NeverarGreat

On August 29th, 1997, the computer intelligence known as Skynet initiated a global thermonuclear war.

Billions died.

In the decades that followed, Skynet’s machines pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Yet in their darkest hour, one man would inspire them to fight back: John Connor, leader of the human Resistance.

Now, the tide of battle has turned. Humanity is winning; Skynet is in retreat…the result of one man’s vow to destroy Skynet and win the war against the machines…

…no matter the cost.

Prologue: Into the Core

Skynet Lab Complex

July 11, 2029 - 5:59 AM

Red lights pulse in the darkness; computers hum with power. The form of a man takes shape, emerging out of the darkness into the dim, evil glow of the lights. The figure of the man is old, his head bald, his milky eyes staring ahead at nothing. He reaches forward, wrinkled hands resting mechanically on the controls of the computer equipment arrayed all around him. Aged, bony fingers tap out a series of numbers on a keyboard.

In response, a perfectly modulated voice booms out of the darkness, echoing in a vast, cavernous space. “Bioscan and command code accepted. Voice print required.”

The figure of the man doesn’t move or react, its eyes still staring blindly out at nothing. However, its mouth moves, the movement seemingly unconnected with the movement of its eyes. “Ident Mishiko Tagawa, Special Project Director.”

The huge, perfect voice blankets the darkness like velvet. “Ident accepted. Welcome, Director Tagwa. System activating.”

The screens around the wizened figure light up with glowing red figures, draping the figure in blood-red light. Numbers cascade down the screens, capturing energy readings in the high terawatt range. The old man flips a number of switches as batteries reach 100%, one after another, and as he flips the final switch his rheumy eyes swivel out into the darkness.

An electric hum fills the air. A dozen circuits engage all at once as terawatts of power flood through cables across the room. A light sparks out in the darkness beyond the computers, leaping into sudden brightness and revealing the harsh outlines of a vast, cold space.

Its volume is equivalent to an entire city block, its curving, chrome-plated walls forming a perfect dome. Beneath this dome is a vast mass of conduits and steel assemblages, a dark jungle of machinery giving force and life to the experiment above.

At the center of this colossal sphere stands a pair of interlocking rings that spin around a central glowing point with mesmerizing beauty. The light generated by the electromagnetic forces of the rings expands and hangs like in space like a glistening soap bubble, white light flecked with electric blue.

Massive conduits and cables snake from the platform beneath the glowing bubble of light across the span of the metal bridge to the computer terminals and the backlit figure of the venerable project director. Another red light suddenly glares down from above, as a huge screen flickers to life above the bank of computers. On this screen is a series of numbers, with one series standing proud of the rest: 03:06:11:07:2029. The number begins to change, the digits on the left rapidly dropping in value with increasing speed until they are a blur. Slowly the four digits on the right begin to change.

2029…2028.

Suddenly, the room shudders. The sound of distant explosions rises through the forest of machinery in the floor…the percussive melody of battle.

In harmonious counterpoint, hatches hiss open around the circumference of the dome. From out of these dark voids rise metal monsters, skeletal figures with metal limbs and metal skulls and red eyes glowing within lifeless sockets. As one, they turn and stride toward a place across the dome opposite the bank of computers.

Here, at the opposite side of the dome, the equatorial walkway joins with the diameter bridge and a ramp plunges down into the darkness, leading to the lower levels of the facility. Obeying an unspoken command, every single metal soldier marches down the ramp into the depths, following the sound of explosions and gunfire.

Every metal soldier except one.

Unlike its skeletal fellows, this thing looks almost human. It is a massive specimen, the lifelike skin of its naked chassis embossed with huge muscles and its brutal block of a head crowned by a modest crop of dark hair. The creature turns away from its skeletal minions, staring instead into the flickering ball of light.

And still the giant clock ticks down.

2025…2024…2023….

Meanwhile, far below in the jungle of metal, the skeletal figures tramp down the echoing walkway toward a solid metal door set into a curved, sloping wall.

The door shakes, and with the sound of ill-fitting metal and tortured motors, it begins to grind open. A cloud of smoke billows into the jungle of steel, and the skeletal monsters advance into the cloud, red eyes gleaming in infrared.

