Star Wars: Duel of the Fates

For the produced film, see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
This article is about the film script. For the Star Wars musical piece, see Duel of the Fates.

Duel of the Fates co-writer Colin Trevorrow

Star Wars: Duel of the Fates (also known as Star Wars: Episode IX – Duel of the Fates) was the original draft of the third film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Named after the franchise's musical composition of the same name, the script was written in 2016 by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly while Trevorrow was attached as director. After Trevorrow left the project in 2017, it was replaced with a script by J. J. Abrams and Chris Terrio that became 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, although the film retained modified ideas from Duel of the Fates.

A draft of the script of Duel of the Fates was leaked online in January 2020, shortly after the release of The Rise of Skywalker. It garnered attention due to The Rise of Skywalker's polarizing reception and inspired fan-made adaptations.

Plot

The First Order rules the galaxy with General Hux as its chancellor and has blocked communications across the galaxy. Still free from the First Order's control, Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Rose Tico and BB-8 steal a Star Dreadnought from the occupied planet of Kuat and take it to Korilev, where surviving members of the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa, have established a new base.

Kylo Ren discovers a Sith holocron in Darth Vader's castle on Mustafar, which leads him to seek the training of a 7,000-year-old alien named Tor Valum, who taught Emperor Palpatine's master Darth Plagueis.[1] During his training, Kylo fights a phantom of Vader and masters the power to absorb life energy, which he uses to kill Tor Valum. Learning of his turn to Light Side of the Force moments before his death, Kylo destroys Vader’s helmet before ordering Hux to locate the Resistance. Meanwhile, Rey leaves Ahch-To after training under Luke Skywalker's Force spirit and learns from Jedi texts that the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant contains a device which can restore galactic communications. Finn, Rose, R2-D2, and C-3PO go to Coruscant to find the device, while Rey, Chewbacca, and Poe go to Bonadan in order to find the location of the planet Mortis, as Rey has seen a vision of herself dueling Kylo there. Leia convinces Lando Calrissian and his smugglers to join the Resistance for an attack on Coruscant.

On Coruscant, Finn and Rose find and activate the device, which should allow Leia to inspire rebellion across the galaxy, but they are found by First Order troops. Rose is captured, but Finn manages to escape: he fights a stormtrooper designated RK-514, and spares his life after defeating him. RK-514 sides with Finn, and they convince other First Order stormtroopers to defect as well. Meanwhile, on Bonadan, Rey, Poe and Chewbacca succeed in locating Mortis, but they are attacked by Kylo's Knights of Ren. They succeed in defeating the Knights, but Rey instinctively uses Force lightning to kill one of the Knights after she remembers that they were the ones who killed her parents, and fears that she is in danger of falling to the dark side. Fearing for her friends' safety, Rey departs for Mortis alone, while Poe and Chewbacca return to the Resistance base.

On Coruscant, Finn leads a revolution against the First Order's forces with the help of droids, citizens, and the defected stormtroopers, while Leia, Poe, Chewbacca, Lando, and a Resistance army arrive to join the fight. When the First Order is ultimately defeated, Hux kills himself with a purple-bladed lightsaber. After escaping from captivity, Rose rewires the hyperdrive of the First Order's capital ship, causing it to crash above Coruscant when it attempts to escape.

Kylo and Rey arrive on Mortis where the former experiences a vision of his father Han Solo, while Rey experiences a vision of her parents, who Kylo reveals he killed. The two engage in a battle in which Kylo blinds Rey and approaches the Jedi Temple containing a supposed ancient power, but is confronted by the spirit of Luke. [2] With Kylo ignoring his protests, Luke offers moral support to Rey, and she confronts Kylo for a second time.[3] Rey says her masters were wrong to reject the dark side and embraces both, allowing her to defeat Kylo. Kylo attempts to kill Rey by draining her life energy, but Leia manages to contact him through the Force and convinces him to stop. As a result, he transfers his own life energy to Rey instead, healing her and saving her life at the cost of his own.[2] Before Kylo dies, his last words reveal Rey's true birth name to be Rey Solana.[4][1][a] On the verge of death, Rey meets with the spirits of Luke, Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who allow her to choose between staying dead or returning to life.

Finn, Poe, Rose, and Chewbacca receive medals at the Resistance base. Finn and Rose settle on Modesta, where they raise Force-sensitive children. Rey arrives at their homestead and vows to teach the children about the Force and how the balance of light and dark will maintain galactic peace.

