I personally think the the pirate opening should stay as you may be removing a large part of the plot of the movie.
We’ll see as the series unfolds. My feeling is that removing it will enhance the plot.
Here is the thread discussing my Skeleton Crew Movie Edit.
It is a single movie weighing in at 2h 50 mins, is presenting as a classical Star Wars movie and covers the whole of the season.
“In the aftermath of the
EMPIRE’s collapse, peace
has been restored by the NEW
REPUBLIC. But due to its
limited resources lawlessness
has taken root in the OUTER
RIM.
Amidst the chaos crews of
PIRATES, bound by an
unyielding code and led by
daring captains, vie for
dominance over the galaxy’s
most lucrative trade routes.
Driven by the legend of AT-
ATTIN, a mythical world of
eternal treasure, they unleash
mayhem in their quest for the
galaxy’s most coveted prize.
Cold, hard credits….”
Goals of the Edit:
Specific changes
Logos
Opening crawl with Star Wars logo
“In the aftermath of the
EMPIRE’s collapse, peace
has been restored by the NEW
REPUBLIC. But due to its
limited resources lawlessness
has taken root in the OUTER
RIM.
Amidst the chaos crews of
PIRATES, bound by an
unyielding code and led by
daring captains, vie for
dominance over the galaxy’s
most lucrative trade routes.
Driven by the legend of AT-
ATTIN, a mythical world of
eternal treasure, they unleash
mayhem in their quest for the
galaxy’s most coveted prize.
Cold, hard credits….”
Episode 1: [41mins cut to 31mins]
Pan down to New Republic vessel using music from “Galaxy’s worst boarding party” to extend the opening crawl music.
Cut Pirates running through the boarding tubes to add suspense.
Cut the external part of the battle where the New Republic ship destroys a boarding tube.
Cut the pirates rounding up passengers - kills the pacing of the scene.
Wipe from opening scene to external shot of an At-Attin street (it’s a repurposed shot of Fern’s house, but works well as Wim’s street). Cut to Wim and his cereal with a sound J-cut.
Cut Neel getting something in his eye - I have given Neel’s character a slighter tougher tone.
Trim school bus journey.
Cut Runa’s answer and Neel staring at her - the Neel-Runa plot goes nowhere, especially given that Hena has also been cut.
Cut Wim mentioning his dad’s job.
Cut Neel and Wim talking about Runa.
Reduce the pause before Neel says “like what?”
Cut Fern’s speeder breaking down.
Cut Wim and Neel walking home.
Cut Fern and KB fixing their speeder.
Cut Wim and Neel walking home.
Cut scene of Fern at home with her mum.
In the edit we transition from Fern and KB speeding through town to Wim studying. This cut provides a great juxtaposition for the life Wim wants and the life he currently has, which is the driving force for the whole movie.
Cut Wim’s dad “bedtime stories, aren’t you a bit old for that?”
Cut Wim looking at the toy starships on his ceiling - the relevant focus here is his obsession with jedi stories.
Trim Wim’s speeder journey to the ravine.
Restructure the “taking a shortcut” sequence so that Wim discovers the buried ship before we cut to Neel in the exam hall.
Trim time Wim spends looking around the ravine.
Cut Neel talking to the droid in the exam hall.
Cut Wim “how much longer?”
Cut droid “the proctor will be with you shortly”.
Cut long pause during Fern/Wim conversation outside the proctor’s office.
Cut Wim calling at Neel’s house - we transition from Wim walking away from Fern to Wim and Neel opening the garage door.
Cut Neel asking what his com sign should be. It’s edited so that Jedi 1 and Jedi 2 are established call signs which cements them as best friends and Jedi-obsessed.
Cut Wim “this is mine”.
Cut Wim & Neel talking about calling claimsies for the inside of the ship - they never do and I wanted to reduce the claimsies references.
Cut Fern talking about a power converter - her broken speeder has been cut.
Cut Wim “what’s she doing?” And Fern “Quiet”.
Trim crew looking inside the ship before entering.
Cut Fern “and he did it anyway”.
Trim crew banging on the door after it closes.
Cut Wim “this is so great, it’s exciting, we’re exploring”.
Cut Fern “listen, all we’ve got to do is find the power before we run out of air”.
Cut Wim walking around the ship alone.
Cut Wim pressing the button - works better if we don’t see him do it.
Trim sequence where Wim nearly falls out of the ship, otherwise the taking off sequence feels too long.
Cut Neel “is that the barrier?” - unnecessary exposition.
Episode 2: [24mins cut to 17mins]
Trim hyperspace screaming - makes it less comical.
