Have Rey become old and wrinkled under Sheev’s lightning attack so that she looks like the old woman at the end of TROS.
“Who are you?”
“Rey.”
“Rey who?”
“Rey you.”
Alternatively, the FO could be destroying the Republic as a mass-sacrifice to enable Palpatine’s return. I remember something like this in SWTOR.
“Sacrifice”
HD Numerique comparisons
https://www.hdnumerique.com/dossiers/822-test-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-star-wars-iv.html
https://www.hdnumerique.com/dossiers/823-test-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-star-wars-v.html
https://www.hdnumerique.com/dossiers/824-test-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-star-wars-vi.html
From these comparisons, it appears that the 2020 version of ESB has been cropped quite a bit from the 2011 version. Is this accurate?
The mistake was already made in ESB when they decided to give Yoda a variant of the desert attire.
Is there a way that we can see all of the options for the questions? I ask only because many of the questions look identical due to them being cut off.
Yes, I do hope you stick around. Your contributions are far more than just your renderings, though they are of course excellent.
-Evan
^
And I’m surprised at how much I’m into the “illusion Palpatine” idea but am not convinced at all that it can be successfully pulled off in an edit.
I wouldn’t count it out, after all the ability on these forums keeps going up and I’d say there only need to be a half dozen effects shots to make it work:
-Stone box on Mustafar being disguised as a boulder
-Wayfinder in Death Star disguised as a pillar
-Tendril-like life drain from Sith Cultists to Palpatine
-Image of crystal revealed to Rey beneath Palpatine’s illusion
-Breaking of crystal with lightning
-Crystal fragments strewn across the floor
And maybe some new dialogue from Palps to Pryde
Another reason I like the idea is that it concludes the meta commentary on the fan base that TFA consciously or unconsciously began in 2015. Now the presence of Palpatine and Rey Palpatine can merely be a comment on the desires arising from some corners of the fanbase without actually forcing them into the story where they don’t belong.
I know many people are eager to remove Rey Palpatine, but I fear that in so doing they remove a lot of what I will call ‘wtf factor’ that makes the ST fun as an experiment in shlock (this is the only way I enjoyed TROS). In the end the film will feel lighter and less interesting for never even countenancing this bad idea. But with Fake Sheev the film can have its cake and eat it too.
JEDIT: The connection between the wayfinders and the Sith Crystal could be indicated through sound design. Have a similar distinctive hum or resonance whenever Rey or Kylo is in their presence, and continue this same sound when they confront Palps. It might just be in the background through most of the fight, but after the Jedi aid her Rey’s senses could be augmented enough to hear this sound and identify its source. Have Luke’s voice saying “Breathe. Just breathe. Now reach out…what do you see?”
^Exactly! He drains Rey and Kylo to power the Big Sparkly.
I figure that the crystal would just be a way to draw the two most powerful Force users in the galaxy into a trap where they would be either turned or drained, and Rey Palpatine is bait. That the whole Rey Palpatine plot feels so wrong simply feeds into the understanding that it was fabricated by the cultists. Of course, they could have galactic plans for the Palpatine illusion, but once they’ve drawn Rey and the Resistance into their web the galaxy is basically theirs for the taking.
I don’t know how such a plan would be elaborated on unless it was in the scene where Pryde talks to the Palpatine hologram. I suppose that dialogue could be changed with the removal of the Death Star weapons plot to indicate that Pryde is a cultist who is in on the whole thing. Maybe this is the scene that reveals Palpatine to be an illusion, so we know going into the final confrontation that Rey and Kylo are being tricked.
Yeah, Snoke being the Sith Cult leader would actually be great and give him the backstory that he was lacking in TFA.
I figure the dyad would be something that is independent of the Sith plans, regardless of the edit since it was that way in the original. If anyone has a better idea I’m open to it, though.
The life force drain effect could flow from the Sith Cultists in the arena towards Palpatine as a sort of constant, barely perceptible effect in a couple shots throughout the film. I imagine that their combined Force suffices to power the crystal and the Palpatine illusion. That way the Force drain becomes an organic part of the operation of the crystal instead of a tacked-on ability like in the original film.
It’s quite a compelling idea.
That makes the main antagonist of the ST the Sith Cultists? Right?
Yes, if Snoke is just a powerful Sith cultist, though TFA and TLJ could still be Snoke Nobody. 😉
Lengthy exposition breaks spoken by each Wayfinder when they are revealed.