Development

In August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of Episode IX;[6] he wrote a script titled Duel of the Fates with frequent collaborator Derek Connolly.[6][7][8] The draft dated December 2016 would have required changes due to the death of actress Carrie Fisher (who played Leia Organa) the same month.[4] The script draft was leaked online in January 2020 (while The Rise of Skywalker was in theaters). A number of Twitter users expressed that they would have preferred to see Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates over The Rise of Skywalker, which was written by J. J. Abrams and Chris Terrio.[9] Major differences featured in Duel of the Fates are that Rey—who has the last name Solana[2]—is not related to Palpatine (Darth Sidious), Kylo Ren seeks to be trained by Sith Master Tor Valum (who was going to be revealed as the master of Darth Plagueis),[1] and the final battle centers upon the previously established planets Coruscant from the prequel trilogy and Mortis from The Clone Wars animated series.[b] Other differences include that Rey is blinded by an unredeemed Kylo Ren, Luke's spirit has a more significant role, and R2-D2 suffers severe damage.[11] The R2-D2 scene is the only one which Trevorrow has officially commented on, noting on Twitter that the droid would have been repaired.[8] As part of an online Comic-Con event, Trevorrow called his departure from the film "traumatic" and showed a spaceship model, called a TIE marauder, he designed with his son for the unmade film.[12]

Some story elements survived in The Rise of Skywalker, notable examples including Kylo finding a Sith artifact in Darth Vader's castle on Mustafar and the transference of Force energy,[13][14] and Rey using Force Lightning against an enemy.[15]

While an initially reluctant Lando helping save the day by surprisingly arriving leading a fleet of spaceships made it into the final film, in Duel of the Fates, Lando was originally going to be introduced as enjoying a life of luxury by owning a cabaret bar.[16] The views of Lando's portrayer Billy Dee Williams aligned with that more than was ultimately made, as he stated that due to Lando's gambling backstory, he imagined old Lando as a rich "Las Vegas entrepreneur and showman like Steve Wynn", and that he favored that to the military general side of Lando.[17] The cabaret bar was replaced with Lando being on exile on a desert planet, which was noted as less what people would expect from Lando by Screen Rant.[18] Entertainment Weekly noted that Lando would have made sense in the planet of casinos depicted in The Last Jedi.[19] Director Rian Johnson considered placing Lando in the scene and returning him to his morally ambiguous roots, by having him betray the heroes again, but ultimately replaced him by creating the less moral character of DJ.[20]

According to the website Polygon, the desert planet where Lando was found was the final addition to the film, as noted in its officially written artbook by Phil Szostak. In regards to the unmade Duel of the Fates script, the artbook noted only a few images related to the unfilmed script made it to the book, and that it did not even list Trevorrow's name among the main creative forces of the film. It also described the leaked Duel of the Fates concept art as coming from earlier drafts.[21]

A TIE fighter Echelon ship statue survived in the Disney theme park Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the ship was developed by Colin Trevorrow during his work on Episode IX before being replaced as the film's director.[22]

Reception

The draft gained attention due to the mixed response to The Rise of Skywalker. Upon release, The Rise of Skywalker was criticized by some film critics and Star Wars fans for, in their view, not connecting to the previous two films in the sequel trilogy and retconning events of The Last Jedi,[23][24] its alleged plot holes (Palpatine's return and his relationship to Rey being the most prominent),[25] and its treatment of minority and female characters, particularly Rose Tico, Poe Dameron, and Finn.[26][27][28] Actress Kelly Marie Tran's screentime as Rose was reduced from 10 minutes in The Last Jedi to less than two minutes in The Rise of Skywalker,[29] while Poe's new backstory as a smuggler was seen as racist towards Latinos due to him being portrayed by Guatemalan-born actor Oscar Isaac.[30][27][21] Finn's actor, John Boyega, also criticized the film for sidelining characters played by people of color, including him, Tran, and Isaac.[31][32][33] Eliana Dokterman, writing for Time magazine, called the film and its claimed retcons "problematic", perceiving Abrams' choices as having been made to appease the complaints leveled by a toxic contingent of online fandom angered by The Last Jedi, in particular online trolls who harassed Johnson and several cast members, most notably Tran.[28][34]