Cut KB “if that was hyperspace we could be really far away”
Cut Wim “what is that” and trim SM-33’s approach.
Cut Ferm “but it’s true” and “right” to SM-33.
Shorten long pause between SM-33 saying “stowaways” and “captain”.
Cut SM-33 searching through his databanks for At-Attin.
Cut rat running out of SM-33’s eye hole.
Cut Wim “it’s not all my fault”.
Cut SM-33 “shall I throw him out of the airlock for insolence captain”.
Remove safety droid “what was that…. Primitive life form… scans normal’ and replace with ambiance - creates a better transition.
Cut Wim and Neel exploring the ship - I really like this scene, but ultimately it isn’t needed for story or pacing.
Trim approach to Port Bogo.
Cut the crew paying the ferry pilot and Wim hiding his credits.
Cut KB and Fern exploring the port and their interactions with the hooker.
Trim Soup serving.
Cut Neel “his dad gave it to him for lunch money”
Cut the shot of Wim and Neel running where they are going really slowly.
Trim SM-33’s approach to defend the crew.
Cut Fern “I’m not leaving without KB…… and the boys”.
Cut the SM-33 - Fern back-and-forth about whether they are pirates.
Cut Fern shouting at Brutus - way too bratty.
Trim the rat-key sequence.
Cut KB talking about the legend of At-Attin’s treasure.
Trim Jod’s approach.
Episode 3: [31mins cut to 23mins]
Opening scene with the parents is placed during the crew’s journey from Kh’ymm’s observatory to At-Acrin.
Cut Jod “it’s easier to hide in a crowd than an empty corridor” and the crew walking through the port.
It’s edited so that Fern chooses to go the quiet way with a hard cut (after Jod says “the force resides in us all”) to the crew on the ferry ship - implying that they went the quiet way.
Cut Fern “I thought the jedi never left a man behind” and Yod “Thats not a thing… the jedi say”.
Cut Jod “you stay here, where it’s safe”.
Cut Jod switching on the CZ droid.
Cut Jod encountering his old shipmate.
Cut Fern “like really good string”
The Port Bogo escape sequence is tightened significantly.
Cut Jod “ok, I’ll try to snap it” and “I have an idea”.
Cut Neel “sir, look out for the…”
Trim the port escape sequence.
Cut Brutus “and those pups”.
Trim Jod eating soup.
Cut Scene where SM-33 threatens Jod.
Cut Neel feeding the rat.
The scene where Jod looks through Wim’s bag from episode 4 is added here to occur whilst the children are asleep - The editing of Episode 4 meant it had to be moved and here was the best place as it adds to the passage of time for their hyperspace journey.
Trim Approach to the moon.
Trim walk to the observatory and cut chat about back-stabbing. Kh’ymm’s betrayal doesn’t need foreshadowing and I much prefer the observatory to feel like a sanctuary as it allows us to focus on the most important exposition scene of the movie.
Cut Yod “they’re from At-Attin.
Cut Kh’ymm’s warning to the children about Jod.
Cut Jod “I told you she was a back-stabber”.
Cut scene where the children stop Jod from entering the ship and they agree to a partnership. The deal and partnership have been removed so that Jod’s betrayal is less telegraphed.
Cut reference to SM-33 during the moon escape.
Cut Yod “once we see daylight we’re gone” and “hands off”.
Cut final scene where the X-wing pilots land and chat with Kh’ymm.
The Parents’ scene is moved to this point to create a spacer scene for the crew’s journey through hyperspace.
Episode 4: [30mins cut to 11mins including the scenes inserted from Episode 5]
Cut Jod “Yes captain Fern, I’m so sorry”.
Cut autopilot landing sequence.
Cut sound of explosion as the crew get off the ship.
Cut Fern ordering Jod to remain on the ship and SM-33’s “baby” dialogue.
Cut Wim “Ew, gross”.
Cut scenes with SM-33 and Jod on the ship - it’s implied that they leave the ship with the kids but lag behind.
The whole civil was plot has been removed.
The barrier access code scene on At-Attin has been split into 2 parts and used as the spacers between the different At-Acrin scenes.
Cut the child soldier hiding behind the debris as the kids walk towards the statue. The scene is cut just before the missile appears.
Cut Wim’s dad “I don’t remember any surges”.
I added a reversed external shot of the Supervisor tower from Episode 8 as a pointer shot to the crew’s location before we see them access the lift.
Cut Neel “Here is where Hena said there would be co-ordinates.”
Added modified Neel line “On At-Attin noone is allowed up here”
Cut Jod “Yeah, they’re gone”.
Cut Jod “good luck with that”.
