Featuring a completely different title, a radical shift in direction for Kylo Ren, and several plot beats that are galaxies away from J.J. Abrams’ vision in Rise of Skywalker, this is a Star Wars leak that has to be seen to be believed.

The information comes from producer Robert Meyer Burnett, who posted a video of himself discussing an early draft for Episode 9, written by Trevorrow – who departed the project in 2017 (opens in new tab) – and Derek Connolly. The video initially appeared on the Star Wars Leaks forum on Reddit (opens in new tab), and later independently verified by AV Club (opens in new tab), giving this information more credence than the usual Reddit leaks. 

So, what does the leak entail? First up, Episode 9 wasn’t called Rise of Skywalker. The original title? Star Wars: Duel of the Fates – a reference to the epic John Williams score from that Phantom Menace Darth Maul fight.

That’s not the only big change. Palpatine barely features in Duel of the Fates, with his only appearance coming via holocron message. It was originally meant for Darth Vader, telling him to take Luke Skywalker to ancient Sith Master Vor Talum. Instead, Kylo heeds the message and goes there himself – but not before being wounded by the holocron and forced to have the melted down metal of a Mandalorian helmet welded to his face. Ouch.

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How Colin Trevorrow’s alleged Star Wars 9 draft fixes Rise of Skywalker’s biggest problems (opens in new tab)

On the side of the Resistance, Rose (who reportedly had a much larger role to play than in Rise of Skywalker), Finn, C-3PO, and R2-D2 head to Coruscant in search of a beacon that will potentially call on allies to join them in the fight against the First Order.

Meanwhile, the details for Rey’s arc are less vague – and still shifting around at the first draft stage most likely – but she does meet Luke as a Force Ghost who, himself, spends the first half of Duel of the Fates haunting Kylo Ren. Just let that image linger for a second: Luke haunting Kylo. Wow. 

It all culminates in Kylo being trained by the “Lovecraftian” Vor Talum, losing to a phantom Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel (which sounds like the coolest thing ever, let’s be honest) and confronting Rey on the mystical planet of Mortis.

It’s here where things end: Kylo reveals he killed Rey’s parents – identity unknown – on Snoke’s orders, and he’s later “extinguished” despite the best efforts of Force Ghosts Luke, Obi-Wan, and Yoda trying to bring him over to the Light Side.

That’s only the beginning. There’s so much to cover – BB-8 stealing a Star Destroyer, Leia’s role, and Kylo’s beard – so if you have a spare two hours, it’s worth immersing yourself in the entire video. There’s even a second (unverified) leak recap on Reddit (opens in new tab), detailing a few more specific plot points, including Rey becoming the Grey Jedi, and Rey and Poe being a thing (hmmm….). Still, it’s very, very interesting to see how Disney’s plan for the final instalment in the sequel trilogy changed so dramatically – and hopefully we’ll have a comment from Trevorrow on the leak soon.

For our spoiler-filled analysis on the actual Rise of Skywalker check out:
– Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ending explained (opens in new tab)
– Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker cameos (opens in new tab) in full
– Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Easter eggs and references (opens in new tab)

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Maryann Brandon, who’s collaborated with Abrams on most of his projects (including Alias, Star Trek, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (opens in new tab)), sat down with the Rough Cut podcast (opens in new tab) and opened up about the production process.

Brandon estimates the crew had three months less production time for The Rise of Skywalker than they did on The Force Awakens (for reference, she believes the team on The Last Jedi (opens in new tab) finished the film five months ahead of schedule). “It’s a struggle. It affected everything, obviously – the script, the art department, everyone in prep,” she points out, “About a third of the way through, Kathy [Kennedy] was like, ‘J.J. has got to spend more time in the cutting room.’ And I knew that just wasn’t going to happen. Not with the schedule that we were on. Not with what he was dealing with on a daily basis…he was just exhausted at the end of the day.” Brandon had a solution though – she suggested she cut on-set, inside a tent, almost always within 10 feet of Abrams. 

It was an unorthodox solution, one that Abrams initially balked at, telling Brandon, “We don’t do it this way, Maryanne.” Brandon says she replied, “we don’t really have a choice,” and they moved forward with the idea, cutting on-set from the production tent and reviewing scenes in-between takes. “It was amazing, it was fantastic,” Brandon laughs. She maintains that the unusual production process actually boosted the confidence for Abrams and crew, and they’ll likely adopt that approach in the future. However, she also mentions that they were “definitely still trying to figure out a lot of stuff” before the deadline, which was the Monday before Thanksgiving.

However, the new editing method isn’t what fans and critics focus on when they discuss The Rise of Skywalker, which has been as polarizing as the dueling sides of the Force. Brandon believes the polarization is unnecessary, saying, “In a time when the world is so polarized, it’s not a film that should be polarizing.” But does she think the finale is full of fan service, as some have suggested? “Look, sure, it’s fan service and if you didn’t service the fans, it would be, ‘Oh, he didn’t go along with the history of Star Wars or what it all means,” she says, before adding that it was a “no-win” situation.

