Neerb

NeverarGreat said:

What if he turns and sees the image of Han, then he drops his saber and the scene continues. Then afterwards he has the Han memory scene.

Now that’s an idea… it wouldn’t interrupt the existing scenes too much, but still have that implication of Leia’s involvement. Combined with Leia’s body disappearing after Han disappears, I think that could maybe work. Of course, if Leia’s disappearance is moved up, that does mean any other scenes with Leia’s body need to still happen before the Han conversation begins.

Rey’s initial shock at Leia’s death is too important to cut. Her realization that she just inadvertently took advantage of Leia’s death to get a cheap shot in on her son, her tearful little moment with the wounded Kylo. Her decisions to heal Kylo and to go into self-exile both hinge on this moment, because she realizes how dark she just went and that Kylo did in fact still have some good left in him (an idea she mostly abandoned after her failure in TLJ, hence the TLJ callback in this scene with “I did want to take Ben’s hand”).

Keeping Leia alive longer only lessens the impact of her death, and I don’t think it’s worth it just to explain Han’s appearance as a magic trick. If we really want to imply that Leia was directly responsible for Han’s appearance, my recommendation would just be to move the disappearance of Leia’s body to be after Kylo tosses his lightsaber (instead of its original placement after Kylo’s corpse disappears).

Edit: Also, sorry if I’m seeming too much like a downer on these posts. I respect the great work everyone’s putting into these edits. I’m just trying to voice as many potential audience concerns as possible while the edit is still in progress. In the end, of course, this is Hal’s project, so I’ll trust whatever he feels is best. 😃

jonh said:

just adding in the opening, something that kylo has found the wayfinder …

Don’t even do that. Just keep the crawl ideas already going around about him searching for power or whatever. All we know initially is why he goes to Exogol, not how.

On Ajan Kloss, Rey learns that a wayfinder is needed to get there, beginning the search.

On Pasaana, Lando says that two were made, and he and Luke were just tracking one of them.

On the Death Star II, Kylo destroys Rey’s wayfinder and says “The only way you’re reaching Exogol is with me.”

Finally, on Ach-to, Luke tells Rey she already has what she needs, and Rey digs Kylo’s wayfinder out of his ship, repeating “two were made.”

I never got why that last part seemed so odd in the theater, but I’m just now realizing it’s because the audience knew from the beginning that Kylo had a wayfinder, and Rey never knew until Luke suggested it to her. I didn’t realize while watching that Rey didn’t know, and so my reaction was “how did Rey not think of this earlier?”

By removing Mustafar and Kylo’s nebula navigation, however, now the audience learns Kylo had one at the same time that Rey does, making it a twist reveal, although not too cheap of one since there are hints for the audience to guess scattered in the dialog throughout the movie.

How exactly Kylo got the wayfinder may seem confusing to people, but it’s a Sith artifact and we know Palpatine’s been talking to Kylo in his head, so it’s not hard to use your imagination. And really, the original movie never explains how he learned:

• the wayfinder’s location
• what a wayfinder even is
• why exactly he even needed it

so we’re really just moving the goalposts and sparing the audience some extra headache.

Chase Adams said:

This isn’t on Hal’s list, but I strongly recommend using Bobson Dugnutt’s version of force ghost Luke on Ach’To when it is finished as it drastically reduces the level of blueness and makes it more in line with the OT ghosts.

I’d definitely like Luke’s ghostly effect to look less… awful, but I’d also throw Jonh’s work at fixing Luke’s hair into the ring, because for me that wig is even worse than the blue effect.

Chase Adams said:

You guys have to trust me when I say that this shot is the ONLY shot that even remotely looks any good when used in the film. And it’s still not that great anyway.