Trim Wim & Fern’s window scene to remove the repetition of “I have no idea what I’m doing” and references to the battle.
Episode 5: [36mins to 23mins]
Transition from Neel on the floor to Wim’s dad and Fern’s mum in her office. Cut Fern’s mum “something’s wrong”.
Transition to the Crew aboard the Onyx.
Cut Fern & Jod’s back and forth about being scared.
Cut Fern “Do you remember where At-Attin is”.
Cut Jod “this ship is the Onxy Cinder. You don’t appreciate how incredible this is”.
Cut Jou “crew, ship, all”.
Cut the first part of SM-33’s story about Rennod including reference to the concubine.
Trim Jod’s walk towards Wim.
Cut Wim “nothing”
Cut Wim “it’s scary and confusing”.
Cut reference to Wim’s mum. This plot point goes nowhere.
Cut Jod talking about Wim’s vivid imagination.
Cut sequence where everyone mentions the name Lanupa. Only the welcome message states the planet name.
Cut “children are not permitted” - unnecessary as “adults only” has already been stated.
Cut Jod “you can trust me you know, stay on the ship”.
Cut the security check at the Spa entrance.
Trim spa tour including cutting reference to the Banking Clan and high security and activation of SM-33’s restraining bolt.
Cut Jod asking for an upgrade and a banquet.
Cut Pocket talking about trying to find Dash Zentin - we know it’s a fake name, no need to spell it out.
Cut Pocket “hey kids, don’t trust this sleemo”
Cut hotel room scene.
Cut KB mentioning Rennod’s symbol.
Cut Wim, Fern and SM-33 searching for Rennod’s symbol and finding Cotthalops. The two chase scenes with the guards are combined to form a single sequence ending with SM-33 appearing and telling them to come to the caverns below.
Cut Cotthalops opening the entrance to the lair - we cut to the crew already within the lair, implying that SM-33 and Fern found it off screen.
Cut Fern talking to Jod about their deal.
Cut Jod “this is a good one isn’t it” and “look for a lever”.
Trim pause between Jod throwing the credit into the acid and the acid disappearing.
Trim the crew looking at the treasures in the lair.
Trim SM-33 searching the data port.
Cut Jod asking SM-33 if the treasure is real and on At-Attin. - we know this from Rennod’s message.
Cut Neel “what’s wrong with the picture”.
Cut Fern talking about their deal with Jod.
Episode 6 [25mins to 16mins]
Scene where the crew exit the slides is cut immediately after Neel asks for help with KB - the sub plot about KB’s augs has been removed.
Cut Jod “hello, I’m glad you’re here”.
Cut Pocket gloating to Jod - her initial wave is all that’s needed.
Cut Fern talking about Wim fighting her about climbing the cliff and Neel not being able to do it. - this all plays out in the group disagreement that leads to them separating. It doesn’t need foreshadowing.
Cut KB “maybe we should consider some other options”.
Cut Neel’s negative rant.
Trim Wim and Fern’s argument.
End the scene immediately after Fern says “I guess we should split up” and transition to the pirate vessel exiting hyperspace.
Trim pirate cheering before equal time.
Trim Jod’s speech to shorten long pauses, reduce repetition and cut reference to the glow weed plantation.
Cut KB collapsing and the first Fern/Neel climbing the cliff scene. We transition from Jod in the airlock to the second scene on Fern and Neel climbing the cliff.
Trim the crew reunion scene to a minimum.
Trim Onyx Cinder start-up sequence - it’s ridiculously long.
Cut Wim aiming the turret.
Cut “one last surge”
Cut Neel “its not working”
Cut KB “33 said never ever touch it”
Trim lead up to Fern pressing the button.
Cut KB fanning the engine.
Cut Wim “claimsies on the new ship”.
Episode 7 [26mins to 21mins]
Trim “did you hear that” and “probably a tree sucker”.
Trim the buoy release scene so that the parents get neutralised quicker - makes the droids seem more threatening, which adds to the feeling of control on At-Attin.
Cut Jod’s speech to Brutus.
Cut the fighters being sent into the nebula.
Cut Jod “the crew loves me”
Cut Brutus “I said Surrender”
Trim Buoy message so that it just includes essential information given by Wim’s Dad and Fern’s mum.
Trim barrier penetration sequence.
Cut Neel “just like on Hena’s planet”
Cut Fern “my mum totally lied on that message”
Trim Jod stomping around the cockpit.
Cut Jod “At-Attin is on the inside, exactly like I told you”
Cut Jod “you’re all weak” and “weak, sheltered, spoilt children” - his distain for the kids is removed in this edit to soften his character.