No doubt this will add fuel to the fire, with some critics and fans suggesting Episode 9 burned the Skywalker saga the same way Yoda burned the sacred Jedi texts. 

We’re not going to tell you how to feel about the ending of the Skywalker saga, but we will tell you our best Star Wars movies, ranked. (opens in new tab) 

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Speaking to Vanity Fair (opens in new tab), the filmmaker revealed that Episode 9 will introduce a host of new Force powers – including some that will “infuriate some fans.” Reasoning why, he told the publication: “It was really important that we not just redo the things you’ve seen, but add new elements—which we knew will infuriate some people and thrill others.”

That’s not to say that the old ways have been forgotten, with Abrams confirming that they have simply found “new ways of doing sort of traditional, must-have sequences” such as “chases or lightsaber battles”. He continued: “We wanted to make sure that this picture also showed aspects of the Force in ways that go beyond what you’ve seen before.”

One such new power may be Rey’s ability to jump huge distances. In a recent TV spot, the hero of our story was seen attempting to launch herself from a Death Destroyer onto an escape ship that’s a very long way away. Could she use the Force to jump that huge distance?

Abrams, of course, remains tight-lipped over what exactly is in stall for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Previously speaking to our sister publication Total Film (opens in new tab) about Episode 9, he spoke about learning from Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi – a movie that also introduced new Force powers, such as Luke being able to make an illusion of himself of the salt planet Crait.

“Rian helped remind me that that’s why we’re on these movies – not to just do something that you’ve seen before,” Abrams said. “I won’t say that I felt constrained or limited on 7, but I found myself wanting to do something that felt more consistent with the original trilogy than not. And on 9, I found myself feeling like I’m just gonna go for it a bit more.” 

You can read the full article, which features an in-depth look at Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – including quotes from Abrams, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Anthony Daniels – in the latest issue of Total Film magazine, which is on shelves now around the UK. Or order a copy here (opens in new tab).

For more on Star Wars, check out our deep-dive into the Star Wars timeline (opens in new tab)and our article on how to watch the Star Wars movies in order (opens in new tab) – including seven different ways!

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“Confronting fear… it’s the destiny of a Jedi,” begins the disembodied voice of Luke Skywalker in the Rise of Skywalker “Fate” TV spot. Talk about fear: the Knights of Ren can be seen looming ominously on the desert planet of Pasaana in what is their first sighting outside of Rey’s vision in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (opens in new tab). Could a showdown with Rey and Finn be on the way?

That shot’s then intercut with a few moments we’ve already seen: Kylo and Rey fighting on a sunken Star Destroyer, Poe’s Resistance speech, and what looks like the biggest battle in Star Wars history with dozens upon dozens of First Order and Resistance ships dogfighting and dive-bombing.

Then there’s the possible nod to The Mandalorian – or, at least, a Mandalorian. According to one Redditor (opens in new tab) (H/T ComicBook.com (opens in new tab)), you can see a yellow blast fired from a blaster behind Kylo Ren at the 0:13 point. Outside of the Mandalore race, almost no one uses yellow blasters, making the choice of colour all the more curious.

Of course, it could be nothing. But with The Mandalorian (and Baby Yoda’s) heightened popularity in recent weeks, maybe Lucasfilm did some forward thinking and parachuted in a member of the proud, helmeted race to get their hands dirty in the final entry in the sequel trilogy. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire; where there’s a Mandalorian, there’s normally blaster fire.

Want more ‘what ifs’? Here are some of the biggest Rise of Skywalker theories (opens in new tab) you need to know about before watching Episode 9.

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Originally scheduled to drop May 24, 2019, that spot will now be taken-up by Aladdin. In an interesting move, Disney has decided to simply do a straight swap between the two big box-office names.

If waiting two years for the next Star Wars instalment hurts more than a lightsaber to the gut then you’ll be soothed by the news that, as of writing, the Han Solo movie (opens in new tab) is still slated to hit theatres May 25, 2018. Then it’s a heady 18-month-plus wait for the next Star Wars movie which – honestly – I’m ok with. There can always be too much of a good thing. Yes, even Star Wars.

The change in schedule also creates a neat through-line for the trilogy by giving each a December release date after The Force Awakens was released on December 17, 2015 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (opens in new tab)still (fingers crossed!) coming on 15 December, 2017. Happy Holidays, indeed.

If you’re eager for some Star Wars news a little bit closer on the horizon then you’ll be pleased to know Star Wars: The Last Jedi has its first confirmed cameo: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (opens in new tab). There’s even a look at Benicio Del Toro’s Star Wars 8 character (opens in new tab) through a newly-revealed toy line. Go figure.

Image: Lucasfilm

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