Here are some comparison test frames from my 4K color-corrected work in progress of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
I’m trying to dial in the purple saber effect currently.

Note: Each thumbnail is a link to the full resolution file.

Leia - Blue Saber

Leia - Purple Saber

Rey - Blue Saber (no color correction)

Rey - Blue Saber

Rey - Purple Saber

If you can stomach another TROS edit then check this version out. The major goals of this edit include:

• Making the Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker more of a coherent experience
• Giving Leia more of a ‘Star Wars-y’ send off and an earlier exit (nothing but love and respect for Carrie Fisher—I’m just telling a different story)
• Granting more agency to Rey and Ben in their own story
• Establishing Emperor Palpatine as a credible threat with an intelligible plan
• Walking the fine line of introducing original or enhancing existing story lines that won’t obviously break with cannon in future Star Wars installments
• Making sure the film still has heart and humor when all is said and done. Hopefully it feels more contemplative and intentional but never dour

There’s a lot in this edit that I’m incredibly proud of. I encourage you to check the test clips in the top post to get a sense of what’s different BUT even if some of the plot points aren’t what you’re looking for in an edit I still think you’ll find it a satisfying, thoughtfully-crafted story. AND credit where credit due—a lot of this edit owes it’s existence to Ascendant and the discussion and contributions in that edit’s thread. Thank you all.

Cheers!

Would it be possible to get a link for this? Let me know!

I unambiguously love this and can’t wait to see more.

I’m really glad you liked my other edit and thank you so much for the kind words! PM sent and I hope it lives up to expectations for you.

Cheers!

The Last Jedi - Saga’s End Edition V1 is no longer supported…

I had no intention of doing an edit for this movie because other members had already tackled most of my issues with the original presentation. That said, as I wrapped my edit of The Rise of Skywalker I felt compelled to revisit The Last Jedi and now I am excited by this movie! It was a joy to work on and while, admittedly, it won’t fix everything for everyone I do hope you enjoy it as an alternative viewing option.

All the changes are listed below but some of the highlights for me are the adjustments to Luke’s characterization, the space given for different character beats and interactions, and a more emotional Leia-in-space sequence.

Cheers!

TECHNICAL

Format: MPEG-4
File Size: 13.47 GB
Run Time: 2 h 20 min
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Audio: 5.1 AAC

Available by PM

CHANGE LIST

NEW CRAWL

Chaos reigns. The First Order’s destruction of Hosnian Prime reverberates throughout the galaxy as Supreme Leader Snoke deploys his merciless legions.

Only General Leia Organa’s band of Resistance fighters stand against the rising tide of tyranny, keeping the spark of hope alive.

These brave heroes mount a hasty evacuation while a scavenger girl races to find and recruit the Jedi Master of legend, Luke Skywalker…

PROLOGUE

• Broom boy epilogue repurposed as a cold open with the re-telling of one of Luke Skywalker’s legendary exploits

*First Act Structure inspired by Acbagel

ACH-TO

• Wipe to Rey and Chewie traveling to Ach-to
• Luke senses Rey’s presence through the Force
• Sequences of Rey meeting Luke Skywalker from TFA and TLJ cut into one scene
• Music cue change when Luke tosses the lightsaber used courtesy of poppasketti
• Cut from Rey standing outside of Luke’s hut shouting “Hello” to the Resistance evacuation

RESISTANCE CRUISER

• “Oh no” moved to over-shoulder delivery
• Prank call sequence trimmed
• BB-8 repair gag slightly trimmed
• “Bombs away” removed
• Cut from Finn’s “Where’s Rey?” to sequence on Ach-To of Rey retrieving the lightsaber

ACH-TO

• Cut from Rey sitting on hillside staring off to the distance to Luke inside hut saying, “Go away”
• Wipe from Luke’s, “Where’s Han?” to Rey’s, “There’s no light left in Kylo Ren”
• Luke has a moment cut scene reinstated
• Rey follows Luke around the island
• Green Milk sequence removed
• Cut from “It is time for the Jedi to end” to Rey sleeping
• Trim but don’t fully erase Porg humor as Luke sneaks aboard the Millennium Falcon
• Cut from Luke reacting to Leia’s old transmission to Kylo approaching Snoke’s Throne Room