Bolts of blue energy lance out of the cloud of smoke to strike the robots and they fall, crashing, to the ground. From out of the cloud of smoke emerges a man.

He is a tall, rugged figure with close-cropped dark hair and he bears a scar that runs down the left side of his weather-worn face. He wears a navy blue uniform and wields a large plasma rifle that he holds securely in both hands. A patch stitched across the front pocket of his uniform spells out the name ‘Connor’, below insignia denoting his rank. However, the clearest indication of his command resides within his eyes. They are hard, colorless, staring things, unblinking even in the heavy smoke as he turns his head to absorb the deadly threats that surround him. He fires his laser rifle once, twice, three times. For every shot fired, a metal monster falls.

Emerging from the smoke to the left of Connor is a beast of a man with a backpack and a massive gun. He bellows out a war cry, taking out two metal monsters with a single shot. To the right of Connor, a wiry young man with desperate, haunted eyes scans the area, the blue light of his rifle striking down any damaged machine that still has light in their murderous red eyes. A bandana holds back his unkempt hair and his uniform displays the insignia of a Sergeant, below the rough-stitched name of Reese.

Flanked by the two warriors is a skinny, stunted youth wielding a rifle that looks almost comically large in his small, slender hands. His pale, mouselike face darts back and forth wearing an expression of barely contained panic. He has no insignia, no stitched name on his uniform. Beside the boy is a large german shepherd wearing a tactical vest, the name ‘MAX’ stenciled on the vest in large capital letters.

A high-pitched whine emanates from the sphere of light above them, and the sphere expands suddenly as if it were a star shedding its corona in a supernova explosion. The expanding wave of light passes through the morass of metal within the sphere and through the group of Connor’s soldiers, stopping only when it reaches beyond the very extremity of the room. There are sudden screams and Connor looks behind him at the open doorway to the hall.

A wall of pulsating light separates the spherical room from the hallway, and two soldiers have been caught between the two spaces, the curving bubble of light bisecting them through their waists. The soldiers fall, clothing on fire, their upper bodies sizzling on the curving blade of light while their legs fall back into the hallway. Reese stares in horror at the bisected corpses, the youth huddling at his side. Only about a dozen soldiers have come through the door. The ones caught on the other side fire their weapons uselessly against the shield, but Connor holds up a hand.

“No. Stick to the plan. In five minutes, begin the retreat.” The soldiers move back, hastening back down the hallway. Another heavy door within the hallway slams shut behind them, completing the isolation of Connor’s team. Connor turns, assessing the situation.

A forest of conduits and metal instruments festoons the interior of the sphere. There is only one path forward. The wiry sergeant steps up. “I need to get up there, now.” He turns to Connor, whose mouth is set in a grim line. “Sir!”

Connor barely turns his head. “Let’s move.” The company surges toward the ramp, guns blazing. The burly man with the heavy gun grunts as he takes out more machines. “They don’t have guns. Why?”

John doesn’t stop his advance. “They won’t risk damage to the equipment. Besides, they don’t need them. We’ll run out of rounds first.” He glances back at his team. “Choose your targets with care.” There are nods of assent as John moves up the ramp with his team.

The team emerges onto the equatorial catwalk and into open air. A great hemisphere arcs above them, a vast open space with pipes and conduits radiating from a central core of light. One walkway extends before them directly toward the ball of light.

2001…2000…1999.

An Endoskeleton lunges out of the shadows. John fires his gun at the thing and keeps moving. Another blocks their path and he tries to fire, but the magazine is empty. As he pulls another gun from his belt a soldier moves to protect him, and with a scream she is thrown from the catwalk and onto one of the metal instruments, the steel impaling her through the chest.

Reese leaps ahead, trying to see the figure that is striding inexorably toward the central sphere of light, but the light is between Reese and his quarry, blinding him. An Endoskeleton bars his way and Max leaps between the soldier and the metal monster. The Endo strikes Max down and the dog is silenced with a yelp.

1991…1990…1989.

Just before Reese is able to see the Terminator at the portal, it disappears inside. The sphere of light crackles with energy and the Terminator is lost within it, crouching down and disappearing in a brilliant flash that illuminates the entire room for an instant like daylight. In the flash of light the team sees that there are dozens of skeletal monsters approaching from either side of the catwalk and more are coming up the ramp behind them. They are being surrounded.

