When we talk about alternate versions of movies it usually centers on how things could have begun or ended differently. There's the different endings of Blade Runner, and it happened when we heard about the alternate opening of The Force Awakens back when J.J. Abrams apparently wanted to open on Luke's severed hand floating through space. (Hell, even Rian Johnson had an alternate opening for The Last Jedi.) And now, this talk is central to the discussion about The Rise of Skywalker.
In the past few weeks rumors have circulated that there were alternate openings or bizzaro endings. The thing is, if anyone thinks a different beginning or ending could have 'fixed' everything wrong with The Rise of Skywalker, they're missing the larger view of the Force — the giant, muddled middle of this movie is why it's such problematic and divisive film. Spoilers ahead.
Force lightning was a purely offensive, energy-based attack that channeled Force energy down the user's limbs, hurling arcing bolts of electricity from the wielder's fingertips or palms; Force lightning could be executed with either one or two hands. From early in The Force Awakens, Daisy Ridley's Rey was shown to be very sensitive to The Force and able to quickly learn up Jedi. And she accidentally shoots Force Lightning from her.
According to Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo, he pitched an alternate ending where Ben Solo survived and ended up on the planet Ahch-To. If you believe stuntman Juan Bautista, who was inside of one of the Knights of Ren costumes, there was also some kind of alternate ending where Rey didn't come back to life. All of this is noise. None of it matters. If you want to believe any of this stuff would have 'fixed' or changed The Rise of Skywalker that we got, that's fine. But, if you actually look at the bulk of the movie's runtime, the problem is a very, very muddled second act in which a whole lot of nothing happens.
If we consider everything up until Rey thinks she kills Chewbacca to be the first third of the movie, then you can quickly see why everything that happens after that is a complete shitshow. Let's take a look at the three acts of The Rise of Skywalker, boiled down to their most simple elements.
Act 1
Palpatine is back! Sith Wayfinders are the key to finding him! Rey and the gang have to go to Burning Man Planet to locate a clue, that will lead them to another clue. Rey can heal sandworms, Poe has a secret, Finn has a secret, and C-3P0 learns a secret that can only be deciphered by some illegal programming. After stealing a ship and losing the Falcon, Rey shoots lightning out of her hands and thinks she's killed Chewbacca. Our heroes head-off to Crime Planet, to hire someone to deprogram C-3PO and get him to reveal what's written on the nifty dagger they stole.
Act 2
Um. Okay. So, Poe used to be a smuggler and he has an old girlfriend (?) named Zorri Bliss and she gives him a special medallion, but also leads them to Babu Frik (who is apparently hilarious according to Twitter) and Babu reboots C-3PO to make him translate the Sith writing on the dagger. Chewbacca is not dead, so we have to rescue him at some point, oh, and by the way, remember, we lost the Falcon, too, so we better figure out how to get that back. Where's Lando? Nevermind, we left him on Burning Man Planet. I wonder if he'll be back? Anyway, there's no time to worry about that, because now, Finn, Rey and Poe have to get Chewie, get the Falcon back, then go to the Endor system, to a planet that IS NOT the Forest Moon of Endor, but instead is Water Endor.
The Death Star we saw esplode in Return of the Jedi, apparently had a really big chunk that just daintily fell on Water Endor, which is handy, because the Dagger (which we can now read because of C-3PO's memory wipe) tells everyone they have to go there.
We meet some Ex-Stormtroopers who have space horses, and also cool water skimmers. They tell everyone to chill out. Rey can't chill out, takes a water skimmer, goes to the broken Death Star, meets Nightmare Dark Rey for like three seconds – a hallucination so specific it includes a totally detailed evil double-bladed lightsaber — and then, she also meets Kylo Ren who is there. Oh, I almost forgot — An important detail, right before we got to Water Endor, Kylo Ren and Rey had a mind-fight, and Kylo revealed that Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter. This is why she can shoot lightning. Anyway, Kylo is on Water Endor and that's a big deal.
