RogueLeader

nhoj3, solid analysis. I’m sure many others have broken down the plan in a similar way. I also came to a similar conclusion when I first started thinking about fanediting ROTJ. After some time I tried to think of a simpler solution that would require less changes, since even this multiple back-up plan theory stills seems overly complicated. But after some time, I think that maybe Luke’s plan was to get to the Sarlacc all along, and to get as much back-up there for the escape as possible.

How does this work? It works under the assumption that Lando has learned the ins-and-outs of Jabba’s palace since he has been undercover. Maybe Lando came to the conclusion that escaping the palace was almost impossible, and Jabba would be unwilling to bargain. Jabba himself is practically untouchable, but one of the few times Jabba leaves his palace with only a fraction of his guards is when he goes to the Pit of Carkoon for executions. So, instead of someone having to escape the heavily fortified palace, Jabba literally takes prisoners out of his fortress and practically hands them a getaway vehicle (the skiffs).

With this in mind, things can start to make more sense. Luke “gifted” the droids to Jabba in order to get them conveniently placed jobs that get them on the inside (maybe Lando sabotaged the previous barge droid and translator). Chewbacca was brought in as extra muscle for the sail barge escape and as a means for Leia to get in. Leia’s mission was to get Han out of the carbonite, but she went in knowing that actual escape was unlikely. I don’t think they planned for Leia to be made into a slave girl, but Leia did make it work in the end. Bottomline, Han had to be let out, otherwise he would be left frozen in the palace while everyone else went to the Sarlacc to be killed.

And if you think about it, Lando could have let Han out himself, but actually getting out of the palace was pretty much impossible, and they needed as much back-up as possible for the sail barge escape, which I think was why Leia and Chewie were brought into it. And with Lando compromised, they wouldn’t have anyone on the inside to make sure that all the pieces were where they needed to be.

Then it comes down to Luke. Luke’s job would be to take out the Rancor, the only other man-eating creature keeping them from the Sarlacc (and their escape). I think Lando obviously would have told Luke about the trap floor, which makes me think falling into the Rancor Pit was intentional. Once that inital means of execution was out of the way, the only thing left to satisfy Jabba’s well-known ego was to kill his enemies with the Sarlacc. Everything points to it; R2, Chewie and Luke seem confident the whole time, R2 is exactly where he needs to be with the lightsaber, and everybody is nodding their heads at each other like this is exactly where they wanted to be. Maybe they just didn’t tell 3PO so they could add an air of authenticity to the situation. They can’t all be cool, calm and collected.

And I think there would only need to be minimal changes to help this plan be clearer.

• I would rather remove as little footage as possible, but when Luke is in the Rancor Pit, you could cut a shot or two of him desperately trying to get out through the door. If he needs to kill the Rancor, he shouldn’t be trying to escape just yet. So show him running across the pit, cut to the Rancor turning around, then cut back to Luke looking for the gate switch.

• Another change that could help would be to add/alter a line from Jabba. For example, when Leia and Han get caught by Jabba, he says something before Han starts trying to talk his way out of it (like he always does, EVERY TIME), but there are no subtitles there. Maybe Jabba could say something about how escaping his palace is impossible, or how they never would have gotten past all of his guards, or how no one leaves his palace unless he allows it, etc. There may be a better place to put this kind of line, but a line like this could help foreshadow or hint to the plan.

• A third, not completely necessary change would be to add more guards throughout his palace.

Personally, I’ve accepted this as their plan and I think the movie already works pretty well as is with that in mind. The main thing that sticks out to me is Luke trying to get out of the Rancor Pit, but one could probably rationalize that somehow. These changes might help make that plan clearer if Adywan or another editor felt the need to clarify the plan.

Sorry for the long post, just thought I would put this idea out there while it was on topic.

TL;DR The Han Rescue Plan was to get to the Sarlacc Pit. It was the easiest way to get everyone out of the palace, away from the majority of Jabba’s guards, and to get a free escape vehicle.

