This sounds great! Can’t wait to check it out.
I definitely think Palpatine’s kidnapping would work as a great bonus episode.
I have to say, I’m really happy with the reception the puppet show has gotten. It’s not a big thing, but it seems like it will be a nice little detail fans will notice.
Hey Sherlock! Long time no talk. I’ve had a big life change recently so I have been away from fan editing projects the past few months. But, luckily I’m not on the road as much anymore, and I literally just brought my computer to my new apartment last night. Life is busy (maybe even more so now than before), but I might have time to sit down and play around with the Rey Nobody stuff when I have free time.
Something I was wanting to do with that scene is to replace the parent stuff with an actual reason that Rey might join Kylo and fall to the dark side. I felt like you could replace the parent flashbacks with Kylo elaborating on the vision they had at the beginning of the film (or at least in this version). In this version, they both would have seen visions of the battle of Exegol, and the Resistance losing. So, Kylo would make Rey doubt that she can defeat Palpatine on her own.
So in that version, Kylo tells/shows her that the Resistance will fail. Then in the hangar, he tells her that if she joins him, they will succeed. This would begin to make this fate feel inevitable, especially if the alternative is the death of her friends. Plus, we have a more solid reason why Rey might turn beyond just having darkness in her.
I think trimming the scene is definitely an option, and something other fan editors have done before. I know Dom did this very slightly in his edit (the parent talk is still there). I believe joshuabri did something similar in his Palpatine-less edit as well. I can’t recall the seamlessness of either, though, which would be my main concern. Are we noticing obvious cross fading in the music? Weird continuity?
You could start the scene like Dom started his version, and then fill the rest of the scene with various taunts from Kylo whenever necessary. I think cutting around the whole “It was Palpatine” bit is the more challenging part to cut around. Perhaps you cut find a good place to cut together their clashes before and after their pause in the fight. Maybe before their sabers hit and the set changes to Kijimi. That might be a way to avoid the dramatic music swell from when we see her parents getting killed.
(Cut at 01:01:18 up to 01:01:47 maybe?)
This might be necessary if we can’t find a good way to get around the way Kylo’s lines echo into the other tracks. Has anyone properly worked around this problem before? Anyway, it might be cool to see if someone could cut around that whole moment I mentioned earlier.
I actually feel like it is sort of important to make it clear that Leia didn’t finish her Jedi training. Luke has to be the last Jedi, after all. I actually find it funny that the writers even specified that it was her last night of training.
At least two things you would have to address. First, you would have to change the context of Padme’s scenes where she is watching the temple burn, wondering if Anakin is there, as well as her mentioning that to Anakin. This scene has to happen though in order for Anakin to tell Padme that he is going to Mustafar.
Maybe Padme heard about an attack at the Senate building and is reacting to that. Change to the dialogue perhaps? Then, her reaction to the temple burning could still be used, but now she is not crying over Anakin potentially being there, but by the transpiring events in general. The beginning of the end of the Republic.
Second, you would have to change the context of the security hologram Obi-Wan sees at the Jedi temple, since Anakin never went there in this version. Perhaps you could change some of the audio to imply that it is a security hologram of when Anakin saves Palpatine from Mace and submits to him.
I think part of the reason they changed that was to not make it so Kylo was just following Palpatine’s orders. But you’re right that it does make it more complicated.
Are you planning to use the same musical cue from Solo as Ridley did? Perhaps you could trim the shot before his face moves in front of it. You kind of end up with weird continuity between that shot and the following shot regardless. At the very lest that could be an option if that ends up being too difficult.
Well in the mockup I posted, I only replaced two window panes with the BTS footage. In the left front window you can just see in the shadows the ESB cockpit door. The door is repeated in the BTS footage behind Han, which means that the perspective is shifted a good meter or so to the right at the back of the cockpit. I could line up the perspective more accurately, but if I do that then Han’s face is obscured by a window pane. Notice also that part of the BTS cockpit is curving down from the ceiling into the window area, which would need to be fixed.
So basically, I had to misalign the shots to create an acceptable composition. If I had a more straight-on view, the misalignment could be sold more easily.
If it’s not a big deal to anyone I could go ahead and work from this, but it’s not entirely ideal.
I think the angle you have in the proof of concept shot is 100% okay. Are you going to have to just mask out the camera rig that’s in the shot? Seems like it will be a pain in the ass, but considering some of the other things you’ve already done, I think you have the skills to do it. At least it is just a single, brief shot.
I might be able to help with the logo stuff. I’ll try to mess with that when I get a chance.
Luke’s test in the Dark Side cave on Dagobah was purely a fight with his inner darkness. Through his training, Luke was sensing more and more his own dark potential which Yoda redirected by telling him that the darkness existed within an entirely normal cave. This allowed Luke to exteriorize an interior feeling and bring it to light.
Ooo, I love this idea. I prefer it being a total psychological thing rather than there being a “Force nexus” tied to a physical location.
Interestingly, Shamook is actually a deep fake researcher, and it seems like his YouTube content has become more of a byproduct of his research. So at first this hiring feels like Lucasfilm hired a fan with a interesting hobby, but Shamook is actually a professional in his field, to my understanding.
It’s possible he’ll be doing work for future Star Wars projects down the road (him improving older effects is possible but I doubt it), I think they’ve brought him on now for the new Indiana Jones film. There will probably be flashbacks to young Indy, so I imagine Shamook will be working with ILM to make the effect look as believable as possible. I’m pretty excited to see what they’ll cook up.
My childhood trauma is bubbling up to the surface.
The puppet show stuff has basically been done for over a month now. But I start a new job at the end of last month, so I just haven’t had time to export everything properly. I had trouble exporting the audio in the appropriate format during my last attempt, so that’s the only thing I have to get to Hal, really.
I’ll share that with you as well, MR!
I’ve actually suggested a similar idea before, but you could potentially replace Anakin killing the Separatists leaders with Anakin killing a group of Jedi that have rendezvoused on Mustafar.
First, you would have to cut Palpatine telling Anakin to go to Mustafar after he has killed all the Jedi in the temple, and then Anakin telling Padmé that he is going to Mustafar to “end this war”.
Instead of Anakin calling Palpatine after he’s killed the Separatists, you could replace that hologram with a Republic/Imperial officer telling Palpatine that they’ve received reports that a group of Jedi have been spotted on Mustafar. Then, Anakin just tells Padmé that he’s going to Mustafar for a very important mission.
This would be the hard part, but you could potentially have actors dress as Jedi and film in front of a green screen, then create new shots to replace them with the Separatists. You could even have someone dress as Anakin, and since Anakin has his hood on in this scene, you could just avoid the body double’s face.
Though if you were going through all of that effort, it might just be better to make a “Darth Vader hunting Jedi” fan film.
This is really cool, Faraday! I’d like to check this out sometime.
I’m trying to think of how you could get the red plom bloom thing to work…
I believe that was Sir Ridley. I don’t think Ridley ever posts on here anymore so I don’t think it is likely we’ll get this scene.
I think Ridley’s plan was to take that behind-the-scenes shot and mask out all of the production stuff. Probably would have been a bit of work. I can’t recall the framing of that shot exactly off the top of my head though.
Yeah, at least for this version, I think it would be better not to do it.
If the AI voice plan doesn’t work or isn’t convincing, I feel like his TLJ line, “You’re not alone” could fit there. Feels like it could be a nice callback, and it would be an appropriate response to what Rey might be feeling internally in that moment. Like, Ben has left her alone, and then he responds through the Force that she’s not alone.
Now that Cad Bane has showed up it seems very likely to me that the Fett vs Cane story-arc might be repurposed for this series. I haven’t read up on the details of the unfinished episode(s) but I would assume they wouldn’t have to change too much lore-wise.
From what I recall, the unfinished Bounty Hunter arc had Bane and Boba team up to rescue a child kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. Then Bane and Boba later duel over some ethical dilemma, I think Boba was leading a town insurrection for some reason on Tatooine. I doubt much of this being carried over to Bad Batch, but I would LOVE if we got that Boba vs Bane stand-off.
I actually think Bane’s duel with Hunter sets it up. The audience is reintroduced to the audience as a formidable duelist. Bane saying, “I’ve taken down so many clones over the years. Once you figure out one, the rest are easy” would be a great set-up for a duel with another clone: Boba.
With the War of the Bounty Hunters arc going on in the comics right now, it almost feels like we could get a similar “war” between bounty hunters over Omega. At the very least, I could see Boba dueling Cad Bane for money or moral reasons. I would be so stoked if we get to hear Cade Bane say in his signature voice, “It’s just you and me now, Boba Fett.”
Speaking of War of the Bounty Hunters, I know it has been compared a lot to Shadows of the Empire since it is covering Boba’s struggle to get Han to Jabba and the general events between ESB and ROTJ, but I kinda see another similarity too. Although it isn’t exactly the same, I feel like we’re basically getting a multimedia exploration into the life of Boba Fett.
