Project update!
Just put together the very VERY rough assembly cut of the story. I haven't watched it yet and I know there's all sorts of things that need to be fixed / addressed / added but I wanted to gauge the length of the film... and I was shocked by how short it is! Currently (with credits) it's 114 minutes long. There are still bits of story that I want to add in and I know the pacing in some places is a bit too fast so I think this will hit the two hour mark. Still, this the shortest of my Star Wars Abridged trilogy. I actually will have to shoot a single shot for this movie at some point and I'm a bit terrified it'll look extremely out of place.
Story wise, it all seems to be working with regards to individual scenes. Using a previous relationship between Kylo and Rey as a framing device adds a surprising amount of tension between the two characters. Hell, reworking Ahch-To and some of the conversations between the two makes me concerned that Rey WILL turn to the dark side (although there isn't the footage to really make that possible). It makes the story a bit darker too.
Finn and Poe also get their arcs which have been mostly left alone. Finn goes from stormtrooper to rebel hero which culminates in his battle with Phasma. I'll be honest, his Canto Bight side quest has currently been left completely intact. I never disliked the sequence, only that it amounted to nothing at the end of TLJ which isn't the case here.
Poe's story needs the most work still as I want his arc to be about bringing the galaxy together. Right now, the ending of my film is mostly reliant on TFA's ending without the galaxy showing up. I think I have enough random scenes to kludge together a narrative of everyone coming together but I know it won't be easy. This is the storyline that might end up on the cutting room floor if I can't work my way around it. Narratively speaking, it's not vital but I think it's thematically relevant.
This edit makes me thing I was right: the sequels' over-reliance on the OT characters was a huge crutch that hindered more than it helped. By focussing on the new characters, it really ties the story together while leaving the legacy of the OT undiminished. The original idea was for no appearances from any of the OT characters but Luke will be making a full body appearance. We'll just assume Rey knows what her grand uncle looks like and that the saber she uses in her final battle with Kylo is Leia's saber.
Because of the changes and the limits of my abilities (I'm relying on Davinci's color tab for compositing, I only have rudimentary audio experience, and I have to make due with creating the new scroll in photoshop) there will be an element of non-polish to this. Hopefully, nothing too terrible.
Finally:
I do wonder if the runtimes will throw anyone off if trying to watch this in order. Both the prequel and sequel abridged films are going to be 2 and 2.5 hours long while the OT is a massive 4.5 hours. I'm thinking I might make two versions of the OT: a two parter that will be part of the "Abridged" series and a standalone for anyone who just wants to watch the OT.
Next up, I need to actually watch the rough cut and take notes of where things work and don't work. Hopefully I won't be dismayed that the whole thing doesn't work as a single film which is what happened with my previous take!