It’s easy to get swept up in negativity, so now that I have my gripes with the movie out of the way, here are all the reasons I actually enjoyed the new Star Wars movie. All 27 of them, roughly in order of appearance.
The Emperor’s New Groove- the strobe effect on his ancient face was legit TERRIFYING
Rey’s Training- It’s subtle, but later in the movie you can see her using moves she actually practiced
Squad Goals: Aka, every shot with Finn, Poe, Rey, and Chewie in the cockpit of the Falcon
Rey Heals the Worm- It makes you realize how mean the o.g. trilogy is to random animals
Carrie Fisher, All the Carrie Fisher- A remarkable job of making her feel missed without being missed
That Hallway Shot Where Stormtroopers Keep Dying into Frame- An iconic moment of cinematography
The Kite Festival- Loved everything about this scene. The colors. The people. Threepio’s jokes. :-)
Lando’s Back in Disguise- He’s still got it.
The Infamous Tug of War Scene- Glad this wasn’t Chewie’s actual death, because it just felt so cool!
Babu Frik- Does anyone NOT love this guy?
Wiping Threepio’s Memory- It was simultaneously sad, touching, and hilarious. Loved all of it.
Rey and Kylo’s Long Distance Lightsaber Fight- the beans spilling on HER floor was just awesome
Hux for Days- I have always loved this character, so him becoming a traitor out of spite. HILARIOUS.
The Ruins of the Old Death Star- I always wondered where pieces of that thing fell…
Sith Rey’s Clicky-Clacky Lightsaber- A mean fake-out, but I still want the toy. Like, right now.
Kylo Shanked- Leia’s intervention, followed by Rey’s selflessness saves Ben! That’s the power of love!
More Ex-Stormtroopers- Loved the concept that Finn is not alone (even if this should have been Rose)
Han’s Force Spirit- The parallelism with this scene and Han’s death was beautiful and moving
Luke’s Force Spirit- Some say too many force spirits, but I loved this scene too!
Leia’s Training- Nice to finally confirm what expanded universe novels always knew…
Chewie Crying at Leia’s Death- You can feel his heart-breaking loneliness. He’s all that’s left. :’-(
Not a Fleet, Just People- Lando leading a TRUE resistance was great payoff for Last Jedi’s final scene
I am all the Jedi- The voices of every Jedi character (even from the tv shows) gave me chills
Dat Kiss- Shut up. It was beautiful.
Ben Becomes One with the Force- So Rey doesn’t end up married and “happily ever after.”
Rey Skywalker- Taking a name is so much more noble than being born into it. Brave, movie.
That final shot of the Twin Suns- Someone get me a poster of this, stat!
So can a movie really be “bad” if it has 27 lovable moments? That’s an average of one smile every five minutes. Happy life day, everyone.
“The goal is to not make one half of the fandom happy over the other, it is to make a film that the fandom in general as a whole enjoys. “
These words were taken from the manifesto posted on Remakethelastjedi.com (which somehow never managed to produce a film despite getting over $417 MILLION dollars “pledged” towards the effort (lol).
It is very telling that nowhere on the site does it mention anything about artistic integrity. Or communicating a theme. Or even quality movie making (cinematography, acting, dialogue, etc). Because the Last Jedi meets all those criteria, actually. The entire crux of the argument against the previous film is “Star Wars belongs to the fans, and you didn’t give all the fans what they wanted, so we’re upset.”
It is therefore pretty deflating to watch “Rise of Skywalker” make so many efforts to undo the brave and controversial changes Rion Johnson made to the “Star Wars formula.” If ever there was a movie to prove Martin Scorcese right, this is it. Not only does this movie refuse to “Let the past die” (as Kylo Ren so eloquently put it), it figuratively and literally resurrects every tired old trope that has made Star Wars such a predictable franchise over the last dozens or so films. Here, submitted for your disapproval, are the “fixes” JJ Abrams made to “The Last Jedi”, despite never actually being broken in the first place.
1) This movie needs a Vader, dammit
I love the moment in The Last Jedi when Kylo Ren smashes his stupid dollar-store-knockoff Vader cosplay helmet in a fit of rage. That was the precise moment in which I could tell this film was going to do something different. The villain in this story was going to have a face. And a personality. And be an actual character. But no, said JJ. Make the bad guys literally glue it back together. We need to sell some Halloween costumes, dammit.
2) The Universe Shouldn’t Feel Too Large
Perhaps my favorite plot twist of TLJ was in regards to Rey’s parents: they weren’t anyone special. They were not a Skywalker. Or a Sith lord. Or Jar-Jar Binks’ babysitters. They were just selfish jerks who abandoned their child. But in that pain lies a powerful message: you are more than your heredity. And you determine your own destiny. But no, said JJ. Make her a long lost child of Palpatine. And literally call the previous script a lie. Because a story that takes place across an entire galaxy should really only focus on the same five people.
3) Mysticism is Really, Really Important. Like, SO Important.
I loved the moment in TLJ when Yoda burns the “sacred texts” that Luke had been protecting for decades. It was such a fun reminder that belief and spirituality matter very little if they are not followed up by action; particularly, brave and altruistic action. But in case you were one of the few who were actually upset by Yoda disrespecting a relic you never knew existed 20 minutes prior, Rise of Skywalker gives you plenty fancy magic items and abilities to read about on Wookieepedia. Treasure maps in the shape of conveniently found cutlery. Weird diamonds that point the way toward evil, like Captain Jack’s compass. Strange underground rituals that have apparently been destined for a millennia but that can ALSO be changed on the fly to fit the needs of the movie’s laborious run-time. It all comes across like an Indiana Jones movie, and not one of the good ones.
