I thought the pirate opening was an excellent allusion to A New Hope’s opening. With the smaller ship being boarded by the larger ship, and the pilots in the good guy ship taking cover and waiting for the doors to open before opening fire.
They usually use the term “donor” in medical procedures / genetic applications. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s how Dr. Pershing refers to Grogu. But I suppose that would work better if we wanted to emphasize Luke fueling Kylo’s anger, since we already would have the visual of the hand.
Eh, I really do think modifying those two shots would be the most seamless way, so the scene keeps moving along. The first guy could be on the right side of a blue hand vat, and the second guy on the left. Palpatine stops speaking completely for like 10-15 seconds, which is perfect for an AI line. Something snarky like: “Your uncle / Skywalker was a most generous donor.”
This would fit seamlessly between the other lines imo: “I made Snoke. I have been every voice, you have ever heard, inside your head. Skywalker was a most generous donor. The First Order was just the beginning. I will give you so much more…”
The double meaning there being that Luke was (arguably) responsible for Kylo’s turn to the dark side, while also being the reason Snoke was able to be created via his unwitting genetic donation.
It would have to be a VFX replacement of one of the two (or both) super brief shots right before the vat of Palpatine clones. It could probably actually be a static image, given that the camera doesn’t move around at all.
The problem with the first shot is that one of the Sith goons is walking around right in front of the camera, obscuring the machinery. So maybe it would just have to be the second one, replacing the right side of the screen with the hand vat for those two seconds. But at that point it’s a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment. Which would probably be for the best if I don’t pursue the lightsaber bit.
Ah, fair enough.
So long as people won’t mind Palpatine referring to Tyrannus at the end to align with canon, I should be able to make it. Can call it a Clone Wars friendly edit since Yoda does crazy lightsaber moves in that show, as well.
Yeah, if you could send it to me, I’d really appreciate it!
DZ-330 has kindly offered to host the file once I’ve finished it.
Hal, was v7 actually just the integration of a bunch of AI-upscaled deleted scenes? If so, did it make a pretty significant difference?
I’d like to get access to the original video source for this edit (HDTV), but schorman13’s link to it is dead and he isn’t responding. Trying to integrate the Yoda fight into the latest version (I only did it to v6) if it seems worth the work.
I extended it due to the requests of several people awhile back. I may dial it back in if enough people think otherwise.
I’ve been thinking about this project for the past week or so. I’ve got a whole 2 weeks off of work this month, so I’m thinking I’ll make some significant progress during that time.
One thing I’ve also been considering is some light VFX work to insert Luke Skywalker’s severed hand to Palpatine’s lab. This would be the (canon) missing piece of the puzzle for this movie that would make the trilogy all feel a little more planned out from the beginning. The idea being that Luke’s hand finally allowed Palpatine to finish what he was studying in the Bad Batch, and have a clone prepared for his death in RoTJ. It’s also what makes Snoke so powerful since he has some Skywalker DNA mixed in there (those bright blue eyes were Luke’s lol). Ideally, it would appear right after Palpatine’s line “I made Snoke”.
The other light VFX idea that coincides with this is having Luke’s lightsaber attached to Rey’s father’s belt when he runs into the tent in the flashback. The idea here is that her father escaped Exegol with Luke’s lightsaber (which came with the hand), and gave it to Unkar Plutt so that he’d take care of Rey. They are supposed to be scavengers with no money to speak of, so technically Ascendant introduces a plot hole here by saying that they’d be able to afford for Unkar of all people to take care of her. Plus, if they had money, they should go to literally anybody else. But if the only item of value they have is Luke’s lightsaber, then it makes sense Unkar would be the only one interested in the trade. Kylo’s line after the flashback could easily be updated: “They paid for your safety with that lightsaber. And in blood…”
It’s already been established in TFA that Unkar is collecting valuable items from the OT (starting with the Falcon), so this tracks with his character. Furthermore, it explains why the Skywalker blade calls out to Rey: her father saved it from the Sith. It also explains why, when Rey touches the lightsaber in TFA, she is shown visions of her OWN past (that’s not how psychometry works). The lightsaber was on Unkar’s person. The only thing that is left unexplained is how it ended up with Maz, but it can be safely assumed that she bartered for it herself upon travelling to Jakku at some point. I personally think this is better than Leia having the lightsaber all along and giving it to Maz for safekeeping for… reasons. The latter is what TFA Starlight v2 was seeking to do. Maz seems to indicate that there is a “good story” behind her encountering it, so I’d imagine it would have involved blaster fire and thievery, anyways.
The problem here is of course that I am not skilled in VFX whatsoever. If I need to release a v1 without these two changes, that would be fine, but I’m hoping this idea resonates with somebody on the forum and it can be finished sooner rather than later. Heck, I’d be satisfied with just the first VFX change, I wouldn’t necessarily need to complicate Rey’s backstory any further, despite how cool it is to me.