Oh did we mention that General Hux is good? Yeah, that doesn't matter, but it does take up several minutes of the movie. Anyway.
Leia talks to Ben/Kylo through the Force, and then Rey stabs him. She then feels bad about this and uses her healing powers to bring him back. (Okay?) Then she leaves in a huff and steals his TIE Fighter (which we'll see that she wrecks in a few minutes.) Meanwhile, Ben has a dream-chat with dead Han Solo and he decides to become good.
Leia dies. Rey goes to Porg Land, talks to ghost Luke who tells her he knew she was a Palpatine the whole time, and then grabs his old X-Wing out of the swamp, tosses her the keys, and says, yeah, you're good to drive this thing, go kill the Emperor, your grandfather.
Meanwhile, the Resistance tries to get their act together and Lando shows up.
Act 3
Everybody goes to the Emperor's Gross Planet. A billion spaceships show up because Zorri Bliss told them too. Rey fights Palpatine. Space horses ride on top of a Star Destroyer. Ben and Rey act extra cool (but not as cool as they were in The Last Jedi) the Emperor tries to suck their life force out, shoots lighting, and is all-around way more powerful than he's ever been.
Eventually, with Ben's help, and the help of every Jedi ghost ever, Rey defeats the Dark Side. Then she goes to live on Tatooine and says her name is Rey Skywalker. The End!
Okay. So, clearly there's way too much stuff that happens in the second act of this movie. And, the worst part about it, is that literally all of it is table-setting for the final act. In some senses, you could argue that the entire movie is just set-up for the climax where everyone ends up on or in orbit of Exegol. Is it anyone's fault in specific that the middle of this movie has so much stuff in it? Well, one could argue that yes, this is specifically the fault of J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio, the screenwriters of the film, but it's also possible that there are literally just too many characters in this film to manage reasonably.
For example, let's just imagine a version of this movie without General Hux or Allegiant General Pryde. Right there, you cut out a ton of dialogue and water-treading that does absolutely nothing to forward the plot. Will fans be wondering where General Hux went? Seriously, who cares? Where was bushy-bearded General Dodonna from A New Hope in The Empire Strikes Back? Didn't he come with the Rebels to Hoth? Seriously, it doesn't matter. Why wasn't Snap Wexley in The Last Jedi? Guess, what we didn't ask! The Rise of Skywalker is so focused on making sure we understand where every single person is at all times, that the middle of the movie is an exercise in splitting space hairs. Why did Chewbacca need to get kidnapped? Clearly, the answer is so everyone could rescue him and that could remind us of Leia getting rescued in A New Hope. J.J. Abrams got away with this kind of homaging in The Force Awakens, mostly because there were fewer characters, and despite it being silly, the 'map to Luke Skywalker' plot device was a little bit more elegant than the complicated treasure quest.
Anyway, the point is, that eliminating things like Chewbacca's capture or the emphasis placed on the shifting leadership inside of the First Order is a game you could play all day long. And that's because the real issue if The Rise of SKywalker that its plot is at war with its story.
The plot of The Rise of Skywalker versus the story of The Rise of Skywalker
What's the story of Episode IX? Well, by my estimation it's mostly about the redemption and rebirth of the Skywalker name and legacy. It's also about the final defeat of the Emperor, and it's a meditation on what future generations do and don't owe the generations that came before. It's about being more than what you were born to and making choices that honor what you believe in.
What's the plot of Episode IX? That's easy: Treasure hunt! Spaceship swapping! Nostalgia-fest! Call-outs to every single Star Wars movie! Erasing character's memories, then giving them the memories back! Character deaths that are retconned with little (or zero) explanation! Character secrets teased in dialogue but never explained, and of course, space horses.