4) Characters Should be Simple and Easy to Predict
Luke tossing his own lightsaber into the ocean. A polarizing moment, but one I adored. It showed me that in this version of Star Wars, people change. They’re flawed. And they don’t take EVERYTHING seriously ALL THE TIME. They are, to put it simply, people. But in Rise of Skywalker, the galaxy far, far away is returned to simpler times. The villain is an evil wizard who wants to do evil because he’s evil. The hero is a symbol of unwavering good who never, ever makes the wrong or selfish choice. The mentor characters are wise and chaste, and the lovable scoundrels have ex-girlfriends on distant planets who are so salty he broke their hearts. It’s classic Star Wars, alright. (aka, kinda boring)
5) Cram in as Many References as Possible
Perhaps the biggest misstep of the Star Wars franchise is the oft-repeated mistake of thinking that establishing connections to beloved narratives is more important than being memorable or original. So we got characters like Jango Fett (totally devoid of personality) and ridiculous explanations for how Han Solo got his name. The Last Jedi was a deeply weird but wholly fresh story, with a strange animal-rights sub-plot and a final battle that didn’t actually take place. But if that was too unfamiliar for you, JJ Abrams is here to throw so many winks and knowing nods at the fandom that they couldn’t POSSIBLY find something to complain about. The number of inside jokes clouding the script are almost too many to count.
6) Be Woke, but not Too Woke
Just to make sure JJ Abrams didn’t lose the new Star Wars fans who were actually excited to see the series defy gender norms, RoS makes a lot of strange attempts at being progressive, but never in the forefront. Half the Stormtroopers have female voices. A new planet of peaceful allies has decidedly Muslim influences. And then there’s that lesbian kiss.But none of these elements are ever important, and are kept just enough on the sidelines that the far right audience can choose to ignore it. Like “Beauty and the Beast” and “Avengers: Endgame,” this movie wants you to think it’s forward-thinking, but its not brave enough to prove it.
And in case you are now feeling the need to “strike me down,” let me end by saying this: I actually enjoyed Rise of Skywalker. Once I realized it was going to be a pretty dumb movie (about five minutes in), I was able to sit back and enjoy the big, loud, occasionally funny, often emotional spectacle. I just wish the good movie that could have been hadn’t been force choked to death by the collective clammy fist of the Star Wars subreddit.
Oh well. At least there’s one more episode of The Mandalorian…
Rey was angry, and not for the first time since she started this mission.
She had come all this way, halfway across the galaxy– fleeing from stormtroopers in the desert, jumping over TIEs, infiltrating First Order Star Destroyers–all for this stupid thing, stuck deep in the dingy and damp wreckage of the Second Death Star on this damp, force-forsaken jungle planet of Kef Bir.
All to find the Sith Wayfinder to lead the way to Exegol, where the supposed-to-be-dead Emperor Palpatine was waiting for them with a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers called the Final Order, built in secret by his Dark Side cult, the Sith Eternal.
She had come all this way, and the Wayfinder just slipped from her hand, sliding across the sloped floor. She scrambled after it, desperate to reach it.
Another hand got there first, larger, black-gloved. She looked up. Kylo Ren loomed, his black cape wet with ocean spray.
By the Force. Him again.
“Look at yourself, Rey. Trying to prove to yourself and everyone that you are a Jedi, but all you continue to do is prove that you’re anything but.” Kylo hissed, holding the Wayfinder at his side. “You can’t go back to them now.”
Rey launched herself up, glowering at him. She ignited her lightsaber. “Give it to me.”
Kylo leaned closer. “I know you’ve seen the map. It’s in there…and now you’ll give it to me.”
He smiled softly. “Don’t be afraid. I feel it, too.”
“I’m not giving you anything,” Rey defiantly replied, despite her own trepidation at the spector of another mind probe.
“We’ll see,” retorts Kylo as he peers into Rey’s eyes intently to resume the probe.
She met his gaze, and his confidence begin to waver as he slams into a barrier in her mind. She does the unthinkable and enters his mind, and in that moment their minds merge as one, their innermost feelings and intentions laid bare.
A blaze of faint memories, emotions, fears, and deep desires.
Staring at each other in stunned silence, it was Kylo who spoke first.
“Perhaps…there’s more than one way to find what I seek…”
Part I Dark Reign After narrowly defeating Rey on Starkiller, Kylo Ren sets out to seduce her to the Dark Side and conquer the galaxy
Part II Dark Reign: Dark DecadenceAfter the events of Dark Reign, General Phasma travels to the Fortress Ren on Mustafar to answer the summons of Empress Kira Ren (WIP)
In this modern au, Rey is surprised on her birthday by her boyfriends Kylo, Ben, Matt and Randy: the Solo quadruplets.
Excerpt
Rey couldn’t believe Senator Organa made her work on her birthday, of all days. Loads and loads of paperwork, gophering, coffee runs. By the time she slogged up to her apartment, she was beat.
She never really got to celebrate her birthday much as a child, having been abandoned by her shit parents and dropped off to her even shittier Uncle Plutt at his desert junk hole. It was school and college that saved her, turning her away from a future of petty crime and landing her this lucrative government job in her early twenties–virtually unheard of–and that was due to missing a lot of birthdays, and a lot of holidays, through hard study.
That’s why she was hoping that when she finally put enough time in (and the fact that she was on more than professional terms with the good Senator, practically family) that she could finally celebrate her birthday in style, the way she never got to before.
That was probably why she had to work on her birthday, actually. Wouldn’t want to show favoritism. She had Finn and Poe on her back enough as it was.
With a sigh she put the key in the lock and turned the knob. She flipped the light on and let out a squeal of–
“SURPRISE!”
“Oh!” Rey gasped, and not just because of the unexpected surprise. “Oooh…”
They sat on their large leather sofa, all stark naked, with neat little bows tied around their rock-hard cocks. All four of her beloved Solo brothers. It was a long story, but they were all her boyfriends…
Summary: Rey and Kylo Ren share a night of passion and intimacy with the power of their Force Bond
Excerpt:
One night in a blur of days, Kylo Ren shifted uneasily in his bed, tossing and turning. He rolled to his side, and his large arm bumped into a form.
A sigh and a soft snore.
He flinched awake. He was still in his quarters, but he was not alone.
It was her. It was Rey. She slept on her side, no blanket. Wherever she was, it must have been warm enough that she didn’t need it.
She was dressed simply: her off-white sleeveless shirt, her calf length pants. She was barefoot, her belt and torso scarf elsewhere, beyond his sight.