(I am however strongly opposed to the idea of using video game footage)

This whole Mustafar thing is starting to border on fan film for me, personally. We have repurposed footage from Rogue One, National Geographic, and Battlefront 2, but in the end the scene is still going to be as rushed, choppy, and poorly explained as it was in the theater. If anything, it might be getting more confusing to follow (we’re currently at three very different establishing shots). None of Hal’s edits have felt this “fan film” before, and that’s not even accounting for all the other crazy special effects stuff that’s going into this fan edit.

On that note, I’m also not totally sold on Rey’s outtake visuals for her final line. It’s a weird camera angle for such a dramatic moment (which makes sense, because it’s B-roll), and it also has an odd sort of slow-motion effect when she turns.

adobewan said:

Would someone mind linking this vision? I can’t seem to find it on the thread

Here: https://vimeo.com/406328685

My big problem with this whole idea is that it absolutely kills the fight scene. The big battle just screeches to a halt for a lengthy hallucination dream dialog where Kylo mid-combat is suddenly talked out of being evil with the same converaation that failed to work on him last time, and then just as suddenly unpauses again for more violence. It doesn’t flow well at all as a scene (scenes?), and imo make Kylo’s turn less believable because of how sudden it is in the middle of an unrelated event (in the original he has a near-death experience, and his mother’s death, and a last pleading by Rey, before then having some time to think about his life and make the decision). And all we gain from this change is to turn his memory of Han and inner-turmoil into a mind trick by Leia.

The idea is certainly intriguing, but I just don’t buy it when watching it, where as the original theatrical was a more powerful moment for me (as least, given the circumstances with zombie Carrie Fisher).

Solo fan edit, retitled “Han.”

Officer: “What’s your name, son?”
Han: “Han.”
Officer: “Han what? Who are your people?”
Han: “I don’t have people. I’m alone.”
Officer: “Han…”
End scene.

All future uses of the name “Han Solo” have “Solo” cut, and all future uses of the name “Solo” are redubbed with “Han.” For internal consistency, similar edits of the OT and ST will follow.

kewlfish said:

DorkSyde said:

This is a cool concept, but Vader’s Castle is in ruins by this time. According to canon, by 35 ABY, many cultists had come to the ruins of Vader’s castle seeking to tap into his power. The most tenacious, the Alazmec, had colonized the Corvax Fen, a rich soil ground and planted several irontrees. However, because the Sith wayfinder was located on an area of the planet forested with irontrees, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and his stormtroopers attacked the cult of Alazmec colonists, who were sworn to protect the fen surrounding the ruins of Vader’s castle.

In turn, perhaps a forrest (color corrected to match the iron tree forrest in the movie) would be a better establishing shot.

Hmm, I was working with some of these just for fun-sies… Do these fit in a little bit better? I’m not the best color corrector. I was just glad I didn’t have to follow a spaceship frame-by-frame for these lol

Mustafar Iron Tree Establishing Shot 1 and 2:

Shot 1 - https://vimeo.com/419180121
password - Ascendant

Shot 2 - https://vimeo.com/419180312
password - Ascendant

I really like #2, if Hal ends up going with one of those. #1’s camera movement doesn’t feel quite right for this purpose, although the visual is still cool.

Here’s an idea: what if Kylo builds his helmet on Mustafar?

Opening: exterior of a First Order Ship
Cut to: Vader’s mask container opening and Kylo touching it to receive a vision. At some point during the vision, Palpatine’s “Mustafar” from ep III can be heard. End with Dominic Cobb’s idea of “you’re a creature in a mask” “yes I am.”
Transition to: Mustafar from space, the original TROS opening.
Cut to: edited shot of Vader’s castle from Rogue One.
Cut to: the pieces of Kylo’s helmet being dumped onto a table.

From here, the helmet reassembly and Mustafar massacre scenes cut back and forth to each other as a montage. This leaves us with two potential ways to end the scene:

1. Helmet is fixed, Kylo picks up the Wayfinder, and the original TROS transition of the wayfinder to Kylo flying to Exegol.
   or
2. Kylo picks up the Wayfinder, Helmet is fixed, and the scene ends on the shot of the Helmet. This allows you to move to a different scene if you want and push the Kylo’s trip to Exogol (and thus the Emperor reveal) a bit later into the movie.

