Lovely cuts and choices, I think the whole really works - but I don’t feel that the healing VFX is necessary beyond what was already there. I don’t think it necessarily adds the ‘Leia is involved’ angle you’re trying to emphasise (though I do think it’s clear enough). A Leia hand, or other ‘forcey’ SFX might be best.
ditto
That’s not a bad idea at all, especially since her force bond with the creature in TotJ barely has any analogue to her present day story - EXCEPT that there could be an implicit link to Morai. I’m not sure if it might pull focus from the core plot of the main episode though, and dilute both. What does everyone think?
Structurally, it should integrate well.
Ahsoka and Obi Wan getting grabbed by the siblings -> Baby Ahsoka getting grabbed by the “bear”
Ahsoka getting killed -> Baby Ahsoka being threatened by the “bear”
Anakin touching Ahsoka and the sister -> Baby Ahsoka touching the bear
Baby Ahsoka riding out of the woods on the bear -> Ahsoka waking up
The TotJ Episode would be cut down quite a bit, but I think this could work very well. (Maybe there is a place where a short vision of Ahsoka with her family in peace can be added somewhere as well, maybe when she is sleeping in the cave?)
EDIT:
Another idea, since Anakin gets a bit less focus with this change.
Maybe some scenes from Zillo beast can be reused to contextualize Anakin via visions a bit more? I mean, a monster rampaging in Coruscant and at some point smashing a big screen with Palpatine on it? If you contextualize it as a vision of Anakin, there can be little doubt what that means…
Edit2:
This would also create a nice symmetry.
Anakin sees his past in the form of his mother and Qui Gon manifesting on Mortis, his future in the form of a vision.
Ahsoka sees her past in form of a vision, her future in form of her older self manifesting on Mortis.
If you are going back to the Mortis Arc: Maybe the Life and Death Episode from TotJ could be integrated here via visions when Ahsoka gets posessed?
Thematically, it seems like it is worth a shot with Ahsoka getting into a bad situation, closing in on death and then making it out alive through the force…
Also, it would be a nice callback to Ahsokas visions in the bonus Episode.
As it stands, the TotJ Episode is cute and all, but does not have much of a purpose or impact. Integrated here it might actually hit harder.
These last couple of comments about the Mortis episode illustrate the problem with that episode nicely- it’s very divisive. Some people love the force deep dive, and some find it kills the mystery. I’m still broadly satisfied with the solution being to keep the magic whilst making it more inexplicit, as it treads the middle path. And the episode is necessary, due to Morai and further revelations in the Ahsoka show. I will though, as promised, release an extended version sometime!
I think you did balance it out nicely. The original was a bit too specific in places and having Anakin see his future only to remove his memory afterwards felt a bit cheap.
The one scene I missed was the one with Anakin taming the siblings, just because it is a beautiful shot. But structurally, I do not know where it could still fit.
That’s still in the potentially pile, but I’ve got a feeling there wouldn’t be sufficient value.
An episodic version of Episode 3 (preferably based on Hal9000) would be very cool though.
Going back and forth between Anakins and Ahsokas story would add to the story.
I had originally omitted Snoke’s line about bridging their minds but I’ve since decided it’s best to keep it there since that’s the whole twist of the movie.
What we decided to do is change TROS’s line in Ascendant so that Kylo says they’ve become a dyad in the Force, not that they just are one. That way Snoke still bridged their minds, but he didn’t realize he was jumpstarting a latent connection between them.
I totally get that approach, my brain kinda filled in the old dialogue/context in TRoS so that change flew over my head.
I still like the idea of setting up the Dyad in TFA, cause it gives some much needed connective tissue for the Trilogy. Maybe i have to learn a little bit more about VFX 😃
Also interested in a link 😃
Allright, idea for the whole sequel Trilogy, but starting with TFA:
I always thought it was very annoying that Snoke established the Dyad, but then Palpi does not know about it… Even though he should have, since Snoke was his puppet.
So what if in the scene in TFA where Kylo tries to drill into Reys mind and she fights back, their eyes suddenly get a double pupil or something and a sound plays in the background…
And then everytime they “Skypecall” in the later movies, the double pupils and the sound are brought back. Obviously, the line of Snoke admitting to forming the Dyad gets cut out…
This would not only fix that plothole, but also create a nice throughline, because we now see the forming of the Dyad onscreen in the first movie and then how it plays out in movie 2 and 3.
What do you guys think?
The second cut is done, but having watched it through I need to fiddle with act 2, so I’ll do this over the weekend.