Before the draft was revealed as real, Esquire described it as too good to be fan-fiction, calling the script "worldclass", and in contrast criticized The Rise of Skywalker as cowardly for not killing any main character, other than Palpatine, "the old man that was already dead", and Ben Solo whom he deemed "irredeemable from the start".[2] Nerdist notes that Rey remained a nobody, as compared to making her a Palpatine, which in their view undermined the meaning of The Last Jedi.[35] Inverse states that Duel of the Fates has two massive flaws in its roles for Leia and her son, Kylo Ren.[36] However, Inverse praised the discarded script for multiple reasons, including being darker and less reliant on nostalgia and retcons than the final film, as well as connecting better to The Force Awakens due to providing an explanation for Rey's visions of the Knights of Ren.[15]

Collider made a video praising the unmade script in April 2021.[37][38] According to Comic Book Resources the unmade script was heavily political somewhat beyond Finn's plotline, noting it sought to explain how the social class worked in the franchise (continuing from The Last Jedi), and comparing the themes to contemporary films like Us and the Oscar-winning film Parasite. It noted in the opening act that migrants helped the First Order due to financial bankruptcy, and that the communications blockade was a parallel for censorship. It also compared the stormtroopers' conditioning to imperialism, in the sense that indigenous children have always been forced to forget their cultures and native languages in re-education camps. Comic Book Resources called Disney and Abrams cowards for depoliticizing the ultimately made film.[39] The website later published a detailed opinion on why the unmade script would have been better than the one Abrams rewrote, calling most of the unmade arcs better including those of Rey, Hux, Kylo Ren (as the main villain), Luke Skywalker, Rose Tico, and Finn.[40][41]

Some websites perceived Trevorrow's unmade script as closely aligned with the themes of the previous films of the saga, mainly The Last Jedi, and some also perceived it as giving other star characters more to do.[42][26][43][44][45][46][47][9] John Boyega concurred with this, stating that the released film by Terrio and Abrams denied him of the "big hero moment" that the unmade film intended for his character, for instance when he leads an army into battle against the First Order holding a Rebellion flag, which was developed as concept art. Finn was also going to convince stormtroopers to defect the First Order and lead them into battle against it.[48][49][50] The concept art of Finn's speech while holding the flag, as well as dialogue from the unmade film, were shared on social media and compared very positively and paralleling a speech given by Boyega during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.[51][52][53] In November 2020, Boyega revealed that the controversy surrounding the diminished roles of the characters played by people of color in The Rise of Skywalker led him to have a "very honest conversation" with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who supported his claims.[54] Boyega also said he would like to see Duel of the Fates adapted into a television series, particularly an animated one.[49] Some sources have suggested that aspects of the script could be incorporated into other future Star Wars media.[55] A filmed deleted scene from The Last Jedi Blu-ray showed a similar plotline where Finn caused a stormtrooper revolt against Captain Phasma; some websites felt the scene should have been kept in the final film.[56][57][58][59][60]

Various media sources have compared the unmade script and the controversy surrounding it to Zack Snyder's Justice League, a director's cut representing Snyder's original vision before he had to step away from the production and it was reworked for theatrical release by Joss Whedon.[61][62][34] The failed course correction attempt was also compared to the ones of the James Bond films Diamonds Are Forever and No Time to Die, which were well-received upon release.[63][64] The BBC compared the controversy to the one surrounding the Game of Thrones ending, and the female Ghostbusters, being negative about Abrams' choices.[65] The Simpsons made an episode titled "Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars" for their thirty-second season where the plot was about Homer Simpson and Comic Book Guy trying to prevent Abrams from doing a film featuring characters from Homer's childhood.[66] Shortly after the release of The Rise of Skywalker, a rumor was circulated concerning an alleged "Abrams cut" of the film, which was quickly debunked.[67] A subsequent unsubstantiated rumor claimed that George Lucas would release his own version of The Rise of Skywalker even though he had no involvement with the making of the film.[68]

Trevorrow would later acknowledge that his work on Duel of the Fates, even though his version of the film went unmade, helped him as a "practice run" to make a satisfactory finale film to a franchise he grew up with, learnings he would later put into practice for Jurassic World Dominion, which concluded the storyline started in the original Jurassic Park trilogy much like how The Rise of Skywalker concluded the storyline of the Skywalker Saga, even recruiting several of the people he worked with in Duel of the Fates for Dominion, such as production designer Kevin Jenkins.[69]

