This article contains some spoilers for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
Imagine this. Episode VIII has not come out yet, Disney Star Wars films are on a roll and you decided to hire the mastermind behind the Jurrasic World series and he starts writing an awsome first script titled Star Wars Episode IX: Duel of the Fates. Fast forward a few years and J.J. Abrams releases his film titled Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (cough 12-year-old fanfic cough)
So what exactly was Star Wars: Duel of the Fates, what was the plot of the film and would it have been better than the film we got?
The first thing I would like to talk about (happens to be the longest) is Star Wars: Duel of the Fates’ plot and leaked script. The first thing is, of course, the opening text crawl that comes before each Star Wars film and this one is actually quite short. Here it goes.
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 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…
After the text fades into the distance we go to the imperial shipyards on Kuat. We meet BB-8 and Rose Tico as they are infiltrating Kuat Moon where the First Order builds their ships. Under the planet, there is an orbital ring where Poe and Finn are waiting for Rey to arrive which she soon does. At this point in the story, it is unknown where R2-D2 and C-3PO are. What is the plan? Well, they hope to send an explosive into a power shaft which will deliver raw ore into the ring. Sadly the plan goes wrong and the First Order is able to contain the explosion. At this point in the story, we meet a new character named Admiral Vaughn who would be quite similar to General Pryde we got in J.J. Abrams film. At this point, this Admiral would say “The Ressisstance’s tactics are pitiful.”
After this, Rey, disguised as a Tusken Raider reveals that she has a new double-bladed lightsaber. This blade is made from two older weapons she used to use. The handle is made mostly from her old staff and the blade is formed through the kyber crystal of Luke’s cracked lightsaber.
Poe, Finn, Rose, Rey, and BB-8 battle the forces protecting an Eclipse Class Star Destroyer and steal it.
The next moment we would have seen in the film would have been the Knights of Ren (who would have been featured much more prominently in Duel of the Fates) arrive in their ship, The Knife 9, and kill Admiral Vaughn for his failure.
Around this time we cut to a less vibrant and clean Corasant, the now capital of the First Order, and we witness the execution by Light Guillotine of a rebel pilot named Bisc Kova who assisted the Resistance steal the Star Destroyer. The interesting thing is that it looks like the execution was being overseen by nonother then Captain Phasma who was killed in Last Jedi.
Around this time we also learn that Hux is now Chancellor of the First Order and controls it in all but name.
The next thing we would have seen would be Hux and the man who took his old post, Commander Selleck, meet with a council of alien warlords. This meeting would have been much like the one in A New Hope. The First Order at this point has learned from Kylo Ren that Rey IS the last Jedi. The thing that the people in the meeting would discuss would be where is Kylo Ren. At this point, we learn that he has been missing for some time now. All Chancellor Hux knows is that he has “Gone in search of something of great power.”
After this, we would cut to Mustafar where Kylo Ren is alone except for some Darth Maul Esque droid. What we would have seen here would be Luke Skywalker as a force ghost sort of haunting Kylo Ren. “This is where the dark path leads; an empty tomb.” Kylo Ren retorts by saying, “Where did your path lead?” Then, after failing to convince Kylo to go back to Leia, Kylo would have turned to Luke and say, “I will be more powerful than any Jedi…Even you.”
After this, we would have cut to Vader’s castle, which appeared in Rogue One, At this point, we would have seen Kylo and the Knights of Ren storming it and taking over.
After this, we would have seen only Kylo proceed to lower levels where he would find A Sith Holocron.
The Holocron would have been a Hologram of Palpatine addressed to Vader. The Hologram would say that in the event of Luke killing Palpatine Darth Vader should take him to the Remnicore System to see a 7,000-year-old sith teacher named Tor Valum.
After the Holocron scans for who is holding it, it releases a flash of red flame.
The next part of the film we would see would be the new Resistance base on a planet called Kor-Alaf where we are introduced to Leia as she feels what Kylo just did. Then we would have seen a person named Lt. Connix tell Leia that the team from Kuat are back. When they look they are shocked to see a star destroyer. Then we would have cut back to Rey on the inside of the ship where we would get one of the few funny scenes in the movie as she mind tricks the rest of the First Order crew on the ship.
Back on the planet, Rey confides in Kylo that she doesn’t feel like she has what it takes to be a Jedi and admits that she still has the force visions that we first saw in Last Jedi. After this Finn would have asked her if they were still about Kylo and Rey would have turned to him and said that she couldn’t explain their connection. Then Finn would have said, “You have to shut him out. He can’t change. It’s too late.” Rey would have looked right at Finn and said: “It’s never too late to change. You taught me that Finn.”
When the Resistance searches the Star Destroyer they see that it still has all the AT-ATs and AT-STs on board. The only missing piece was an army to use them.
After seeing Resistance members stumble onto the hanger full of walkers and ships we would see Rey looking through the Ancient Jedi Texts she took from the first Jedi Temple on Ach To. While looking through she would have found out about a Force Beacon from the time of the High Republic that can send an unblockable or traceable message to 50 planets. when she would have read this she would have whispered: “Hope is all we have left.”
After this, we would have seen Rey meditating and getting trained by Luke while Luke also tries to get Kylo to let Ben out.
After this, the film would have cut to Kylo’s ship landing at The Palace of The First Order where Kylo would have confronted a belittled Hux and tell him that he doesn’t care about titles.
As Rey trains with Luke, she gets into an argument over the Jedi and Sith. “Balance? The dark suffocates the light. The light extinguishes the dark. Over and over and over again. How is that balance.” Then Luke would have said, “I know that anger. My father had it too.” Rey breaking her meditation and turning towards the ghost would have said: “So says my master and his master before him. A thousand masters so eager to tell us how to live.”