Cut Jod explaining his plan to the children. Unnecessary exposition. The scene ends with Jod “let me think” and we cut to the parents and the safety droid.
Cut Jod “Yes” - “Of course I am” is a sufficient response.
Cut Wim’s dad and Fern’s mum approaching the ship across the grass - it makes no sense for them to appear here.
Cut Jod “quite the operation you have here” and droid “we hoped you would be pleased”. Unnecessary dialogue and too similar to lines from Attack of the Clones.
Cut Jod “the supervisor yes, better than dealing with a droid. Well go and fetch him then and some of your finest refreshment”.
Trim descent into the vault.
Episode 8 [31mins to 25mins]
Cut Fern’s mum “thank you again, we don’t want to interfere with your offloading duties”.
Cut Jod “and report back to me on their behaviour”
Cut Jod “I insist” and “I got to see how troublesome they can be on our little adventure home, didn’t I Wim.
Cut Fern “yes, we were way too troublesome”.
Cut Jod “I’ll take special care of both of you”.
Cut scene back at Wim’s house. Adds nothing and kills the pacing.
We transition from the vault to Fern, Jod and Fern’s mum in the tower lift.
Cut Supervisor mentioning Fern.
Cut Jod “and start the invasion”
Trim Pirate ship arrival.
Cut Neel’s family responding to the laser fire.
Cut KB warning her parents.
Cut pirates entering KB’s house.
Cut Neel saying he’s going to find cover.
Cut Neel heading to the school roof.
Cut Fern and her mum talking about the barrier and their plan to grab a droid gun.
Cut Fern “Wim found the crystal a long time ago….” Nothing can make their story believable, but this at least makes it less ridiculous.
Cut Jod “you brought your dad?”.
Cut KB’s parents “KB how are you flying that thing: and KB “Oh I’ve got help” - to maintain the tension
Cut SM-33 “hold my head steady girl” - we don’t know SM-33 has been revived until right at the end.
Cut Neel firing the rooftop gun.
Cut KB talking to her parents as the ship plummets towards the ground.
Trim pause between KB crashing and Fern screaming.
Cut Jod hesitating to use his weapon as Fern tries to pull the barrier handle. Fern’s move is now smoother and Jod fires without hesitation.
Cut Wim’s dad “just do what he says”. Wim now makes the decision himself.
Cut Fern telling Wim to go get the lightsaber. He now does this spontaneously. These last 2 cuts are essential to complete Wim’s character arc.
Re-edit the barrier deactivation sequence so that Fern’s mum pulling the lever is a bigger surprise and she does it without Fern asking her. It’s far more powerful if the undersecretary does it spontaneously.
Cut Wim shouting “Jod”
Cut shot of the smoking roof canon.
Iris out to The Main Star Wars Theme.
Hi all, just thought I’d offer an update on the Season 3 edit.
I have completed by third cut and got it down to 2h 50. Slightly over my 2h45 target, but there is a lot to fit in.
The rough outline is
Act 1: Escape from Tantiss & Reunion
Act 2: Reconciliation & Omega’s Capture
Act 3: Return to Tantiss
Basic Premise:
If anyone wants to offer feedback I have an SD, centre channel-only version available to view. It’s entirely music free and is actually really cool to watch it.
My plan is to slowly go thought it over the next few weeks to add the other 5 channels and sort out music transitions, although Skeleton Crew will be taking priority.
NM
Thanks Warhorn. Much appreciated! This series was the most rewarding for me to edit because it was very hit and miss. When you eliminate the elements that didn’t work, you’re left with a pretty good story that foreshadows events of the PT.
Smudger,
I looked forward to someone doing a more filmic edit of this. I attended the London launch and came away slightly confused by the constant jumping around the timeline. Even seeing the whole series left me a bit meh.
You have done a great job of moving everything round to address this, flashbacks are only used when necessary and the whole moves more like a film would. The removal of unnecessary battles and subplots don’t affect anything, except to allow the seasoned watcher to go “oh, that bit has gone”. The opening crawl and music is a welcome addition, I fail to see why they have to change stuff like that. Editing is crisp, the whole is more pacey.
The only part that was a big problem for me that you couldn’t undo was the bit where she gets to the dead jedi before Sol etc by using a shortcut in a place she had never visited. Purely done so that she could be ‘discovered’ finding the body. Shoddy writing, frankly.Thanks for your work, I look forward to you doing the same to skeleton crew et al.
Thanks Spunkmeyer. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Totally agree with the point you make about shoddy writing. It’s a feature of many modern shows. When something doesn’t make sense they just crack on regardless rather than re-write it. Somehow Palpatine returned…….
