Colin Trevorrow’s script for Star Wars 9 has leaked - and here are all the ideas that were ultimately developed in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm began development of Star Wars: The Force Awakens back in October 2012, and by the time it released, the studio was working all three films in the sequel trilogy at once. Rian Johnson was hired as writer/director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2014; Trevorrow was recruited just a year later, in August 2015.
Trevorrow’s script, titled “Duel of the Fates,” was full of shocking story choices. It featured a near-defeated Resistance making a last-ditch attempt to strike at the galactic capital of Coruscant, using a stolen Imperial Star Destroyer. Although there’s no hint of Palpatine, Kylo Ren does receive training from an ancient dark side being who apparently trained the Emperor himself, an alien named Tor Valum. General Leia Organa has a central role, successfully persuading the entire galaxy to mobilize against the First Order. It’s that last detail, perhaps more than any other, that explains why the script had to be changed; there was simply no way to make this work after Carrie Fisher’s tragic passing in 2016.
And yet, there is still a loose relationship between “Duel of the Fates” and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s final theatrical cut, after it was rewritten by Chris Terrio and J.J. Abrams, as well as directed by Abrams. It’s clear Terrio and Abrams liked some elements of Trevorrow’s script, while in other cases they seem to have used loose ideas as a launchpad to do their own thing.
An Early Visit To Mustafar
An early scene in “Duel of the Fates” sees Kylo Ren visit the planet Mustafar, where he enters Darth Vader’s Tower. In Trevorrow’s script, Mustafar has been deserted since the fall of the Empire, but the tower - introduced in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - still stands. Haunted by Luke Skywalker’s Force ghost, and in truth partly goaded by him, Kylo Ren discovers a Sith Holocron Vader had been left by Palpatine. “Lord Vader,” Palpatine instructs, “Young Skywalker will soon be ours. I have foreseen it. But we must prepare for the unforeseen.” The message was recorded just before the events of Return of the Jedi, and Palpatine is planning for the possibility Luke will succumb to the dark side and strike him down. In that eventuality, he tells Darth Vader to take Luke to the Remnicore System, to meet Tor Valum - described as the “Master of the Sith Lord who instructed me.” Unfortunately for Kylo Ren, the Holocron conducts a basic scan partway through delivering its message, and realizes he isn’t Darth Vader; it initiates a defensive protocol, one that leaves Kylo Ren badly scarred although alive.
Clearly Terrio and Abrams liked the idea of returning to Mustafar. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker saw Kylo Ren head there, this time in search of a Sith Wayfinder to guide him to the Sith redoubt of Exegol, where he would learn the truth of Palpatine’s resurrection. This time round the scene was played for action, with Kylo Ren engaging a Force cult who venerated his grandfather and were attempting to protect the Wayfinder. Darth Vader’s Tower is never seen - which, frankly, is an odd decision, given it would have created a thematic and conceptual link between Rogue One and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
A Sith Redoubt At A Vergence Of The Force
In the final script, the Wayfinder guides Kylo Ren to an ancient Sith Temple at the planet Exegol, hidden deep in the Unknown Regions. Described as the last Sith redoubt, this has become the center of the Emperor’s power, with the cultists who live there building a fleet of terrifying new Xyston-class Star Destroyers. Beneath the surface of Exegol lies a vergence in the Force, a nexus of dark side power that is home to the mysteriously-resurrected Palpatine himself.
There are basic similarities between this and “Duel of the Fates,” in which Kylo Ren goes to the Remnicore system to receive training from Tor Valum. The key difference, though, is that Kylo Ren himself is the primary antagonist in “Duel of the Fates.” Thus, Trevorrow’s script sees Kylo Ren enter into the vergence on Remnicore, where he is overwhelmed by a vision of his grandfather; a dark mirror of Luke’s own experience in The Empire Strikes Back. It’s far more effective, and a lot more thought-through, even if Tor Valum’s existence does sit very uncomfortably with the Rule of Two.
The Death Star Destroyers
J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker featured powerful new Imperial Star Destroyers, modified to carry superlasers. It was initially assumed these were modified Death Star technology - prompting the name “Death Star Destroyers” - but in reality they used very different technology. According to the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, each one is equipped with “a reactor-fed axial superlaser.” The same concept appears in Trevorrow’s “Duel of the Fates,” although in this draft there’s only one superlaser-equipped Star Destroyer rather than an entire fleet of them.