A breeze gently blew her hair from where she lay. It wasn’t from the stale air of his chambers: she must have been outside or somewhere similar.
Not for the first time, Kylo wondered to himself why the Force was connecting them, especially when they were sleeping. Well, while she was sleeping. Kylo never rested soundly enough to sleep properly.
Or perhaps he was sleeping, and this was all a dream…
In the months following the release of the very divisive The Rise of Skywalker, I had drafted Rise of the Order as a rewrite/fix-it. Eventually, despite the work I put into it, I got frustrated and abandoned it.
Recently, I decided to give it another go, and through some editing and the posting of a new chapter, I am proud to announce that Star Wars: Rise of The Order is back on track!
I would appreciate so very much if you gave it a chance, and if you found The Rise of Skywalker as dissatisfying as I did, hopefully my fic and it’s eventual conclusion can offer you something.
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
The story so far…
Chapter 1: The Phantom Emperor Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and his Knights invade Mustafar in search for the source of his terrifying visions
Chapter 2: Space Chase Chewie, Finn, and Poe gather intel for the Resistance
Chapter 3: Connected Rey tries to forget her troubles with lightsaber training
Chapter 4: Preparing for Battle Armed with a First Order holodisk, the Resistance prepare their next move
Chapter 5: The Supreme Council Kylo Ren searches for the scavenger
Chapter 6: Pasaana The Resistance arrives on the desert planet to meet their mysterious contact
Chapter 7: Ochi’s Legacy The Resistance explore an underground cave
Chapter 8: Capture Rey confronts Kylo Ren
Chapter 9: Cracking the Code The Resistance arrives on Kimiji to decode the rest of their First Order holodisk
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 10: Rescue The Resistance infiltrates Kylo Ren’s Star Destroyer as the Supreme Leader ransacks Kimiji in his search for Rey
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 11: Revelations On the heels of their daring rescue, Rose Tico delivers troubling news to the Resistance; Rey’s tumultuous connection with Kylo Ren further alienates her from the rest of the group
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 12: Kef BirTheMillennium Falcon has a rocky landing; Rey and the Resistance meet a group of unlikely allies in their fight against the First Order
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 13: Wreckage of the Past Rey searches through the remains of the Second Death Star in search of the Emperor’s Wayfinder
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 14: Death Star Battle Rey and Kylo Ren duel as General Leia tries one last time to reach her son
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 15: The Prodigal Son Returns Kylo Ren atones for his past while Emperor Palpatine plots his next move with a secret ally
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Chapter 16: Darkest Before the DawnTheMillennium Falcon returns to Ajan Kloss as the Resistance reels from a terrible loss
Chapter 17: Ahch-To Rey prepares to exile herself on the planet of Ahch-To like Luke Skywalker before her
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 18: Last Stand of the Resistance The Resistance prepares their fleet to battle the Final Order while Finn addresses his fellow former stormtroopers
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 19: The Emperor’s Final Order Rey confronts Palpatine as the Resistance arrives on Exegol
Chapter 20: Desperate Measures Finn and his team of former stormtroopers must improvise their mission as Palpatine attempts to sway Rey to the Dark Side
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 21: Fire in the Sky The Resistance attempts to take out the Final Order’s communications signal for a desperate attack
Chapter 22: The Dyad Ben Solo fights to help Rey in time before she is sacrificed to Emperor Palpatine
Chapter 23: The Tables Turn The galaxy answers the call of the Resistance, but will it be enough to defeat the Final Order?
Chapter 24: Rise! Things look bleak for Rey, Ben, and the Resistance. Can they turn it around or will the Final Order reign?
Chapter 25: The Final Fall of the First OrderTheMillennium Falcon searches for Finn and Jannah amongst the confusion as the Resistance mounts one more desperate attack against the First Order
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 26: The Belonging You Seek Rey and Ben share a moment of intimacy and learn the true depth of their Dyad
Chapter 27: Celebration The victory at the Battle of Exegol is celebrated
Chapter 28: The Story Lives Forever Life goes on after the Battle of Exegol
Complete! Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
A “Special Edition” of The Rise of Skywalker using the TROS Extended Edition Novelization by Rae Carson with some changes from Hal 9000’s TROS Ascendant movie fan-edit, lore from supplementary materials, and a few minor additions of my own to create what I hope will be the best version of TROS possible. I give credit to both creators throughout, as I DO NOT claim this as an original work but more of a “fan-edit”.
When it’s discovered that the evil Emperor Palpatine did not die at the hands of the reformed Darth Vader, the rebels must race against the clock to find out his whereabouts. Finn and Poe lead the Resistance to put a stop to the First Order’s plans to form a new Empire, while Rey anticipates her inevitable confrontation with Kylo Ren.
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
When I first saw the theatrical version of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, I was very disappointed and immediately set upon rewriting/fixing it with fanfics such as Star Wars: Rise of the Order, a role-reversal au called Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, and a WIP called Star Wars: Prophecy of the Dyad– a combo of TROS and Duel of the Fates with a happy ending.
Then I saw a fanedit of the movie called The Rise of Skywalker Ascendant. It was a tremendous improvement of the theatrical, improving pacing, trimming bad dialogue, saving the moment Chewbacca’s revealed to be alive for when Rey finds out, adding Force Ghosts at the end battle, and making the Tatooine sequence so much better, most notably adding Ben’s Force Ghost with Luke and Leia.
While I still wish Rey and Ben could have lived happily ever after, I believe my own “fanedit” of novelization with some of the changes added from TROS Ascendant and my own changes (like changing Rey’s terrible line “I will earn your brother’s lightsaber, one day.” to “I will be a Jedi, one day.”) will be the best version it could be, improving characterization, clarifying plot lines, and adding the closure of the Reylo story that the theatrical version and the original novelization never did.
Just watched this fan-edit version of “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Amazing what a few changes do to improve a film.
The last time I had seen TROS was 2019, and I vowed never to watch it again, unless a “Special Edition” of it was produced.