The flaw of The Rise of Skywalker has almost nothing to do with its ending. Rey summoning all the Jedi to help her and Ben becoming briefly a good boy to assist actually is fine. And, in any version of the movie — even one in which Rey and Ben are fighting someone who isn't Palpatine — all of that stuff works.
Rey going to live on Tatooine is a little dopey and silly, but in terms of honoring the story, it's not the worst. If you swapped out Ben Solo and had Rey live somewhere else, it would be fine. However, neither of those things would save the movie, and that's because the middle of the film is just to damn busy to let the story actually matter.
The barrier of entry in the film is the fact that nobody knows how to get to Exegol without the complicated plot allowing them to find it. This is the same barrier of entry for the audience. We are never convinced that Exegol is hard to find, and not just because Kylo Ren finds it in the first act. The reason we are never convinced that it's hard to find is that:
- A: This has never been a thing that has happened in a Star Wars movie before
- B: It simply doesn't work dramatically.
The plots of most Star Wars movies — even ones that rely on a mystery-structure like Attack of the Clones or Rogue One — have never been about entire planets being hidden. Generally speaking, when someone wants to go somewhere, they go there. Whether they use the Force or the nav computer to calculate the jumps in hyperspace is their call. The point is, knowing where you were going, has literally never been a problem in Star Wars before.
That is, until The Force Awakens. When Abrams created 'the map to Luke Skywalker,' he broke the rules of how we thought about navigating the Star Wars galaxy. But we mostly forgave him because it was a cool way to keep the plot of that film moving without hurting the story. You also might say that a 'map to Luke SKywalker' was the thematic point of the movie, too.
Either way, having a hidden destination in The Force Awakens didn't prevent the audience from understanding what was going on. But in The Rise of Skywalker, everything rests on our belief that the plot — the idea that this hidden planet can only be found a specific way — somehow reflects the larger themes of the story. It doesn't.
If you only watch the first 15 minutes or the last 15 minutes of the movie, none of this a problem. But, if you dip into the middle, it's suggested that the rest of the movie can't happen unless these events unfold exactly as they do. The trouble is, anyone can tell that this is a lie. The plot happening in the middle of The Rise of Skywalker is perfunctory and could easily have been jumbled around in a different way. Once you notice this, you'll see through the lies of the Jedi, and the Sith.
A different ending wouldn't have changed any of this. The problems with Episode IX are right at the center. Sadly, even using the Force can't bullseye this womp rat. It's there forever because, unlike an alternate ending, the middle is most of this film.
Free slot machines online with bonus rounds. The Rise of Skywalker is still in theaters.
A new rumor about a Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker test screening describes the film as 'all over the place' and 'confusing.'
The rumor comes from YouTuber Doomcock, who received the information from a source that he describes as having 'knowledge of the production.'
Doomcock details his source told him that the film, 'Bored the F out of me.' He adds the film 'might be worse than The Last Jedi.'
Doomcock then explains why his source described the film as all over the place and confusing.
'The narrative connection of events is threadbare. Things unfold because they have to, not because they logically should. The story seems to largely consist of multiple McGuffin style modular plots, achievements moving from one planet/set piece to the next. In other words, this thing is more like a video game than a story.'
He continues:
'My source was adamant they would not recommend that friends go see The Rise of Skywalker.'
Doomcock then details there is chaos behind the scenes at Bad Robot and Lucasfilm.
Rey Shoots Force Lightning Strikes
'I have confirmation from my source of just how bad things are behind the scenes. A version of the film was locked in as the final version. And then a day or two later another version of the film was locked in as final.'
He continues, 'This new source reportedly has knowledge that at least five different version of the film exist. And this source verifies that in the last two weeks, two new versions have been finalized.'
Doomcock then reveals new leaks from the film, which he received from this new source.
'My source confirms that the last line of the film is ‘I am Rey. Rey Skywalker.' Rey evidently says this line to another woman.'