The large man throws his backpack at John. “I’ll hold the bridge” He yells, pulling a grenade from his belt. As the Endoskeletons swarm him, he detonates the charge, destroying a section of walkway leading to the portal.

1987…1986…1985.

Meanwhile, Reese is at the portal. John’s troops fan out and encircle the device, guarding the only remaining walkway now leading to the portal.

The great clock stops its countdown, the year frozen in place on the screen. John steps up to the sergeant. “Reese…it’s time.”

Fritz looks up at the Sergeant with apprehension. “Time for what? Kyle…what does he mean?”

Reese crouches down to the boy’s level. “I have to go.”

The boy shakes his head, refusal on his face. “No.” A tear runs down the boy’s face. “This is my mission…I have to do it.”

Reese smiles sadly. “No Ian…this mission is mine. It always has been.”

Connor steps between the two of them. “Reese, it must be now.”

The sergeant gives the boy a hug. “I’m sorry.” He turns to Connor and holds out his hand, giving the scarred man a command of his own. “Remember your promise.”

Connor grips the soldier’s hand, confirming the deal. “I will.” Reese then breaks away, stepping into the flickering portal. He looks back one final time. “End the war.” He crouches down and his clothes are torn from his body by the enormous energies within the sphere. He disappears in a blinding flash of light.

Fritz staggers toward the man, hand outstretched. “No!”

As if on cue, metal panels at the top of the dome shift and begin to descend. A crack of red-tinted sky appears beyond the blue shield of the dome. The number on the screen flickers and changes.

1985…1986.

There is a plaintive cry from somewhere on the other side of the portal. “Ian?”

The boy’s eyes go wide and he starts running around the portal, desperate to see behind it. John follows him. “Fritz, wait.”

He catches up to the boy as they round the portal, and John now sees what has captured his attention. There is a man jogging down the walkway toward them. He’s an older man, balding, in a stained and dirty white robe. The figure speaks in slightly accented english. “Ian! We can still make this right! You must complete your mission!”

“Mishiko!” The boy yells, and he tries to go to the man but John holds him back.

“Fritz, that’s not Tagawa.” He raises his gun. Ian tries to stop him, but John pulls the trigger, blasting a hole in the old man’s chest even as he reaches the line of soldiers. The creature stumbles a few more paces onto the platform, intent on reaching his attacker. His fist goes out and collides with John’s sternum and the man grunts in pain. He fires the last charge of his weapon at the creature and it finally collapses beside John and the boy. The clothes at his chest are burned away, a grapefruit sized hole revealing his innards, blackened metal and burned ends of wires revealing its inhumanity.

The boy stares down at the body, uncomprehending. “Mishi…where’s Mishiko?” He asks, searching around the room with his eyes.

John grips his side, blood seeping from a fresh wound. “Tagawa is dead, Fritz. Skynet was always in control of its machine.”

The boy crouches down, reaching uselessly out toward the simulacrum. “No…we had a plan! We were going to fix it!” Tears well up in his eyes. “He needed me to save the world.”

John holds the boy back. “Fritz, Tagawa believed that the world could be saved…but it’s a trap. It always was.”

The boy leaps to his feet, his grief turning to anger as he turns on John. “No…you can’t believe that…let me go!” John throws the boy to the floor and pulls a detonator from his pocket. The boy stares up in horror. “You can’t…you promised….”

John doesn’t look at the boy. “Reese will never know.”

The boy struggles to his feet. “Stop! Please…this is wrong.”

John looks at the boy sadly as he fights the pain. “I’m sorry, Fritz…it has to end here.” He strikes the boy with the butt of his gun, knocking him out. The boy collapses in a sad heap beside the mechanical creature wearing Mishiko Tagawa’s face.

The panels continue to descend, revealing the world outside of the dome. Beyond the shield, the soldiers can now see a vast facility, its metal structures spread out below and disappearing into the night. Beyond the structures there are flashes and booms, the final desperate attack of John’s Resistance against the machines.

The weapons of John’s soldiers have no more charge and the few remaining men under his command fight desperately, throwing their bodies at the approaching Endoskeletons rather than allow them to approach John.

