The devoted fans in charge of the Reddit profile known as r/StarWarsLeaks found a way to post an intelligible script breakdown of the original Star Wars IX, commonly known as The Rise of Skywalker. Unfortunately, it also means that the movie may have been spoiled to anyone who read those leaks. In addition, the Star Wars leakers also managed to acquire two images of the film’s ending. Written by original director Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, the leakers claim that the final Skywalker film was going to be titled Duel of Fates. The leaks have not been verified by Disney nor Trevorrow.
Trevorrow vs. Abrams.
Since plot details are known to change throughout production, it isn’t totally certain if the leaked details would have made it into the film’s final cut. If true, Trevorrow’s vision regarding the end of the Skywalker era was completely different from the movie that we got from J.J Abrams. A major difference is the absence of Emperor Palpatine. The leak says that Duel of Fates focuses more on Kylo Ren, Rey, The First Order, and The Resistance, as opposed to in the Sith Lord. Palpatine is mentioned during the breakdown, but he doesn’t seem to appear on the film.
The Breakdown
Duel of Fates opens with a vague scene
“The iron grip of the FIRST ORDER has spread to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Only a few scattered planets remain unoccupied. Traitorous acts are punishable by death. Determined to suffocate a growing unrest, Supreme Leader KYLO REN has silenced all communication between neighboring systems. Led by GENERAL LEIA ORGANA, the Resistance has planned a secret mission to prevent their annihilation and forge a path to freedom…”
This isn’t too far from what’s going on at the onset of The Rise of Skywalker, but another major difference is Kylo Ren’s state. According to the leak, the dark lord has vanished. He is off on Mustafar, cowardly keeping himself out of sight on Vader’s castle, all while haunted by the ghost of Luke Skywalker. Ren does find an ancient Sith device, but it is not a wayfinder. It’s a Holocron, which leads him to the lair of someone named Tor Valum, the Sith teacher of Palpatine.
There Is More…
Both Ren and Rey seem to be trying to put an end to both orders. Which is a story detail awaited for in Episode IX: Rey believes there is still good in Ren, and Ren concludes it was love that darken Vader’s perception. The leaked script does give us some other highlights:
Rose Tico and BB-8 get involved with a heist.
The Resistance steals a Star Destroyer (With Poe and Finn).
Kylo Ren fights a Darth Vader.
Chewie pilots an X-Wing.
In the end, we find out that Ren did kill Rey’s parents, so she is not a Palpatine. The Force Ghosts of Luke, Obi-Wan, and Yoda help Rey in her final battle against Ren. And while the Jedi try to bring Ben back to the light, it is all unsuccessful.
Leak Sources
The alleged original draft is claimed to have been personally viewed by writer and producer Robert Meyer Burnett. He deconstructed the draft on the 317th episode of his Youtube show, Robservations. He does not bluntly admit how he viewed the script, and goes as far as to joke with the idea that he might had made it all up. He does admit that he did look at something, while claiming later that it no longer exists.
This isn’t however the first time Disney has had the wool pulled over its eyes. The company is a primary example of the vulnerability of intellectual property. This was best seen last year, when the multi-media company delivered a copyright-based strike to Youtuber World of Geekdom after the account release a video containing new Star Wars Episode IX’s leaked photos. One photo shows Palpatine shooting lightning into the air, while the second one show both Ren and Rey holding blue lightsabers, side by side.
World of Geekdom, who also got the images from Reddit, went as far to post a screenshot of an email the account received, which indicated that Disney put a copyright claim against the video titled “Major Star Wars The Rise Of Skywalker Leaked Images.” This email corroborated Disney’s security breach thanks to WOG concluding that the pictures were “obviously real because they are claiming copyright.” Disney decided to take this matter above and beyond by attempting to block WOG videos and claiming copyright on them. They cannot do that, however. They may confiscate images, such as the Star Wars leaks, but not videos that contain the voice of the man behind WOG; it is his voice after all and no one else’s. Which begs the question: How efficient is Disney’s security team? The answer may not get to us now considering that the MCU is also witnessing leaks regarding plot lines (character deaths), scripts (plot twists), and theories around very possible future projects (Young Avengers, She-Hulk, Loki). It is fair to say that in this new age, given that there are no signs of stopping the leaks, Disney is no longer safe.
