Hey all - At one point in this video I mistakenly say Darth Sideous when I meant to say Darth Plagueis during an offhand mention. SUE ME. That's why this is an "unplugged." No script, just riff analysis. Sometimes these small slip ups happen. In this case, it doesn't change the main points of the discussion.

Just imagine being one of JJ Abrams' kids on Christmas... (kid opens another empty box) "Daaaaaaaaaad! Again? Really?" (JJ smirks) "Isn't this FUN kids!?"

"Wannabe jocks that were never accepted" is a perfect description for these directors 😂

I remember Kathy Kennedy ince said it was harder to make Star Wars than say Marvel, because there were no books or other source material to draw from. I was at a loss for words.

Good news is JJ hasn’t directed a movie since TROS.

SO Mark Hamill was right! His script wasn't for Luke Skywalker, it was for JAKE Skywalker, his evil clone! **Jedi mind blown**

Great points. I Never watched this film and never will. Disneys sequel trilogy is the greatest blunder in filmmaking history.

JJ had one job. To get the band back together. He couldn't even do that.

Great job Michael. Thought provoking and I wholeheartedly agree that this alternative premise would have been superior to what was presented.

Film theorist Belas Balázs encouraged aspiring filmmakers to make adaptations of mediocre or bad source material because he believed that, in the right hands, you could make something great out of it. Unfortunately, JJ Abrams stopped listening after hearing the “make adaptations of bad books” part.

9:41 It gets even crazier.. Originally Abrams wanted to open Force Awakens with Luke's floating hand and lightsaber. Here's Mark Hamill's tweet: "As my hand hurtled through the stratosphere, the flesh & bone burn away & the lightsaber impales the surface of an unnamed planet. Just imagine: Had this sequence been retained, I would've had bookended cameos, plus TWICE the screen time!" So that's how Maz Kanata found it. Screenrant has an article about it.

The truth about Rise of Skywalker……it sucks

Poe Dameron in an alternate universe: "Somehow Luke returned"

Correction: It's Rise Of Palpitine. After all, Rey *IS* Shiv's granddaughter.

Honestly Rey being created from Luke's hand would've answered a lot of questions on why she was so force sensitive and her mysterious past.

As you've always said "the fans are doing the best work" Love your Idea especially when you described what Rise of Skywalker could actually have meant

I agree .... But we got was horses riding on a star destroyers....

I completely agree with you. TROS is basically Dark Empire. And how original was Luuke? That name cracked me up more than it should've.

Another great video!! Calling it like it is, that is why your channel is great!!

You might be right that JJ didnt like Luke's character, but Im under the impression this was also Disney's plot point/mandate, meaning, ignoring Luke and betting all in on Rey (female Jedi lead).

I never built up enough courage to watch Rise of Skywalker and probably never will :(

The fish rots from the head down, and the Luke hatred comes from there too... We all know about that photo in the Lucasfilm offices with the red cross through it.

Love that you used Edvin Biukovic's artwork from The Last Command in your video. He was a great artist and even better friend. He is forever missed. He loved Star Wars a lot. He had SW model kits that he built. Drawing SW comics was a huge deal for him. RIP Edvin Biukovic (1969-1999).

J.J. Abrams' high school English Composition teacher's report card remarks, probably: "Beautiful handwriting, but story lacks meat... depth. Lots of loose ends. Story protagonist had no arc." C-

This is fantastic. It also gives the ideologically driven creators the thing that they want most, the destruction of Skywalker. They would’ve been able to have Rey kill Luke. For this reason I’m surprised they didn’t do it but, as you realize there’s no way to save this movie but what you thought of would’ve been incredibly cool. And maybe if they had had this good idea they would’ve done the rest of the movie better, who knows. Because I feel like they’re just giving up and weren’t even trying. But if they made the movie around this core of an idea it could’ve been something almost decent. Except Hollywood never allows themselves to do that anymore. This is really a fantastic idea. I think they could’ve even had a mystery element to it where the light saber was the clue that allowed them to figure out who the big bad was. But alas, all of this requires creativity which is no longer found in these people.

subscribed - the "good question for another time" always made me crazy, and this is an elegant solution to how they can at least bring that topic back around.

Thank you, Michael. Actually my big idea was that Rey was a clone of Shmi. The Emperor had caches of Shmi clones hidden all over the Galaxy such as his Jakku observatory (LucasFilm Story Group was charged with a new cohesive continuity, right and that was laid down in the Battlefront II 2017 game story mode). Lord Vader went through an amazing amount of blood and internal organs and clones of the mother worked very well. Then she really could be a Skywalker...rising. Cheers to you, Melinda, and Broken Vader!!!

I’ve stepped away from certain things for a time because of life and crap but I love that I can come back to the rants that help ground me in regards to the state of entertainment. Thanks Michael. It’s nice to see like minded folk explain things way better than I ever could.

Sidious reminded me of Overdog from "Spacehunter".

Your line about Jar Jar Abrahm's being more interested in asking questions than providing answers was so true. This is the dude responsible for "LOST," a series notoriously known for that very thing.

I grew up on Star Wars literally. Born 1980. I love Star Wars. And I’ve never watched Episode 9, and I never will.

I try not to think of Rise of Skywalker, I saw it twice, the second time was just to make sure the movie was as bad as I thought (It was worse) and could never bring myself to view it again. But all your points are indeed valid. I've said a dozen times I am still not sure how Abrams gets work at all, Let alone how he got Star Wars and Star Trek.

Always two, Michael: an apprentice (JJ) and a master (KK).

I worked as a supporting artist (First Order Technician and First Order Gunner) on Rise of Skywalker during the reshoots (a lot of which was cut) JJ was maybe 5 feet away from me at one point explaining to Richard E Grant how the location of the end battle had changed and that's why it was being redone. On my last day we spent 3 hours mapping out a scene to shoot the next morning. On the drive home I got a text saying that had been cancelled and I didn't go back. Even with my limited time on set I could see it was a mess. But growing up a fan it was still a dream come true to be on set and be an incredibly tiny part of the Star Wars universe and at the time I stupidly thought they'd turn it around after the mess of Last jedi. I watchd it once at the cinema and only got the bluray so I could get a screen grab of my two seconds with half my head on screen. I skipped to that part and still not watched it through. They actually scanned me so I could be in parts I didn't film, still can't bring myself to watch it again. The thing is I'm normally a pretty forgiving person with film hit this 🤦‍♂️ I still think the dagger matching the Death Star wreckage is the stupidest things in the history of Star Wars (possibly cinema) Oh well, at least two second of the film was good!

Great Video and thoughts Michael! I immediately smiled when I recognised “Luuke” in the thumbnail and realised where you might be going with this. Fantastic. This would have made a much better movie. Since the 90s, I always loved the expanded universe, for example shadows of the empire, dark empire, the Thrawn trilogy, and the numerous video games. Some amazing stories there. Cheers!

Hey Michael, this is a very clever and interesting idea. Listening to you almost got my heart beating in excitement for Star Wars again. I think what you have just said only goes to show what massive potential was completely wasted by Disney Lucasfilm, so much so that had these sequels been written properly, they would be the world beating entity they were in the past. Probably best not to let your mind go there as it’s kind of painful even now. Thanks for this Michael.

Can’t wait for the EU video, as a huge fan of post ROTJ pre Disney content I eagerly anticipate it. Also I’m curious if you’re familiar with Fate of The Jedi series and if so what are some quick thoughts on it?

Wonderful analysis. Thank you for sharing!

Excellent video Michael!

Wow! Love this idea Michael. That would have been amazing & an excellent way to properly wrap up the saga without compromising it by bringing the Emperor back. Dang dude, my mind is blown by this. 🤯

Loved Michael's Indy video and watched it in a few sittings. It's worth your time.

I’m currently watching a KZfaq documentary about the 2014 Godzilla, and are currently at a section about JJ, and how he wanted to create his own iconic American original monster. That’s how we got Cloverfield. Of course. That film is full of vagaries as well. So how are people suppose to latch on to this new monster? I don’t understand how this man keeps getting work.

ok Im no longer drinking while watching a video. "That story was never told because JJ Abrhams" i spit my coffee out. LOLOLOL

Spectacular! Michael. You sir, have theorized responsibly. And quite frankly, put more thought into this plot than anyone at "Duplicitous Film" (ILM) - Good Show!

Great video! Thanks for going unplugged. 100% agree with everything you've said. What makes Disney Star Wars even more sad for me personally at this point, is that they have spent every show in the past 5 years, trying to explain away this terrible decision! Mandalorian, Kenobi, The Bad Batch etc. all wasted to explain how "somehow Palpatine returned"!

