It’s not quite the J.J. Cut, but a Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker extended version will be coming later this year – as part of a comic adaptation that will flesh out more of Episode 9 as well as re-surfacing deleted scenes.
Jody Houser, who also wrote the Star Wars: Rogue One comics, told StarWars.com that the Rise of Skywalker comic book will “build out elements of the story there may not have been time or a place for on the screen.”
That also includes any deleted scenes that were left on the cutting room floor by director J.J. Abrams. In essence, it acts as a more complete version of Episode 9. “Giving light to new scenes gives the creators in these other mediums a chance to add to the story,” Houser teased.
While we don’t know (yet) what scenes will be extended and which deleted scenes will be restored on the page, Houser has more than whetted our appetite for the new version of Rise of Skywalker, which is set for release in May. She said she is “more excited about some of the new things we’re adding, including expanding moments from the movie with elements we didn’t get to see on screen. Which is vague, but spoilers!”
One Kylo Ren-related deleted scene, meanwhile, will feature in the novelisation. It includes the then-Supreme Leader coming face-to-face with the spidery Eye of Webbish Bog during his hunt for the Sith Wayfinder on Mustafar. It could even be something that shows up in visual form in the upcoming comic.
Actor Dominic Monaghan, who played Resistance fighter Beaumont Kin, previously said, “There was so much stuff filmed that didn’t make it to the theatrical version,” stoking the fires for a director's cut.
But, for those Star Wars completionists out there, it looks as if we’ll be getting a different, fuller Rise of Skywalker at long last – especially important as we're not likely to see any deleted scenes in the home release next month.
See what comes out on top as we list the best Star Wars movies, from worst to first.
Dune's Denis Villeneuve has no interest in directing Star Wars and it's partly down to Return of the Jedi making him "so angry" in 1983: "It seemed like a recipe, no more surprises"
Five years after it was announced, Marvel is finally releasing its Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker comic adaptation, complete with extra scenes not in the film