SNOKE’S THRONE ROOM

• No changes
• Cut to Leia having a moment on cruiser

RESISTANCE CRUISER

• Poe gets demoted
• Reverse play shot of Kylo in cockpit and add green laser flash as Kylo circles after bridge is fired on
• Custom sound mix of ears ringing and muffled/muted environment to indicate Kylo’s emotional state
• Intercut Luke on Acho-To at night in the Jedi temple with Leia still floating
• Leia opens her eyes after Luke whispers her name
• Add reverb to hallway voices as Leia is transported for medical attention
• Cut to from dropped tracker to Rey sleeping on Ach-To

ACH-TO

• Remove reference to specific number of Jedi lessons
• Wipe to Resistance meeting

RESISTANCE CRUISER

• Holdo’s introduction very modestly re-sequenced
• Holdo’s line about the “down-trodden and oppressed” removed
• “It’s weird that you recorded that” cut scene re-instated with slight modifications
• Finn and Rose meet cute slightly trimmed to remove continuity error of the traveling packed bag
• Cut from Rose’s realization about active tracking to Poe being told their plan
• Maz call re-sequenced to remove innuendo and for brevity’s sake; red plomm bloom detail removed
• Cut to Rey waking on Ach-To

ACH-TO

• Remove references to Luke cutting himself off from the Force
• Wipe to Resistance fleet

RESISTANCE CRUISER

• Finn and Rose leave for Canto Bight
• Wipe to Rey on Ach-To

ACH-TO

• Rey and Kylo force Skype; no changes
• Iris to Finn and Rose arriving at Canto Bight

CANTO BIGHT

• Casino sequence re-cut with extended footage of creatures and costumes
• New sequence ends with Finn and Rose being arrested
• Cut to Rey training on Ach-To

ACH-TO

• Lesson two has Luke reveal to Rey the entire truth about his confrontation with Ben Solo (idea by ImperialFighter)
• Removed references to Kylo killing Luke’s students
• Wipe to medical frigate running out of fuel

RESISTANCE CRUISER

• No changes
• Wipe to Canto Bight jail

CANTO BIGHT (Inspired by discussion in The Last Jedi: a Fan Edit Ideas thread)

• Flipped shot of Finn and Rose leaving the cell
• Trimmed DJ and BB-8 encounter before droid shoots coins at guard
• Escape sequence ends with open tunnel hatch
• Cut to Ach-To at night

ACH-TO

• Removed Rey asking if Luke tried to kill Ben Solo
• Luke doesn’t get knocked down by a cheap shot
• Luke’s turmoil at Rey leaving to turn Ben back to the light rouses Leia and she calls out to him
• Wipe to Finn and Rose traveling to Snoke’s ship

*VARIOUS PLOT THREADS CONVERGE AT SNOKE’S SHIP WITHOUT ANY CHANGES

SNOKE’S SHIP

• Created a new sequence of Rose, Finn, and DJ infiltrating Snoke’s ship using deleted scene footage
• Tense elevator sequence used courtesy of lorang
• Cut to Resistance Cruiser

RESISTANCE CRUISER

• Slightly adjusted Holdo’s counter-attack for smoother action
• Back and forth between Resistance Cruiser and Snoke’s ship continues as normal
• Modest resequencing of Leia and Holdo’s goodbye
• Cut to Snoke’s Throne Room

*NO CHANGES (well, layered in a screamed “no” when the FO fires on the transports otherwise…) UNTIL CONFRONTATION WITH SNOKE

SNOKE’S THRONE ROOM (sequence idea courtesy of Acbagel)

• Removed shot of lightsaber being turned
• Removed Snoke’s initial reaction to being stabbed

*NO CHANGES UNTIL FINN AND ROSE ESCAPE

SNOKE’S SHIP (Inspired by discussion in The Last Jedi: a Fan Edit Ideas thread)

• Cut from Rose telling Finn there’s a shuttle to the shuttle taking off
• Rose and Finn go to where they belong cut scene reinstated
• Cut back to Snoke’s ship