Thanks Michael, I still have yet to watch that abomination.

Dude. Only my first video but absolutely love your thinking and approach. Much love!

I like your thinking! It would definitely made more sense. I thought it would have been interesting/tragic if Rey found out she was a clone of Palpatine. Possibly rescued from a cloning factory plant, as they were attempting to bring back the Emperor. So even though she was searching for her parents she finds out she doesn’t really have any. It could also set up a battle between an evil Rey clone, like we see in the movie.

I am flabbergasted by these amazing connections you made that would have been so much better than what we got in Indy 5 and SW9.

I’m really glad you pointed out the similarities between Rise of Skywalker and Dark Empire. Not many people talk about that

"Somehow he managed to acquire that hand and the light saber" riiiiight...

On point sir! It’s very hard to combat bad writing. JJA and Lucasfilm had a great opportunity to better deal with the legacy characters and then take the story to a completely new level. They didn’t. Same with Indy.. all those characters deserved better

Looking forward to your video on the EU Michael. When I was younger I never really got into it and I only recently started buying some of the EU books and I plan on reading as many of them as I can.

The worst thing about having fantasy thoughts of how great a movie could have been is they just make the movies worse and that sickening feeling of knowing we've been cheated tugs even harder at our hearts.

I have come to the conclusion that you are a genius in your thoughts on Indy 5 and all these other topics Michael- no joke!

Exactly on point Michael! Great idea about a missed opportunity by Lucasfilm for E9, which is the biggest dumpster 🔥 of all. What a miss since they were thinking the original opening of TFA was Luke's severed hand floating through space still grasping the lightsaber.

Great points! Now you have me wishing for the "what if" version of a film that we'll never get.

I always viewed Dark Empire as a what if story

I recently wrote up an old Star Wars TTRPG character for a friend I used to label as an acolyte of the Sith. He wanted a full update to incorporate the sequels trilogy. I decided to breakdown the sequels trilogy into parts of the Thrawn crisis and Dark Empire. Matt Smith's character actually Executor Sedriss and supreme leader Smoke an actual derivative of Joruus C'Boath. This acolyte, reputedly related to the Emperor, got slighted and betrayed by the Emperor reborn/Cult of the Eternal Sith, being a former inquisitors would turn on him. She would acquire for herself a with talisman from the tribe of the post brethren of the Sith and finally destroy the Emperor Reborn in order to save her remaining offspring as he attempted to possess her daughter. It ends with her surrounded by destruction and rage, before setting out to become the Sith Inquisitor. Heading what you argued, think you have sold me good points. Thanks

They claim that Snoke dying in TLJ ruined their plan for TROS so they use a clone of Palpatine. If they’re going to use the CLONE route why didn’t they just make it that SNOKE was using clones of himself so his real self doesn’t get put in potential danger, just his clones.

That is an infinitely better idea than Somehow the Emperor Returned.

I think one of the main reasons I enjoyed J.R.R Tolkien’s Legendarium, as an adult, was that I was finally able to understand and appreciate all the world building he did. The Silmarilian, The Hobbit, and the Lord Of The Rings are not without flaws, but they are are an example of what ONE devoted writer can do with a larger than life set of stories. STAR WARS, by comparison, is now a virtually irredeemable mess! Especially the more recent films. I guess it is why I prefer the three originals over everything else. I could go into into more detail, but I think we've flogged hat particular dead Bantha enough! More importantly: Thanks Micheal for another great video!

I know that your video was just about TROS, but your idea of a clone could have been used to explain the whole sequel trilogy: The reason Luke disappeared was that he was kidnapped and replaced by a Bizzaro Luuke clone. (The Thrawn Trilogy introduced ysalamir, force canceling lizards that could have been used to capture and imprison the real Luke). Most of TLJ could have been kept the same and explained by the Bizzaro Luuke being the one trying to train Rey (which explains why he was not like we expected) although the ending would need some rewriting. Finally, the actual rise of Skywalker would be the three heros rescuing Luke who would then be able to use the Force and save the day. This ending could have had Luke die or seriously injured so that the next trilogy could focus on the new characters. Great video but now I hate the sequel trilogy more for what they could have been. 😢

So love this idea!

/mike you are on fire tonight! Yet, I love they way you formulate the dark Luke. You keep up the great work.