Adaptations

See also: Cultural impact of Star Wars § Fan edits/restorations

Fan-made comic adaptation

Graphic artist Andrew Winegarner produced a comic version of the script in March 2021.[70][26][43][44][71] The fan-made comic adaptation of the unmade script is 7 parts long, and its author shared it for free on his website. IGN noted that the author stated that he adapted the unmade script due to his disappointment over how The Rise of Skywalker deviated from expectations that had been set up by the first two films of the sequel trilogy, and was a "retread of Return of the Jedi." He also noted the unmade script was not fan fiction because Trevorrow received credit as a writer in The Rise of Skywalker.[70] CinemaBlend was positive about the fan-made comic,[72] having opined in January 2020 that Lucasfilm should adapt the unmade script into a comic, along the lines of The Star Wars, which adapted the original unmade script of the original Star Wars film (1977).[73] Inverse was positive about the fan-made comic adaptation while noting that the opinion that an unmade version of a film would have been better is common when the officially released version of the work was negatively received. He also compared the comic to the Star Wars Infinities comics, which told alternate stories to the ones of the films.[62]

Fan-made animated adaptations

Duel of the Fates also received a fan-made animated parody adaptation on the YouTube channel Mr Sunday Movies. Inverse was positive about the parody, noting that it was more of a comedic overview of the details of the unmade script, rather than a serious adaptation.[74][75][42] Another website, Digital Spy, compared the style of the animation drawings to the one of Nintendo's video game The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.[76]

CinemaBlend was positive about the fan-made parody adaptation,[77] and in another article noted that another different, and more serious animated adaptation existed by another YouTube channel, adapting a single scene of Kylo Ren talking to the ghost of Luke Skywalker in the ruins of Darth Vader's castle.[78]