Oh yeah I understand the appeal of that one, but it’s not a make-or-break for me whatsoever.
Agreed, Sasquatch. It finally feels like a fun summer blockbuster, unlike the original film which was a huge slog.
I actually made a copy of the edit which includes the Yoda vs. Dooku duel, using the original video source Hal used. I am curious, though, which other deleted scenes you would have preferred to be reinstated?
Ah, fair enough.
Personally, I don’t think Qui-Gon is moving to the left so much as he is just backing up from the position he was originally in. I think it’s just the camera angle that’s making it appear that way.
Well, you already mirrored the shot of them going into the vent. Why not mirror the shot of Qui-Gon? Or mirror Obi-Wan’s shot and leave them going into the vent the same?
A couple different ways to play it.
I like it, but it does seem to move just a bit too quickly. What would it look like with Qui-Gon’s shot added back in? Or, at least a portion of it?
On the topic of the speed force scene, I tried my best to fix it only using the shots that were available. Can’t tell if it works tho.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TXMVxHg7gEI6g8naHVJjCws5Npi1Atc4/view?usp=drivesdk
Yup, good enough unless somebody is willing to bless us with new VFX.
Maybe I’m being crazy, but I seem to recall there being a wipe transition in your edit immediately after Mae is tested to Sol telling Osha that she needs to tell the truth if she wants to become a Jedi. You cut out the part where they ask her the questions the first go-around and she gets caught lying.
It makes Indara’s line about going “back” to the questions not make a lot of sense.
I enjoyed watching this edit a great deal. It will probably be my go-to from now on. A shame that it won’t ultimately lead anywhere, though. I just have a few nitpicks:
If you look into some of the areas I suggested, you might be able to trim this edit down to a more digestible 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Awesome! I honestly prefer his impersonation to the AI voice. But it all comes down to whether or not he can replicate the voice filter they used in ROTJ effectively.
The dialogue literally writes itself, too.
Finn: “Poe! Poe! Why did you do that?”
Poe: “You saved me first, remember? Now we’re even. This is how we’re going to win. Not alone. Together.”
Granted, I basically ripped off his speech he delivers in TROS at the end there, but I think any sort of trilogy cohesion is more than welcome here.
God, all of this reminds me of the painful fact that Rian Johnson was too arrogant to just have Finn and Poe go to Canto Bight together - he thought it would be “too easy”. I understand that some character conflict can be interesting, but there really wasn’t any of that between Finn and Rose, either. In fact, there’s every reason to be more conflict between Finn and Poe anyways: Poe should have been the one in awe of Canto Bight, with Finn pointing out the child slaves and going on about his life as a child in the First Order barracks. Maybe pepper in some flashbacks. Would have been epic.
Hell, they still could have had the romance with these two characters! But Disney doesn’t have the balls to put their money where their mouth is at the end of the day.
Sorry, rant over, lol.
I think the line could be clearer, and it would solve most of those issues. Something like - “She knew you’d want to make the sacrifice play.”
I do agree that this goes a long way to solving Holdo’s character. She is on the older side, and it’s her job as a general to keep her soldiers safe and help them grow. So when she refers to Poe as “impulsive” and “dangerous” earlier, what she actually meant under this new context is that he is too interested in grand heroics that cost lives over thinking in the long term and being strategic - “the spark that will burn the First Order down”.
Ironically, this is basically what the movie is already trying to convey with Poe’s arc, but it isn’t able to convincingly tell the audience why Holdo withholding information is both a learning opportunity AND strategically relevant. The original movie is missing that final piece.
I think this also goes a long way to make Poe and Finn interlinked in their character journeys in this film, since Finn will attempt the sacrifice play himself on Crait. It’s a shame that Poe isn’t the one who crashes into Finn to save him, because that would bring things full circle as he imparts the lesson he learned on to his friend.
Yeah, sounds like he just worded it weirdly then - probably due to sleep deprivation lol. The smiley face kind of gave it away.
Maybe he is targeting that holiday 2024 release date seeing as how he’s going at this “non-stop”? I don’t really care one way or the other, but it’s definitely hinting at that.
“It” as in this edit? That would be disappointing to hear after how much work has already gone into it.
The best we can hope for is that they consider releasing them with like the 10 or 20 year anniversary of the movie or something. But obviously that’s both a long shot and will take a long while.
How would you say this compares to Smudger’s edit (just based on their description assuming you haven’t seen it)?
Today’s the day! I’d love a link, if it’s already done.
Yup, the smoke has the best chance of feeling natural. Literally minutes before this moment they already use the toxic gas to their advantage to do a surprise attack.
You might even be able to create the impression that they escaped above/below by leaving a circular lightsaber mark behind - a la Ahsoka and Rex Order 66 or the deleted scene from ROTS when Anakin and Obi-Wan do this move to escape Grievous.
If this could be fixed that would be awesome. Literally no other form of Star Wars media has used this ability since 1999, from what I know.