I feel this plan uses the fast-paced nature of the Mustafar sequence to our advantage, instead of trying to just drag it out into a full scene in of itself, while also adding even more weight to Kylo’s rebuilding of the helmet, since it’s now a ritual [implicitly] taking place within Vader’s own castle.

The only issue I can see, assuming the Rogue One shot can be properly edited, is that Kylo’s trip to Exogol still occurs without the helmet. But maybe people could forgive that since it’s such an important meeting?

jordan_winter said:

I honestly got the impression that the tear was genuine. Watching the BTS footage, Daisy really put her soul into this movie.

Definitely this. That emotion works well as Rey’s for our purposes, but irl it was Daisy’s bittersweet goodbye.

Sorry, I was trying to be thorough in explaining my thoughts, but that came across pretty aggressively.

If you want to have Rey take the name in an edit, by all means go ahead. I just personally don’t think it fits as well as what we have.

StarkillerAG said:

Definitely nay. Given how the Senate reacted when they found out Leia was the daughter of Darth Vader, if Rey started calling herself a Palpatine she would be executed on the spot.

Also this. Leia’s public association with Vader ruined her career and public influence. Taking on the Palpatine name would be… unwise of Rey.

If bloodlines don’t matter, why would she keep a name that she has never gone by in the past and carries exclusively negative connotations for her? Why would Rey care if the “Palpatine name” is redeemed into something hopeful? What about that particular word is worth saving?

I think Rey keeping the Palpatine name is the worst possible outcome, and needlessly confusing to the audience from a thematic point of view. A good chunk of the audience has equated “Palpatine” to “evil” for longer than Rey has even been alive, and for her to suddenly accept the name after the whole climax revolved around her rejecting Sheev makes it appear as if she suddenly has some sort of reverence for him, which she absolutely does not.

Rey’s rejection of the Palpatine name is “because bloodlines don’t matter,” a symbolic rejection of the destiny of her blood and her personal choice to embrace another path. If she’s “Just Rey” (as some fans are trying to edit), then she’s forging her own destiny, and if she’s “Rey Skywalker,” then she’s taking up a name that does deserve to be kept in the light (and with Luke/Leia’s postmortem approval, no less). Either option makes more sense both thematically and in-character than “Rey Palpatine.”

And before anyone points out that Luke kept the Skywalker name: “Skywalker” was originally the name of a Jedi whose goodness Luke still sensed buried within Vader and which Luke managed to bring out before Vader’s death, not to mention Luke had already been named “Skywalker” his entire life. Rey taking the name “Palpatine” would be equivalent to Luke changing his last name to “Vader,” because evil is all that name has ever meant to them.

kingofmonsters said:

I have no issue with bickering friends, but the way the movie showed that was a bit too hostile. Why rag on Poe for being a spice runner when Finn was a clone trooper? It just all seemed out of leftfield. They even had a fallout midway through the movie. It just didn’t feel deserved.

Didn’t seem hostile at all to me. The reveal that Poe used to smuggle slave-mined drugs is perfectly deserving of the brief shock that Finn and Rey have, but Poe quickly dissolves the tension by pointing out exactly what you yourself just pointed out, and it really isn’t much of a problem after. Friends don’t get along all the time, especially in tense situations or when secrets are involved, and there’s still enough camaraderie and weak jabs between the two to sell their relationship as a real friendship. They do have a confrontation near the Death Star II about Poe’s leadership, but it’s resolved the next time they’re together and is an incredibly basic trope of storytelling.

In contrast, to use another Star Wars as an example, Anakin’s constant heated arguments with Obi-Wan and Padme in the prequels are incredibly uncomfortable to watch and make their “friendships/love” completely unbelievable.

