Tag: alternate sequel trilogy

Alternate Knights of Ren! I named them after classical elements, since Kylo is kind of a messed up Caelo, the Latin word for Air. Also, their design matches my version of Kylo. Also, three of them are played by actors connected to roles in Star Wars movies from each trilogy that never were.

Left to right:

Akquah Ren: A Togruta warrior raised by the ghosts of Nightsisters. Has an undefined romantic relationship with Kylo. The only high-ranking alien in the GU. Wields a lightsaber tonfa. Played by Keri Russell.

Tero Ren: A Human knight defected from the Jedi Order. Strategist for GU ground forces. Secretive to a fault. Wields a lightsaber mace. Played by Ray Fisher, who was considered for the role of Finn.

Piros Ren: A Human soldier from a life of luxury. In charge of negotiations for the GU. Brash but charismatic enough to lower defenses. Wields a regular lightsaber. Played by Rikiya Mifune, whose grandfather was considered for the roles of both Obi-Wan and Darth Vader.

Atherian Ren: A Droid terror recovered from Sith ruins. Expert duelist and eccentric personality. Has a functional hyperdrive. Wields lightsabers from its rotating segments. Voiced by either Colin Hanks or Vinette Robinson, who were both considered for roles in the Prequels. (Moth

Running like Mandalorians

A battle scene with Force sensitive Finn and Boba from my alternate sequel trilogy, with Mandalorian Finn and Boba the Mandalore (link to masterpost). This most likely takes place during the Battle of Tatooine in Episode IX. For @fettjango’s birthday, happy 28th!

The shard of darkness flies to Finn through the air, flipping end over end. He does not grab it so much as it falls into his hand, as though the metal grip of the hilt were always meant to be there. He whips the blade sideways to parry away the lightsaber, the blade of light and the one of darkness crackling with white static in the moment of their meeting.

Before the Knight of Ren can bring her saber back in line Finn stretches out a hand, gathering the strands of power that stretch throughout this spaceship corridor and beyond. He pushes it out toward the Knight and she flies back, hitting her back on the far wall.

He is ready for her when she bounces back from the wall and kicks off it through the air at him, borne on waves of the Force like a Mandalorian warrior on his jets. He raises the Darksaber with one hand while preparing to dodge out of the way.

The Knight is yanked off course, and it isn’t until she is being slammed against the bulkhead that Finn sees the cable wrapped around her wrist. She pulls at the cable and reaches out with the Force, pushing with it against her new opponent before she can be zipped along with the cable as it winds up. She lands on the floor on her back, and even as Finn runs to her he can tell that she has stopped pushing and is pulling at the floor for leverage, keeping herself on the floor so that her heavier armored opponent, rather than pulling her to him, hurtles to her as his cable winds. Her other hand holds out her lightsaber, knocking away the warrior’s blaster bolts and ready to impale him as his reflection looms larger and larger in her mask.

Finn leaps in with a shout, buoyed by his jets and maybe with the Force, it’s hard to tell at times, and swings with the Darksaber at the cable. He half expects the blade to bounce back from the taut metal but instead it cuts through with the ping of the wire disconnecting. White sparks fly and the airborne warrior, now freed from the cable, activates his jets to flip backward through the air, still shooting. The Knight on the floor rolls away to avoid the bolts and the end of the severed cable that whips toward her.

Finn cuts his jets to pounce, Darksaber in both hands stabbing down, but she manages to strike his blade away as she rolls and the Darksaber strikes sparks off the floor instead. The Knight leaps to her feet, breathing heavily, her back to a wall as she faces both the warriors.

“Surrender. It is two against one, you have no chance.” Finn holds out the Darksaber at her while the other warrior lands next to him with a hiss of jets.

Just then footsteps pound toward them from their left–no, from their right as well–and Finn sees more Knights and soldiers coming down the corridor from both sides.

“No.” The Knight stands straight, holding out the burning red light of the saber. “You have no chance. Surrender.”

Next to Finn a blaster clatters to the floor.

“Boba!” Finn stares aghast at the warrior who raises his hands through the air. No, not he, the Warrior of Warriors, Boba Fett the Mandalore himself. Finn feels his eyes sting at the very thought even while he widens his stance and watches the Knight out of the corner of an eye. She is relaxed, however, taking a breather while her comrades arrive to trap her adversaries.

Boba’s hands stop on either side of him, stretching out toward the left and the right at the approaching enemies. Finn feels the tug of the Force and realizes what is happening a split second before the Knight gives a sharp cry and charges at Boba with her saber. Finn throws himself between her and Boba, throwing her back with a parry.