Like NeverarGreat suggested, I think “The Starkiller Edit” is clean and concise. It makes it clear that the changes in this version revolve around the use of Starkiller Base in the film.
I definitely think Starkiller Base was one of the biggest gripes people had with the movie, so just seeing that subtitle would immediately interest people.

NFB, I really enjoyed your rough cut back in April and I do think it has the potential to be one of the most influential edits of Revenge of the Sith out there. I wanted to ask, have you considered just ending that Vader transformation scene with the breathing, or when he says, “Yes, Master” but keeping the other ending scenes? I feel like if you end the movie on his breathing, it will feel like something is missing. Even though the movie is about Anakin’s fall, I do think that Obi-Wan is almost as important if not equally, so cutting his last scenes could feel like we don’t get much of a conclusion to his story in this film. I think you could still cut out the “NOOO” moment but leave the rest of the ending intact.

I think your rationalization as to why you should cut that bit of that scene makes sense, it is motivated by characterization, which is the entire theme of this edit, but removing the rest could make things feel unresolved, possibly. Maybe it would work once it is seen, but it is something to consider!

doubleofive said:

I believe our Rogue Leader has a whole battalion of troops waiting.

Haha, well if the strike team ever needs reinforcements I’d love to apply, even if it was just to lug the equipment around. I think it would be great for someone to document the process throughout the project as well. I’m sure it’s already been discussed though.

Ady, does the California unit need any extra hands to volunteer for crew or cast?

NeverarGreat said:

Here’s what I was able to come up with:
https://vimeo.com/214921566
Password: ren

Getting closer! I’m sort of hearing, “You- You’ll give(me) the map to me” as of now. Like, the “you” part seems to jump and sounds like I’m hearing “me” quickly after “give”. I’m guessing you’re going for, “You will give the map to me”, right? Anyway, I know this is hard but I think it is almost there, and the cut itself looks good.

NeverarGreat said:

If I could manipulate Kylo’s line to be ‘You will give the map to me’ then Rey’s appropriation of that sentence structure in the next scene would make a lot more sense. If that worked, I doubt that I would keep the split scenes, and would settle for a more subtle edit in this section.

I think this is the best solution. Better to change less if possible rather than more. Kylo already “kind of” says it, like, “And now you’ll give it to me.” Maybe the proceeding back and forth, battle of the wills, that they have going on, you could fit in the line, “You will give me the map” or a similar phrase during that back and forth. It would help parallel Rey’s attempt, who also repeats the phrase until it works.

Nice! Liked the trailer too. Also a good idea to release on May 4th. I wouldn’t be surprised if it got a bit of attention.

DominicCobb said:

Somehow I missed this. I think it mostly works (providing the audio transitions are smoothed up). As much as I really love that Finalizer shot, I don’t think it really makes sense for Kylo to be there. I do kind of like the snow mountain shot in between though.

Neverar mentioned this earlier. I definitely think using the mountain est. shot for both scenes would work the best, and just cut the Finalizer shot. My only concern would be that Vader’s helmet will now be on Starkiller Base rather than the Finalizer, so we could possibly create a continuity error if Vader’s helmet appears in The Last Jedi. But apparently all of the main villains had time to escape Starkiller’s destruction, so I guess you could just hand-wave it and say they just grabbed it before they left.

DominicCobb said:

Yeah I feel like that’s the one I’m sort of leaning towards but it’s hard to know how well it’d work without actually seeing it.

I went ahead and made a rough version where his counsel with Vader is in between Han & Leia’s talk and Rey’s interrogation. Didn’t put the entirety of those two scenes in the video, just enough to get the gist. I also went ahead and put the two Maz scenes back together where the Kylo scene originally was just to see if the transition would work without it in between them. Like I said, it’s rough, but maybe it’ll help you guys decide if this direction is worth pursuing.

https://vimeo.com/213984598

darthrush said:

I’m going to be making a crawl for Rogue One and I’m very curious if I should have the title text above the main body read just “ROGUE ONE” , or if I should have “A STAR WARS STORY” beneath it. I think I’m leaning towards it just reading “ROGUE ONE”.