After this exchange Duel of the Fates would have cut back to Kylo Ren and Hux arguing in the Imperial Palace where Kylo would tell Hux that he is leaving again to go in search of something of immense power that would make destroying planets insignificant. His last order to Hux would have been, “Find the Resistance, wipe them out, leave the girl to me.”
After meeting up with her friends Rey decides that they will split up into two teams. Team one, comprised of Rose, Finn R2-D2 and C-3PO will go to Courasant to light the beacon while team two comprised of Rey, Poe, and Chewie, go in search of a planet to find a mysterious figure who will show Rey what she must do.
Here the film would cut to Courasant where Kylo holds Vaders mask and says: “I know you now. You allowed love to cloud your judgment.” Then he lets go of the mask and it falls down a ledge and shatters. After this Kylo takes off on his ship and goes to finally meet the man called Tor Vallum on Remnicore.
Before the two teams depart from Kor-Alaf, Leia, who is staying at the resistance base, finds Rey and speaks to her. Rey tells Leia that there is still hope for Ben Solo but Leia is skeptical. “Your not like my father or my brother. You’re new. Whatever happens, remember the Force chose you, Rey. Your story isn’t written by anyone else.”
Then alarms would start blaring all of the base and the two teams would depart. The alarms are for the coming First Order. They had tracked the stolen Star Destroyer to Kor-Alaf and would have reached the Resistance Base just as the last transport ships left.
Team One successfully turns on the beacon and alerts the planet. Then the film would cut from planet to planet receiving the message. Naboo, Cloud City, Tatooine, Endor, Kashykk, and Takodana, just to name a few.
The message was actually a hologram of General Leia which we would cut from bit to bit as we see the planets.
After learning that the message has been sent Team One would have fled to the underbelly of Coruscant to avoid being captured by The First Order.
On their way to the mysterious planet Team, Two would be followed by The Knife 9 and be forced to go to the planet Bonadan.
The next thing we would have seen would have been Kylo reach Remnicore and start training with Tor Valum the 7,000-year-old sith. After seeing a little of the training it would cut to Kylo outside a cave. Tor Valum, just like Yoda in Episode V would tell Kylo that he would not need his weapons but Kylo does not heed his advice. When he steps inside, Kylo sees an apparition or vision of his grandfather. Darth Vader. They would duel and Kylo would be brutally beaten.
After this, the film would have cut back to Team Two, who would still be on Bonadan, being chased by the Knights of Ren as they attempt to make their way to a Seer.
After barely getting to the seer before the Knights of Ren do, Rey has this seer search through her memory and pull out a star chart from her visions with/of Kylo. The Knights of Ren arrive and Rey would have battled them and won.
Soon after we would see both Kylo and Rey make their way to the planet Mortis. If you will remember back in The Clone Wars Mortis was the home of three beings of pure Force. The Daughter of pure light side energy. The son of pure dark side energy. And the Father who kept the balance between the two.
After this, the movie would have cut to Leia talking to Lando Calrissian on a ship. She invited him there to ask Lando to organize the smugglers and fight with the Resistance.
Right here the film would have cut back to the underbelly of Coruscant where Team One is on the run from First Order patrols. Rose would have gotten captured in order to let Finn and both droids to escape. Rose would then have been taken to a First Order Base and tortured for the whereabouts of the Resistance remnants. She would have resisted and soon break out. Finn would soon make his way to the citizens around the palace and rally them to start an uprising.
While the citizens distract the First Order on the planet’s surface. Leia and her forces arrive in the Star Destroyer and manage to get the AT-STs and AT-ATs onto the planet. The forces in space draw the First Order’s attention away from the people on the ground who prepare the walkers and transports they were given.
Chewie and Poe arrive at the Resistance’s Star Destroyer and join the fray. Both of them get to pilot X-Wings.
Next Duel of the Fates would have cut back to Rey who kills a Rancor-like beast and spots Kylo.
The citizens confront the Stormtroopers that still remain on the surface and the fighting begins.
Even with the aid of more heavy walkers, the First Order’s ground forces are losing the battle.
Then it would have cut back to Mortis where Rey finally starts her duel with Kylo. The Duel of the Fate of the galaxy.
It is at this point when Hux’s secret is revealed. His forces are losing, the citizens are advancing, and all he has left is his guard. Then we find out that Chancellor Armitage Hux is a Force Acolyte. A Force Acolyte is a person with no control over the force who collects and uses Jedi and Sith artifacts in the hope of learning the force through the object. We would have seen Hux slowly walk over to his desk, open a heavily guarded drawer, and pull out a well kept, preserved Jedi Lightsaber. This was the weapon of Jedi Master Mace Windu. As he ignited the blade he would have knelt down on the floor and plunged the blade of energy into his chest.
Then we would have cut back one final time to Mortis where Rey and Kylo would still be dueling with Rey gaining the upper hand. During the battle, Kylo would have revealed that five years prior he killed Rey’s parents (who were indeed no-ones) at the command of Snoke. His tactic did the reverse effect and an enraged Rey fights even more ferociously with her starting to tap in the Dark Side. The ghosts of Luke Skywalker Obi-Wan-Kenobi and Master Yoda would have appeared to try to bring Ben Solo out of Kylo Ren. Enraged Kylo Ren would have swung his blade at his former teacher. But unlike the beginning of Last Jedi Luke would not let go of this blade. Refusing to let Ben out, Kylo kills himself so to extinguish Ben Solo and kill for good the last of the Skywalker family.