Your work is very much appreciated!
Judging from the Mando Edits: 3 hours really can fly by.
I have watched most of it at this point and have to say: Very well done! It keeps most of the best parts while getting rid of the rest.
There were just a few episodes thst felt a bit off to me.
The pilot was a bit choppy. Mad respect for reducing the runtime by an hour and still have something semi-coherent. But still, it was just semi-coherent. Quick fix for one choppy feeling edit: Show a bit more of Ahsokas shuttle approaching, I think that would smoothen the transition here.
Corruption on Mandalore was a bit weird with all the costume changes and the story was again only semi-coherent. I guess we have to see what happened to Almec and there was not enough material left after cutting that episode down?
The Holocron heist also felt a bit off. If Cad Bane is using a hostage situation as a distraction, why would he put himself in said hostage situation? Him having to get out there and to the temple without someone following is quite a bet to take. Personally, I think ditching the hostage crisis would have been a net plus.
What I really enjoyed was how you handled Tales of the lost clones… It cherry picked those episodes for one really nice Anthology special.
And let me stress that this is my Goto version of this show now!
These are the 3 episodes from the rebels era. The one with Ahsoka training Ezra has probably the most potential to fit in somewhere and add to the story. But who knows, maybe there is a place where the other 2 can come in handy.
https://youtu.be/0rlugDqJOJ8?feature=shared
Have been thinking about these and wanted to just throw an idea your way: The Ahsoka training Ezra scene could be a cold opening for s02ep01. This would give you the opportunity to cut off the kiddy dialogue in the end and go to black/introduction sequence instead. And the intro would be a nice seperator for different art styles.
Also there are 2 more I overlooked:
https://youtu.be/GUs_XuFWh3Q?si=V7ekO4s__x38u6Lk
https://youtu.be/rdofQfnDd8U?si=9K88U36tArZrv6bt
Since there are 5 in total, maybe using a few of them as cold opens could be cool?
I continue to think that one of the biggest issues with the Anakin/Ahsoka thread in this series is that it comes out of nowhere.
If Ahsoka is supposed to be so scared of being like Anakin that she refused to train Sabine (or Grogu), it would be nice to see glimpses of that prior to this near-death sequence.
Maybe some flashes of these Clone Wars scenes or even flashes of Vader earlier when her mind is wandering or resting would help sell this paralyzing fear in her background.
Then, when Baylan spells it out, we could even get another flash of Vader, and then she is reunited with him.
Afterwards, the training holo could be used to show that she’s no longer afraid of him, as does her willingness to embrace his style of tactics to rescue Sabine and Ezra, and ultimately we see his approval as Anakin himself looks on.
Sounds like it is worth a try.
Just watched Ep0, was a nice edit and flowed well overall.
Only a few cuts/transitions were a bit rough:
11:40 - The Droids nearing the outpost get established in a wide shot, then it cuts to a close up of a droid being attacked. The cutting implies here, that the droid is part of the group established in the shot before, but that is not the case story-wise, which makes for a bit of a jarring edit.
23:20 - feels a bit sudden, especially the audio
29:01 - The characters jump right in front of the door from one shot to the other
32:27 - The two shots are too similar in their angle, it feels like a jumpcut.
35:40 - Audio feels a bit choppy
48:15 - Audio feels a bit choppy
It was a seamless experience and coherent for someone who has not seen the Original.
One little idea: When Karga grants land to the Mandalorians and then they leave basically the next day, it feels a bit off as it is now. I guess there was a side quest or two in between in the original show. It is not that a sudden departure does not make sense here, but it felt weird. I think this scene could very much profit from having a reaction shot of Karga. Any shot that has him looking up with a worried, sad or contemplating face would work. Because this is a setback and therefore relevant story beat in his ongoing search for a guardian, which concludes in the season finale. It would give the audden departure an active purpose in a side plot instead of feeling off. If a fitting shot exists, I think that is well worth 2-4 seconds of runtime.
…
On another note:
Until the Filoniverse is completed, this will be the Finale to my personal Star Wars Watchlist. If you ignore everything after it, it makes for a nice implicit finale.
We see Luke building an Academy, with Ahsoka last seen there and no Thrawn subplot introduced, the implication is that they build the academy together, which beings Ahsokas and Lukes Story to a very nice end.
Bo Katan has redeemed herself and Mandalore is finally reunited.
With Grogu there is now once again a force-wielding Mandalorian, that can be a bridge to the newly founded Jedi Order.