If you’re still going to have it open with “STAR WARS” before the crawl rolls in, it might seem strange for it to then say “A STAR WARS STORY”, like it would be redundant. You could use “ANTHOLOGY” instead, I always preferred that. If not that, I would just have it say “ROGUE ONE”.

Hal 9000 said:

I dislike the unnecessary inclusion of the Death Star as part of a very abrupt slideshow of placing everything neatly how it is as ANH begins.
Unfortunately, I think the scene feels ‘edited’ when we have Tarkin joining Palpatine to gaze out the window and miming “I’ll leave you two to it” without the Death Star.

I believe this may have been mentioned before and although this may not be necessary for Hal’s edit, I think a good solution would be to use some photoshop wizardry to put the laser dish on the station’s equator. It would suggest that this is not the same Death Star we see in the OT, but possibly a smaller prototype. This would also connect with the schematics in the Death Star plans the Rebels steal, since that also features a version where the dish is on the equator.

Hal 9000 said:

Here’s another revision of the crawl that I rather like. This one will probably be what I go with.

Episode VII
THE FORCE AWAKENS

Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen in secret from the ashes of the fallen Empire.

Failing to convince the New Republic to combat this emerging threat, General Leia Organa mobilizes a covert RESISTANCE to gather allies from the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

Desperate for her brother’s help, Leia has sent her most trusted pilot on a daring mission to Jakku, where a clue has been discovered to Luke’s whereabouts…

This is good! I also like “fallen”, but if you wanted to use a word closer to fractured, you could also say, “from the ashes of the shattered Empire.”

Sir Ridley said:

And also, Chewies arm can be seen briefly at the edge of the screen and he is seen in the crowd shot as well. Perhaps this could be covered up, to make it seem like he went straight inside.

I would definitely vote to go ahead and just crop him out. Out of sight, out of mind. And JJ himself said it was a mistake on his part. Great job with the music, too!

NeverarGreat said:

It would be pretty wizard if the whole battle looked like this:

Probably outside the scope of this edit though 😃

I know this is a gentle restructure, but this would be a nice to shot to have reinserted into someone’s edit too.

Great work, Sir Ridley! This is really coming together!

NeverarGreat said:
I feel like a broken record saying this yet again, but why isn’t the castle a seething pandemonium when they see the First Order on the attack?

I like to think it is the fact that no one has probably seen a Star Destroyer or TIE Fighters for 30 years, so most of the people are just staring in disbelief at what they’re witnessing. The shock eventually wears off though and they all scream and scatter, like some already have according to the background screams in the initial shots.

Yeah, I almost missed it the first time. I had earbuds in when I was watching that part so that might be why I caught it. You may be content with it but I just thought I would point it out to you just in case. If you decide to fix it, the easiest option would be to remove it, or use an earlier line of Boussh’s maybe.

Hal 9000 said:

Nah, the movie hasn’t been modified nearly enough to merit that. Not a bad idea, though, with the title motif.
The crawl will merely include a few descriptors for political background, like “…sinister FIRST ORDER has risen in secret from the ashes of the fractured Empire,” and, “Failing to convince the New Republic of this looming threat, General Leia Organa mobilizes a covert RESIATANCE to…”

Cool! I’m glad your using bits of what I had suggested. “mobilizes a covert RESISTANCE” sounds great too.

With Finn saying “They’ve done it.”, it honestly might take a group effort to make it work. Maybe starting from scratch, adding completely new foley, using a different score as others have suggest and then using reworked lines of Finn could really improve that whole sequence. There already seems to be several good ideas that could lead us in the right direction. It definitely gets me excited for V2 as well!

darthrush said:

This hasn’t been mentioned before. Could you be a little more specific?