I think that by creating an evil clone out of the hand of Luke would even reference all the other stuff that originally Lucas had "borrowed" (Koff Koff stole Koff Koff) from the DUNE novels, since in the last two DUNE novels there were two clones (Gholas= Sort of clones made from the remains of the dead person, basically resurrecting the dead person) of Paul Muad'Dib Atreides. One was the good one, and the other called Paolo which was the evil one, and he too was made to be a Kwisatz Haderach, both Paul and Paolo would then fight at the end with Paolo almost killing Paul. Hell, it would had been even better into making Rey be also a clone of Luke with Palpaltine's DNA for the "struggle" of the Dark and Light sides that she was thrown in to have in the ROSW. Rey would then have the voice of Palpaltine almost driving her mad, to which with Kylo's sacrifice would had given her the resolve to adhere to her Skywalker side and renounce her Palpaltine side. The evil Luke Clone could also have Palpaltine's DNA and resemble both Luke and Palpaltine, with Ian McDiarmid voicing the character as well, yet still played by Mark Hamill. So at the end when Rey defeated the evil Luke/Sidious Clone, Anakin's, Luke's and Leia's legacies would indeed live in Rey as she maintains balance in her, Then at the end it would had justified that indeed the Rise of Skywalker took effect in her and in the Galaxy. Perhaps as simple as this idea may be, it would had been too nuance for Abrams, Kennedy and their ilk. And thanks to them, Star Wars is dead...

When your priority is telling a good quality story you can create something magical and if you’re lucky, eternal. That’s not what Abrams and Lucasfilm prioritizes in their productions.

I read the Heir to the Empire series, and I barely remember the Luke Clone at all. Good memory, sir. And, I think your idea of using that in place of Palpatine is a good idea.

I think it's a great story of Luke being a clone in the 9th movie, Rise Of Skywalker. Also it would have been one hell of a battle and fight, plus as you said plot twist. It really sucks they didn't do that, jeez what a missed oppertunity.

It could of been cool in this version of the story to maybe play into how Luke's legend spread at the end of 8, with the Empire maybe using their clone to try pevert Luke's legacy to help quell the rebellions he could of been inspiring after the last movie, sell the idea Luke had turned so people should embrace the new order. The ending of Rey becoming a Skywalker could then be made so much stronger with Rey's final fight being defending the legacy of the family

Proof that Sometimes all it takes to make a story better is to just think about where you've been and use that to determine where you are going...wait...isn't that called...PLOT? It seems that Abrams, as well as many writers and editors today, have NO IDEA how to tell a story. This is a Brilliant analysis, Michael!

You want studio executives to be smart? They're not there to fuel creativity. They're there to keep the shareholders happy. Audience reviews don't matter. Profit matters.

Wow, how weird i saw and ordered the 'Last Command' figures and I see this video!

I'm one of the weird ones who actually enjoyed the sequel trilogy. The Force Awakens was excellent. I saw it multiple times in the theater. Rise of Skywalker could have been better but ultimately it was an enjoyable ending to the trilogy. The Emperor's return was a little forced but I think they did a great job w/ the visuals regarding that character - the crane thing holding his body up was an excellent addition. Would an evil Luke clone have been a better option? Maybe. But at the end of the day even that seems a little hokey.

Your ideas are gold, of course Disney wouldn't know anything about the prior Indy movies, characterisation, quality film making etc.

Very good video.

What kills me with these sorts of thought exercises is just how much it highlights how much better these films could have been with a little extra thought put into the story. What we ended up with is such a pathetic effort, but it's now what we're stuck with.

I always thought rey was going to turn out to be a clone, The Last Jedi cave scene fits with that, "show me my parents" shows her an infinite line of herself

RetroBlasting: "This must make JJ Abrams the WORST storyteller in Hollywood, possibly in history." ME: clicks the LIKE button immediately.

I agree 100% with this video. JJ Ass-hat is a total plague on all we once loved. Cloned Luke would have been a much better idea, but I'm glad I still don't have to care about woke Disney Wars.

Not only does the plot undermine ROTJ, having a fleet of Star Destroyers (seemingly amassed out of nothing) with planet blower upper guns added to their underbelly completely undermines the need for Death Stars.

