How convenient! I was wondering if we would get scenes that would be useful to any editing endeavors. Sort of serendipitous that this just dropped right in the middle of you working on that scene.
Not really a radical idea, but I would like to see the duel between Luke and Kylo Ren play out without any score. Just let it play out with the sound of the wind blowing, and the sabers crackling. Maybe you could slightly extend certain shots to help it play out a just little longer.
Wow! That’s a lot better than I expected to see in like 24 hours. I could see how maybe a little more work after a decent break and a fresh set of eyes could probably help, but I could see how putting some scratches or glare on that spot could help sell it. Either way, I think it is almost good to go.
This is some incredible work, Nev. I can see the face being a big challenge, but I know you’ll figure out a way to make it work.
Are you referring to the Prequel 3-in-1, Solo, and Rogue One trilogy idea, Anakin?
I guess that is another benefit either an Andor trilogy, or a Kenobi trilogy, because you would have a consistent cast across all three movies. Diego Luna will be in the Andor series obviously, and supposedly Forrest Whittaker and Genevieve O’Reilly will reprise their roles as Saw Gerrera and Mon Mothma respectively. And in the Kenobi series, we obviously have Ewan and Hayden back as Obi-Wan and Vader. And the actors who played Owen and Beru Lars in AOTC and ROTS are also returning.
Temba, his arms wide!
I also see potential for the Kenobi and Andor series being turned into film-length edits that can be used as prequels. I actually think they would be more fitting as prequels than Solo, which has very little to do with the Skywalkers or the Rebellion. Depending on how much content we get for Andor, you could potentially have enough content for two movie edits. And when you throw in Rogue One, you could have a trilogy with Cassian as the protagonist.
Alternatively, you might be able to do the same thing with Kenobi. Even though it is a limited series, it might have enough content for two movie-length edits, so you could potentially have ROTS be Episode I, Kenobi Part 1 as Episode II, and Kenobi Part 2 as Episode 3.
It seems like they’re kind of being ambiguous about its canon status. Honestly, I kind of hope they do fit it in somehow, I’d rather them take a risk and make some changes rather than it being an exact copy of the original.
I know some people have wondered how it could be canon if rpgs by their nature let you choose your own story path, but I think it is easy enough to deal with if you accept that their is just a canon version of events, just like we accepted it back before the Disney acquisition. Also, I think future Star Wars storytelling could simply create frame stories that these games, novels, etc. are being told from, which allows some flexibility on the canonicity of certain story details. Does that make sense?
Prequels barely work in general.
Can people really come up with any prequels outside of SW that enhance the original?
Godfather Part II is both a sequel and a prequel to the original Godfather, but it could have possibly worked just as well if it had exclusively been a prequel.
EDIT: With that in mind I do agree with what you’re saying, that prequels are challenging to write by their very nature.
I also appreciate the awkward close-up of Palpatine’s dumb face.
That sounds really good imo.
Not to bring up shit that’s already been finalized, but did we decide not to phrase Palpatine’s lines as, “A scavenger girl is no match for the power in me! I am all the Sith! You are nothing!” because we wouldn’t see Palpatine’s face on the “nothing” line? I feel like Rey’s “I am a Jedi” being a direct response to “You are nothing!” would be the clearest way to phrase it, but I can see how that was decided against based on the shots available.
With option 2, could you potentially hard cut from Anakin to the logo? And maybe play around with the musical transition, whether it starts right after Yoda gets done saying “Force”, or just cross fading the music at the hard cut? Perhaps another brief cue from the title card track could be used to help bridge the transition as well. Maybe even hard cutting away from sooner might help.
I also wonder if you could keep the hard cut at the beginning too. I noticed you also chose to fade in at the very beginning, but I personally like how the original just started without any fade from black.
If you can’t get option 2 to work I think option 3 would be alright too.
It’s all ultimately subjective. No one answer is correct but I do think the original creator no matter who they are should be given the chance to complete their life’s work. Unfortunately life doesn’t always go the way we want it to and this is a case of that.
I mean, George sold his life’s work for $4 billion. He didn’t have to do that. Disney didn’t steal it from him. Sounds like Iger gave him the impression they would follow his treatments more closely than they did, but he just as well could’ve made the Sequel Trilogy on his own terms.
As someone who was perused this site before the Sequels, it is never ceases to surprise me how much opinions on the Prequels have changed. I know a big part of it has to do with the prequel kids growing up, but I also think a lot of people have sort of gotten used to them overtime. I really think this change happened in the year preceding and following TFA’s release, so like 2013-2016.
I know it is common to say this same change of opinion will happen with the ST eventually, but I’m curious to see if that ends up really happening.
I feel like it sounds weird because there really isn’t a hard ‘d’ sound at the end of the word, but maybe that is just a symptom of the actual delivery.
Funny that this thread was made yesterday! I was just thinking to post some thoughts I had about the Sequel Trilogy, but wasn’t sure which thread I would post them on.
The Sequel Trilogy is certainly a mixed bag for me, just like it is for many others here, and I agree that it could’ve been done a lot better in a lot of ways. But, there are a few positive things I got out of these films that I wanted to share.
I actually liked how the relationships in the Skywalker family were all in a very bad place. The original trilogy definitely evolved into a family soap opera, and I think Luke, Han, Leia and Ben all being in bad places in the Sequel Trilogy allows audience members who also have their own damaged familial relationships could observe the Skywalker family and take some kind of lessons from it.
For example, a big issue for a lot of people in the ST is Luke. I know a lot of people didn’t like it, but I identified a lot with the regret and shame Luke felt. Some people can’t accept that he would make such a big mistake, and that’s fine. I guess as someone who struggles to change their bad habits and in the process has made a lot of mistakes in their life, it was cathartic to see him overcome his utter failure and grief. If the hero I identified with growing up can go through such a major setback, then maybe I can too.
Another example is Han and Leia’s relationship with their son. They’re not perfect parents, and no parent is. Every parent is going to make mistakes. No matter how hard they try to nurture and develop their children into well-rounded adults, they are going to mess up in some ways. And sometimes their kids are going to mess up too. You could argue this is unhealthy, but I appreciate that despite all of Ben’s mistakes, they loved him selflessly and gave their lives for him.
Han is definitely a father who struggled to communicate and relate with his son. In a way, they all made mistakes with Ben, and Ben made mistakes with them too. But despite being literally stabbed in the heart by his own flesh and blood, he places a gentle hand on the face of his son. There is something powerful to me in the genuine selflessness and love Han displays for Ben at the end. It’s the ultimate forgiveness. Obviously most children aren’t going to kill their own fathers, but I appreciate what it represents. Children may hurt or disappoint their parents, but parents still have this ability to love them unconditionally.
I know we all would have preferred to have had an actual scene between Ben and Leia in TROS, but in a way, I think Leia dying before Ben has chance to make it amends works narratively. I’m sure a lot of people have had the experience of losing someone before they were able to get some closure, or heal some wounds of the relationship. Just to speak personally for a minute, my grandparents helped raise me, but as a child and young adult, I feel like I didn’t really show how much I appreciated them when they were alive. I still carry this guilt. They devoted their lives to take care of me, and what did I do for them?
For Ben, he feels like it is too late for him to “come home” because his mother’s gone. But the vision of his father reminds him that what she believed in, and what she fought for, is not gone. My grandparents aren’t around anymore. I can’t take care of them and show them my appreciation. So instead, I have to decide to try and live in a way that they would’ve wanted me to live, and I have to try and make sure the effort they put into raising me doesn’t go to waste.
There’s definitely a lot I would’ve done differently with these movies if I was the one making them (which is why I enjoy fan edits), but I appreciate a lot the stuff the filmmakers decided to say about both biological family, as well as found family.
I like that combination idea. What planet they’re over at the beginning of Jedi Crash really has no bearing in that story, so why can’t it be Ryloth?
It’s also possible Kylo didn’t anticipate that she would blow up the ship.
Also, if Kylo Ren was trying to show Rey the power of the dark side, having her almost kill her friend with that power would probably have the opposite effect. At this point of the film, it probably would’ve made more sense for the story to demonstrate to Rey how the dark side can help her accomplish her goals. But can’t really do anything about that.
The Grievous stuff is pretty clever! I say go for it. Love the idea that it makes it a little personal for Grievous too.
I also think including Yoda’s opening for Dark Force Rising would be a nice thing to retain. We could think of Dark Force Rising as a cold open for the entire series.
If I knew which effects were used for the other scenes, I could potentially chip away at the remaining saber sequences. Maybe I could just find something similar in After Effects.
Oh wow, really? In that case we really don’t have that much left. I recall seeing some version of the training sequence with the crackling saber, but I don’t know if it was finalized or not.
The cave sequence and Zorri’s introduction are pretty simple, as far as the saber moves go. If we’re this close to completion, I definitely think we can push to complete the rest of those shots before the next version.
I’m curious if we could get a general sense of what crackling saber shots we have, and which scenes/shots we are still lacking.
Very random thought, and one I believe I’ve suggested before:
In the movie’s final scene, I think it would be interesting to create a new shot of Tatooine’s yellow sun coming over the horizon, and placing that at some point near when Rey activates her yellow lightsaber. I recall a lot of people wondering why they went with yellow for Rey’s saber color, and I think by placing the imagery of the yellow sun rising near Rey displaying her yellow lightsaber could help make the symbolism clearer. And to clarify, I think the yellow is meant represent a bright, and hopeful future, as well as Rey representing a new dawn for the Jedi.
Also, I don’t really know if I would prefer it or not, but I would be interested to see if we could change the final interaction between her and the old lady to go like this:
WOMAN: There’s been no one for so long. Who are you?
Rey looks over at the ghosts of the Skywalkers, then looks back.
REY: A Skywalker.
Or, you could still have her say “Rey Skywalker” and cut the old lady interrogating Rey and asking for her first name, last, date of birth, etc… haha. I just thought “A Skywalker” could be an interesting answer, because you could interpret it as Rey taking the last name, or that she is creating a new order called “Skywalker” and she is claiming that title. Maybe that would seem contradictory or redundant after Rey saying “I’m a Jedi” at the climax.
Even the title of the movie would make you think that the name of Skywalker is what is making people rise up.
EXACTLY! The rise of the Skywalker legend. The “rise” of the people inspired by Skywalker. It’s right there. That’s what I figured one of the meanings would be when the trailer first dropped.
I do think a big issue with the hangar scene is to substitute the reveal with something that is equally as substantial. The music and reaction implies something climatic, so if we can’t invent a suitable reveal, could we simply re-edit the scene to remove that moment? I believe someone has tried this before, but I think an issue is to cut around that moment and music in a way that is unnoticeable.
I agree. I would be interested to see different approaches to tightening the scene a little through editing, rather than reshooting it. I personally would cut the shot of Obi-Wan spinning. It sticks out in a duel that is generally pretty grounded.