Really looking forward to Skeleton crew. As a massive fan of Goonies and ET I’m hoping I can get a fun adventure film out of the series.
I enjoyed watching this edit a great deal. It will probably be my go-to from now on. A shame that it won’t ultimately lead anywhere, though. I just have a few nitpicks:
- I would have preferred the whole version of Osha’s testing. This was the only cut that a viewer noticed, and he hadn’t seen the show since it came out.
- You could save a lot of time by removing the fake wakeup vision that Osha has from the crash. I realize that this sets up her future hallucinations of child Mae, and possibly explains why she suddenly suspects her of the murder at the edge of the cliff, but in my opinion it messes with the pacing too much. Without it, I also think the scene at the cliff is more revelatory/interesting.
- Without the line that their midichlorians are split evenly, I’m not sure why Sol thinks he needs both girls to prove anything about the vergence.
- I guess I’m confused what happened to the rest of the witches - is the intention supposed to be that they killed the rest?
- I’d remove the weird, almost predatory scene between Sol and Mae strapped to the ship, mostly because we don’t actually learn anything from it anymore since the final flashback is shifted to Brendok. You could possibly even experiment with their next scene together, removing the reveal that he killed their mother, to save that reveal for Brendok itself.
- In general, you could probably tighten up Sol catching on to the fact that “Osha” is Mae earlier - shortly after the part where the camera holds on him for almost a minute (he’s clearly piecing things together). I don’t think many of the tracker scenes are necessary here, they’re just cringey comedy. The “Corcoran” cut accomplishes this quite well.
If you look into some of the areas I suggested, you might be able to trim this edit down to a more digestible 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Thanks for the feedback!
That is the full scene of Osha’s testing. I agree it feels too short, but that’s how it’s presented in the series. The only thing I cut was the final shot of Indra looking at Sol.
I have the same views about the fake wake-up. I tried a few edits removing it but none really worked. Unfortunately that dream sequence is pretty essential to the story. Osha needs a reason to suspect that Mae is alive, and that is the only option.
I removed mention of the midichlorian symbionts for several reasons. Firstly I didn’t want to expand their lore any further given their controversial nature amongst fans. I left in what fits with TPM.
Secondly I actually think having physical “proof” that the twins are the same person takes away from Sol’s character arc. He is driven by this belief and I like it being a theory to him, rather than a fact. It still doesn’t change the fact that he needs both twins to prove that they are the same person.
I left the fate of the witches for the audience to decide… were they killed by the Jedi or the fire? Including the Kelnacca fight scene in the final flashback made it way too long, and the fate of the other witches isn’t that important to the story.
I tried several edits of the Sol/Mae scenes aboard the cruiser and reduced them as much as I could. The issue with cutting things further is that they need to get to Brendock before Mae escapes. That pretty much rules out cutting the scene where Mae is restrained.
Basil and PiP were the most frustrating part of this edit. I wanted to remove them completely, but they are tied to the core plot which makes it almost impossible. I tried it several times, but I couldn’t come up with anything I was 100% happy with.
Looks great. Why cut Maul talking to Jesse about the grand plan? That was always one of the highlights of the episode for me.
We get most of that exposition in Maul’s interactions with Ahsoka and I didn’t want to detract from those scenes. The whole arc hinges on Maul luring the Jedi (ultimately the wrong Jedi) to Mandalore so the focus should be on that dynamic.
Maul revealing the nature of the grand plan to a clone didn’t feel right for his character. Clones are beneath him.
Sounds great either way. I’ve always been a big fan of yours. What’s next in this series for you? What’re your major plans for the remaining content? Any thoughts on an alternative opening movie? As you have, I’ve thought this content to death, so if there’s any valuable perspectives I can offer I’d be happy to.
Thanks Eddie. It was great returning to the Clone Wars. The actual stimulus was the Tales of…. series, which I enjoyed incorporating into Clone Wars content.
Next up is Bad Batch season 3 and then Skeleton Crew. If I have time before Andor season 2 I’ll do a season 6 Clone Wars edit.
Can’t wait to watch this, as your edits are always top tier! Thanks, once again 😃
Thanks so much. EPIX is now in my clone was folder 😊.
Looks great. Why cut Maul talking to Jesse about the grand plan? That was always one of the highlights of the episode for me.
We get most of that exposition in Maul’s interactions with Ahsoka and I didn’t want to detract from those scenes. The whole arc hinges on Maul luring the Jedi (ultimately the wrong Jedi) to Mandalore so the focus should be on that dynamic.
Maul revealing the nature of the grand plan to a clone didn’t feel right for his character. Clones are beneath him.