What can i do for knee pain. He continues:
'My source confirms that throughout The Rise of Skywalker they use the name Skywalker as synonymous with Jedi so that Jedi is essentially replaced with Skywalker by the end.'
From there, Doomcock then lists out a number of scenes that have been rumored, and details whether they made it into the final cut of the film.
He first notes that the rumored scene of Luke training Leia is a Jedi is no longer in the film.
He explains why he believes this scene was cut:
'This is a common theme throughout this cut of the movie. I suspect that Disney is aware of how much fans hated these plot points. And Disney's solution to the problem seems to have been not to fix the plot points, but rather to cut any attempted explanations of the plot points hoping that the film will be loud enough and confusing enough to breeze over the idiotic plot holes without explaining them.'
While the scene with Luke training Leia has been cut, Doomcock does indicate that Leia gives Rey a lightsaber.
He then details a scene between Kylo Ren and Emperor Palpatine.
'According to my source, Kylo stumbles across Emperor Palpatine fairly early in this cut. Kylo is looking for something called the Wayfinder.'
He continues:
'The Wayfinder, if we can even call it that, seems to be some powerful McGuffin that several characters are after. It's like a Sith holocron, but not red. And it is the key to finding the Sith dagger that was used to kill Rey's parents that has Sith runes on it that C-3Po will have to get his memory wiped to decode. And once he does that Sith dagger conveniently will lead Rey to another planet and so on until she finds Palpatine as we all know she will.'
Doomcock adds:
'It turns out the Emperor has been hiding out in the unknown regions and amassing a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers. He wants Kylo to join him, but the ultimate plan is to also bring Rey in to the fold.'
This cut of the film does not explain how the Emperor has returned. 'All the explanations regarding the clones and the fact that it was a clone of Palpatine that died in Return of the Jedi, all of that is gone from this cut,' says Doomcock.
This cut of the film also reportedly cut Matt Smith's role in the film. He has been rumored to play a younger version of Palpatine.
Doomcock then notes, 'In this cut it is revealed that, yes, Palpatine is Rey's grandfather, and yet her parents were nobodies?'
He continues, 'Rey does find the Sith dagger. … My source says this Sith dagger is a ‘stupid McGuffin that makes Rey know everything. It's really dumb.' It has runes on it that 3PO must decode to help Rey out, but apparently doing so overloads 3PO and completely wipes his memory.'
Doomcock then provides new details about Keri Russell's Zori Bliss.
'Keri Russell's Zorri Bliss does not seem to be a Sith assassin as the rumors held, nor was she responsible for Rey's parents' deaths. The character is simply Poe's friend from her spy smuggling days. She keeps her mask on the whole film. Apparently at one point she lifts a visor so you can see her eyes while she is flirting with Poe.'
He then provides an update on the final battle with Palpatine.
'Force ghosts do not engage with Palpatine, but they do talk to Rey during it. … The various cuts that had Luke returning in the flesh to fight against Palpatine, Anakin returning in the flesh, Leia returning in the flesh, these are all gone. It's just Rey and Kylo versus Palpatine now. It's confirmed that Rey shoots Force lightning during the struggle.'
As for Reylo, Doomcock states:
'Well, apparently throughout the movie they Force Skype each other, touch base, fight, then hang up. This happens over and over again. And Kylo and Rey essentially fall in love between Force Skype fighting, uniting to defeat the Emperor in the end.'
Doomcock's source described the romantic subplot, 'It's really bad. Like Twilight bad.'
Doomcock continues, 'Bad boy Kylo gets turned into a good boy by the love of the bestest girl ever.'
Rey Shoots Force Lightning
He ends the video saying, 'We will never see the cut where the Millennium Falcon gets blown up killing Chewie, and Lando, and R2, and 3PO, and Leia. They cut that scene. They backed away from that abyss at least.'
Rey Shoots Force Lightning Mcqueen
What do you make of this new information from this Rise of the Skywalker test screening? What about the new rumors and leaks about the plot of the film?