The Force bursts from Boba like a flare from a sun, so overwhelming Finn’s Force sense shies away. On either side of the corridor the approaching enemies are knocked over, flattened as though with a hurricane. Before they can recover the doors on either end of the corridor slam shut, locking them out. From the pounding and the sound of lightsabers being activated, Finn can tell it is a temporary situation.

The Knight of Ren, cornered, charges again, but Finn meets her and this time a crackle of electric energy from the Darksaber flings her away against a bulkhead where she slides down to the floor, stunned.

“We go left,” Boba grounds out through gritted teeth, and Finn feels the strain on him from keeping the doors closed. He nods; it is the right call, the direction where he saw fewer enemies. “Activate my pack. Have to… concentrate.”

Finn nods and steps up to wrap the Mandalore in a bear hug. He reaches behind Boba at the ancillary control on his jetpack, building up a pressure in the right main jet to start tilting him over. Holding Boba steady in his arms, Finn activates his own pack with the muscle gestures familiar to him since childhood and kicks off slantwise, increasing the output on Boba’s pack so they have enough propulsion for both bodies.

When they are horizontal, the floor to Finn’s right side and ceiling to the left–this is crazy, it occurs to him for the first time–he fires both jets so they are flying through the air at the door as though to ram it with their heads.

He feels Boba release the hold on the Force with a gasp of relief, and the door ahead of them disappears as it flies open with a whoosh. Finn releases the Mandalore and they fly apart, Boba already shooting with his other blaster at the soldiers who are just now bringing their blasters up, Finn pushing them over with the Force and slashing with the Darksaber that seems alive in his hands.

They break through the line of enemies and land on the other side, then leap off once more down the corridor toward their allies. As he runs, propelled by his jets, Finn gives a sideways glance to Boba and their eyes meet.

“Thank you for the assist.” Finn holds up the Darksaber. “I’ll return it once we’re out of the woods.”

Boba shakes his head before he turns to fire at their pursuers. “Keep it. It suits you.”

Lj-writes-verse Episode IX character designs!

From left to right:

Poe has been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel for discovering the Galactic Union’s plot, after bringing it to Coruscant and clearing Leia’s name. He and BB-8 are given the lead of Black Squadron, an espionage group specializing in flying.

The Knights of Ren welcomed their new leader. This design is less obviously evil, since Kylo still sees himself as the savior of the galaxy.

Finn has been reunited with his family, who have given him Mandalorian light armor and one of Teros’s pairs of powered gloves. Finn and Rey together help unite the Mandalorians and New Republic. Before Finn goes off to face Kylo Ren in the final battle, Luke gives him his lightsaber, saying it’s time someone used it again.

Rey wears purple to honor her mother’s sacrifice, as well as a new jumpsuit from the Jedi Temple on Bespin. She built the lightsaber staff while meditating and mourning for her family. She learned that peace doesn’t come from suppressing emotions, but accepting them. (Moth)

The Second Battle of Tatooine

Top: Space Battle between New Republic Forces and Galactic Union Dreadnoughts. On the New Republic’s side are Home One (Ackbar’s cruiser from Return of the Jedi), Lady Luck (Lando’s ship from Legends) and Tantive’s Redemption (a new creation for Leia).

Middle: Ground Battle between the Tatooine Alliance and Galactic Union Crusaders. The location is based off from a rock formation in Tozeur, Tunisia. There’s a sandcrawler prepared to ambush and Caro leading the charge.

Bottom: Finn vs Kylo Ren.

The Binary Sunset

The second sun returned to its original shape. The flare divided, with the majority following Rey, and a small irregularity causing a flash of light to bathe the desert. Luke Skywalker exhaled as the Tuskens and Jawas around him cheered. In Luke’s brief attempts to Force Project before, he had crashed to the ground upon returning to his body. As he levitated in the air, he realized this was different.

C-3PO looked over to congratulate his old friend, but parts of his arms have begun to fade.

“Master Luke?” C-3PO walked over, worried. Luke looked down at his hand becoming transparent.

“One time, Threepio. Just Luke.” Luke realized what had happened. He only hoped he had more time than Yoda had.

“Yes… Luke,” C-3PO pieced together what was happening. “Can I contact someone? Perhaps Master Tano knows—“

“No, it’s okay,” Luke replied, as tears began to form in his eyes. “It’s my time. I just need to say my goodbyes.”

Loved ones, on and above Tatooine, and across the galaxy, felt a presence, warm but fading. Leia felt a right hand on her shoulder. Lando felt a left hand on his.