Finally an addition to this series.
Episode IX: The Fallen Apprentice
I’ve gone out-of-order to bring you an edit of the final season. While there have been many fan edits of the Siege of Mandalore, this edit uniquely weaves in elements from the Trace and Rafa arc and the “Tales of…” series to produce a balanced movie focusing on Ahsoka’s post-Jedi journey that creates a bridge between the Clone Wars and the Era of the Empire. My Main aims are:
Craft a Cohesive Three-Act Structure:
This edit aims to deliver a well-balanced and satisfying beginning, middle, and end, ensuring that the story feels complete and fulfilling and serves as a fitting conclusion to the beloved Clone Wars saga.
Highlight Ahsoka’s Journey:
The narrative focuses on Ahsoka Tano’s evolution, tracing her path from a disillusioned citizen of Coruscant to a hesitant Jedi and ultimately to a rebel poised for action. “Practice Makes Perfect” has been used throughout the edit to show Ahsoka’s relationship with Anakin and the jedi order and to foreshadow events in the final act.
Create a Bridge between the Clone Wars and the Era of the Empire:
By using select portions of the “Tales of…” series I have ventured beyond the end of the Clone Wars to lay the groundwork for storylines in the early Empire era to create a seamless transition into the next era of the Star Wars saga.
Integration of Subplots:
By incorporating relevant subplots, such as a condensed version of the Trace and Rafa arc, I have provided additional context and depth to the main narrative. Whilst not the best element of the final season, the subplot is essential for Ahsoka’s arc and to set up events on Mandalore.
Here is a link to a scene where I’ve added the Kenobi holo message from Rebels to Ahsoka looking at the Clone helmets.
Detailed Changes
Star Wars Logos (2 mins)
Opening Crawl
Pan down to shot of a shuttle exiting hyperspace above Coruscant (shot from Rise of Clovis)
Act 1 (50 mins)
TOTJ Practice Makes Perfect (4 mins)
Cut to external shot of Jedi Temple from Tales of the Jedi Practice Makes Perfect.
Jedi Temple scene plays out unaltered.
Wipe to Ahsoka arriving at the military hanger. Training plays out up to Ahsoka being stunned. Cut to black with audio of Anakin continuing.
Gone With A Trace (8 mins)
Dissolve transition to Ahsoka on her speeder on Corusctant. Shots trimmed to have the force theme synch better.
Trimmed the malfunctioning speeder sequence so the there is one continuous sequence of her filing down to the platform.
Removed Ahsoka talking about fixing her own bike - Trace fixes it in this edit.
Remove Trace “don’t take too long” and “I could do with the money” - Trace fixes it for free.
Remove scene of Ahoska fixing her bike.
Cut Trace “No sense in you staying if you’re gonna be miserable”.
Cut Trace “Don’t do anything, got it”.
Cut Ashoka “I’d back off if I were you”.
Trim fight between Trace and Bintu’s thugs.
Remove Droids storyline. We now cut from Rafa greeting the Alien in the laundromat to Ahsoka and Trace working on Trace’s ship, this removes the entire second half of the episode.
Deal no Deal (19mins)
Cut chat about the Silver Angel name.
Remove Anakin and the cruiser scene - he’s supposed to be in the Outer Rim! Ahsoka, Trace and Rafa now lift off from the hangar and leave Coruscant without incident.
Anakin’s presence in this part of the story is maintained by using the Anakin/Padme scene from “A Distant Echo”. Anakin’s dialogue is altered so that he mentions Fives instead of Echo.
Cut the meeting with King Yaruba - they arrive at Kessel and head straight to the spice mines.
Cut Ahsoka “That was more of an ethical debate”.
Cut Rafa and Krim talking abut trust.
Cut Rafa “I think we transmitted that to you already”.
As the crew get captured in their crusier I reversed the wide shot of their ship so that the shot pans out and inserted the clip of Bo Katan and her night owls from the end of “Dangerous Debt” discussing the identity of the Jedi they can see. This brings forward the Mandalorian’s appearance to the earliest possible point to better integrate the main plot with the opening act.
Dangerous Debt (3mins)
Only the scene of Ahsoka, Rafa and Trace in the cell has been used.
The rest of the episode has been cut which eliminates the repeated escapes and gets to the point of this arc a lot sooner.
Together Again (16mins)
Initial scene of Ahsoka, Trace and Rafa in the cell has been cut - this has essentially been replaced by the scene from Dangerous debt. The Pikes then take them all to see Krim.
The scenes of Rafa and Trace acquiring the spice shipment have been removed.