Ed Slushie said:

I just had an idea for a somewhat-major change that could be made to the ending.

One thing that bugs me about this movie’s finale is that the two battles happening (the one in the sky, and the one with Palpatine) don’t really line up in terms of tension. When Palpatine drains Ben and Rey, it seems like our heroes are at their lowest point, and this is reinforced by the cut back to Poe seeing his friend Wexley die. Then Lando & co. arrive, and the music switches to the main Star Wars theme, to indicate that we’re back on the light side of things, but then we cut back to Palpatine, who “kills” Ben and electrocutes the entire fleet, leaving Rey, seemingly alone, to hear the voices of Jedi past and gain the strength to face Palpatine.

Basically, the movie tries to give us two cathartic, portals-esque moments, the first of which is kind of invalidated by the second. The way I see it, the night should be darkest just before the dawn.
So what if the not-navy arrived AFTER Palpatine started zapping?

Picture this: Palpatine drains Rey and Ben. Above, Wexley dies. How can this get any worse? Palpatine “kills” Ben and starts electrocuting the rest of the rebels. Rey sees this from below and sheds a single tear. Poe delivers his line about how he “thought we had a shot,” just as the Tantive IV, the very ship that appeared in the opening shot of SW77 as a symbol of the underdog rebellion, is destroyed. So is it the end? **** no, because that’s when Rey starts hearing the voices of all the Jedi that came before her. When she stands up and ignites her lightsaber, prompting Palpatine to stop zapping, a random voice over Poe’s radio says something along the lines of “The sky is clear, now is the time!” That’s when Poe looks up to see Lando, along with thousands of resistance sympathizers, having come to the help. Things proceed as normal from there, possibly with the addition of Jonh’s ghosts.

Most of this would just require color correction, as well as one or two additional lines of dialogue. The only trouble I’m running into is that a lot of the shots of ships falling include ships that came with Lando, so I would have to either remove those shots or find a way to remove those ships in particular from them.

Whaddya think?

I think this is a good idea if it can be done seamlessly. It’s unfortunate that we have so little footage to work with for the ship/horse battles, though.

krausfadr said:

ClownBaby said:

Reading through this thread and looking over the results of the TROS poll got me thinking about the idea of having Rey be responsible for her parents death. I know that keeping Rey as Palps granddaughter is a less popular option than Rey Nobody, but if an editor were to have Rey kill her parents I think the Rey Palpatine angle works.

This way we keep Rey’s parents as good people who were doing all they could to protect their daughter, and in a fit of uncontrolled childhood rage, she causes their death. When she accepts the truth of this it would serve to compound the feelings of inner conflict and fear she has regarding her own power

They sold you to him: https://streamable.com/6042d7
You wanted your parents dead: https://streamable.com/lmidv9
I killed my mother: https://streamable.com/ot407g

That’s well edited! But in terms of plot consistency, if the parents sold Rey to Palpatine, why/how did she remain on Jakku?

I like B or D.

I think it should be kept. It’s a nice scene that helps lead into the ghosts appearing after.

Irrelevant thoughts about Kylo’s fate, though I know people have been discussed it before.

The kiss-to-death scene is practically comical and needs to be edited, I think, but I think there are two ways it could be done.

1. Cut away before death. The kiss is the closure to their relationship, but Ben can’t just come back and be accepted after all he’s done, so Rey leaves alone and Ben’s fate is left completely ambiguous (and canonically he still just dies off-screen).
2. Cut the kiss out, so Ben dies after reviving Rey, making it clearer to the audience that he’s sacrificed himself to heal her and tragically ripping away their chance at closure. Of course, we do still need closure for them, so in this scenario, Ben’s force ghost needs to be standing with Leia and Luke so that he and Rey get that last knowing glance at each other. This also goes that tiny extra distance to better sell “Rey Skywalker” (especially with her more emotional take), to the point that I honestly don’t think “Just Rey” should even be considered with this specific version. And this of course to go along with the other ending changes, like the Falcon take-off, Rey’s Theme, and removing “Rey. Rey who?” if it doesn’t hurt the pace too much.