Notes

  1. ^ Rey was not related to Darth Sidious (Palpatine), who was not a major character in the plot. None of this should be confused with Jack Thorne's unmade draft, made after Duel of the Fates. Thorne shifted the final duel to the manor of Han Solo and Leia (deceased due to Fisher's passing), in which Rey's mother was to be a servant, who took care of their son when the pair was absent.[5]
  2. ^ The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson has stated that the Mortis trilogy influenced his portrayal of the Force.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Star Wars: 10 Major Differences In Colin Trevorrow's Rise Of Skywalker Script". Screen Rant. January 28, 2020. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Nero, Dom (February 12, 2020). "The Full Original Star Wars 9 Script Has Supposedly Leaked. And It Gives Fans the Ending They Deserved". Esquire.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars 9 Was Full Of Shocking Story Choices". Screen Rant. February 18, 2020. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Lussier, Germain (January 15, 2020). "Colin Trevorrow's Alleged Star Wars Episode IX Ending Features Some Familiar Themes". io9. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  5. ^ "The Reported Plots Of Every Unmade Version Of Star Wars 9". Screen Rant. January 17, 2020. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Ford, Rebecca (August 15, 2015). "Star Wars: Episode IX Sets Jurassic World Director Colin Trevorrow to Helm". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  7. ^ Chitwood, Adam (January 12, 2016). "Star Wars: Episode IX Director Colin Trevorrow Promises 'Satisfying' Answer to Rey Theories". Collider. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Oller, Jacob (January 24, 2020). "Star Wars' finale would've been titled 'Duel of the Fates,' Colin Trevorrow confirms". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Alter, Ethan (January 15, 2020). "Colin Trevorrow's 'Star Wars: Episode IX' script leaked: More Rose, no Palpatine". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  10. ^ "The Last Jedi Understood The Force Better Than The Other Star Wars Sequels (Because Of Clone Wars)". Screen Rant. November 26, 2020. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  11. ^ "Full Breakdown of Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars Episode 9 Script Allegedly Leaks". November 2021. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021 – via Ign.com.
  12. ^ Francisco, Eric (July 27, 2020). "Colin Trevorrow reveals incredible, unused 'Star Wars: Episode IX' ship". Inverse. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  13. ^ "Full Breakdown of Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars: Episode IX Story". Star Wars News Net. January 16, 2020. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  14. ^ Russell, Bradley (January 24, 2020). "Star Wars: Colin Trevorrow confirms Episode 9 script leak is real but corrects one plot point". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Britt, Ryan (February 10, 2020). "Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars script would have fixed a major Knights of Ren plot hole". Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  16. ^ "Every Rise Of Skywalker Moment In Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars 9 Script". Screen Rant. February 19, 2020. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  17. ^ "Star Wars actor was concerned about Lando's return in ROS". Digital Spy. December 2019. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  18. ^ "Star Wars: Where Lando is During the Sequels (Before Rise of Skywalker)". Screen Rant. August 8, 2020. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  19. ^ "Confirmed: Lando Calrissian will not appear in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  20. ^ "Yes, Lando Was Almost in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'". The Hollywood Reporter. December 20, 2017. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  21. ^ a b "The many versions of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker we didn't see". Polygon. March 31, 2020. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  22. ^ Radulovic, Petrana (June 13, 2019). "Star Wars land contains a piece of Colin Trevorrow's version of Episode IX". Polygon. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  23. ^ Baker, Chrishaun (February 11, 2020). "Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Being Bad Isn't The Last Jedi's Fault (It's Abrams/Disney)". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  24. ^ Agar, Chris (February 5, 2020). "Star Wars' Biggest Sequel Trilogy Problems Are JJ Abrams' Fault". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  25. ^ Placido, Dani Di (February 19, 2020). "Months After Release, 'The Rise Of Skywalker' Is Still Trying To Fix Its Plot Holes". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  26. ^ a b c "Colin Trevorrow's 'Star Wars' Episode IX' Was Called 'Duel Of The Fates' & It's True, All Of It". theplaylist.net. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  27. ^ a b "The problem with Poe Dameron's role in 'The Rise of Skywalker'". The Daily Dot. December 20, 2019. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  28. ^ a b "Why It's Problematic That Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Retcons The Last Jedi". Time. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  29. ^ Kim, Violet (December 24, 2019). "Kelly Marie Tran Is in Even Less of The Rise of Skywalker Than We Thought". Slate. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  30. ^ "Fans Are Wary of How Poe Dameron's Story Will Unfold on Upcoming 'Star Wars' Novel". May 8, 2020. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  31. ^ "John Boyega: 'I'm the only cast member whose experience of Star Wars was based on their race'". British GQ. September 2, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  32. ^ "Star Wars actor John Boyega says black roles are 'pushed to the side' in franchise". The Guardian. September 2, 2020. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  33. ^ Lindbergh, Ben (September 11, 2020). "People Keep Picking at My 'Rise of Skywalker' Scab". The Ringer. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  34. ^ a b "The Snyder Cut Is a Better Version of Justice League. But It Sets a Dangerous Precedent". Time. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  35. ^ "An Old RISE OF SKYWALKER Script Shows Many Big Differences!". Nerdist. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  36. ^ Britt, Ryan (January 16, 2020). "Trevorrow's Star Wars 'Duel of the Fates' script has two massive problems". Inverse. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  37. ^ "Why 'Spaceballs' Is a Better 'Star Wars' Sequel Than 'The Rise of Skywalker'". Collider. April 13, 2021. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  38. ^ "Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars: Duel of the Fates Script Review". Collider. January 20, 2020. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  39. ^ "Star Wars: Did Disney Depoliticize Episode IX?". February 15, 2020. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  40. ^ "Star Wars: Why Duel of the Fates is Better Than the Rise of Skywalker". November 29, 2021. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  41. ^ "Star Wars: Duel of the Fates Would've Been a Better Finale Than the Rise of Skywalker". March 7, 2021. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  42. ^ a b Miller, Matt (April 2, 2020). "A Star Wars Fan Turned Colin Trevorrow's Original Episode 9 Script Into an Incredible Short Animated Film". Esquire.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  43. ^ a b "Star Wars: Colin Trevorrow Confirms 'Duel of the Fates' Leak Is Real, As New Concept Art Surfaces". November 2021. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021 – via Ign.com.