War of the Bounty Hunters covers what Boba was up to in-between his two OT appearances. The Book of Boba Fett seems to be exploring different parts of his life, like what happened to him after ROTJ, and then what he is doing after Mando Season 2. If we do end up seeing Boba in the Bad Batch, we could possibly see a snippet of him becoming that feared bounty hunter we first met in the OT.
I actually went back and watched the scene of Leia pulling herself back to the Raddus, and I honestly think it is gonna well. I still don’t think it looks bad, and the idea of her looking like Mary Poppins make zero sense to me. Glad you’re keeping it. I mean, this is the novel anyway, so people can imagine it however they want.
Regarding the spy stuff, you wouldn’t need Holdo, D’Arcy or any of the top people suggest that they’re might be a spy. Maybe during the briefing, there could be rumblings amongst the crew wondering if there is a spy. Basically, people on the ship are paranoid, and think that could be a possibility.
Because of that, Holdo could be cautious about letting information leak, so she could tell Poe that it is a “need-to-know” plan, and he doesn’t need to know. And when Finn and Rose tell Poe about the hyperspace tracking, Poe is already sort of pissed at Holdo, which is why he mocks her by saying their plan is a “need-to-know” plan, and she doesn’t need to know.
Alternatively (or additionally), it could be nice if Holdo said something more straightforward to Poe. She could basically say he needs to learn how to follow orders, since he clearly struggles with that. Holdo could even give Poe some kind of orders, but then we see Poe blow them off to try and save the day in his own way.
Anyway, I’m sure you’ll figure out something good.
Yeah, to me, the throne = power. Kylo doesn’t want to be a Sith, but he wants that power.
Fuuuuck, spelling it out like it that makes it so good. In a way, it fits really well with what we’re already doing with Restructured. We all know that TFA is guilty of being a little to similar to ANH. But since the whole film has been establishing that similarity, when the Rebels 2.0 actually fail to blow up the Death Star 3.0 in time, it should actually be surprising to the audience. The film had set them up to expect our heroes to save the day in the nick of time, just like ANH.
With this version of Rey vs Kylo, we expect Rey to “use the Force” just like Luke and be victorious. Although Rey is also victorious, the audience should be surprised that our hero used the dark side to win. Whoa. Wasn’t expecting that.
But it makes sense, because no one has taught Rey the difference between the good side and the bad, and seeing her potential raises the stakes for why she needs some guidance. I know I’ve said this before, but these changes really change TFA’s weaknesses sort of into strengths when you use those weakness to surprise the audience in the third act.
It definitely makes me realize the Sith eyes are a simple, efficient way to show the audience that she is channeling the dark side. You wouldn’t be 100% sure any other way.
Why did you swap out the voices of Finn/Chewie for the Force whispers. I mean, I think it works, but I think her using her friends’ pain to feed her anger also worked well. It helped show the audience what she was thinking/feeling. Are those dark side whispers specifically? I felt like the whispers she hears on Ahch-To, for example, never felt like “dark side whispers” in particular to me.
I know it didn’t fit, but with you leaning into this dark side direction, it sort of makes me wish Han’s alternate death track was used when Rey beats Kylo!
That’s a good idea. This issue also might be a remnant of DOTF plot point, where the First Order has literally blocked communications across the galaxy, and our heroes try to get a message out to their scattered allies. In that scenario it would definitely make sense why Poe would be a little of unsure of the galaxy’s resolve to fight the First Order.
Using the word ‘silencing’ could be interpreted as them attacking/destroying rebel planets, as the current craw is basically saying, or it could be interpreted as blocking communications from the rest of galaxy, helping to explain Poe’s skepticism. It would also sort of explain why Lando has to physically go to the Core Worlds to get that message to potential allies, rather than being able to send a message directly from their base on Ajan Kloss.
Yeah, I think the “They’ve given up” is the most problematic line. That makes it seem like everyone has accepted the First Order’s rule. I think Poe saying “everyone is so afraid” can still work though. People can be rebelling and still be afraid. Maybe Poe means everyone is too afraid to join forces to fight for the galaxy, rather than their own planets.
And what is funny regarding that seeming contradiction between the new crawl and the Poe scene is that the contradiction would’ve existed in the original version of the film if they kept the entirety of the Mustafar scene. In the original version, Hux and Pryde are on the surface of Mustafar watching Kylo dispose of their enemies, and Hux says, “Flames of rebellion burn across the galaxy and Ren chases a ghost.”
I like this version better personally! I think making the eyes too obvious makes it feel a little too in-your-face.