Yet again, I think you’re accidentally onto something Hal. 😉
The illusion aspect of the central crystal could be mirrored in the wayfinders. For example, the stone container holding the first wayfinder could at first appear like a simple boulder, but a voice whispers in Kylo’s head and the illusion is removed. Similarly for Rey’s wayfinder, the pillar could enclose the entire thing until she reaches within it to extract the tetrahedron.
In the final confrontation, Rey would call upon the spirits of the Jedi to be with her and they would help remove the Sheev illusion to reveal something like a big, much more important-looking wayfinder. This would link them all and explain the illusion without ever needing dialogue.
Y’all clearly still haven’t considered the benefits of Sheev as a giant Sith Crystal.
but of course the biggest benefit is:
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
I actually really like Version B because of the model look, and all it needs to match the aesthetic of these movies is some atmospheric distortion and an engine glow which is larger and more blue.
But either one is really good, though there’s something about Snooker’s original concept shot that I really like:
It’s that little slowdown of the Falcon as it reorients itself to go to Hyperspace, along with the punchy Hyperspace sound placed just so in the space between musical notes and the speed of its acceleration. It just feels right to me, though I do like your take on the path.
I wonder if it would be cool to see the Falcon flying directly toward the yellow sun as if it were going to fly into it, but then turn at the last moment and jump into Hyperspace.
It was really fun overall! My thoughts will probably be very sporadic so bear with me. Also, my memory off all the plot points is a little foggy since I read it sporadically as you posted, so I definitely have forgotten things. Also, I definitely missed things too, like I totally missed that BB-8 “died” at first.
BB-8’s death was a last-minute idea I had when considering ANH and the trench run and realizing that no droid in the saga has ever specifically given its life for our heroes, at least to my knowledge. So it’s understandable based on the complete lack of buildup for that sacrifice. In the final version I’d definitely have some dialogue between BB-8 and Threepio about the Jedi ideals, and during the first Star Destroyer infiltration have dialogue about how BB-8 could navigate these hallways blind, that sort of thing.
You definitely came up with ideas I never really considered, like Maz leading a gang of pirates, the medieval-style planet, Hux fencing with a lightsaber and actually being good, everyone using the Force at the end. I think that works as nice counter to Thrawn basically wanting to destroy it.
Thanks! I had the collective Force idea right from the beginning and based the story off of that moment, but all of the other ideas came about through the writing process and my trying to push these characters into the most interesting versions of themselves, whether or not it actually succeeded.
I will say one thing I wasn’t expecting was your depiction of the Knights of Ren. I imagined them as entirely different characters than the one’s we glimpsed in TFA. In TFA they seem dark, rugged, and dangerous. Whereas the Knights in Shattered Sword feel like the valiant Knights of the Round Table. I do think the hellscape idea would be interesting.
Yeah, hindsight is 2020 on that one and I’ll definitely go in a different direction in the future.
One thing I liked was that every character had a moment, even background characters like Connix or the Resistance Doctor.
Exploring those side characters was really a lot of fun since they don’t need huge arcs, but once the battle required all hands on deck as it were, it forced them into battle situations where they could have interesting reactions. It was a happy accident for sure.
I think one thing I would do differently if I were rewriting Episode IX, would be to have a lot of conflict and tension between Kylo and the Resistance crew from the beginning, and have that relationship grow until they’re friends by the final act. I feel like after Kylo makes Finn the commander of the army towards the beginning of the story, a lot of that potential conflict within the group goes away.
Definitely. That’s actually one of the reasons I’m considering the Carbon Freeze aspect. In the first draft we have Kylo essentially die and go to the Netherworld in the first act, and this forces an abrupt 180 for the character. Another reason this 180 is required is because it’s the only good reason to keep him from returning to the First Order to seek revenge or reclaim his throne. So for the final draft, the Carbon Freeze forces his body out of the action while his spirit can continue to influence the plot through Rey. This also helps put her back in the spotlight where Kylo stole it when the fleet is training. I imagine that Kylo is speaking through Rey about how to best prepare for Thrawn but the crew doesn’t trust him, and by extension they start to mistrust Rey. She now has everything on her shoulders and is pulled in all directions at once. She must prepare the Resistance fleet while also seeking out a way to heal Kylo as well as find a way to somehow rebuild Luke’s saber and the Jedi order.