SNOKE’S THRONE ROOM

• Kylo declare’s himself as Supreme Leader; no change
• Cut to Ach-To at night

ACH-TO (ovarall placement idea courtesy of darthrush)

• Use previously cut shots of Luke’s hut interior with Jedi robes (re-colored for night time)
• Wipe to Crait

CRAIT

• Removed close up of Rose crashing into Finn
• Used explosion flash and fade to remove kiss but kept message and reaction
• All guns fire at once on Luke Skywalker
• SloMo effect on Luke appearing through dust
• Trimmed initial interaction between Luke and Kylo
• Delayed placement of Kylo’s lines “Did you come to say you forgive me? To save my soul?”
• Modestly reduced action pauses in the duel (I promise it does not reduce tension)
• Gently resequenced the final interaction and Kylo’s charge on Luke
• Iris to credits after Leia’s line: “We have everything we need”

I took another pass with that moment still in but retaining some of the subtle adjustments like timing of music in relation to dialog, removing Rose’s look of exasperation, etc… I think it may not be as obtrusive to a romance edit now and possibly gives a better transition into the next sequence.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GhL7MS1LOEiT0ajUJ0Zl3qldXjUXIGNB/view?usp=share_link

That’s fair. The problem I have with that scene in a Finn-Rose romance edit is when he walks away with the hand on the shoulder and the tight-lipped smile I read it as almost patronizing. There is no warmth there. Ultimately it’s less about adding in a suggestion of romance but more taking out something that possibly contradicts the believability of romance between them.

And one last one–not so much to imply romance but more to remove stiffness/borderline disinterest. This one required more invasive methods to pull off so if anything looks or sounds wonky let me know.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AdWQB5pXLEfXc6BQFNJFnLhAXbU1h9kL/view?usp=share_link

It’s pretty subtle but I think you can imply romance with a gentle re-sequencing of the end celebration. See the link below for proof of concept:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vU8RTCz2mi-SJvnDAeOAhqbqlcHYreF6/view?usp=share_link

First version it is. I really like the emotional beat at this point in the film using this edit but I wonder if it works in the context of the rest of the film. His other interactions with Rose are stiff and don’t seem to indicate anything beyond camaraderie. I wish there was a moment at the end in the celebration that could be used to sell this a little better.

Very late to the party but I finally had a moment to check this out and, well, it’s pretty great.

For me the series was always fine but short of what it should have been. Having it presented in a cohesive, feature format instead really works for me.

I think you’ve got sharp instincts. In fact, the highest praise I can give it is that I was able to turn off the ‘fan-editor’ part of my brain and really just enjoy it. Excellent work.

Cheers!

The broken link in a previous post has been updated but I’m also including it here for convenience.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pw9wuCTDntgqgJNoL_uwuvOKVTUUvbIw/view?usp=drivesdk

Cheers!

Sorry about that. I’ll update the link once I’ve had a chance to revisit some of the introduced dialog inconsistencies pointed out by Neverar with the latest render. I wanted fresh ears when I do attack it (probably this evening).

jadenkorr41 said:

I like that alot! My only commentary (i dont know how to do that), is if there’s a way to have him say I love you a little bit slower, so the audience can digest the mini emotional impact it gave. But i really like that edit. nice job!

I think I’ve managed to give it a little more separation and polish. Here’s an updated version:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pw9wuCTDntgqgJNoL_uwuvOKVTUUvbIw/view?usp=share_link

Anakin Starkiller said:

Wow, that is flawless! Where’d you get the line from?

Now to establish Jannah as Finn’s sister, something that would go a long way to explaining his instant connection to her. After meeting, he suddenly spends all his time with her as if he forgot Rose. Them being siblings makes sense given their shared backstory. The only issue is that it’s maybe a big contrived to just randomly stumble upon your long-lost sibling in an entire galaxy, but it’s not like SW hasn’t done that before. Then again, I suppose you could argue they’re “spiritually” siblings already because of their shared backstory. Maybe I’m overthinking things.

