Have you endured another viewing of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker recently? First of all, bless you: the hugely divisive film can be hard work, what with its 'Somehow, Palpatine has returned'-style explanation for so many confusing things that are going on.
Still, whatever you think of Episode 9, we're stuck with the film that Lucasfilm gave us, just like how the 100,000 or so angry boys who signed this petition are stuck with The Last Jedi. But fan edits have always been a part of the modern Star Wars experience, going back to the Phantom Cut edit of the prequel trilogy, and The Rise of Skywalker is no exception.
In the finished film, there is a cool moment where Rey hears the voices of past Jedi as she's on the brink of death (including some fairly deep cuts from the Star Wars animated series). You get the sense, though, that the moment would've had more impact should the Jedi have physically turned up as Force ghosts.
As noted by our friends at GamesRadar, user jon h on YouTube has edited a version of the final fight between Rey and Palpatine that features Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Yoda appearing in the final sequence as Force spirits, and it's impressively done. Check it out below:
Having something like this in the final film might've helped underline the idea that this is supposed to be the closing part to a nine-movie saga. But then again, bringing deceased actors back to life with CG is something Star Wars has struggled with in the recent past.
- How to watch the Star Wars movies in order
- The Mandalorian season 2: what we know
- Our guide to Disney Plus
What was originally planned?
It's worth noting, too, that in the original scrapped version of Episode IX, Duel of the Fates, Rey met a load of deceased Jedi on an astral plane of sorts, which was even depicted in a concept art dump for the unmade film.
Of course, that version of the film featured Kylo Ren as the main villain, who some might say was a better choice for a final fight, and was clearly teed up by the end of the previous film.
But hey. Somehow, Palpatine returned.