“Everyone,” Luke spoke out, and the Force echoed in his intended targets. Even R2-D2 experienced a new phenomenon, like hearing something without sound waves. “I don’t think I have much time left. I… want to say I love you. While I can.”

Caro and Lowbacca, victorious on the front lines, sped towards the last location they saw their old mentor. Lando rushed towards his hangar.

“It’s okay, everyone. I’ve had a great life. Caro, Lowbacca, all of my students. I am so proud of you. You have become far greater Jedi, greater peacemakers, and greater souls than I could have hoped for. Mara, Ahsoka, you’ve taught me more about the Force, and more about myself, then I thought was possible. I leave the future of our family in capable hands.

“Leia, I wish I could’ve helped your son. I’m so sorry.”

“No,” Leia uttered through tears. “This is on him, not you. You—“

“I know,” Luke responded. “I don’t blame myself. And you can’t either. Everyone here today, everything that happened, was because of you. Remember that. You saved the galaxy.

“Chewie,” Luke reached out specifically to the injured wookiee, recovering on Kashyyyk. “Artoo,” to the droid struggling to understand a new sense. “I don’t know if you can hear this, but get better soon. Someone needs to look out for these jokers.

“And Lando.”

Lando, almost taking off, stalled his engine. The tears in his eyes welled to the point of being unable to see. Luke paused, unsure of what to say to the man that had gone from a complete stranger to a complete friend. He settled on something simple, yet true.

“Thanks for the years.”

Lando laughed.

At this point, Luke was almost gone. C-3PO would have cried if it was possible.

“Oh, and Finn?” Luke sent out a private message, as of an afterthought to his heartfelt farewells. “She’s out there. And keep the lightsaber. It suits you.”

Luke’s body became pale and slowly his clothes began to sink.

“I’ve held on too long,” he said aloud, only to C-3PO. “I’m going soon.”

“If only it wasn’t on this contemptible planet,” C-3PO joked. “The furthest from a bright center of the universe.”

“I don’t know,” Luke whispered as he stared forward, leaving the mortal plane. “Just look at that sunset.”

(Moth)

I wanted to expand the Jedi ranks a little bit. Right to left this time, to shake things up a bit.

Alternate Mara Jade, played by sci-fi icon and legendary individual, Whoopi Goldberg. (Someone age appropriated for a Mark Hamill love interest.) She’s the counselor at the Jedi Temple, and also serves as a talented diplomat. Hints of the old Mara Jade are sprinkled as Easter eggs, and she fights with a pink lightsaber crystal flying around.

Lowbacca, Luke’s first apprentice, now a Jedi master. He works alongside Caro in the frontlines, and rides a Kybuck into battle.

Lowbacca’s apprentice is the daughter of Wicket and Kneesaa, and the first Jedi of Ewok origin. She’s aggressive, but Lowbacca keeps her away from battle. (Moth)

What is, in your opinion, the biggest battle (Republic v. Mandalore, Republic v. Separatist, Rebellion v. Empire, Resistance V. First Order) in the entire Star Wars franchise, and how would you try to top all of them in your version of IX?

What an excellent question, and it really helped me focus my Episode IX feels. I’d say the Battle of Endor from RotJ was the biggest with
significant resources thrown in on both sides with a ground battle
element, though the Battles of Scarif and Yavin were IMO better written
with higher emotional stakes.

My Episode IX
could roll all those elements together and bring the trio of trilogies
full circle to… the Second Battle of Tatooine! The existence and plans
of the Galactic Union have been revealed, and while it has failed to
take Coruscant the worlds loyal to the Union have declared their
allegiance. The Republic is split in two and turning on itself, while
Mandalore faces an impossible dilemma: Must it fight its own stolen
children? See also my alternate Episodes VII (link) and VIII (link).

The action would be divided into three
parts: space battle over Tatooine, ground battle on Tatooine, and an
uprising plot with Finn turning the Union’s Crusaders. The newly reinstated
Chancellor Leia Organa together with Admiral Ackbar leads the Republic
forces to Tatooine and Geonosis space, where the Galactic Union had been
hiding a large part of its fleet and personnel now ready to deploy and
take Naboo, Takodana, Jakku, Hosnia and more.

Leia implores
Boba Fett for help, but the Mandalorians have their own problems. The
part of the Republic now loyal to the Union is continuing the assault
against the Mandalorians, tying them down.  The Mandalorians are also
hesitant to fight the main body of the Galactic Union and the Crusaders
who were revealed to be Mandalorians stolen as children. Unable to count
on Mandalorian help Leia nevertheless continues to Tatooine, Lando’s
fleet from Bespin joining hers. Poe and Black Squadron have scouted the
area and report back that the Union fleet are close to deploying. Luke
has already been on his home planet a while, brokering a peace treaty
between the Republic and the various factions on Tatooine with the help
of C3PO (link).

Rey
is on a separate mission looking for Finn. Finn himself, imprisoned and
being reconditioned, tries desperately to hang onto his sense of
self. Rey senses his pain and resolve, and dives into a dangerous
defunct hyperspace route in search of him. She makes it through a
hyperspace storm that she barely steers the Falcon through before finding herself in a
regular hyperspace route alongside the Union flagship. They drop
into normal space and so does she, and is tractored on board. Taken
prisoner and facing Kylo Ren with the Knights of Ren arrayed around him,
she finds Finn–standing guard next to Kylo, staring straight ahead,
not seeming to hear her pleas. Ren offers her a place in the Union and
she refuses. Ren then orders Finn to fight Rey, and during the fight reveals to her that Finn’s father killed her parents.
Rey realizes he’s telling the truth and fights back in hate and rage
until she realizes she is falling to the Dark Side and, remembering her
love for Finn, throws down her saber.

Ren orders Finn to kill
Rey and he marches forward, seemingly about to strike her down before he
turns his attack on Phasma. He had been repeating a phrase
drilled into him, a Mandalorian motto that the Union had stolen and
twisted around, and held onto it while he was being reconditioned. Now,
with the revelation of his heritage by Ren, his memories rush back and
he remembers his fathers, his sense of belonging, Mandalore in whose
ways he had been brought up all along though in a way that was twisted to serve his kidnappers. He
rallies the Crusaders, reminding them that they are Mandalorians even
though they were stolen and bred as weapons. They are not weapons,
however, they are warriors. Some of the Crusaders rally to him, others
turn on them, and there is enough confusion for Finn and Rey to escape
with the freed Mandalorians and damage the flagship in the process.

Back
on Tatooine the Tatooine Alliance of Hutts, Jawas, Tuskens, and farmers attack
the Union ships and supplies, destroying a significant number of ships
before they can launch. Luke is in the thick of the fray, with C3PO
complaining about how disorderly everything is and also directing a droids for espionage and sabotage.

In the space above
Tatooine Leia and Lando’s fleet shoot down the Union fleet while Ackbar
blocks off the perimeter with mines and bombers. The Union fleet is still an
enormous force and are wearing down the Republic fleet. They need help
and have nowhere to expect it from.

On Mandalore, the warriors
are defending the home world from Union forces while a Union
dreadnought moves into position for bombardment from orbit, a move that
would wipe out all life on the surface. At that desperate hour more
Union ships emerge from hyperspace and it looks like all is lost–but
these are the free Mandalorian warriors led by Finn and they fall on the
Dreadnought, destroying it! Finn informs the Mandalorians by comm of
what happened. Watching this brave young man, Idrian Fett and Teros Kryze are
gripped by the strangest feeling of recognition while telling themselves
it can’t be. The Mandalorians together send the Union fleet into a
route.

The Mandalorians must now decide whether to stay and
protect their homeworld or go to Leia and the Republic’s aid. Finn
argues that they must save the Republic’s fleet. The Union’s entire
strategy consisted of sowing dissension between the Republic and the
Mandalorians, and it is only together that they can win the day. Idrian,
thinking of the long-ago tragedy his own anger caused, backs him up,
convincing the Mandalore.

Over Tatooine Lando personally shoots down a number of ships
at the head of the Bespin fleet. Leia crashes enemy starships together
using the Force. Ackbar’s defense never wavers, despite great
sacrifices. Droid-piloted ships crash into the enemy, leaving holes in
their lines. Poe and Black Squadron bring down a capital ship. If the Republic is to fall here, they will make every death
count to at least give a fighting chance to the rest of the galaxy.

That
is when new Union ships arrive, alongside Mandalorian ships! There is
confusion for a moment before they realize the Mandalorian cavalry is
here, and the day seems to be theirs.

Meanwhile, the Tatooine Alliance back on the surface of the planet discover among the captured Union equipment some kind of regulator that is connected to one of Tatooine’s suns. Luke is stunned when he realizes that, essentially, the suns of Tatooine have been turned into bombs. The Union must have been waiting for their enemies to gather in one place and one of the suns will engulf the entire system in twenty minutes, setting off the other in a chain reaction.