This was that “Special Edition”
There was a lot of small bits of dialogue removed (like “they fly now”, “somehow Palpatine’s returned”) but the biggest and best changes were:
The title crawl was reworked
We don’t find out Chewie is alive until Rey does
Luke and Leia didn’t know Rey was a Palpatine all along, and Leia didn’t envision her son’s death at the end of her Jedi path and leave her lightsaber for someone to finish it for her, she simply just saw the end of her path. Really improves Luke’s pep talk tremendously
Palpatine doesn’t say “I never wanted you dead, I wanted you here…” He just gets right to business
There are Force Ghosts in the end battle!
Rey says “I am a Jedi” instead of that silly “I am all the Jedi”
Naboo and Coruscant are included in one of the celebration montages
The holochess bit with Finn, Chewie, and Poe is moved to the end, as they accompany Rey to Tatooine and the last shot is the Falcon jumping to hyperspace with the twin suns in the background
When Rey says “Rey Skywalker”, she sees the Force Ghosts of Luke, Leia, andBen!
It’s not perfect (as Ben still dies ), and there were a few bits that were retained that I hated like “I will earn your brother’s saber”, and some bits I would have liked from the novel (Ben saying “I will always be with you” as he’s fading away) that weren’t in there, but honestly, this edit made TROS into a watchable, acceptable movie. I wouldn’t be posting the link to it if it wasn’t!
I’m not sure if the last link will work, I know for sure this one will. For real, I’m obsessed with this fan-edit. It’s like comparing the 2017 Justice League with the 2021 Snyder Cut.
All of TROS Ascendant’s changes, as listed by the fan-editor
New title crawl
Flames of rebellion burn across the galaxy. The tyrannical First Order has retaliated by attacking any planetary system that supports their enemy.
As Rey, sole heir to the Jedi, continues her training, General Leia Organa sends her brave agents across the stars to unite the disparate worlds in the name of Resistance.
Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren has traveled to Mustafar, chasing whispers of a hidden power that would allow him to destroy any threat to his rule…
Added a Wilhelm scream, somewhere in the film…
Added two new establishing shots to the opening Mustafar sequence to slow the pacing slightly
Added a subtle call from Palpatine, saying “Find me,” as Kylo Ren picks up the Wayfinder
Replaced the vat of cloned Snokes with cloned Palpatines
Removed the slight electrical crackle as Palpatine reveals his hands
Moved Palpatine describing spirit transfer into his first scene, turning it into a warning to Kylo Ren and setting up stakes for later
Reordered opening scenes for a more logical progression and better pacing (Kylo Ren meets Palpatine > Rey trains > Falcon mission > Returning to base)
Moved the scene with Chewie, Poe, and Finn playing holochess to the end of the movie, with a shot having been modified here to depict dropping out of hyperspace
Replaced Finn’s now first line “Artoo” with “Look sharp”
Removed lightspeed skipping sequence. It made no sense given how hyperspace has always been depicted, as quick travel, not teleportation. Now, the Falcon bursts through the ice wall while jumping to hyperspace, and the pursuing TIEs peel off, ending the scene
Only because he has no proper introduction and would appear suddenly due to other changes made, removed Klaud from a few shots
Moved Rey’s repeat of “nothing’s impossible” to after Leia hands her the saber to make it feel more endearing
The blue Skywalker lightsaber is now portrayed throughout the film with a somewhat ‘cracked’ appearance similar to Kylo Ren’s in order to build on the conclusion to TLJ and reflect Rey’s inner conflict
The vision Rey experiences while training with the remote has been heavily modified to better establish her apprehension about the Sith throne, and separated from Kylo’s vision
During the vision, removed Rey’s eyes appearing milky and glossed over
Replaced Poe’s lines, including “Somehow, Palpatine returned,” with part of the Emperor’s speech being played, implied to be part of the gathered intel
Removed a line of dialogue establishing an unnecessary 16-hour ‘ticking clock’ to the plot
Trimmed awkward dialogue between Leia and Rey as the two discuss going off to search for the Wayfinder
Kylo now has a vision separate from Rey’s, before reforging his mask, better establishing his motivation for doing so
Added the planet Coruscant to two shots during the scene with Kylo Ren in a boardroom on his Star Destroyer
Redubbed the two stormtroopers who introduce the Knights of Ren
Removed Poe’s use of the word ‘random.’
The puppet show now depicts Luke’s feats at the Battle of Crait in TLJ, strengthening the idea that Luke’s ‘legend’ has taken root in the galaxy and better setting up in conjunction with the following story beat Rey’s identity formation at the end of the film
Cut Rey saying “that’s an excellent name.” This statement felt overly modern.
After Kylo Ren says “I will find you,” cut him saying “…and turn you to the dark side.” It’s implied that he will try to do that once he finds her, but why say it aloud? He should be trying to seduce her to the dark side and masking his intentions
Moved the scene forward in which Rey’s necklace is reported to be traced to Pasaana aboard the Star Destroyer, for better pacing. Trooper line modified not to show him reporting Rey and company’s identities.
Used a foreign language dub for a milder delivery of Lando’s chauffeur’s one line
Removed the “they fly now” gag
Removed Finn telling Rey he “never told you—“ while the heroes sink in the quicksand, as well as two subsequent references to it
Removed Rey commenting that “horrible things” have happened with the dagger, to uncouple it from her parents’ murders and allow her to sense the blade’s pull to the darkness in keeping with a later change.
Added a few lines of dialogue throughout the film to the Knights of Ren
Extended the confrontation between Rey and Kylo’s TIE in the desert using footage from the trailer
Removed the explosion of Kylo Ren’s TIE, though it still rolls after being sliced by Rey
After Kylo Ren’s TIE is destroyed, for the remainder of the film his TIE is depicted with a differently color stripe
Added new shot of Ochi’s ship taking off with the heroes as Kylo Ren watches in order to slightly slow the pace
When Rey mentions her vision of seeing the Sith throne, she comments she saw herself on it, making no reference to Kylo Ren, for greater consistency with her vision as seen by the audience and connection to her inner conflict of identity
Removed part of Poe’s line about their efforts being for nothing, allowing 3PO’s statement later to feel original to him
Reordered shots to show Rey contemplating before asking 3PO to consider going through with the memory wipe
Chewie is not revealed to be alive until Rey senses him from Kijimi, and not seen until he is rescued by Poe and Finn. The reveal with Hux and Pryde has been replaced with the telepathic Palpatine-Kylo conversation from later.