Sure, when Boussh speaks around the 14:45 mark, I believe you can hear the thermal detonator beeping when she speaks. This is when Chewbacca is being taken away. I thought it was Boussh’s lines reused from 14:30, which would explain why you can hear the detonator “beeping”, but I might be wrong.

xxtelecine 7xx said:

Someone please correct me if I am wrong is there any point in season 2 where it was explained by a character why her sabers were white? I am a huge SWTOR fan I like have 5 characters in that game, since there is no clear distinct reference outside of a behind the scenes or a online media source from a producer I think I am going to stick with green. I just rendered her first sequence with green. There is no reason why she could not of stuck with her preferred color from the clone wars she was still a light side force wield knight so I would have to think she would have been able to find some green crystals after she left the order shortly before order 66. Filoni & co would have been vetoed on that one by George himself if he was still in the directors chair.

Just as a reference, this is a BTS webisode where Dave Filoni explains his reasoning for giving Ahsoka white/near-white lightsabers at the 3:00 minute mark. Not agreeing with it is totally fine, that is what fan editing is all about after all!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xggYEpemcck

I agree that Lucas usually seemed pretty steadfast when it came to saber colors, but that seemed to start changing before he left. I mean, this is the guy who gave Samuel L. Jackson a purple lightsaber just because he asked for one with no real logic behind it. A Jedi Master in TCW episode “The Wrong Jedi” used a near-white lightsaber when Anakin was fighting Barriss Offee at the Jedi Temple, which you can see at the 2:17 mark. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6_0Y4nnylA).
This guy’s saber also appears in an earlier episode, “Lightsaber Lost”, which Filoni claimed it to be a very light blue in this Q&A, question 14 (https://www.facebook.com/notes/dave-filoni/qa/10150219391017571), but they clearly made it an almost white if not pure white in the Season 5 episode. It’s possible Lucas became more lax with saber colors during Clone Wars, since he apparently was also the one who came up with the Darksaber (http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/01/28/star-wars-are-you-ready-for-the-mandalorians).

With that said, these are your edits and I think you should go with whatever color you wish. After all, you’re the one putting all of the work into this, not me or anyone else, so you should pick the color you want. I think your reasoning for why she would go with green is sound, doesn’t bother me at all. And if you can go back a little earlier in that Rebels BTS video, Filoni talks about Ahsoka’s outfit and how he imagined her getting this ancient samurai-esque armor from an old Jedi temple somewhere, so if her outfit is an antiquated design, why couldn’t she have found yellow crystals (or the green) at the same place she got the armor? This train of thought actually makes me like the idea of the yellow lightsabers even more. As if she were harkening back to how the Jedi used to be. It would connect it with the Old Republic even more.

Bottom line, I don’t think there is a wrong choice, but I definitely think you should go with green or yellow if that is what you want. It’s the least you deserve for the work you have put into not only this but all of your other projects too. So I’m 100% behind your choice, just thought I would share my initial thoughts as well. Honestly, I’m more worried about how those damn saber-copters can be removed without messing anything else up…

I agree a lot with ben_danger. If you don’t do white, I would still do a near-white of blue, green or yellow if you do change it. Although I do think KOTOR 2 does feature silver lightsabers, so they do exist in those games as well. The reason I would say keep it white/near-white is because, like others have said, it reflects her being unaffiliated with the Jedi or the Sith, which the Filoni & co. intended I believe. If you go near-white, maybe just a hint of a “Jedi” color would suggest her being still light side oriented.

Also, I’d also love to have the saber-copters removed. The issue, though, is that they seem heavily integrated into the finale episode, and trying to remove them might make the episode feel like there are gaps that should explain how the Inquisitors move around so quickly. The third inquisitor falling to his death due to his saber malfunctioning would also have to be changed. I wish the concept hadn’t have been introduced in the first place, but removing them may prove difficult.