Lando Calrissian Serves A Similar Role
Lando Calrissian’s role is strikingly similar as well. In “Duel of the Fates,” General Leia Organa goes to the planet Ollaforn to recruit Lando, and she finds him in a smoke-filled cabaret club. The two briefly flirt, before Leia makes an appeal to Lando to help her recruit pilots from across the galaxy. Lando refuses, fearing the First Order’s military might is too great, and “the grip of this empire is tighter than the last.” In spite of his reluctance, however, later in the script Lando turns up leading a vast fleet of reinforcements for the Resistance. “Thought you could use a few scoundrels,” Lando observes, flying his own ship, the Lady Luck. The broad thrust of Lando’s narrative is consistent between “Duel of the Fates” and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Poe’s Connection To The Spice Runners
One of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s strangest retcons was the revelation Poe Dameron used to be a spice runner. This retcon directly contradicts Poe’s established backstory, which has been detailed in comics by Charles Soule and novels by Rebecca Roanhorse. Curiously enough, the inspiration may actually come from “Duel of the Fates,” which contains a subtle hint Poe had a more troubled backstory than had previously been revealed. In one scene, Poe guides Rey to a Force-sensitive pilot who used to work for spice runners, helping them find spice deposits on asteroids.
Prominent Use Of Force Drain
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker featured a key scene in which Palpatine demonstrated a power never seen before on the big screen; Force Drain. This allows the Emperor to drain the strength of the bond between Rey and Kylo Ren in order to rejuvenate himself. Curiously enough, this power was effectively set up - and far better explained - in a tie-in novel published back in 2015. “Did you know that the Sith Lords could sometimes drain the Force energy from their captives,” a Sith cultist told a prisoner. “Siphoning life from them and using it to strengthen their connection to the dark side? Extending their own lives, as well, so that they could live for centuries beyond their intended expiration?”
The Force Drain power is featured prominently in “Duel of the Fates” as well, albeit in a very different way. There, it is the power Kylo Ren learns from Tor Valum, and he becomes skilled in its use; he kills Tor Valum himself using it, and later drains Rey as well, almost killing her. Just as Abrams had Force Drain restore the Emperor’s body, it also healed Kylo Ren’s wounds. Trevorrow’s script is smart enough to predict the question of why Darth Vader never used Force Drain to heal his own broken body; it seems he was too far gone. According to Palpatine’s Holocron message, this power is “beyond what you could hope to command in your damaged state.”
An Unexpected Fleet Of Ships Save The Day
In Colin Trevorrow’s script, General Leia Organa successfully sends out a request for help across the galaxy - and this time, it is heard. The entire galaxy rise up against the First Order, and Lando Calrissian leads a ramshackle fleet of crooks and smugglers to Coruscant to reinforce the Resistance. Abrams follows almost the same story-beat, although this time he has Lando send to make the appeal. What’s more, although Lando is at the forefront of the galactic fleet who arrive at Exegol, this time he’s in the Millennim Falcon - the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.
Chewie Gets A Medal
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker finally gave Chewbacca a medal, correcting a problem since the very first Star Wars film. There, the award ceremony saw medals presented to both Han and Luke, but Chewbacca himself was curiously omitted. George Lucas himself had attempted to explain it away, no doubt surprised by the controversy. “Medals don’t really mean much to Wookiees,” he’d suggested. “The Wookiee Chewbacca was in fact given a great prize and honor during a ceremony with his own people. The whole contingent from the Rebel Alliance went to Chewbacca’s people and participated in a very large celebration. It was an honor for the entire Wookiee race.”
The whole thing was rather odd, especially given Chewbacca did receive a medal in the novelization. Tie-in comics have suggested Lucas was right, and in fact showed Chewbacca giving it away. Abrams evidently decided to deal with the issue once and for all, with the dying Leia holding a medal for Chewbacca in her hands as she passed away. And so, in a sense, all these years later Leia got to present the Wookiee with a medal - a thank you for decades of bravery and courage. Trevorrow too wanted to deal with the Medal controversy. “Duel of the Fates” features a scene that’s an echo of the medal presentation in the first Star Wars film, with Leia presenting medals to the various heroes; Finn, Rose, Poe, and Chewie. Naturally, this scene was impossible after Fisher’s passing, and instead Abrams had to find a more subtle way to pull off the same kind of idea.
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