Cut Ahsoka entering the Mandalorian ship. The scene ends with her talking to Trace and Rafa and transition wipes to the next episode.
Act 2 (44mins)
Old Friends Not Forgotten (24mins)
Cut the Anakin/Kenobi banter. Anakin just walks out to surrender.
Cut the shot of the 501st hiding under the bridge.
Cut battle droid “that’s a relief”.
Cut Anakin and Kenobi talking about Ahsoka and Maul as Bo’s ship arrives.
Trim Ahsoka and Anakin walking down the corridor.
As Ahsoka meets the 501st I have used the next sequence from Practice Makes Perfect to create a series of short flashbacks of her training.
Trim Ahsoka twirling her new lightsabers.
Cut Ahsoka wishing Anakin good luck.
Cut most of Ahsoka’s free-fall to the surface of Mandalore - a very over-the-top sequence that makes her look indestructible.
The Phantom Apprentice (20mins)
Cut Maul “your way of thinking is behind the times.
Cut Rex and 501st running through the tunnels.
Cut Ahsoka “Tell Anakin……” And Obi Wan “I will”.
Cut Maul talking to Jesse about the grand plan.
Cut Maul “information is a valuable commodity”
Cut Bo Katan/Saxon lift fight - adds nothing.
Cut Maul talking to Ahsoka about the hypocrisy of the jedi council.
Cut the brief Clone/Mando battle scene that interrupts the Maul/Ahsoka scene. Its a much more impactful scene uninterrupted.
Trim Maul/Ahsoka battle including Ahsoka losing and regaining a lightsaber and Ahsoka telling Maul Anakin would have beaten him easily.
Act 3 (44mins)
Shattered (24 mins)
Cut Yoda asking Ahsoka if she has a message for Skywalker.
Trim Bo and Ahsoka farewell.
As Ahsoka stands on the bridge I have added the next flashback sequence from Practice Makes Perfect.
As Rex and the 501st head doff to hunt down Ahsoka I’ve inserted the first scene from TOTE Devoted of Bariss in her cell as order 66 is carried out.
Cut Ahsoka having difficulty finding Rex’s chip.
Victory and Death (20mins)
Add final flashback scene from Practice Makes Perfect using the scene of Rex and Ahsoka walking into the Hangar.
Minor trimming to the hangar battle to remove static shots.
Trim sequence with Ahsoka falling through the air.
Inserted Barriss recruitment scene from TOTE Devoted before we see Rex and Ahsoka looking at the crashed Ventor and clone helmets.
Obi-Wan hologram warning from Rebels added to scene of Ahsoka looking at the clone helmets.
Epilogue (10mins)
TOTE Doveted: Barriss arrives at the fortress inquisitorius and we immediately cut to her being tested by the Grand Inquisitor. The other Jedi there for testing have been cut.
TOTJ Resolve: Padme funeral scene plays out in full.
TOTE Devoted: Bariss and the other inquisitors are introduced to Vader.
Final Clone Wars scene of Vader and Imperial troops exploring the wrecked Venator.
As with episode 2, this will also get THE NEW REPUBLIC title added.
I plan to revisit these edits before the Mandalorian and Grogu is released to tighten them up. I may move the Mando/Grogu reunion back to Tatooine.
Hey, already watched ep2, I have to say I dont like the new title, “Mando”, it doesnt sound serious to me. But I like the rest of it, now I get how you fixed that part of the first edit where you removed the prison episode, it works better than I expected. Time to watch part 3!
I will be changing the title and opening crawl to the red THE NEW REPUBLIC banner as I have done with season 1
I’ve updated the files so that they are 5.1 audio. An error with the original render meant the files were stereo.
I really enjoyed this edit, thank you Smudger. The chronological structuring helped a lot in my opinion, and certainly coming at it from the angle of “this is all there is, how does it best fit as a prequel” worked wonders. Of the edits I’ve watched so far, this has been the one that’s landed best for me, and should definitely be watched by anyone trying to find their standard Acolyte version for their collection. I’ve still got some more to try, but I can absolutely see this version working for a lot of people given the misgivings of the Acolyte I’ve seen generally.
There’s some minor trims I’ve considered, more from the perspective of wondering if they’d work. There’s two during Episode 5 that have always stuck out to me as concepts; first, a slight trim to the split-blade reveal to remove the initial split, so the action flows from Jecki’s attack > Qimir’s block stance > three impalements > Qimir’s face & split-saber reveal > reconstructing hilt. That might add more surprise to Jecki’s death, but still explain the split-saber concept as we see it being reconstructed.