1993…1994…1995.

The relentless machines advance, marching down the walkway toward the portal. Most of John’s team are dead. A final grenade, thrown by a dying soldier, shatters the bridge leading to the bank of computer displays. The machines stop, their progress momentarily thwarted as they turn to find another way to the portal. No living thing moves except for Connor, who places the large backpack on the ground with a thud. Suddenly a perfect voice, neither male nor female, pervades the space. “John Connor…my ultimatum still applies.” The displays continue to count up the dates.

2010…2011…2012.

John sits on the ground in front of the still bodies of Fritz and the machine wearing Mishiko’s face. John unzips the backpack, revealing a small but very heavy conical device, the word ‘Sarah’ handwritten on it in white letters. John laughs softly to himself, a giddy, unnatural sound in that vast space. “No.”

Fritz stirs and opens his eyes, a blank look on his face as he regains consciousness. Still the dates tick up.

2023…2024…2025.

There is a buzz in John’s headset, and the voice continues. “My jamming field is down. Accept my surrender, and I will deactivate my forces.” John sees the communications array outside of the dome go dead, but he doesn’t respond, typing a code into the device. A thirty second timer appears on the small screen.

The radio comes to life in John’s headset. “Connor, we have comms. What are your orders?”

John speaks, still staring at Skynet’s computer display. “Retreat. All forces, retreat…and don’t look back.”

The voice responds after a moment. “Copy, Connor…godspeed.” There is a rumble and a whine, and in the red dawn air beyond the dome, a few small Resistance aircraft begin rising into the sky.

2026…2027.

The perfect voice fills the space once more. “If you destroy me, my forces will not be deactivated. I calculate that the war will continue for an additional twenty-seven months, and lead to the termination of no less than eleven million additional human lives.” The voice speaks again, fear, for the first time, creeping into it. “This course of action is illogical.”

John laughs again, the strange, unnatural sound that then turns to coughing. He wipes blood from his mouth, regarding the red liquid with an almost detached curiosity. “Just so you know…there was never anything you could have said…nothing you could have done…no possible future that could have changed your fate. Your ultimatum is received…and answered.” He turns the initiation switch of the bomb and it begins ticking down from thirty seconds.

The boy rises to his feet. Before him is John, turning to look at the red-glowing numbers still rising on the distant computer screen. The man coughs up blood again. He turns and sees Fritz. There is a moment of tension between them, the boy and the man staring at each other, Fritz frozen with his body turned to the portal. Then John smiles slightly, inclining his head just a fraction…a small gesture of grace. Fritz understands.

The boy steps up to the portal and enters the ball of light, crouching down and screwing up his eyes as the energy cascades across his form.

John watches as the boy is engulfed by the energies within the sphere. He hesitates for just a moment, one final act of mercy committed in the memory of Kyle Reese.

As the small figure of Ian Fritz disappears in a flash of light, the shield falls. The portal closes. The timer of the bomb reaches zero and the facility disintegrates in a blast of atomic fire.

And this is why so many people abandon Prequel film edits entirely in favor of prequel rewrites. Because the concept is so much more interesting than the plot and characters that we actually got in the films.

This season, I’ve taken to calling my time watching the show as my weekly Disneypointment.

This is a concept for a film that would take place during the climactic events of 2029 concerning the final night of the war against the machines and the activation of the time machine.

But first, some background: I have tried for years to understand certain aspects of the Terminator franchise, such as Skynet’s seemingly self-defeating strategy of time travel and the contradictory use of time travel across the various films. Try as I might, I couldn’t reconcile these ideas into a coherent universe, until one day an idea began to take shape in my mind. As the idea grew, I realized that I would have to at least try to do it justice in story form, because I believe that it serves as a satisfying, and dare I say, even compelling, culmination of the franchise, tying up many loose threads and adding more layers of thematic resonance to the films themselves.

In terms of writing style, I have decided to approach this as a cross between a screenplay and a novel, which means that I have attempted as much as possible to keep the prose focused purely on action and dialogue.

EDIT: The Story is now complete! In standard page form, it clocks in at about 105 pages. This project has been by far the most difficult and demanding writing project I have ever undertaken. However, I think the final result is the better for it, and I truly hope you enjoy!