Zorri gives Poe a cold stare, muting her line about seeing his brains in the snow
Removed dialogue referencing R2 backing up 3PO’s memory, which immediately destroyed any weight his sacrifice had before it had even happened, practically stating to the audience what will later happen.
Removed “from the Southern shore” from 3PO’s recital of the Sith dagger inscription to better fit in with its altered characteristics.
Extended the “squeaky wheel” sequence in order to slow the pace using footage from the bonus disc
Replaced 3PO line starting with “Whoever this Chewie person is…” due to being one of a few clunky reminders that he had his memory erased
Removed Finn yelling “POE!”
Removed another instance of the Sith dagger triggering a memory of her parents.*
Replaced Kylo Ren’s line “I never lied to you” with “You were right” for more intuitive and precise continuity with TLJ even as the scene retcons it. In that film, it is Rey herself who supplies the information that her parents “were nobody.”
Removed Kylo Ren’s line, “They sold you to protect you.”*
Removed the single time either of Rey’s parents called her by name, to allow for headcanon that Rey named herself
Removed line from Rey’s mother, “She’s not on Jakku, she’s gone.” This paints Ochi as a moron not to have found Rey, and appears to have been included to explicitly harmonize with TLJ describing Rey’s parents as being buried on Jakku. This is clunky and unnecessary, all the moreso because that line was omitted from this editor’s TLJ project.
Replace 3PO/trooper dialogue to depict 3PO somewhat out of his element
Removed single line “You are a Palpatine.” The rest of the scene works well enough without this heavy-handed line.
Altered Kylo Ren’s line to, “We’ve become a dyad in the Force,” which feels like it builds on TLJ’s ending
The moon containing the wreckage of the second Death Star has been recontextualized as Endor, replacing what was Endor with an ice moon during the space establishing shot and moving the Ewok snippet up from the film’s climax.
Replaced the obtuse reminder that 3PO had his memory erased in the form of a line “Is everyday like this for you people?”
Removed Rey using the dagger as an impossible compass while surveying the wreckage of the second Death Star. ‘Sith whispers’ have been added strategically to imply the dagger mystically guiding her to the Wayfinder.
Added a brief musical allusion to ‘Duel of the Fates’ during the duel on the Death Star using music from Maul’s scene in Solo
Added a subtle vocalization as Leia drops her headphones
Trimmed Finn’s final whimper of “Rey!” during the duel
Worked in the shot of Leia holding Han’s medal from the trailer, which makes it clearer that she promoted Kylo’s memory and sets up Chewie receiving it later which felt like it came out of nowhere
Reordered the sequence of dialogue and action as Rey heals Ben’s wound
Extended the establishing shot of Kylo during the Han scene by a few seconds to slow the pace
Completely removed the destruction of Kijimi and the Resistance’s reaction. This helps us imagine the Final Order as an Imperial stockpile since it was the only glimpse into them before the First Order arrives to help. It avoids yet another planet destruction, and generally smooths things over.
Softened the stark sound effect slightly as Luke catches the lightsaber, since he is immaterial
Regraded Ach-To sequence to take place at night, concluding at dawn
Added an additional establishing shot breaking up the Rey on Ahch-to scenes so it doesn’t seem like she only spends a couple minutes on the island
A porg sound continues to trail off after their single shot, to help them feel like they were really there
Reduced blue coloration to Luke’s ghostly visage, slimmed him down somewhat, and shortened Mark Hammil’s wig to better fit his prior appearances
Removed talk about Leia (and possibly Luke, depending on one’s interpretation of the scene) having known about Rey being a Palpatine. In this version, Luke essentially tells Rey, “So what if you’re a Palpatine?” It also seems to make a great deal more sense to assume they did not know this during the events of TFA and TLJ, with Luke learning this postmortem.
Leia’s lightsaber blade has been recolored to purple throughout. Carrie Fisher expressed a preference for this color of saber in a TFA-era interview, and it is more visually striking in the Exegol setting which helps the audience track which saber is which, particularly following a restored Leia line before Rey prominently uses her saber.
Removed Luke mentioning Leia sensing “the death of her son” at the end of her Jedi path
Replaced Luke’s line, “You’ll take both sabers to Exegol,” with, “We’ll always be with you"
Added R2 and 3PO’s prequel theme briefly during the memory restoration scene
Removed Finn’s line, “He wanted her alive,” as part of an effort to smooth over Palpatine’s motivations as initially grooming Kylo Ren and switching to Rey once Ben Solo had been redeemed.
Removed the line about the Holdo maneuver. If it is something legitimate then someone who lives in that universe shouldn’t have the same misconception as we may.
Removed the subtitle for Nien Nunb’s one line. He was never subtitled in the past and it’s not needed.
Slightly restructured the Exegol space battle’s beginning to consolidate story threads
Removed Finn telling BB8 “great job, buddy” during the mounted attack in order to preserve a sense of tension or seriousness
Removed Palpatine’s lines, “I never wanted you dead, I wanted you here,” and, “…for my grandchild to come home,” to assist in smoothing Palpatine’s motives to switching from grooming Kylo Ren to Rey once Ben Solo was redeemed.*
Replaced the Imperial TIE Kylo took to Exegol with Vader’s TIE, because ANH had made a point to establish that TIEs don’t have hyperdrives.
Trimmed a moment when Ben seems to wait for the Knight to hit his saber
Added a small bit of score from ROTS as Palpatine absorbs the power of Rey and Ben’s dyad
Added a cacophony of voices to the appearance of the civilian fleet to the battle. Several craft can be heard signing in via comm, and a few cheer “For Skywalker!” during the charge in order to tie into Luke’s Inspiring act at the Battle of Crait
Extended a space exterior shot using an ILM demo clip in order to remove Poe’s line, “Every [underbelly cannon] we knock out is a world saved.”