Thing about it all at this point, I keep saying to myself, like truthfully in my brain, when are they going to make the final three movies of the saga? You have a very valid point, if they had brought clone luke to be the big bad at the end , A) it would have been epic, and B) It absolutely would have become a skywalker story... but that's just it, the first six were a skywalker story and the last three should have been too. And, seriously, they had the Zahn trilogy right there... I mean, it wouldn't have taken much to just make scripts and shoot that surely??? ANd then after that, you could have given us new stories and characters, no worries. But not only that, they basically reshot a new hope and labeled it number 6 so... I swear, if Lucas gets the rights back, he oughta do the final three, hire spielberg to do the thrawn trilogy.. give disney the big middle finger as he sits back and earns like 3-4 billion dollars off that alone.

That would have been a much better film if they confronted a cloned evil Luke at the end and Rey finding out that she is the daughter of that cloned Luke. Story would have come together better, but she still would have been a Mary Sue.

Michael, just the initial premise you present improves the film immensely.

Ive always said they missed a trick not revealing that Leia was the evil puppeteer opperating Snoke. Jedi establishes that she could turn to the Dark Side. She was a politician like Sidious. The chaos of trying to control the new Republic could have forced her to conclude that they would only unite behind a common enemy. She starts the first order as an imperial tribute act to make the new Republic work using a literal puppet leader as her mask. But eventually the Dark Side takes her over and rather than kill his sister Luke goes into hiding disillusioned. Hoping to find a way to save her. Carrie would have loved playing a villain.

Even though I don't particularly like the idea of Evil-Clone version of character, I would have preferred this over "Somehow Palpatine has returned." Evil-Luke being the father of Rey and planting the voice of Vader in Ben's mind to turn him to the dark side would have been a decent conclusion to those plot threads.

Mutt wasn’t killed, he’s just a prisoner of war and now looks exactly like Chris Pine.

Good stuff Michael. Curious, since, as you say, we can't save that entire trilogy, you should do a video analysis of how upcoming SW projects could potentially dig the franchise out of the hole that it caused. Can plot lines be written that could essentially retcon the sequel trilogy and what would they be?

You couldn't be more spot on. For some unknown reason, Hollywood and many in political power these days seem to feel the need to tear down long-established traditions and beliefs. Instead of representing their constituents, they decide to take a direction on their own. Perhaps they have always held these beliefs and finally now that they are in a position of influence will use that position as a platform, which to me is reminiscent of the lyrics and Billy Joel's song Angry Young Man, "I once believed in causes too I had my pointless point of view." Maybe they are being told what to do. Who knows. The results are horrible and it doesn't seem like they care. They believe they are right at all costs and others' opinions don't matter.

I consider the Thrawn trilogy to be the genuine continuation of my Star Wars. *Fuck off Disney.*

Originally Episode 9 was suppose to be written and directed by another director. And from what I heared about that old Episode 9: "Duell of the fates" script, it might had been the best outcome for the sequel trillogy.

As I understood it the original opening to The Force Awakens was supposed to be Lukes hand floating in space.

A little off topic, but I always thought that the smarter choice would have been to make Rey Obi-Wan's daughter/grand-daughter. J.J. is pretty derivative in literally everything he does. Thanks for another great video!

They always like to truck out Abrams and Johnson claiming to be such devoted Star Wars fans who have loved it since the day it was released, but what I've never been able to figure out is what exactly it is *they* actually like about it. I mean, I know what *I* love about Star Wars, but it seems like Abrams & Co. just liked the fact that there are action sequences present in the movies.

Great video and i prefer your idea of a clone Luke. It wouldn't have diminished the original trilogy the same way bringing back Palpatine did.

JJ, destroyer of worlds.

How dose The rise of Skywalker underline Episode 6? It doesn’t Take away from Anakins prophecy because Palpatine says in episode 9 “nothing will stop the return of the Sith” so Yes Anakin did Destroy the Sith and The force Created a Dyad to keep the balance Anakin made

20/20 hindsight is a great thing… I actually like this, and don’t understand why Disney didn’t just film this trilogy, instead of what we got. Need to make some changes for the age of the actors, but it would have worked. In my head canon, we found Luuke on Achtoo (bless me), and Luke, our Luke, is still out there, somewhere…

Ok. I’m gonna say. Michael you should become a screen writer. Excellent story telling. Would have been a much better movie.

"A malignant cloned version of Luke Skywalker" wait i thought Rian Johnson already tried that.