  44. ^ a b "Star Wars: 10 Things Duel Of The Fates Did Better Than Rise of Skywalker". Screen Rant. September 7, 2020. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  45. ^ January 2020, Bradley Russell 16 (January 16, 2020). "How Colin Trevorrow's alleged Star Wars 9 draft fixes Rise of Skywalker's biggest problems". TotalFilm.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ "Rise Of Skywalker: Kylo's Mask Return Was Better In Original Star Wars 9". Screen Rant. March 16, 2021. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  47. ^ March 2020, Samuel Roberts 15 (March 15, 2020). "I'm still annoyed by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, three months later". TechRadar. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  48. ^ "John Boyega reveals Finn's 'Star Wars' storyline that got away: 'That would have been dope, man!'". Yahoo.com. October 21, 2020. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  49. ^ a b Sharf, Zack (October 23, 2020). "John Boyega Would Love to See Finn's Axed 'Star Wars' Storyline Get Told on TV or Animation". Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  50. ^ "Rey Destroying Kylo's TIE Fighter Happened on Coruscant in Early Concept Art". Screen Rant. December 6, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  51. ^ Wars", JoshWilding | April 6, 2020, Filed Under: "Star (June 4, 2020). "STAR WARS: DUEL OF THE FATES Concept Art Shows Finn Leading The Revolution On Coruscant". Comic Book Movie. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  52. ^ "Star Wars: Concept Art for Colin Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates Shows John Boyega's Finn As a Revolutionary". Star Wars. June 4, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  53. ^ "Finn Leads A Revolution In Concept Art From Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars 9". Screen Rant. June 4, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  54. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (November 23, 2020). "John Boyega Had A "Transparent, Honest" Phone Call With Kathleen Kennedy After 'Star Wars' Race Comments". Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  55. ^ "Star Wars: Scrapped Rise of Skywalker Ideas Would Make a Great Ahsoka Story". Screen Rant. March 2, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  56. ^ "Phasma's deleted scene from Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the version fans deserved". March 7, 2018.
  57. ^ "This Deleted Scene Reveals Captain Phasma's Fate in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'". March 8, 2018.
  58. ^ "Star Wars: The Last Jedi deleted scene shows completely different Finn/Phasma fight". Polygon. March 7, 2018.
  59. ^ "This Last Jedi deleted scene finally gives Captain Phasma something to do". The A.V. Club. March 8, 2018.
  60. ^ "Last Jedi Deleted Scene Reveals Phasma's Alternate Death". Screen Rant. March 8, 2018.
  61. ^ Placido, Dani Di (January 15, 2020). "Colin Trevorrow's Alternative Script To 'Star Wars: Episode IX' Offers A Tantalizing Glimpse At What Could Have Been". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  62. ^ a b Britt, Ryan (March 10, 2021). "Incredible Star Wars fan comic reveals the shocking way Episode 9 almost ended". Inverse. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  63. ^ "No Time to Die Showed Rise of Skywalker How It's Done". Screen Rant. October 31, 2021. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  64. ^ "How Diamonds Are Forever Was an Early Example of Franchise Course Correction Gone Wrong". Collider. August 6, 2021. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  65. ^ "From Sonic the Hedgehog to Star Wars, are fans too entitled?".
  66. ^ Sokol, Tony (March 15, 2020). "The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 15 Review: Do PizzaBots Dream of Electric Guitars?". Den of Geek. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  67. ^ Britt, Ryan (January 3, 2020). "'Rise of Skywalker' JJ Abrams cut is "bullshit," trusted leaker says". Inverse. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  68. ^ Scribner, Herb (July 28, 2020). "The latest 'Star Wars' rumor suggests there's a George Lucas cut for 'Rise of Skywalker'". Deseret News. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  69. ^ Garbutt, Emily (June 6, 2022). "Exclusive: Colin Trevorrow reveals how his canceled Star Wars movie helped him make Jurassic World Dominion". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  70. ^ a b "Fan Turns Colin Trevorrow's Leaked Star Wars Episode 9 Script Into a Comic". November 2021. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021 – via Ign.com.
  71. ^ "Fan Turns Unused STAR WARS Episode IX Script into Comic". Nerdist. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  72. ^ "Star Wars Fan Makes Colin Trevorrow's Duel Of The Fates Script Into A Comic Book, And I Need It Now". CINEMABLEND. March 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  73. ^ "Star Wars: The One Way Duel Of The Fates Should Make Its Way To The Masses". CINEMABLEND. January 29, 2020. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  74. ^ Kleinman, Jake (April 2020). "Incredible video turns Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars script into a cartoon". Inverse. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  75. ^ Pockross, Adam (April 1, 2020). "Amazing video animates what Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars Ep. IX script coulda been". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  76. ^ "Star Wars Episode 9 original script has been made in animated form". Digital Spy. March 30, 2020. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  77. ^ "A Star Wars Fan Animated Colin Trevorrow's Rumored Star Wars Script, And Wow". CINEMABLEND. April 3, 2020. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  78. ^ "Star Wars Fan Animated Luke And Kylo's Conflict From Colin Trevorrow's Episode IX, And I Can't Look Away". CINEMABLEND. October 9, 2020. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.