I like #2 more personally, but I know some people didn’t want Ben to die on screen.

kewlfish said:

So for that scene do you think a force ghost outline would be more subtle/better? Or what is idea for showing the influence of the Force Ghost?

If you’re interested in Force Ghost influence, jonh just blew everyone’s mind with an edit in another thread:
https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Star-Wars-The-Rise-Of-Skywalker-Redux-Ideas-thread/id/71460/page/84#1343405

Honestly, it didn’t take much to make it sound the way it does, which was good for me because I still managed to do it messily.

My steps:

1. Cut the audio from the commentary (there’s almost no extra sound in the background of her line there)
2. Cut the audio from the line in the movie (I ripped my blu-ray) and put the audio from the commentary in.
3. Add some music back in using the rip of my CD soundtrack and have it blend into the music before and after the line (you might notice the discrepancy if you listen, especially at the end of the line).
4. Adjust the volume for the new audio sources.

I didn’t even use a dedicated audio mixer, just Vegas Pro 14…

IDK how useful my own work will be, but I can send you what I have if you’d like. It would probably be even easier for your version since you’re just totally replacing the music in that scene.

poppasketti said:

Wow, neerb! That’s great! It’s a more humble delivery, and her voice quiver adds emotion to the line.

Edit: on the other hand, maybe she sounds a little less confident, which maybe undercuts the pride of the moment that she had in the original take? Just a thought!

Yeah, I thought about that as well. I think the emotion at finding a family and reverence for the name/legacy in this take might make it better, but I think the reason the theatrical one was ultimately chosen was to end on a more confident and “happy” note. Daisy’s face in the theatrical is even smiling more than the outtake version, although perhaps combining the two rectifies the issue a bit?

Been a long time since I did anything with video/audio (not that I was ever good, ha), so this is probably more useful as concept than contribution, but here’s a dub of the final line using the Behind the Scenes take. Password is fanedit.

https://vimeo.com/416723717

IlFanEditore said:

Just a couple of things. Don’t hint at some disprespect towards a character. I called Rey by her name (YOUNG REY) in the crawl, and LATER I called her “the girl”. How should I name her? I don’t get what problem there is with this. I don’t get how that is not serious.

I don’t mean to sound harsh, I’m just offering my perspective as an audience member.

Just consider this: if you were tasked with rewriting the opening crawls of Revenge of the Sith or Return of the Jedi (those movies specifically), would you refer to the main characters as “Young Anakin,” Young Luke," or “the boy?”

Hal 9000 said:

Heroes leave Pasaana

Falcon is towed to the Destroyer. Leads into Palpatine and Kylo’s conversation about what kind of game he’s playing and he better watch out, buster.

Heroes regroup on the ship and decide fuck Threepio. They land on Kijimi and meet Frick and decide to do the surgery.

Hux sarcastically asks if Kylo wants them to destroy the city and gets a stern pointing to.

3PO and heroes continue on, Rey senses Chewie is alive, and 3PO wakes back up.

Blast doors open to reveal Chewie. Hux comments, Pryde sends Chewie off.

Kylo heads down to the planet. Things play out from there.

Except that after the heroes leave the Destroyer and Rey has a conversation with Finn about wanting to destroy Palpatine, we go directly to their arrival on Endor/Craft Beer.

Oooh, I like that.

By moving that Palpatine-Kylo leash-tug scene to before Kijimi, this means that when Kylo takes his helmet off for Rey in the hanger, he never wears it again. Gives a bit more visual continuity, and I think maybe a bit more agency for Kylo as a character by more quickly abandoning Palpatine, instead of being jerked back right after (but maybe I’m reading into this).