The short appearance of zeb hints at the fact that the Rebels crew is still around and active. If you watch g00bs edit of Rebels, which has the Epilogue as a separate Episode, you can just remove that Epilogue from your watchlist, not opening up the search for Ezra plotline, which makes the little hint with Zeb here totally enough.
Tatooine, known for its dangers and corruption, is under better rule and Boba Fett has found peace and his place jn the world. (we have seen him struggling a lot in the animated stuff)
And finally we have the first connections between Mandalore and the New Republic forming. Only between two specific people so far, but it is very likely to grow.
Oh, and Moff Gideon as the head of the Shadow Collective was defeated.
The only real loose thread left (when watching Rebels without the Epilogue and your Edits of the Filoni shows) is the Shadow Collective. But its leader gone and all points above taken into consideration, I am quite fine to just assume the will be defeated.
Do not get me wrong, I am very much looking forward to your future Edits. I sincerely hope the Thrawn saga plays out in a way that fan Edits can remove all build up to the Sequel Trilogy, which is unsalvagable in my opinion. Ending in a place where the Ezra Plot gets full closure and Thrawn is the final enemy would be perfect.
If you want to keep a non-title-card transition, maybe keeping just the shot of the ghost in Orbit with a wipe in and wipe out could be even better.
If the shot is not directly tied into one of the stories, it will act like a little insert/seperator to imply passage of time, that visually marks the chapter change for the audience.
It will basically act like this one if you have seen BBT: https://youtu.be/acMJYVEBVWQ?si=c6BSqutPwzaOWx_B
New Intro and Credits are very nice, “artwork” looks way better.
In the intro there seems to be a comma misssing after “clash” and I think on the 2nd page of text there are 2 different fonts used. Maybe the pace of new sentences appearing could be tuned down just a little as well, i feel like it is a bit fast.
The transition between stories is better now, i still think title cards would be better. 😃 See CWRefocused s02e07.
As always, keep up the goood work!
smudger9 said:
The workaround I’ve done (not yet released) is to use the dialogue I cut from Season 4 where Mando is discussing the Mandalorian glass he has in his possession. I forget the actual dialogue but he explains he fot it off Jawas who claim to have been on the surface of Mandalore.
That sounds even more elegant, very curious to see it.
Watched it again today and had a thought on the Beskar spear.
Maybe you cant push the AI Voice so much, but here it goes:
…
When Mando picks it up, you could add a line from Mando that says “I almost forgot about this”.
Then the conversation with Boba starts.
Mando: This is all that survived.
Boba: Beskar…
And then in the following shot of Mando add him saying: A forbidden weapon…
…
While not perfect, it would explain why we have not seen it before (forbidden and not used for a long time) and do some foreshadowing for Episode 3. And since he does not have a ship to hide it anymore, it is plausible that he carries it with him now. The alternative would be to bury it somewhere.
It is like all the Disney content: Some good stuff buried in filler. (Sequel Trilogy and Obi Wan Show excluded, those are beyond saving.)
These are the 3 episodes from the rebels era. The one with Ahsoka training Ezra has probably the most potential to fit in somewhere and add to the story. But who knows, maybe there is a place where the other 2 can come in handy.
https://youtu.be/0rlugDqJOJ8?feature=shared
As long as it is just an option and not mandatory.
Idea after watching EddieDeans Clone Wars Refocused halfway through: He found a nice way in s03ep00 to include some forces of destiny stuff relating to Ahsoka. Maybe there is a way to construct a similar interlude for the Rebels related FoD stuff? More of a Gimmick, but it was kinda enjoyable in this format.
Personally, I dont need a higher FPS, cause of the soap opera effect.
I think my main feedback for the Familial Bonding episode is the jump between ending the Fighter Flight arc (which I like as is by the way) and moving into the Phantom scene is a bit jumpy. That’s where the episodes naturally break, but I don’t know if there’s some transitional shots that can be recovered from somewhere to link the two by showing the Phantom being launched or something in between? Maybe some kind of “onto the next mission” voice over?
This also pulled me out of the story a bit. Maybe a “Part I” and “Part II” Title card respectively?
That would signal to the viewer that these are two separate stories with a common theme and prevent that “wait, what happened?” moment when the episode switch happens.
Other than that, I really like what I have seen so far. The new intro is way better than the old one, not to say the old one was bad.
Super excited about this. Big fan of the Mandoverse Edits.
You’re right that these are severe problems with Rogue One being a preqquel, but that hardly seems fair to blame the original movie from 1977 for not taking that into account.
Not “blaming” the movie. Just wanna recut it for a smoother binging experience