A new report claims that a J. J. Abrams Director's cut of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker exists and is on the way! According to SNTS, sources close to Disney and Abrams' production company Bad Robot have confirmed that a 192-minute director's cut of the film was edited and will be hitting theaters in the near future. The extremely long cut will include a lot of footage Abrams wish would have been included in the theatrical cut of TROS, but was excluded by Disney for a variety of reasons...
According to their sources, Disney apparently rejected Abrams' initial, 3+ hour long cut of Rise of Skywalker because: "they wanted to ensure that The Rise of Skywalker wrapped up the trilogy neatly, without creating any conflicts with fans of the original three films, through delivering moments that brought back classic characters, introduced special Jedi powers and reversed the Luke Skywalker moments that fans couldn’t stomach." Not only that, but a 3+ hour long film would cut into how many times the film could be screened on a daily basis - cutting into potential box office earnings. However, with the declining reviews and backlash from the Star Wars fandom, it appears Disney are regretting their decision to can Abrams' original vision.
So what will be included in this extremely long director's cut? SNTS report the 192 minute cut will include the following:
- An extended version of The Rise of Skywalker will be announced in the coming week, releasing near the end of January, and including 3-5 additional sequences fit into the narrative. This should bring the cut up from 142 minutes to about 165 minutes.
- Rumored sequences to be included in this cut involve an extended Endor sequence that occurs before the final shot in the current film, Lobot and Lando in a sequence that predates the chase in the desert, and a slew of ghost Jedis returning alongside Luke and Leia and participating in the final sequence to unseat the Emperor.
- This new cut will be simply treated as an Extended Cut, and will include a post-credits sequence highlighting additional sequences that will be released with the official Blu Ray release of The Rise of Skywalker which will have a special J.J. Abrams Director’s Cut version of the film at 185 minutes.
- When The Rise of Skywalker enters the streaming window exclusively on Disney Plus it will include an additional 7 minutes of extra footage that didn’t get finished in post production as a part of its exclusive run on the streaming upstart.
Time will tell if this is extended director's cut is actually on Disney's roster. It would certainly bring audiences back for a second round at the box office - a tactic which worked well for Avengers: Endgame. As we learn more, we'll keep you posted!
