being ‘Ben…’. And then she dies. That took all her energy? It’s much more impressive and bad ass if she used up her energy to turn Ben away from the dark side. Projecting a Han memory is a Luke-esque feat, and a we’ve seen from the last movie that requires an enormous amount of energy. 😉

Hal 9000 said:

nl0428’s restructure of the post-Leia death section of the movie allows for removing the destruction of Kijimi, along with the sole pre-FO-personnel-getting-involved-as-lead-by-Pryde interior glimpse of one of the Final Order destroyers.

The destroyers will all still have those big guns mounted, but nothing in the movie would need to spell out “THESE ARE MINI DEATH STARS” or actually destroy yet another planet.

Any thoughts about this? In this order, it does make it look like Ben was standing around for a while, and we lose the direct transition from the crew reacting to Leia’s death to him dealing with it. I guess a restructure wouldn’t even technically be needed to remove Kijimi. Just have Palpatine say “come to me on Exegol, General Pryde,” and go to Poe praying to Leia. (That’s not sarcastic, he’s interceding to her for help even if it’s symbolic; we all do it.)

I like this re-edit of all the Leia post-death stuff, but personally I think the Han convo is in the wrong spot. It should occur before Rey stabs Kylo. Here’s my edit…

https://vimeo.com/419340064
fanedit

And here’s my reasoning…

I think there’s more emotion this new way because Kylo’s already had the convo with Han, then Rey stabs him…but you can tell Rey senses the internal struggle of what just happened to him. He’s mournful after he senses Leia’s death, and now he’s also wavering on a turn from the dark side…makes it much more believable that she’d heal him.

Personally, none of the original arrangement makes any sense. Leia is already gone…then Han shows up later…so it’s not Leia doing the Han force projection when she originally distracted Kylo…at that point, it’s entirely Kylo “seeing things”…the problem is that you don’t know what his struggle is as he’s standing on the cliff edge…he tries to kill Rey, then his mom basically distracts him into dropping his saber and nearly gets him killed. It’s very sloppy, in my opinion.

Having that convo in this new spot gives Kylo a reason to drop the saber…his guard is down and he’s showing some regret in reliving the memory in that moment…plus, why would he look back like that for so long in surprise if nobody was there? Did he think Leia was gonna be back there and jump out from behind a rock? He looks behind himself for a long time…only thing that makes sense is that Han is already there and Leia is force projecting the memory…it’s not realistic in the moment that Kylo would change from being a raging lunatic on the verge of killing Rey just because he heard an echo of his mom’s voice.

Essentially, there are two things that are a major improvement about this order…1) it makes much more sense for the viewer that Leia is the one actually projecting Han’s memory a la luke did in TLJ…2) its very symbolic – the saber drop = the death of Kylo Ren…the arm drop = the death of Leia…this arrangement shows how the events are linked, as it should be.

As for what comes next, insert this new scene as in the clip, then have things progress as normal. Then, you can have Kylo toss his saber after Chewie is inconsolable, or stretch that out to later where nl0428 has it – personally I think it works well after Chewie. I have that part edited too, but not outputted to watch. Basically though, just mirror the saber shot from the convo from earlier since he’s looking to the right now into the ocean. Then, cut to him tossing the saber. I even re-scored this a tad using the Torn Apart music from TFA with the same musical timing. He’s faced with the same choice, except now he throws away the saber and the Kylo Ren mantle. He’s now Ben…

P.S.- It’s a Force memory convo, so it’s not real anyway. Kylo with the face scar already gone doesn’t matter. It’s what he’s projecting himself as in that moment, you could say.

Hal 9000 said:

^ Are you saying that version stays timed to the original scene’s audio with the new visuals being worked in? Without a direct comparison, that version plays very nicely.

The first time I saw the movie after Palpatine explodes (2.0), I imagined a bedtime narrator saying, “And then huge rocks and granite flew into the people that were watching and chanting, because if you believe in yourself boulders will smash the heads of your enemies.” Weird to be paired with the yearning of the binary sunset piece.

Yes, exactly that.

I OP’d a reply in the Redux thread to jonh’s suggestion for a better audio mix of his amazing Force ghosts/purple saber clip, but I know it’s been shared/talked about here too, so just dropping a link in case you Hal fans don’t follow that thread. This is actually just a re-edit that retains the original movie audio, which I thought was already paced very well…

https://vimeo.com/419164615
fanedit

jonh said:

Jedi ghosts_prores 444 (thank you krausfadr, good eagle eye!!)
Blue version
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1rALhDfrOt7hX651rLD2-vhjPeNmIFCEo

purple version
https://drive.google.com/open?id=10aCLPbE-X6QzGN4T8SVTUfk94MO2sBkp
😉

it would be great if someone does a good audio mix

Amazing work with the Jedi Force ghosts, man…but I really don’t think the audio needed re-mixed, the scene just failed to follow through on the VOs that got Rey to her feet in the first place. The goosebumps really hit now with the music and Force ghosts showing up. This is exactly what I was expecting in theaters but was totally let down. But great job man. Oh, and I re-edited this sequence using your purple saber footage (which I also love). 😃 Rey really IS all the Jedi now… Check it out…

https://vimeo.com/419164615
fanedit