The second is to trim out Qimir panicking trying to remove Pip from his back. I think he’d be more likely to realise the Umbra Moth attack is coming and simply prepare for for it, and deal with it, rather than panicking. He handles it fairly confidently otherwise.
Thanks so much for the review. The ambermoth attack on Qimir is a bit goofy. I’ll take a look at that and see if I can tighten it.
As for Qimir’s reveal, I have to say I hadn’t considered altering it as it was probably the coolest part of the whole series. I’ll take a look at what you suggest. I can definitely see the benefit of making Jecki’s death even more surprising.
My girlfriend and I watched your edit last night, and we both loved it. You’ve done an amazing job once again. The only small thing that felt a bit off was seeing Plagueis appear in the middle of the movie, especially with his theme cutting off rather abruptly as the scene transitions. It disrupted the flow just a bit. I still think he should appear at the end. Also, I think the full fight between Sol and Qimir could have been left in without affecting the movie’s pacing. At the very least, it would have been great to see Qimir call his shoto saber back with the Force, as there’s a moment where he’s clearly trying to summon it 10 seconds before, and then he just has it. It would add a nice touch of continuity to the fight and to be honest, I thought the fight was dope haha.
Overall, though, you’ve really outdone yourself with this and it really feels like the murder mystery it should have been. Thank you for your great work!
Thank you so much for your review!
Let’s dive into the Plagueis scene. This moment marked his only appearance in the series, and I felt it was crucial to include some element of it there. It adds an intriguing layer, hinting at unseen forces at play as we build towards the finale. This way, the audience has something extra to ponder while processing the unfolding events. I did experiment with placing his appearance at the end but, without any foreshadowing, it just didn’t resonate with me. It felt a bit forced, reminiscent of Yoda’s cameo at the end of the series.
As for the music transition, I maintained the original series’ score but made a slight adjustment by shortening the Plagueis section. The transitions in and out remain intact.
I appreciate your feedback on the Qimir/Sol fight! I’ll revisit that scene to see if I can tighten it up. I wasn’t particularly fond of the boomerang sabers, which is why I opted to cut that element. Overall, my goal in this edit was to moderate the use of force powers, as I felt some moments were a bit over the top and didn’t align with the spirit of the prequels.
Thanks again for your thoughts!
I would love a link to your Acolyte edit!!
I second others’ opinions, your SW fan edits are brilliant. I especially enjoyed Andor and The Bad Batch. IMO best edits out there 😉 I wonder if you will still release Ep3 of The Bad Batch?
Endless thanks for your contribution to SW universe.
Many thanks.
I still plan to do Bad Batch season 3. I’ve got Clone Wars season 7 to finish off first, and then I’ll hopefully squeeze in bad batch season 3 before Skelton Crew starts.
I’m polishing this edit off at the moment. It’ll be released in the next few weeks.
If anyone is waiting for the 4K version. It’s now uploaded to the same folder as an .mkv file.
DM sent
Another great edit from you Smudger! A much better streamlined version of the The Acolyte that removes most of the problematic elements.
The new title crawl is miles better than the original, the AI Venestra voice sounded seamless and was a good solution to skim past the whole Ki Adi & Coruscant filler.
Overall lots of good choices of cuts and a much more watchable version of the Acolyte.
Thankyou so much Darth. There’s a lot of good ideas and material in this series. Such a shame that the rest was so bad that the show got cancelled.
It’s finally rendered and uploaded (the 1080p version anyway). The 4K is just being packaged into an .mkv container and will be added to the folder tomorrow. I’ve forwarded a link to those that have requested it.
If I’ve missed you out, or if you would like a link shoot me a DM.
Thanks Khernel. The prisoner episode does provide some good character development for Din, and it is the start of his relationship with Carson Teva. If I was making 2 movies out of season 1 then I would have definitely included it. However, with a single movie edit there really wasn’t much room to include it. I would have needed to replace the Tatooine episode, which is far more important for the overall plot of the show.
It’s all done and ready. Sadly Compressor isn’t wanting to play ball. It really is a crap piece of software and is testing my patience. Anywoo… I’m having to do workarounds to get it rendered into 1080 and 4K, but I’m on it and will post on here when it’s ready and send out links to those that have expressed an interest.
Here is all the artwork
Sounds great, I haven’t watched the show, so it will be a very interesting cinematic experience for me 😉
Are you planning to include an opening crawl?
Would you consider using some “Legends” pre-EI title, like “Cloak of Deception” or “Dynasty of Evil”, etc?
Yes, there is an opening crawl. I didn’t want to directly reference an EU title, but funny you should mention dynasty of evil - “the power of two” is a little nod to “rule of two”.