Synopsis:

This is a "Rey Nobody" edit, removing her link to Palpatine. The other major change is that Leia dies toward the beginning of the film, removing her from the plot. The core idea is to strengthen the ties to The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi to give a clear character arc to both Rey and Kylo Ren. I also removed some unnecessary jokes and tidied up some action beats. The goal is to create a fun, engaging movie that satisfies as an ending to these character's stories.

Intentions:

Refocus the movie by giving clear characters arcs to Rey and Kylo Ren. Leia dies at the beginning of the film, and Rey is no longer related to Palptaine.

Change List:

I've been kicking around some ideas for this movie basically since it came out. As some of you know, I did do a light revision to HAL9000's stellar edit of this movie that more fit my tastes and pacing. I don't advertise it as so much of the work is originally HAL's, but I think I'm going to take another, very different crack at it. I'm also breaking my rule of not editing movies I really dislike, because I really dislike this movie. However, there's possibly enough elements in there to make it work, and I can't get it out of my head. It's easy to say that bringing back Palpatine is a mistake, but I've softened on that a bit. I'm actually a little more Ok with Palpatine as the big bad of the entire series. That's not actually the problem. The big problem, to me, is a lack of focus. The movie is all over the place, trying to cram in too many plots, subplots, and character arcs. Nothing is given enough time to breathe, so nothing ever feels satisfying. I can tell you what TFA and especially TLJ are about. I have no idea what Rise of Skywalker is about. I have no idea what it has to say. So, how do we fix this? My core ideas: - Leia needs to not be involved in the plot. Her sloppily worked in deleted scenes from TFA don't fit, have no purpose, and completely take over the story of Rey and Kylo. I love Carrie Fisher and Princess Leia, but they should've just let her rest. - Rey cannot be a Palpatine. TFA and TLJ set up a completely different arc for her. In those movies, it's about her being a nobody with tremendous power that doesn't belong in this story. She's figuring out what her place is. In TROS, the plot is almost completely based around her lineage. I know a lot of people don't like that she's just nobody, but the solution is not to eliminate two movies worth of character and plot development to change it to something completely different. - Rey cannot, at every turn, be assisted by other Star Wars characters. She defeats Kylo because Leia intervened. She defeats Palpatine because the spirits of the past Jedi intervened. She's the hero. She needs to do it herself. How does that create focus? Well, because the movie is now about Kylo being pulled to the light, and Rey being pulled to the dark. They're both on the brink of their respective breakthroughs. Kylo feels remorse for killing Han, and he feels the loss of his mother. He definitely feels something for Rey. The light is trying to grab him more than ever, and he's fighting as hard as he ever has. Cuts and Additions: (changes from TROS Ascendent are marked with an asterisk): - Overall color correction using LUTs provided by skenera* - Added a new opening crawl STAR WARS EPISODE IX THE FINAL ORDER Flames of rebellion burn across the galaxy. The tyrannical First Order has retaliated by attacking any planetary system that supports the Resistance. An ailing General Leia Organa helps Rey, the sole heir to the Jedi, continue training to harness her powerful connection to the Force. 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 two new establishing shots to the opening Mustafar sequence to slow the pacing slightly, building on what was done for V1 (visual FX from poppasketti, Movies Remastered, NeverarGreat, and 21C Peasant as well as audio assistance from LILLIAN02230)* - Added a subtle call from Palpatine, saying “Find me,” as Kylo Ren picks up the Wayfinder* - Removed Palpatine's lines about making Snoke and being every voice inside Kylo's head. - Replaced the vat of cloned Snokes with cloned Palpatine’s (FX by poppasketti)* - Removed the slight electrical crackle as Palpatine reveals his hands (FX by skenera)* - Moved Palpatine describing spirit transfer into his first scene, turning it into a warning to Kylo Ren and setting up stakes for later (RogueLeader idea)* - Palpatine scene now ends on "as the new emperor", removing the part about Rey. Reordered some prior shots for a smooth exit from the scene. - 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 (FX by poppasketti)* - Replaced Finn’s now first line “Artoo” with “Look sharp” (dgraham414 idea)* - 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 (visual FX by poppasketti)* - Only because he has no proper introduction and would appear suddenly due to other changes made, removed Klaud from a few shots (FX by poppasketti)* - New establishing shot of Ajan Kloss and some visuals of the jungle before jumping to Rey on the training course. This slows the pace down a little. All of Leia's scenes and the "be with me" set up are removed. - 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 (visual FX by kewlfish, Luke Frik, and Movies Remastered)* - Leia's death scene now occurs where Rey's vision originally was placed, cutting back and forth between Rey and Kylo feeling it through the Force. Utilized a deleted scene from TLJ for the Kylo shots. - Poe and Finn returning to the base has been replaced with the one later in the film, where they are told Leia is dead. We