I also think the moment where Rey and Ben contemplate suicide in the dead ship is pretty dark for a Star Wars movie, but I guess we almost got Hux committing seppuku onscreen too. 🤷♂️
I went back and forth on that moment for a while, but ended up going for it because it was a rough draft and it’s usually best to be too extreme rather than too timid. But you’re right, and that moment will go if I decide to use the Carbon Freeze plot since Rey will be alone with no impetus to make such a dark choice.
As far what I would like to see happen, you actually hit a lot of the beats I would like to see. I, like many people, like the idea of the final battle taking place on Coruscant. We also get redeemed Ben, Poe as a leader, Finn with other stormtroopers.
Of course there are some things I would do differently. I have certain scenes in my head that I would like to see play out. I definitely think figuring out the climax is a hard thing to do, and I think that is part of the struggle for me. How do create a satisfying antagonist when you make the most compelling villain a good guy in the first or second act?
Indeed. That’s the reason for Thrawn. If I thought that Hux alone could carry the film, or even Hux and the Spirit of the Sith, that would be fine. But Hux is specifically described as being weak, and the Spirit of the Sith is a rather nebulous threat which directly impacts Rey and Kylo only. I suppose Hux could be made to threaten Poe and Finn together while the Sith battle Rey and Kylo, but none of these villains seem to have any interest in battle strategy. I don’t know, maybe Thrawn should go precisely because I like him so much. I just feel like the First Order needs some redeeming quality in terms of its leadership.
I think you do a pretty good job of it in a unique way. I think I followed it pretty well for the most part. I typically get lost in action scenes, but I think I kept up with what was going on for the most part! I do think your second draft ideas are interesting, although I’m skeptical about Kylo being in carbon freeze and seeing how that would play out.
You and me both. I’m hoping to go in a more fantasy/dark fairy tale direction with act 2 when Rey and Kylo are joined in this way and going on this journey to Kylo’s last stronghold.
I do think Rey and Ben need to be close together whenever the climatic moment happens. I think it felt weird to me, that Ben was having this dramatic moment but Rey wasn’t really there with him, even though they are the two main characters. I don’t know if that makes sense.
I can see where that would be an issue. I tried to make it clear that they were communing through the Force at this moment, but especially if they are physically apart for all of act 2 they should be physically together at the end. It will require some more thought.
A part of me is tempted to write out my own rewrite, but seeing how much you wrote, the prospect is slightly intimidating. 😂
I’d love to see your take on it, even if it’s a brief summary. Even if it’s not as visible as a fanedit, it’s definitely been more rewarding, at least for me. 😃
Has anyone thought about changing the Rey Skywalker line for the one in the behind the scenes documentary? I feel it sounds better, Daisy delivered the line in a much more solemn way, even shed a tear.
Got a link? Or was this on the blu-ray?
I’ll send you a PM.
Here’s an update to the final shot:
https://vimeo.com/414985184
pw: faneditI made the falcon bigger, engines stronger, adjusted light speed jump direction, and smoothed the path a bit. There’s also a few other small enhancements, such as light wrapping as the falcon crosses the sun at snooker’s suggestion, and applying the general camera shake of the shot to the ship so it’s better integrated!
I also will be posting a version of snooker’s soon. He rendered out the falcon as a separate element for me to comp in, so we will have options!
Huge improvement! I think the turn that the falcon makes before it rises needs a little tune up, otherwise excellent job.
Yeah, for some reason there’s a bit less power in the jump to hyperspace than I was expecting. I don’t know how to describe it other than that.
I don’t have anything constructive to add to the crawl discussion.
That’s not a compositing error. That TIE is flying from the foreground into the background, in an opposite directon to the Falcon.
Shouldn’t they still be behind the Falcon though, based on their size? They’re clearly too small to be in front of the Falcon.
Speaking of weird compositing, one detail that I didn’t notice until recently was that some of the ships are composited into that first shot flipped the wrong way. Here’s how they should have looked, based on the lighting:
http://www.framecompare.com/image-compare/screenshotcomparison/7DK7PNNX
You can also see the error of the TIE composited over the Falcon’s antenna dish.
I think the compositing is vague enough here to support any interpretation as to where the lasers are coming from.
I think it’s almost essential that Han no be merely a memory, Force sensitivity be damned. So I’m all for it!
But that would make three of the planets in this movie Sith in nature. Four, if you count the Death Star moon.
Considering this ranking, I find your choice of username and avatar…curious.
Done!
For the future it would be nice to know how many questions there are, since it goes over several pages.