Luke warns Leia to get the fleet out of harm’s way while he attempts to evacuate the planet, but when none of the ships can jump into hyperspace they realize that the Union has blocked off hyperspace travel in the area.

Then Kylo Ren’s Union flagship bursts into normal space. Ren informs his mother by comm that this system is about to be destroyed and he will take her away, installing her as the political head of the new Union to rule the galaxy as she sees fit–as she deserves to, as their family deserves to after all it has done for the universe. Leia flat-out refuses, saying she won’t be a puppet front for a mass murdering regime. She urges her son to stop the bomb and Kylo is angry with her, berating her for her ingratitude when he has paid such a high price for her. He tries to tractor and drag her ship into hyperspace, but she orders thrusters reversed and holds fast.

Ren, now panicked at the thought of losing his mother as well as his father, leads a boarding party to her ship to extract her. When the hatch opens he is greeted by Finn and his Mandalorian warriors who jump into battle with Ren and his Knights.

Meanwhile Rey is on the Falcon, having hit on a plan with Luke over the comm to try and open a hyperspace route to divert the solar flare from the first sun before it hits Tatooine and reaches the other sun in the system. Luke, with no time to join her physically, goes into Force meditation on Tatooine.

Finn and Ren have a rematch and it looks like Finn is done for when Ren disarms him. But Finn takes Ren’s lightsaber to replace his own, wins the fight, then pulls a T’Challa and captures Ren before he can kill himself. Ren needs to face a tribunal–and worse, his mother–for his crimes.

Together Rey and Luke manage to open a route into hyperspace and Rey disappears into it ahead of the flare, trapping it in hyperspace. Back on Tatooine Luke disappears in the light of the binary sunset, too much of his essence poured into the Force. Finn and the others watch and wait for Rey to emerge into normal space and contact them, but she doesn’t.

The battle won, the captured Union database gives the freed Mandalorians information of their origins and Finn reunites in an emotional scene with Idrian and Teros. Leia, unsmiling, tells an arrested Ben that he is grounded for life. A memorial is held for those lost in battle, and Rey’s name is among them.

After a time skip Finn is proclaiming the creation of a new joint force between the Republic and Mandalore to keep peace in the Outer Rim and root out slavery. At that moment a ship jumps out of hyperspace, its hull red-hot and visibly falling apart, and a giant gout of flame follows in its wake. Finn recognizes the Falcon and tells Rey through the Force to eject, which she does just before the Falcon is consumed by the flames and blows up. Told you my version of Finn solves far too many problems by ejecting people into space Finn blasts into space to catch her and they bring her in, burned, frostbitten, and barely conscious but clinging to Finn as she tells him she followed him home, his light burns so bright.

When Rey comes to she is safe and in treatment. Her right hand was damaged and had to replaced with a mechanical prosthesis. She is, little by little, introduced to the new reality and we learn it through her. The Galactic Union is in disarray, and Republic and Mandalorian forces are hunting them throughout space. Leia is working to pull the Republic back together and bring the pro-Union leaders to justice. Hearings are beginning on Ben’s trial. Rey talks about her own ordeal, how she was lost in space and time and thought she was going to die, how she found Finn’s Force signature in the maeltrom and made her way out.

Hesitantly Finn introduces Rey to his fathers, and Rey hears from Idrian himself what happened. She learns that her mother is alive, though comatose, and goes to see her in the same hospital. When Rey stands over her mother’s bed she and Finn both feel Irena trying to wake up and reach out to her daughter, and they clasp hands to join their Force powers and bring Irena back. You see glimpses of Force ghosts around the bed, Qui-Gonn, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin, and Luke, helping them. Irena opens her eyes and, without a moment’s hesitation, calls her daughter’s name. They hug, camera pans out, credits.

Before JJ announces Naomi Ackie is playing a CG character, or a minor role, or dying as motivation, here’s a possible character design for Caro. Caro Freemaker! (Or Calrissian-Skywalker)

In JJ’s version, she could be Luke’s apprentice returning from a long mission in the Unknown Regions. But in the lj-writes-verse, Caro is Ahsoka Tano’s latest graduated apprentice and commander of the Jedi field forces. She wields twin shortsword lightsabers and is Kylo Ren’s greatest foe. The two fight each other to a standstill early in the third movie, which is good enough for her, as she buys time for the Republic Army to arrive to back her up. Slightly later, she’s the one who teaches Finn and Rey how to fight with lightsabers. In the film’s climax, she takes down Phasma. Those are just some ideas, of course. (Moth)