Since Kijimi isn’t destroyed, there’s no need for Babu Frik to pop up only to show he’s alive
Added a line during the spirits of the Jedi communing with Rey from the actor who portrayed the youngling in the Jedi Council chambers in Revenge of the Sith
Added Leia concluding the Jedi voices with “always,” taken from the trailer.
The ghostly visages of Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Luke appear behind Rey and assist with overpowering the Emperor
Altered Rey’s climactic line from, “I am all the Jedi,” to simply, “I am a Jedi.”
Added a subtle Sith scream effect as Palpatine explodes
Because the first Ewok shot was used earlier, Coruscant and Naboo have been added in its place in the planetary celebration montage
The holochess scene between Chewie, Finn, and Poe has been moved to Tatooine
Added a subtle double rainbow to the first shot of the Lars homestead, originally inspired by a similar phenomena at that filming location as seen on the bonus material, rationalized into a deep cut reference to Leia’s infantile destination of Alderaan, which sports a double rainbow in ROTS.
The quick light sequence when Rey ignites her yellow saber has been changed from blue and green to blue and purple to reflect Leia’s new saber color, as the original was an homage to the two Skywalker sabers
The ghostly visage of a redeemed Ben Solo now accompanies the Skywalker twins during the final scene
Rey’s delivery of her final line has been swapped with one from the behind the scenes bonus material that appeared more emotionally resonant, with the background modified to match the finished film
The final shot has been replaced with the Falcon taking off, flying toward the suns, and jumping to hyperspace.
The musical cue leading into the credits has been replaced with something more fitting that does not reuse the cue from the end of TFA
AStar Wars: Duel of the Fates/The Rise of Skywalker mash-up and rewrite
As the Resistance mounts a last ditch mission to break through the transmission blockade on the First Order Capitol on Coruscant, the last Jedi Rey races towards the hidden planet of Exegol to stop the return of the Sith…
*There Shall be Two Halves of a Whole One to Embody Power and also to Crave it*
Chapter 1: Title Crawl
Chapter 2: The Hidden World of the SithSupreme Leader Kylo Ren travels to the red planet of Mustafar to find a Sith artifact belonging to his grandfather, Darth Vader…
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 3: The Orbital Ring of Kuat The Resistance attempts to sabotage the Kuat Drive Yards to undermine the First Order
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 4: Empire of the First Order The Knights of Ren visit the Kuat Drive Yards; young Dade navigates the decrepit streets of Coruscant under the First Order’s oppressive rule; Chancellor Hux and the Supreme Council meet with the Warlord Cabal
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
Chapter 5: The Beacon of Hope Rey struggles with her role as the last Jedi
A “Special Edition” of The Rise of Skywalker using the TROS Extended Edition Novelization by Rae Carson with some changes from Hal 9000’s TROS Ascendant movie fan-edit, lore from supplementary materials, and a few minor additions of my own to create what I hope will be the best version of TROS possible. I give credit to both creators throughout, as I DO NOT claim this as an original work but more of a “fan-edit”.
When it’s discovered that the evil Emperor Palpatine did not die at the hands of the reformed Darth Vader, the rebels must race against the clock to find out his whereabouts. Finn and Poe lead the Resistance to put a stop to the First Order’s plans to form a new Empire, while Rey anticipates her inevitable confrontation with Kylo Ren.
Likes ❤ and Reblogs are much appreciated!
When I first saw the theatrical version of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, I was very disappointed and immediately set upon rewriting/fixing it with fanfics such as Star Wars: Rise of the Order, a role-reversal au called Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, and a WIP called Star Wars: Prophecy of the Dyad– a combo of TROS and Duel of the Fates with a happy ending.
Then I saw a fanedit of the movie called The Rise of Skywalker Ascendant. It was a tremendous improvement of the theatrical, improving pacing, trimming bad dialogue, saving the moment Chewbacca’s revealed to be alive for when Rey finds out, adding Force Ghosts at the end battle, and making the Tatooine sequence so much better, most notably adding Ben’s Force Ghost with Luke and Leia.
While I still wish Rey and Ben could have lived happily ever after, I believe my own “fanedit” of novelization with some of the changes added from TROS Ascendant and my own changes (like changing Rey’s terrible line “I will earn your brother’s lightsaber, one day.” to “I will be a Jedi, one day.”) will be the best version it could be, improving characterization, clarifying plot lines, and adding the closure of the Reylo story that the theatrical version and the original novelization never did.
Just watched this fan-edit version of “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Amazing what a few changes do to improve a film.
The last time I had seen TROS was 2019, and I vowed never to watch it again, unless a “Special Edition” of it was produced.
This was that “Special Edition”
There was a lot of small bits of dialogue removed (like “they fly now”, “somehow Palpatine’s returned”) but the biggest and best changes were:
The title crawl was reworked
We don’t find out Chewie is alive until Rey does
Luke and Leia didn’t know Rey was a Palpatine all along, and Leia didn’t envision her son’s death at the end of her Jedi path and leave her lightsaber for someone to finish it for her, she simply just saw the end of her path. Really improves Luke’s pep talk tremendously
Palpatine doesn’t say “I never wanted you dead, I wanted you here…” He just gets right to business
There are Force Ghosts in the end battle!
Rey says “I am a Jedi” instead of that silly “I am all the Jedi”
Naboo and Coruscant are included in one of the celebration montages
The holochess bit with Finn, Chewie, and Poe is moved to the end, as they accompany Rey to Tatooine and the last shot is the Falcon jumping to hyperspace with the twin suns in the background
When Rey says “Rey Skywalker”, she sees the Force Ghosts of Luke, Leia, andBen!
It’s not perfect (as Ben still dies ), and there were a few bits that were retained that I hated like “I will earn your brother’s saber”, and some bits I would have liked from the novel (Ben saying “I will always be with you” as he’s fading away) that weren’t in there, but honestly, this edit made TROS into a watchable, acceptable movie. I wouldn’t be posting the link to it if it wasn’t!
I’m not sure if the last link will work, I know for sure this one will. For real, I’m obsessed with this fan-edit. It’s like comparing the 2017 Justice League with the 2021 Snyder Cut.
All of TROS Ascendant’s changes, as listed by the fan-editor
New title crawl
Flames of rebellion burn across the galaxy. The tyrannical First Order has retaliated by attacking any planetary system that supports their enemy.