First off, thank you so much! I pulled a line from John Boyega’s performance in ‘Imperial Dreams’ (available on Netflix) where he is talking to his son. Honestly, it was just luck (or the force) that the quality and delivery were in a workable range for this edit.

Regarding the stuff with Jannah–I don’t want to hi-jack this thread and harp on my own edit too much but I think small changes like focusing on Finn’s force sensitivity throughout with subtle zooms and a minor scene adjustment here or there and suddenly the through-line of “the force brought us together” has more weight. De-emphasizing implications of romance (I’m looking at you “you had a good teacher” scene) also works well for this purpose.

RogueLeader said:

I do see the motivation in wanting to do that. I think where your train of thought is going though at the end is enough of a reason to explain the bond they share. They both are lost children, and that shared experience brings them together. Someone may have done this in their edit already, but I think it would be
great if was more explicit that the story of Finn was what inspired Jannah’s group to abandon the First Order. It might add more to why Jannah and her people are eager to follow Finn into the fray.

Ummm, if this exists—I need to see it. That was something I always wanted to do more with but could never quite crack. In any case, you guys are all fantastic. Thanks for the feedback.

Cheers!

RogueLeader said:

Even though I wish we would have gotten Finn/Poe, this feels totally seamless and would totally work for an edit.

Same. I tend to de-emphasize the implied romantic interests with both Zorii and Jannah in my edits already for that very reason but at least a continuity argument can be made for this change to keep it in line with Last Jedi as Anakin already mentioned.

I don’t know if I’ll have enough footage to slow it down or if it will remain kind of in sync with his mouth/head movement but I have some ideas to help emphasize the line. Tracking in some kind of sustained music when Rose says, “what, how?” and then dropping off right before he says, “I love you” kind of like the lead in to when he senses the navigation being moved to the command ship might work. Also, I might try a high frequency roll of right before the delivery too. I’ll post an update if I come up with anything that works better.

It’s hard to keep objectivity after a while. Here’s a test of the idea. Let me know what you think because I might just have to render out a V2.1 of my edit for this.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_vnit8T_z1A9Z7QJDN5lTvlPG9S6KoU-/view?usp=share_link

Cheers!

I…really like that idea. Something to try for sure.

Now that V2 is released I will be attacking the 4K edition in earnest. I’ve included some still frames that link to short, compressed clips below to give an idea of what it is looking like. I recommend downloading the files for viewing as the further compressed and downscaled versions available in the player are–not great.

MUSTAFAR MINUTE

SEEKING THE EMPEROR

SPACE CHESS

Cheers!

Thanks! I want to be very respectful about the change and I certainly don’t fault anyone who doesn’t find it to their taste but I do think it allows for a better overall story. Also, all credit to SpenceEdit for the original inspiration. Our takes are certainly different but so much of this edit would not have been possible if he hadn’t thought of it first.

PM sent, cheers!

Version 2 of The Rise of Skywalker - Saga’s End Edition is officially released in the 1080p format! The 4K color corrected version is ongoing but the more I sat with the footage the more ideas I had and what started as mini test clips evolved into a full-blown edit. The link is available on request.

Cheers!

I was stunned when I watched with the piano score. It’s a bold, creative choice with a haunting effect. That said, as with all things subjective, your mileage may vary. I’m just glad that version exists even if it doesn’t find its way into the final release.

Just a quick update bump. I’ve listed a showcase link in the top post that will contain all my test edits moving forward. It’s a bit of a sit but Acts I and III I pretty much consider locked for story at this point. I’ve still got some work to do in the middle to make sure nothing contradicts or is missing so that will be the focus of the project for the next stage.

Once that is complete I’ll resume the 4K color grade and ultimately reconstruct with all the necessary changes. Again, I’m doing it this way in case I want to do a different edit in the future as well as to give a basis for other editors so they can work whatever changes they want on the 4K workprint.

Finally, a lot of the ideas required sentence mixing and dialogue re-creation to pull off. If you watch through and notice anything wonky please do not hesitate to call it out. I appreciate your interest and any feedback and as always—cheers!

That’s great! I look forward to seeing your edit fully finished. Keep it up.