Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker left plenty of hardcore fans feeling satisfied, but others found major issues with director J.J. Abrams' conclusion to the sequel trilogy. Details recently surfaced from a leaked draft by the film's original director, Colin Trevorrow, and his co-writer Derek Connolly, providing a glimpse of what might have been, had he not parted company with Lucasfilm. The details paint a more coherent film than what was actually released, and certainly work in Trevorrow's favor.
The script was an early draft, titled "Duel of the Fates," turned in before his abrupt departure, which was said to be motivated by creative differences. Neither he nor Lucasfilm was happy with the early scripts, so the studio ultimately brought back The Force Awakens director Abrams, with co-writer Chris Terrio, back to complete the trilogy. The rest, as they say, is history. Divisive, disappointing history.
Naturally, leaving a project as big as Star Wars isn't exactly good press. To make matters worse, Trevorrow's firing followed the release of his 2017 drama The Book of Henry, which landed in theaters with a resounding thud. While The Book of Henry likely had little to do with the decision, that film's tone-deaf treatment of an emotionally heavy, delicate story became a blemish on Trevorrow's career. Now, that's not to suggest Trevorrow's career was ruined by these two events -- not by a long shot. He was riding high, set to move onto Star Wars after directing the blockbuster Jurassic World. He also wrote the sequel, Fallen Kingdom, cementing him as the driving force behind the revived Jurassic Park franchise. However, between The Book of Henry and Lucasfilm's decision to drop him, he wasn't a name Star Wars fans were clamoring for at the time. It's not an exaggeration to say some fans rooted for his removal on the basis of Jurassic World alone.
Fast forward three years, and The Rise of Skywalker wasn't what many fans were looking for either. Abrams and Terrio will likely be answering questions about their creative decisions for years to come. It certainly feels as if The Rise of Skywalker has replaced The Last Jedi as the most divisive Star Wars film, with the difference being that critics genuinely loved the latter. Of course, with critical response to The Rise of Skywalker now worse than The Phantom Menace, fans are already wondering how things could have turned out differently. Trevorrow's leaked script is a look into what could have been... and it's decent, all things considered.
The leak went viral after it was covered by Robin Meyer Burnett on his YouTube channel TheBURNETTWORK. Since then, the draft has been broken down by fans everywhere, and it was quite a different film than The Rise of Skywalker.
There are several key differences between the Trevorrow's draft and The Rise of Skywalker. Perhaps the most important is that Rey is still a nobody. Emperor Palpatine is nowhere to be found, and Rey's parents were, in fact, ordinary people -- except that Kylo Ren reveals he killed them on Snoke's orders. Rey is also in conflict with Luke Skywalker's ghost and the way of the Jedi, taking more of a neutral "Grey Jedi" approach to her view of the Force. Another notable difference is that Kylo Ren remains evil and is haunted by Luke. As for the premise itself, the gang sets out to find an ancient "Force Beacon" to help aid in their fight against the First Order.
While The Rise of Skywalker has caught flak for an overabundance of fan service, the leaked script has its fair share. Lando still returns in a similar way; Leia plays a major role and seemingly survives the trilogy; and the final lightsaber battle takes place on Mortis, a location fans may remember from The Clone Wars. Rey crafts a new lightsaber in both versions. However, in Trevorrow's early draft, she reworks Luke's saber into a double-bladed staff like Darth Maul's weapon. There are a handful of cool sequences as well, like the gang stealing a First Order Star Destroyer, and Kylo Ren fighting a vision of Darth Vader. The script also includes a more prominent role for Rose Tico, who is essentially written out of The Rise of Skywalker.
It's difficult to satisfy all Star Wars fans, but this draft seems like an improvement over what we got. While Rise of Skywalker over-stuffs itself with plot in an apparent effort to ignore The Last Jedi, Trevorrow's early version feels more like a natural continuation of the franchise. With the leaked script in circulation, it's likely his reputation will only improve. The leak demonstrates that Trevorrow had ideas worth exploring, and it makes Lucasfilm look even more fickle and reactionary.
Neither The Book of Henry nor The Rise of Skywalker are very good movies, but while Trevorrow previously stood on the perceived losing end of this movie's development, it now looks as if Lucasfilm may have acted in shortsighted haste. Fans still have plenty of love for Abrams and The Rise of Skywalker, and we'll never know what the finale of the Skywalker Saga would have looked like with a different director. Nevertheless, the entire ordeal just goes to show that the safest business choice -- a dependable director who possesses a history with the studio -- isn't always good for creativity, and it doesn't necessarily lead to a better film.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong' o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant.