Synopsis:

It’s the same Star Wars: The Last Jedi you pondered over, cleared of distractions. The trip to the casino of Canto Bight is truncated, the Caretakers of Ach-To are removed, and a few scenes are rearranged, allowing Rian Johnson’s story to shine. Strap in for a contemplative journey not experienced since The Empire Strikes Back.

Intentions:

To address a few standout issues about the film which distract from its focus. This is a fairly conservative edit, doing what is possible to streamline the film without radically altering it. This is intended as constructive; I enjoy TLJ quite a bit and, given my history with producing fan edits, it was inevitable that I would attempt something like this. What this project is NOT intended as is an indictment of Disney or Rian Johnson. Rather, this is my way of engaging with the film and putting a slight spin on it. This film subverts audience/fan expectation at many points. While this edit doesn't seek to reverse this, some instances of this were addressed in order to (hopefully) allow the film to do this while still feeling like part 8 of a 9-part story. Regarding General Hux: It is not my intention to "rescue" this character, as he is rightfully played as a youthful, arrogant Neo-Nazi buffoon. The changes made to his character in this edit are intended to allow him to remain somewhat threatening, at least up until Kylo Ren takes over as Supreme Leader toward the end. The humor in this film has been pruned, though a great deal of humor has been retained. Star Wars has always relied on humor, though has never strayed into Spaceballs territory. For example, as much as I enjoyed the "iron/spaceship" gag, it felt like something from a parody of Star Wars rather than something within it. This was my guideline. Humor is very subjective, so I attempted to thread the needle as best I could. This edit does not attempt to alter Rey's character in any meaningful way. Her natural talent for using the Force and heroic escapades are necessary to get the film's story in motion. Her triple-TIE combo shot was removed from the battle of Crait in the conventional interest of "less is more," and is not intended as a commentary of Rey herself. Also, the removal of a single detail during Kylo Ren's conversation with her about her parents is not intended to in any way alter the fact that her parents were "nobody," but merely to address a potential continuity oddity when compared to TFA depicting her parents as leaving Jakku in the process of abandoning her. All things considered, this fan edit is intended as a lightweight alternative to other edits which remove large swaths of the film. Similar to my edits of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, if you are hoping for a massive overhaul that fundamentally alters the movie, this isn't the edit for you.

Change List:

Cuts and Additions (changes for V4 have an asterisk*): - Removed silly mugshot of Hux after commenting on Poe’s X-wing approach ? Trimmed the opening ‘prank call’ joke to prevent it from venturing into SNL territory while retaining the core of the humor - Trimmed Paige kicking the ladder slightly - Added Rey’s voice calling out to Finn immediately prior to him waking from his coma, to gently tie into his Force sensitivity that was not bridged between TFA and TROS (Thanks to poppasketti)* - Used poppasketti’s audio to change the emphasis as Luke tosses the lightsaber - Removed Luke’s quip about Jakku being “pretty much nowhere” - Reinstated the 'Luke Has a Moment' deleted scene (Audio transition tweaked slightly by poppasketti) - Reinstated the deleted scene where Poe gives Finn back his jacket (with scene transition provided by OT.com user pleasehello) (Audio transition tweaked slightly by poppasketti) - Removed Rose responding to Finn’s MTFBWY with “…you too” - Tightened Finn and Rose’s reaction to Maz’s line “Oh yes, he can” for slightly better timing ? Removed both appearances from the ‘Caretakers’ on Ach-to (with a visual effects shot courtesy of OT.com user snooker) ? Trimmed away the lone porg who gives Chewie the doughy eyes, though leaving the joke intact otherwise ? Removed Luke’s line to R2, “Nothing can make me change my mind.” ? Cut down the first sequence at Canto Bight to focus on finding the codebreaker. For V3, reinstated a modified version of the balcony scene overlooking kids and horses being beaten, though removing strong hints that Finn and Rose will be able to act upon the town before they leave - Blended the original Anakin lightsaber ignition sound with the existing different sounds for two shots - Made it appear as though Finn and Rose follow DJ out of the cell, briefly elude the guards, and the scene ends. Next time we see the trio, they are already in hyperspace (also removing the implication in the later scene that BB8 helped steal the ship). - Added Emperor laughing over Luke’s vision as he gazes into Kylo Ren’s mind in flashback (idea from TiMartyn) - Added a center wipe transition from the scene with Finn, Rose, and DJ in hyperspace to the fleet losing their medical frigate - Used a few shots from a deleted scene to remove the iron/spaceship gag, which borrowed from an old spoof which laughed at Star Wars rather than along with Star Wars (film speck removed by OT.com user poppasketti) ? Trimmed some of the comedy with BB8 being placed under a basket - Removed Snoke saying he would destroy “the entire island” on Ach-To (seems odd without having established Caretakers live there which Rey cares about) ? Trimmed the heavy, direct hinting before Snoke’s death, using musical score from TFA (courtesy of OT.com user poppasketti) - A puff of blue smoke rises from Snoke right after he is cut in half, out of focus in the background, providing a very subtle clue about his nature (Borrowed with permission from poppasketti, though I did not use the flash of red Sith eyes as he is stabbed)* ? Removed the detail from Kylo Ren that Rey’s parents are buried in the Jakku desert, as this seems at odds with the vision we saw in The Force Awakens and further details revealed in The Rise of Skywalker. - Thanks to poppasketti, removed Finn’s duel with Phasma, having added BB8 accompanything Finn and Rose to the shuttle unimpeded. Phasma’s corpse has been added to the foreground to complete the scene. Special effects during the deleted scene with Finn and Rose on the shuttle have been spruced up further by poppasketti for V4, including adding floating debris and fixing the perspective of the planet* ? Moved the scene with Luke and Yoda to immediately prior to Leia looking out over Crait (using audio and video provided by OT.com user Darthrush) ? Removed Finn’s line about the battering ram canon being “old Death Star tech,” and reinstated Poe’s line, “A what now?” ? The crate Luke sits on as he talks with Leia is now stationary and motionless, unaffected by him (effect provided by OT.com user poppasketti) ? Removed Rey’s triple-TIE combo shot, with the Falcon’s involvement in the battle being first revealed with its shadow sweeping by and a single TIE being shot down ? Trimmed Hux ordering fighters to follow the Falcon, leaving this poor tactical move to be attributed to Kylo Ren’s emotional priorities ? Removed Finn’s line, “Oh, they hate that ship!” ? After Rose saves Finn, removed her line about not “fighting what we hate” and “saving what we love.” - Removed ‘Matrix’ shot where Luke dodges Kylo’s saber in slow-motion (idea from TiMartyn) - Removed spot on the sun as Luke gazes out after collapsing, which caused some presumably inadvertent misdirection for some upon first viewing (courtesy of OT.com user poppasketti) - The shot of the rebel alliance insignia ring at the very end has been removed, since it ties into a sequence removed from this version of the film (thanks to poppasketti)* - Snuck in a Wilhelm scream... somewhere in the movie.

Additional Notes:

-

Other Sources:

Various sound effects from the Star Wars franchise and elsewhere

Special Thanks:

Everyone at OriginalTrilogy.com who contributed, including: Poppasketti (FX shots and ideas) DarthRush (FX shot and ideas) Pleasehello (FX shot) Snooker (Fx shot) ChainsawAsh (DTS audio) MalàStrana (English and French subtitles) Natedug (Cover artwork, style mimicking Sherman’s TFA:R artwork) Krlozdac TiMartyn NeverarGreat One69chev Collipso BMadden Drakul StrafeSawdoffe TV’s Frink HerekittykittyX DominicCobb Jarbear LordRorek Imadethisfortheanticheeseedit Zachary VIII OutboundFlight TiMartyn RogueLeader Handman Dr. Krogshöj Nightstalkerpoet EddieDean DZ-330 Nd4spd ChiefWamsutta Valheru_84 TK-422 Possessed CourtlyHades296 AbramPT CarterStarkiller Cheebo Snoke&mirrors Sir Ridley Anjohan Kaweebo Oojason TheLostJedi Littlev87 Dat_SW_Guy Toastedzen Adywan Tobar Ziggyonice Arosa1091 Chyron8472 TK251 Bop Gimpy LeonardoRamos Octorox Jrs81 Bromeo Iryin01 Noodle_Finger (editor behind a prior edit of TLJ).