then cut to Leia's funeral. - Kylo now has a vision separate from Rey’s, before reforging his mask, better establishing his motivation for doing so (by DominicCobb)* - This sequence now ends with Kylo's mask being repaired. The scene where he meets the First Order Generals is separated and occurs later. - 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 Leia from the Resistance briefing. - Removed a line of dialogue establishing an unnecessary 16-hour ‘ticking clock’ to the plot* - Rey now runs to get the Jedi book, but then sits and reads it, discovering the page about the Wayfinder. This then transitions to her preparing the Falcon. - Leia and Rey scene removed before leaving the planet. Slightly reordered surrounding scenes to accommodate. - When Rey is staring into the jungle, she now sees a flashback of her and Leia hugging from The Force Awakens. - Moved Kylo meeting the First Order Generals to here. - Added the planet Coruscant to two shots during the scene with Kylo Ren in a boardroom on his Star Destroyer (visual FX by poppasketti)* - Removed Rey's "I've never seen anything like this" and Finn's "I've never seen so few wayfinders." It seemed out of character for Finn to step on Rey's sense of wonder. - 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. (RogueLeader handmade and filmed puppet elements influenced by designs from CaptainFaraday and Cinefy, poppasketti and Movies Remastered provided a tedious clean backplate, and ThisIsCreation provided a new vocal dub for the alien narrator)* - Removed some of the dialogue with Rey and the child. She doesn't ask her for her last name anymore, as that doesn't play into the story at any point. - Cut some of Kylo Ren's dialogue with Rey relating to her parents. - 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. (Ziggyonice idea)* - Removed Lando's "Leia sent me a message". - Used a foreign language dub for a milder delivery of Lando’s chauffeur’s one line* - Removed the end of the Lando scene where they discuss Leia as if she's alive. - Kept 3PO's "Oh, they fly now!" but removed Finn and Poe repeating it. - Removed "Never underestimate a droid!" as the scene that sets it up has been cut. - Removed Finn telling Rey he “never told you—“ while the heroes sink in the quicksand, as well as two subsequent references to it.* - Cut Leia's scene back at the base. Moved forward the Knights of Ren landing on the planet to replace it. - Removed Rey commenting that “horrible things” have happened with the dagger.* - Rey's vision is moved to here, and tied to the strong dark energy of the dagger. References to her parents are removed, focusing the vision solely on dark Rey and the Sith throne. - Added a few lines of dialogue throughout the film to the Knights of Ren (sourced from project by axlanian and krausfadr, with voice recordings submitted by axlanian, krausfadr, Ben, axlanian’s wife, poppasketti, DG)* - Extended the confrontation between Rey and Kylo’s TIE in the desert using footage from the trailer (by DominicCobb)* - 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 (visual FX by poppasketti)* - Removed Rey's overly dramatic initial "CHEWIE!" to keep her at more of a stunned silence and shock. - Added new shot of Ochi’s ship taking off with the heroes as Kylo Ren watches in order to slightly slow the pace (visual FX by poppasketti)* - 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 (RogueLeader idea)* - Removed a BB-8 reaction shot during this conversation, as I repurposed it later. - 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. * - 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 D-O's "sad" line, as it undercuts the emotion of the moment with a joke. - 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 (audio help from LILLIAN2330, visual FX by poppasketti)* - Removed some of Rey and Finn's dialogue relating to her heritage. - 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 (alternate line provided by Chase Adams)* - Removed Finn yelling “POE!”* - The scene where Poe and Finn are brought before Pryde is moved to here, so as not to interrupt the flow of the next scene since it has been shortened. - When Rey picks up the dagger in Kylo's quarters, another vision of herself on the throne is triggered. - Majority of the dialogue in the Rey/Kylo saber fight here is removed, as most of it relates to her parents. The action is cut to accommodate. Kylo now just tells her he needed her to see the power of the dark side, and that he is going to find her. - Cut the shocked reactions to "I'm the spy!", going straight to Poe's "I knew it!" I think the joke lands better that way. - Replace 3PO/trooper dialogue to depict 3PO somewhat out of his element (by axlanian, replacing work from RogueLeader for V1)* - Kylo Ren now tells Rey that Palpatine wants her dead because he saw a vision of her killing him and taking the throne, removing the concept that she is related to Palpatine in any way. He simply fears her power. (idea and help from RogueLeader) - Music has been removed from Rey and Finn repairing the ship. She hears the Sith whispers again and proclaims she is going to destroy Palpatine. A BB-8 reaction shot is used here to break up the scene. No mention of Palpatine killing her parents. - 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. (Visual FX by poppasketti and snooker)* - Replaced the obtuse reminder that 3PO had his memory erased in the form of a line “Is everyday like this for you people?” (alternate line provided by Chase Adams)* - Finn's "and so does Leia" has been changed to "and so did Leia". - 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.