The 'Episode IX' Before 'Episode IX' - 'Duel of the Fates' (Part 2)

Star Wars

Aug 15

In the first article I wrote regarding Trevorrow's version of Episode IX, I discussed some of the key differences and similarities between the Episode IX we got with J.J. Abrams' The Rise of Skywalker and the Episode IX that could have been with Colin Trevorrow's proposed Episode IX, Duel of the Fates. Here, I plan to discuss some of my own thoughts about what ultimately worked better with The Rise of Skywalker and what might have worked better with Duel of the Fates, or at least some elements thereof.

1. Palpatine's Return (The Rise of Skywalker)

Although this was (and still is) a controversial decision by J.J. Abrams to bring back Emperor Palpatine, Ian McDiarmid portrays him so masterfully that it's hard to not want more of his scenery chewing that he did so well in the previous two trilogies, and it's also interesting seeing him playing off of the new characters. I also prefer how The Rise of Skywalker made him, not Kylo Ren, the primary villain, and gave Kylo a shot at redemption. In Duel of the Fates, he remained the villain to the very end, which I think undermined his development in The Last Jedi as a nuanced and potentially redeemable villain. Also, I didn't care for the revelation that Kylo and his Knights of Ren were responsible for killing Rey's parents, as it made him seem even less redeemable.

2. Rose and Finn (Duel of the Fates)

For those of us dissatisfied with the lack of screen time given to Rose and Finn in The Rise of Skywalker after their prominence in The Last Jedi, their characters get better treatment in Duel of the Fates, hands down. Rose and Finn are active participants in a really cool Star Destroyer heist on Kuat at the beginning of Duel of the Fates. Later on, they are both dispatched to Coruscant to activate an ancient communication beacon buried within the remains of the Jedi Temple. While on Coruscant, Finn also successfully instigates a stormtrooper rebellion against the First Order, something that a lot of fans really were disappointed wasn't a part of in The Rise of Skywalker, unless you count Jannah and her squad, who had already defected. Rose is later captured by the First Order and brought before Hux. She manages to escape during the final battle and reprograms a First Order Capital ship to crash into a celestial object, destroying it, along with much of the remainder of the First Order's forces.

3. Locations (Duel of the Fates)

In Duel of the Fates, the story opens on Kuat, which is the site of orbital shipyards and a location that has previously been referenced in Legends. Coruscant is the setting for the final confrontation between the Resistance and First Order. Despite its significance in the prequel trilogy, Coruscant has, sadly, not been revisited in any other Star Wars movie outside of a tiny glimpse in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and, of course, a brief celebratory scene in Return of the Jedi, which was added for the special edition release of the original trilogy movies in 1997. Sadly, however, it was never revisited during the sequel trilogy, which is a shame because it would have been nice to see the sprawling city-planet again. Also, Kylo and Rey have their final showdown on Mortis, which would have been a nice tie-in to the Mortis arc of The Clone Wars.

4. Plot (Tie)

The Rise of Skywalker is driven by the revelation of Palpatine's return and our heroes' efforts to stop him from unleashing a new wave of destruction upon the galaxy. In Duel of the Fates, our heroes are facing down a First Order that now controls much of the galaxy, and the Resistance is trying to overcome a communications blockade that prevents them from effectively mobilizing their forces to fight the First Order. Rey is also trying to stop Kylo from finding something on Mortis that would give him incredible powers. It's hard to decide which one I like more, as both stories are wildly divergent, even though they both basically wind up in the same place. Although ,as mentioned before, I am not crazy about the lack of a redemption arc for Kylo in Duel of the Fates.

5. Concluding the Skywalker Saga (The Rise of Skywalker)

While both of the movies basically wind up in the same place, with the First Order defeated and freedom seemingly restored to the galaxy (once again), The Rise of Skywalker has, arguably, a tidier and more emotionally satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker Saga. As mentioned several other times here, I wanted Kylo/Ben to have a redemption arc in The Rise of Skywalker and felt that it was ultimately handled well. The Rise of Skywalker also saw the passing of Leia, necessitated, of course, by the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher in 2016. But the film managed to do it in the best way possible, with her using her last ounce of strength to bring Ben back to the light. She and Ben are also brought back together in the Force at the end of the movie. Through Leia's projection (presumably?) of Han, Ben was also able to finally make peace with him and his actions in The Force Awakens. In the film's epilogue, Rey travels to Tatooine, where the entire saga began, to "lay Luke and Leia to rest," by burying their lightsabers in the sand near the now deserted Lars homestead. She also builds a lightsaber of her own, and, most importantly, chooses to take take up the Skywalker name, ensuring that the Skywalker family name will continue to live on through her, at least in name. If there is one slight improvement that Duel of the Fates has over The Rise of Skywalker, it is that the ending more explicitly hints at there being the prospect of a true rebirth of the Jedi under Rey, with the help of Rose and Finn. However, hopefully, that is where we are headed if we are ever given a continuation of the sequel trilogy characters.

All things considered, we probably got the better movie with The Rise of Skywalker, even though both movies had their share of good ideas. While we will probably never get to see Trevorrow's alternative vision for Episode IX fleshed out onscreen, some podcasters put together a nine-part radio drama based on the Trevorrow script last year, which can be downloaded and listened to here. While it is entirely unofficial, it is still a pretty high-quality production, and the voice actors do a good job of bringing the script to life, making it the closest thing to an actual Duel of the Fates movie that we will probably ever see. However, it is not inconceivable that some elements of Duel of the Fates may yet someday find a place in future Star Wars content. Lucasfilm is rarely wasteful when it comes to material created for Star Wars, and examples abound of them recycling unused ideas, concept art, etc. for new projects, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled to see if any of these ideas show up anywhere in the future. I personally think that it would definitely be cool to see Rey or another Jedi character wield a double-bladed blue lightsaber sometime in the near future.

Written By Mara Butler

Source(s): Duel of the Fates Podcast

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Mara Butler