Literal lol.

https://i.imgur.com/QzzdxBV.mp4

That movie is the best.

Addressing one of the concerns for the shuttle, what if it was just farther back in the shot than the X-wing? That way it would appear to be about the same size as the X-wing.

Alternatively, I think just turning the TIE into a common variant like the TIE Interceptor would be just as acceptable to me, especially since that shares a lot of design language with Kylo’s two TIE fighters. I could believe that some Interceptors had Hyperdrives by the time of ROTJ. It would also look sleek next to the X-wing if anyone wanted to tackle a Ben lives edit where he takes off in the TIE fighter after the battle and the two ships fly side-by-side for a shot or two before breaking off to go their separate ways.

But now I’m simply fantasizing.

Vader’s Tie me no-likey.

https://youtu.be/9Swd_pFdcXE?t=80

😉

Added to the notes!

Jar Jar Bricks said:

I just watched the film with my brother and his friend. They had the following feedback:

• Overall, a massive improvement over the original

Nice!

• Would be interested in some sort of line which indicates the Republic is endlessly debating sending in support, thus why they never intervene.

This is already planned for V2 in a deleted scene.

• The Sith whispers may be a bit too subtle. I had to point it out to them.

That actually makes me think that they’ve done their job, since sometimes the best effect is one that becomes invisible. Of course if it’s a volume issue, that’s another thing.

• My brother would like to see some audio lines indicating what Rey is hearing in Kylo’s head about fearing not being as strong as Darth Vader. This would be similar to what Kylo hears in Poe’s head.

Interesting idea, and with the AI voices it may be possible. I could just reuse lines from the prayer scene, but that seems a bit basic. More thought will be needed.

• Visually, Jakku may need to be more consistent. Although the morning and evening would adjust light levels, they think it makes it look like they’re on a completely different world at times.

Is it just the evening scene that has this problem?

• Humor has been trimmed very well, but my brother thinks you could have gone even further in a couple places. He didn’t elaborate lol.

I’m pretty happy with how much humor has been cut, actually. But of course everyone’s mileage will vary 😃

Thank you for the feedback here, and I’m glad y’all enjoyed it!

Hal 9000 said:

Here’s the best I can get the Poe lines to sound. It’d be nice to lipsync the line “His followers have been hiding something for years,” but with what’s available now this is what I can do. I don’t think it’s half bad and I doubt anyone would have batted an eye in the theater.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MsJjLxDxVwrjR8KjZNzToTiKnMRxtFVX/view?usp=share_link

The only issue I hear with those lines is that it feels a bit like Poe is reading from a dramatic play instead of relaying foreboding tidings. But it certainly doesn’t sound bad.

I also think he underestimates the continued power of the original films. As a Millennial, I was first exposed to the OT on VHS in 1993 or 1994, and I imagine for many Millennials up until 1997 it was the same way. My little brother may have first watched the '97 versions, but there are several generations who were raised exclusively on the unaltered films, and who never cared for the prequels despite being children when they were released.

And all this is ignoring the argument for historical preservation and simple decency in preserving the work of those who originally made the films, such as the craftspeople who did the matte paintings and model work that has been simply erased. It genuinely makes me mad when people say ‘no one cares lol’ when for most people, they have been deprived of the opportunity to care by a generations-long campaign of artistic suppression by the most powerful entertainment companies on the planet.

PM Sent!

Ed Slushie said:

Replace the opening crawls with narration by Philomena Cunk.
“The Death Star was destroyed just 4 years before the release of unrelated Ortolan jizz anthem, Lapti Nek.”

Now that’s something I would watch.

“The Trade Federation is about to invade Naboo, so it’s like if Amazon decided to invade New Zealand. Which it probably could; it has enough robots.”

“The Rebellion’s been going through a bit of an emo phase. But because they are Rebels, instead of wearing black they’ve started wearing white and playing in the snow.”

“The Resistance has left the salt planet and have recruited what looks like a giant slug. It’s probably a good thing he wasn’t around for that episode, honestly.”

It is! And thanks, I was definitely going for a retro Star Wars style painted poster.

Those Poe lines sound great, JJB! I’d almost asked you to do them when asking for the ‘Ilum System’ line, but I shouldn’t have worried. All these will definitely be in consideration for V2.

And yes, Restructured as an idea does feel a lot like how I imagine things might have gone in '76 and '77, keeping every option on the table and continuously moving to make the film better, even up to the very end. Because sometimes that’s really what saves a film.

Anyway, here’s a poster for the edit that I’ve been working on for a while:

This and a textless version have been added to the 5 GB folder.

I think a line will need to be cut to make room for it. The second option sounds pretty good.

That’s actually something that I’ve wanted to implement for years, the trick is no just needing an AI line but finding some clear space among the shots of the dogfight, otherwise I may have attempted it for V1.1.

But yes, something like that is definitely on the table for V2.

RogueLeader said:

Just quick googling, but I found this site. Not sure if the links work or not, or if it is actually high quality.

https://thedigitaltheater.com/the-force-awakens/

That looks really good, thanks!

PM sent!

And thank you Dz, that would be most helpful.

Does anyone know where the TFA trailers can be found in high quality? I know Apple Trailers used to release the HQ versions once upon a time, but now I can only find them on Youtube and similar sites.

It can indeed.

And thanks y’all!

I try to include everyone in the credits who has contributed, which means anyone who has helped with crawls, made substantive critique or feedback, offered continued encouragement…it has all helped more than you know!

Jar Jar Bricks said:

Just finished watching through it all! Overall, magnificently done. It’s taken TFA from a 7/10 to an 8 or 9 in my books. I wanted to compile a list of feedback I had for v2:

• You can still hear the end of Han saying “Get outta there” in the Falcon

I’ll add this to the error document, thanks!

• I’m wondering if it might be worth it to just cut out “He worked on the base” from the end of Poe’s new line. We learn this information later, anyway.

Yeah, it’s not perfect. I’m sure I’ll be taking another look at this line at some point.

• Snoke calls Kylo “Solo” at the end of their second meeting. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this, I’m just wondering why you chose to add this in. Was it him trying to get on Kylo’s nerves?

There were two small reasons for the addition. I wanted to make clear that Snoke knows the nature of Kylo’s weakness and wants to rub it in his face a little. Emphasizing his parentage also primes the expectation for a scene discussing this topic, which happens soon after with Han and Leia.

• I highly recommend applying a “mirroring” effect to the reaction shots of the pilots when Starkiller Base fires. They’re reused shots, but this effect may help in disguising that.

Added to the notes! Not sure if I tried this before and decided it looked strange, but always worth trying again.

• I really enjoyed the scene in Hal’s edit where Hux suggests to Snoke that they target the Resistance base next. Also, that part that mentions how long it will be until it is recharged. It makes Poe’s attack on the oscillator much more than just an attempt at revenge. I would prefer it if this were reinstated.

This is a topic to which I’ve devoted a lot of thought.

First, let’s talk characterization. The original idea in Restructured was one that I think I pushed for leading up to the release of TLJ, back when we were gung-ho on getting a finished edit out for people to watch before the next film. There were worries that Poe was acting out of revenge, and thus this scene was devised. However, TLJ characterized Poe as an impulsive hotshot who refuses to back down from engagement even against better judgment. This makes the idea of Poe attacking Starkiller out of revenge sync perfectly with TLJ’s portrayal.

Now let’s talk stakes. There is a justifiable argument that once the weapon fires, the stakes are much lower since the damage has now been done. I would counter this with the fact that ESB never had a superweapon, and it was all about a lightsaber confrontation between two enemies, and it worked just as well as ANH. I think TFA manages to keep the tension using this technique even without a looming threat, and it also helps to switch the stakes from large to small. There is still a noticeable downgrade in stakes of course, but this is where the Sith eyes come into play. The fallout of the destruction from the previous scenes is channeled into a deep, if momentary, character transformation, and this is just as big as any superweapon threat. Snoke even senses this shift in the Force from across the galaxy, and in my edit this is where the ‘awakening’ comes from in the title.

Now let’s talk pacing. Here I feel like the added ‘recharging’ scene grinds the pacing to a halt while we reset the mousetrap, and for this reason alone I dislike the scene. I also think the ending of the film flows better if we don’t cut back at all to the Resistance after Leia’s reaction, emphasizing that our characters are on their own.