* - Cut Kylo Ren's lines about Leia. - When Rey first says "give it to me" a sith whisper accompanies Kylo Ren's shiver, as if it almost worked. - 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 (idea and help from Cinefy)* -Leia's death is removed from here, and all references to her interjecting in the action are removed. - Kylo now stops himself from killing Rey, which gives her the opportunity to kill him. The sith whispers are heard again, and she regrets killing him in anger, realizing it's bringing her closer to the dark side. Flashbacks to TLJ hand touching scene are used. - Trimmed Finn’s final whimper of “Rey!” during the duel* - New transition from Endor to a Star Destroyer establishing shot. - Palpatine now says "The Jedi Apprentice has disrupted my plan" so he doesn't mention Leia. The scene has been rescored. - Extended the establishing shot of Kylo during the Han scene by a few seconds to slow the pace (thanks to Luka Frik and Octorox)* - Cut the close up on Kylo Ren at the very end of the scene to accommodate a better transition to Ach-To. - Extended the Ach-To establishing shot for a smoother transition. - 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 (grading and rotoscoping by NeverarGreat)* - Cut Luke's line about showing respect to the saber. - 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 (modeled after DominicCobb’s clip) - Reduced blue coloration to Luke’s ghostly visage, slimmed him down somewhat, and shortened Mark Hammil’s wig to better fit his prior appearances (NeverarGreat and jonh, respectively)* - Cut Luke's dialogue about Rey being a Palpatine. It's now all about her facing her fear. - Removed Luke mentioning Leia sensing “the death of her son” at the end of her Jedi path (sherlockpotter)* - 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.* - Added R2 and 3PO’s prequel theme briefly during the memory restoration scene (Cinefy idea)* - Removed Finn and Poe's dialogue about Rey, D-O doesn't know anything about her, he just has all the details on Exegol. - 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 (DominicCobb)* - Removed Finn telling BB8 “great job, buddy” during the mounted attack in order to preserve a sense of tension or seriousness* - 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. (Was originally an Imperial shuttle in V1; FX by poppasketti)* - Trimmed Palpatine dialogue that references Rey's parents and her relation to him. Again, the focus is on her capacity to use the dark side. - When Ben takes hold of the Skywalker saber, the blade stop crackling. - Trimmed a moment when Ben seems to wait for the Knight to hit his saber (David_B idea)* - Added a small bit of score from ROTS as Palpatine absorbs the power of Rey and Ben’s friendship (Cinefy idea)* - 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 (thanks to axlanian for help mixing, and to the few dozen contributors who sent in recordings: poppasketti, AbramPT, Wesyeed, mrbenjamino, KieranKhalid, alastair, Anakin Skywalker, JKMaxx, Cinefy, Knight of Kalee, Chase, jonh, tobar, Doubleofive, Dana Domenick, Master Lawdog, Harmy, brewzter, Blake, Justin W, Reylochriso, Elia97963000, EllaLisa15, JediTwilight, deefayy, joelkarnold, AnEnemyAnemone, sixtailedcat, 5footwonderful, ThisIsCreation, CaptainFaraday, CaptainFaraday’s mother, sherlockpotter, and Richard D)* - 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.” (Visual FX to remove watermark by Sir Ridley, audio FX assisted by mrbenjamino)* - Rey no longer repeats "be with me" as she sees the destruction overhead, and does not hear the Jedi voices. She instead has flashes of various characters comforting and helping her throughout the series, which gives her the determination to get up. (idea by bbghost) - Rey now says "I'm a Jedi" instead of "I am all the Jedi". Shortened the delay between "And I..." and her catching the Saber. - Because the first Ewok shot was used earlier, Coruscant and Naboo have been added in its place in the planetary celebration montage (Coruscant FX by poppasketti, and Naboo FX by snooker and skenera)* - 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. (FX by poppasketti)* - The ghostly visage of a redeemed Ben Solo now accompanies the Skywalker twins during the final scene (visual FX by jonh)* - The ending has been reworked, removing the old lady and any dialogue regarding Rey's name. A subtle shift in color pulls Rey's attention to the binary sunsets, which stands to go look at. She then sees the Skywalker Force ghosts, then turns her attention back to the sunsets, which leads to the credits.

Additional Notes:

Rey and Kylo Ren's story arcs are muddied by trying to ret-con The Last Jedi, and include deleted scenes of Princess Leia after Carrie Fisher passed before filming. Rey is no longer helped at every turn by legacy characters. Kylo Ren hesitates to strike down Rey of his own accord, without his mother's help. Rey does not have a famous lineage to fight against, only the power within her.

Other Sources:

The Rise of Skywalker - Ascendent by HAL9000 The Last Skywalker Awakens by BBghost The Rise of Skywalker For Your Consideration Score by John Williams LEGO Star Wars - The Force Awakens Disney Infinite 3.0

Special Thanks:

HAL9000, RogueLeader, BBGhost, amobex, GMatias, fidodido, poppasketti, Movies Remastered, NeverarGreat, 21C Peasant, LILLIAN02230, tampopo, skenera, dgraham414, DominicCobb, BenSlzak, kewlfish, Luke Frik, CaptainFaraday, Cinefy, ThisIsCreation, Ziggyonice, axlanian, krausfadr, Ben, DG, Chase Adams, snooker, bionicbob, sherlockpotter, Octorox, jonh, David_B, Sir Ridley, tampopo, ArtisDead and mrbenjamino.