Regardless of your decisions, I also wanted to say that I appreciate all the work you put into this. I know it’s time consuming but the final product is definitely professional quality.

I just had the chance to watch and just wanted to let you know that I thought you did a fantastic job. I did make a few notes I wanted to share with you while I watched it. I know you have already done your version 2.0 so I apologize if you have already changed any of this.

• Someone may have pointed this out, but when Bib Fortuna speaks to Leia in disguise, you can faintly hear the clicks of the thermal detonator when she responds to him even. I would suggest trying to use a different line if there is one that is possibly cleaner. Otherwise, I would just not have her say anything. I know you have your version 2.0 pretty solidified, this would be the only thing I would really like you to consider looking at if you haven’t already.

• Also, I would also vote to cut that whole reveal shot of Lando if possible. Even though you cut out him slowly pulling his mask down, he still awkwardly bumps his helmet against the ceiling. And I think when Lando reaches out for Leia when Luke falls into the pit is a little more subtle reveal.

• For the ghost Obi-Wan scene, although I’m not really a fan of using prequel music in the OT, I think that track is a good choice for that moment.

• With the scene of Luke revealing the truth to Leia, was there a reason you decided to remove Han coming onto the bridge? You could cut the jealousy out to just make it seems like he’s just concerned and is comforting her. I’m guessing the audio cuts might be noticeable when cut that way. I don’t think not having it makes a big difference though.

• Wonderful job with the battle! I think you’ve really simplified the battle and really got rid of the campiness of the Ewoks. The Ewoks definitely just seem like a distraction now. I didn’t notice any audio issues either so well done.

• I think since you’re keeping force ghost Anakin, having him disappear works really well. Would you say that Luke just burns his suit to memorialize him, or to destroy the last piece of Vader maybe, rather than actually burning a body?

• I think one of my favorite things you’ve done is the “he’s my brother” scene. What once was surprise/relief now comes off as surprise/joy, like he’s really happy for them that they’re brother and sister, since they both have no family left.

Anyway, just wanted to say great job and point those few things out to you. Sorry if this feedback is a little late or redudant. I appreciate all of the work you put into this.

I would like to see this too!

Bingowings said:

I would remove all the captions for locations.
Was the bit on Knowhere even necessary?

Haha, I honestly thought of Knowhere when I first saw it too, but I honestly just removing the location title cards would diminish that comparison a lot. If it is necessary or not is another issue though.

If anything I would add even more smashed up Jedi related buildings so the Death Star really can clear out something substantial.

Maybe that overhead shot of the U-wing and the giant Jedi statue could be reinserted? Wouldn’t make a big difference but it would add a little bit more to it maybe. Might be redudant though since the other shot of the same or similar statue is in Bodhi’s first scene.

Jackpumpkinhead said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qt3OVPpjAs

These look great Jack! Definitely agree that it’s much better than the original.

Bingowings, I also wasn’t crazy about the score the first time I saw the movie, but Rebel Force Radio did a really interesting podcast analyzing the soundtrack and I have to admit I really appreciate it a lot more, even the title card theme, which I hated the first time around.

But honestly Jack’s new title cards makes it all around better, I would also suggest those in the “no crawl camp” to consider using a different version of the Rogue One theme. The Jyn Erso & Hope Suite has two different versions of the theme; the first can be heard around 3:20, and the second around 3:58. They both sound less triumphant and more bittersweet, which might be more fitting for the movie. Unfortunately those two parts don’t fade out the same way as the title theme does, but one could combine one of these versions with two fade outs present in this track, if possible: the one at 4:23 and another long one towards the end of the song, 5:08. Here is the track on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/w42CTq5QZtI

Regarding the title cards, it’s hard for me to say which one I like better. I love the way you have the letters turn like they did in some of the trailers, but also having it zoom out but with that color/font is a good middle ground. I honestly didn’t like seeing Star Wars above it at first but it actually looks fine in retrospect.