As Rey, sole heir to the Jedi, continues her training, General Leia Organa sends her brave agents across the stars to unite the disparate worlds in the name of Resistance.
Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren has traveled to Mustafar, chasing whispers of a hidden power that would allow him to destroy any threat to his rule…
Added a Wilhelm scream, somewhere in the film…
Added two new establishing shots to the opening Mustafar sequence to slow the pacing slightly
Added a subtle call from Palpatine, saying “Find me,” as Kylo Ren picks up the Wayfinder
Replaced the vat of cloned Snokes with cloned Palpatines
Removed the slight electrical crackle as Palpatine reveals his hands
Moved Palpatine describing spirit transfer into his first scene, turning it into a warning to Kylo Ren and setting up stakes for later
Reordered opening scenes for a more logical progression and better pacing (Kylo Ren meets Palpatine > Rey trains > Falcon mission > Returning to base)
Moved the scene with Chewie, Poe, and Finn playing holochess to the end of the movie, with a shot having been modified here to depict dropping out of hyperspace
Replaced Finn’s now first line “Artoo” with “Look sharp”
Removed lightspeed skipping sequence. It made no sense given how hyperspace has always been depicted, as quick travel, not teleportation. Now, the Falcon bursts through the ice wall while jumping to hyperspace, and the pursuing TIEs peel off, ending the scene
Only because he has no proper introduction and would appear suddenly due to other changes made, removed Klaud from a few shots
Moved Rey’s repeat of “nothing’s impossible” to after Leia hands her the saber to make it feel more endearing
The blue Skywalker lightsaber is now portrayed throughout the film with a somewhat ‘cracked’ appearance similar to Kylo Ren’s in order to build on the conclusion to TLJ and reflect Rey’s inner conflict
The vision Rey experiences while training with the remote has been heavily modified to better establish her apprehension about the Sith throne, and separated from Kylo’s vision
During the vision, removed Rey’s eyes appearing milky and glossed over
Replaced Poe’s lines, including “Somehow, Palpatine returned,” with part of the Emperor’s speech being played, implied to be part of the gathered intel
Removed a line of dialogue establishing an unnecessary 16-hour ‘ticking clock’ to the plot
Trimmed awkward dialogue between Leia and Rey as the two discuss going off to search for the Wayfinder
Kylo now has a vision separate from Rey’s, before reforging his mask, better establishing his motivation for doing so
Added the planet Coruscant to two shots during the scene with Kylo Ren in a boardroom on his Star Destroyer
Redubbed the two stormtroopers who introduce the Knights of Ren
Removed Poe’s use of the word ‘random.’
The puppet show now depicts Luke’s feats at the Battle of Crait in TLJ, strengthening the idea that Luke’s ‘legend’ has taken root in the galaxy and better setting up in conjunction with the following story beat Rey’s identity formation at the end of the film
Cut Rey saying “that’s an excellent name.” This statement felt overly modern.
After Kylo Ren says “I will find you,” cut him saying “…and turn you to the dark side.” It’s implied that he will try to do that once he finds her, but why say it aloud? He should be trying to seduce her to the dark side and masking his intentions
Moved the scene forward in which Rey’s necklace is reported to be traced to Pasaana aboard the Star Destroyer, for better pacing. Trooper line modified not to show him reporting Rey and company’s identities.
Used a foreign language dub for a milder delivery of Lando’s chauffeur’s one line
Removed the “they fly now” gag
Removed Finn telling Rey he “never told you—“ while the heroes sink in the quicksand, as well as two subsequent references to it
Removed Rey commenting that “horrible things” have happened with the dagger, to uncouple it from her parents’ murders and allow her to sense the blade’s pull to the darkness in keeping with a later change.
Added a few lines of dialogue throughout the film to the Knights of Ren
Extended the confrontation between Rey and Kylo’s TIE in the desert using footage from the trailer
Removed the explosion of Kylo Ren’s TIE, though it still rolls after being sliced by Rey
After Kylo Ren’s TIE is destroyed, for the remainder of the film his TIE is depicted with a differently color stripe
Added new shot of Ochi’s ship taking off with the heroes as Kylo Ren watches in order to slightly slow the pace
When Rey mentions her vision of seeing the Sith throne, she comments she saw herself on it, making no reference to Kylo Ren, for greater consistency with her vision as seen by the audience and connection to her inner conflict of identity
Removed part of Poe’s line about their efforts being for nothing, allowing 3PO’s statement later to feel original to him
Reordered shots to show Rey contemplating before asking 3PO to consider going through with the memory wipe
Chewie is not revealed to be alive until Rey senses him from Kijimi, and not seen until he is rescued by Poe and Finn. The reveal with Hux and Pryde has been replaced with the telepathic Palpatine-Kylo conversation from later.
Zorri gives Poe a cold stare, muting her line about seeing his brains in the snow
Removed dialogue referencing R2 backing up 3PO’s memory, which immediately destroyed any weight his sacrifice had before it had even happened, practically stating to the audience what will later happen.
Removed “from the Southern shore” from 3PO’s recital of the Sith dagger inscription to better fit in with its altered characteristics.
Extended the “squeaky wheel” sequence in order to slow the pace using footage from the bonus disc
Replaced 3PO line starting with “Whoever this Chewie person is…” due to being one of a few clunky reminders that he had his memory erased
Removed Finn yelling “POE!”
Removed another instance of the Sith dagger triggering a memory of her parents.*
Replaced Kylo Ren’s line “I never lied to you” with “You were right” for more intuitive and precise continuity with TLJ even as the scene retcons it. In that film, it is Rey herself who supplies the information that her parents “were nobody.”
Removed Kylo Ren’s line, “They sold you to protect you.”*
Removed the single time either of Rey’s parents called her by name, to allow for headcanon that Rey named herself
Removed line from Rey’s mother, “She’s not on Jakku, she’s gone.” This paints Ochi as a moron not to have found Rey, and appears to have been included to explicitly harmonize with TLJ describing Rey’s parents as being buried on Jakku. This is clunky and unnecessary, all the moreso because that line was omitted from this editor’s TLJ project.