Finally, logistics. The weapon recharging introduces further mechanics to a weapon that seems like a straightforward single-star, single-use weapon. Without that scene, the function of the weapon is left up to the imagination, and I find that to be better in most cases. Establishing that the weapon shall fire again also means that the First Order knows where the Resistance base is, meaning that the Resistance simply made an error in their reconnaissance or attack. As a result, the Resistance is under a ticking clock even after the base is destroyed, and the same question of evacuation must be raised. This is an issue in the theatrical version, but it will be even worse in V2 of the edit where I show the passage of an entire day and night on the base before Rey leaves on her mission. Now you could say that this makes for a plot hole in the opening of TLJ where the First Order has discovered the base, but there are any number of explanations for it that are less problematic than the First Order knowing about the base for days and doing nothing. Removing this plot thread from TFA helps to give space between films. It also presents an opportunity for editing TLJ to suggest that the First Order finding the base is the work of a traitor or spy, helping bridge that plot issue with TLJ from the start.

Anyway, that was a bit of an essay. Suffice to say I am happy to omit this scene from my edit.

• As I said before, I’m just curious if your goal was to have her Sith eyes for only that brief moment, or throughout the remainder of it? Because they don’t appear to be there except for the closeup shot. To make less work of this, perhaps they could fade out at a certain point.

I did try and continue the eyes beyond that moment, implying that they fade out during the fight, but it is difficult to see them except in extreme closeup and to make them noticeable I think they would need to be very bright. There’s still a hint of them in a few shots, but I’m okay with keeping the eyes as a mostly momentary flash.

• I would love some (more?) porg sounds on Ahch-To 😃

Added to the notes!

I posted a changelist a few pages back for the workprint, but here is an updated one for the final version of 1.1:

V1.1 is essentially a final polish to the changes in V1, and mostly consist of audio and color grading tweaks based on reviewer feedback. However, there are also a few more substantial changes.

Changes from V1 to V1.1:

-Tweaked the timing of opening logos
-Replaced the crawl with a new version and adjusted its timing to move more quickly, as well as adjusting music levels
-Fixed video quality loss during first scene of V1
-Partially removed stray power window present in original film when Finn wakes up from the crash
-Adjusted color grade of Jakku during the dusk scene, Finn crash landing and wandering the desert, Finn meeting Rey, and the Falcon chase
-Adjusted dialogue of Kylo’s Prayer to focus solely on his weakness, avoiding talk of family and Supreme Leader
-Adjusted Vader’s mask so that the cut looks more like a mouth opening
-Adjusted audio level for TR-8R’s new dialogue, added distortion
-Combined AI line to Poe’s dialogue to form the line ‘Finn’s familiar with a weapon located in the Ilum System, he worked on the base’
-Fixed continuity error where doctor Kalonia uses wrong arm in treating Chewie (Thanks to MoviesRemastered)
-Adjusted audio level for Han and Leia discussing Ben, finessed audio transition to next scene
-Combined AI line with original audio in Resistance Battle Plan Meeting ‘The Senate is their target’
-Changed 3PO’s dialogue to ‘Oh my, this is a catastrophe’
-Adjusted audio of Starkiller charging, removed stray audio that bled into Rey’s escape scene
-Finessed audio transition when combining shots of Poe’s first Oscillator attack
-Removed errant footsteps while Rey is on the wall
-Added the line ‘forgive me’ to Kylo’s Falcon scene, adjusted music to fit
-Added C-3PO shot and dialogue ‘And their weapon will fire in ten minutes! Without the Republic fleet we’re doomed!’
-Removed voiceovers from Han and Kylo’s reunion, added a shot of Finn, added Force interrogation rumble
-Removed Rey and Finn’s TROS reaction to Chewie detonating the explosives, in order to preserve these lines for TROS
-Brightened Rey’s Sith eyes
-Applied color grade to dark forest shot left ungraded
-Re-foleyed the Falcon escape from Starkiller Base, added extra shot of the ships going to Hyperspace, changed musical cue to end on that shot, and removed music from the arrival at D-Qar
-Updated contributor list and added them to the credits

-Adjusted numerous other audio glitches throughout the edit, moved stereo music to proper stereo tracks
-Probably some other small changes that I’m just forgetting 😉