It may be set in a galaxy far, far away but the repercussions continue to be felt over here. The Skywalker Saga finally concluded in cinemas after more than 40 years of thrilling (and more recently dividing) fans. The Sequel Trilogy was overshadowd by numerous backlashes against Disney and their chosen Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy. Rumours and reports persist that they demanded many cuts to The Rise of Skywalker but that the new Disney CEO Bob CHapek is planning to bring a Director’s Cut to Disney Plus.
After the enormous excitement for The Force Awakens and the correspndingly enormous box office haul, it has been a bumpy ride for the rest of the trilogy.
Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi split fans like never before, followed by the box office disappointment of Solo: A Star Wars Story.
The Rise of Skywalker took a respectable $1.074 billion at the global box office, but fell far short of Star Wars 8’s $1.332 billion. In fact, it even grossed less than Rogue One in the US.
But do fans really want to see a different version? If it includes Anakin Skywalker they might…
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A new report claims a dramatic new cut of the film is on the way. As always, take all such claims with a pinch of salt (or Tatooine sand).
It says: “Kathleen Kennedy changed and deleted dozens of scenes during the first and second phases of reshoots and rewrites.”
“It is described that Bob Chapek, the new Disney CEO, is pushing for the JJ (Abrams) and (George) Lucas cut to arrive on Disney Plus some time in 2023 that will include these dozens of scenes that will include the original ending of the film from one of the original cuts.”
Of course, this would render another hugely popular scene from the theatrical cut redundant involving Kylo/Ben’s father.
Many fans were deeply moved by the reappearance of Han Solo, in that surprise final vision to his son on the ruins of the second Death Star.
It was a powerful and deeply emotional way to bring back the iconic character, as well as effectively remind Anakin of his origins as Ben.
However, it should be remembered that this was not actually Han in ghost form at all.
It was a vision, created when the dying Leia used her own force powers one last time to reach across the galaxy to help her son find his was back to the light.
Many fans were hoping for more substantial appearances from force ghosts in the final film, especiallly from Anakin.
However, it must be noted that Abrams himself has made no indication there is any form of director’s cut planned. Furthermore, the actor and childhood friend of Abrams Greg Grunberg has also publicly dismissed the rumours.
Fans on both sides of the divide will have a few more years ahead to debate and disagree.
ORIGINAL STORY AT MIKE ZEROH