Replace 3PO/trooper dialogue to depict 3PO somewhat out of his element
Removed single line “You are a Palpatine.” The rest of the scene works well enough without this heavy-handed line.
Altered Kylo Ren’s line to, “We’ve become a dyad in the Force,” which feels like it builds on TLJ’s ending
The moon containing the wreckage of the second Death Star has been recontextualized as Endor, replacing what was Endor with an ice moon during the space establishing shot and moving the Ewok snippet up from the film’s climax.
Replaced the obtuse reminder that 3PO had his memory erased in the form of a line “Is everyday like this for you people?”
Removed Rey using the dagger as an impossible compass while surveying the wreckage of the second Death Star. ‘Sith whispers’ have been added strategically to imply the dagger mystically guiding her to the Wayfinder.
Added a brief musical allusion to ‘Duel of the Fates’ during the duel on the Death Star using music from Maul’s scene in Solo
Added a subtle vocalization as Leia drops her headphones
Trimmed Finn’s final whimper of “Rey!” during the duel
Worked in the shot of Leia holding Han’s medal from the trailer, which makes it clearer that she promoted Kylo’s memory and sets up Chewie receiving it later which felt like it came out of nowhere
Reordered the sequence of dialogue and action as Rey heals Ben’s wound
Extended the establishing shot of Kylo during the Han scene by a few seconds to slow the pace
Completely removed the destruction of Kijimi and the Resistance’s reaction. This helps us imagine the Final Order as an Imperial stockpile since it was the only glimpse into them before the First Order arrives to help. It avoids yet another planet destruction, and generally smooths things over.
Softened the stark sound effect slightly as Luke catches the lightsaber, since he is immaterial
Regraded Ach-To sequence to take place at night, concluding at dawn
Added an additional establishing shot breaking up the Rey on Ahch-to scenes so it doesn’t seem like she only spends a couple minutes on the island
A porg sound continues to trail off after their single shot, to help them feel like they were really there
Reduced blue coloration to Luke’s ghostly visage, slimmed him down somewhat, and shortened Mark Hammil’s wig to better fit his prior appearances
Removed talk about Leia (and possibly Luke, depending on one’s interpretation of the scene) having known about Rey being a Palpatine. In this version, Luke essentially tells Rey, “So what if you’re a Palpatine?” It also seems to make a great deal more sense to assume they did not know this during the events of TFA and TLJ, with Luke learning this postmortem.
Leia’s lightsaber blade has been recolored to purple throughout. Carrie Fisher expressed a preference for this color of saber in a TFA-era interview, and it is more visually striking in the Exegol setting which helps the audience track which saber is which, particularly following a restored Leia line before Rey prominently uses her saber.
Removed Luke mentioning Leia sensing “the death of her son” at the end of her Jedi path
Replaced Luke’s line, “You’ll take both sabers to Exegol,” with, “We’ll always be with you"
Added R2 and 3PO’s prequel theme briefly during the memory restoration scene
Removed Finn’s line, “He wanted her alive,” as part of an effort to smooth over Palpatine’s motivations as initially grooming Kylo Ren and switching to Rey once Ben Solo had been redeemed.
Removed the line about the Holdo maneuver. If it is something legitimate then someone who lives in that universe shouldn’t have the same misconception as we may.
Removed the subtitle for Nien Nunb’s one line. He was never subtitled in the past and it’s not needed.
Slightly restructured the Exegol space battle’s beginning to consolidate story threads
Removed Finn telling BB8 “great job, buddy” during the mounted attack in order to preserve a sense of tension or seriousness
Removed Palpatine’s lines, “I never wanted you dead, I wanted you here,” and, “…for my grandchild to come home,” to assist in smoothing Palpatine’s motives to switching from grooming Kylo Ren to Rey once Ben Solo was redeemed.*
Replaced the Imperial TIE Kylo took to Exegol with Vader’s TIE, because ANH had made a point to establish that TIEs don’t have hyperdrives.
Trimmed a moment when Ben seems to wait for the Knight to hit his saber
Added a small bit of score from ROTS as Palpatine absorbs the power of Rey and Ben’s dyad
Added a cacophony of voices to the appearance of the civilian fleet to the battle. Several craft can be heard signing in via comm, and a few cheer “For Skywalker!” during the charge in order to tie into Luke’s Inspiring act at the Battle of Crait
Extended a space exterior shot using an ILM demo clip in order to remove Poe’s line, “Every [underbelly cannon] we knock out is a world saved.”
Since Kijimi isn’t destroyed, there’s no need for Babu Frik to pop up only to show he’s alive
Added a line during the spirits of the Jedi communing with Rey from the actor who portrayed the youngling in the Jedi Council chambers in Revenge of the Sith
Added Leia concluding the Jedi voices with “always,” taken from the trailer.
The ghostly visages of Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Luke appear behind Rey and assist with overpowering the Emperor
Altered Rey’s climactic line from, “I am all the Jedi,” to simply, “I am a Jedi.”
Added a subtle Sith scream effect as Palpatine explodes
Because the first Ewok shot was used earlier, Coruscant and Naboo have been added in its place in the planetary celebration montage
The holochess scene between Chewie, Finn, and Poe has been moved to Tatooine
Added a subtle double rainbow to the first shot of the Lars homestead, originally inspired by a similar phenomena at that filming location as seen on the bonus material, rationalized into a deep cut reference to Leia’s infantile destination of Alderaan, which sports a double rainbow in ROTS.
The quick light sequence when Rey ignites her yellow saber has been changed from blue and green to blue and purple to reflect Leia’s new saber color, as the original was an homage to the two Skywalker sabers
The ghostly visage of a redeemed Ben Solo now accompanies the Skywalker twins during the final scene
Rey’s delivery of her final line has been swapped with one from the behind the scenes bonus material that appeared more emotionally resonant, with the background modified to match the finished film
The final shot has been replaced with the Falcon taking off, flying toward the suns, and jumping to hyperspace.
The musical cue leading into the credits has been replaced with something more fitting that does not reuse the cue from the end of TFA
