It’s no secret that Colin Trevorrow was originally slated to write and direct Star Wars: Episode IX.  Heavily shrouded in secrecy, however, was what Trevorrow’s vision for the final entry in the Skywalker saga would have entailed. Now, thanks to a leak, we have an idea. Some are saying that his version would have been better that The Rise of Skywalker. I say they’re ignoring a huge problem with the Trevorrow script.

Over on Reddit at r/StarWarsLeaks there appears a breakdown of the Trevorrow script. AV Club claims to have independently verified it, as well. The film would have been titled Duel of the Fates, drawing inspiration John Williams’ masterful piece for The Phantom Menace. According to the report, there would have been more focus on the individual journeys on which Kylo Ren and Rey separately embark. Other plot points have Rose Tico playing a much larger role, and even Chewbacca flying an X-wing. Further, in this version, Kylo Ren killed Rey’s parents and Palpatine was relegated to a holographic appearance. And that’s where we start to question whether this script is real.

A Plagueis-sized hole in the Trevorrow script

According to the leak, Palpatine appears in holographic form when Kylo Ren finds a Sith Holocron in Vader’s castle on Mustafar. It’s at this point that that Palpatine tells Ren to go train with the Sith master who taught him…. That is, of course, Darth Plag, er… Tor Valum.

Wait, what? Who?

Darth Plagueis; Sheev Palpatine; Trevorrow script
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine tells Anakin Skywalker the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise. (Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.)

One question that surrounded J.J. Abram’s treatment of Episode IX was whether he would retcon anything Rian Johnson did in The Last Jedi. Now we have an alleged Trevorrow script that apparently retcons one of the biggest reveals of the entire saga. Who can forget the critical scene of Revenge of the Sith in which Palpatine utters the words “have you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?” It was Darth Plagueis that taught Darth Sidious everything he knew. And then there’s the small detail that Sidious killed Plagueis for it. So who is Tor Valum?

I suppose it’s possible that Tor Valum was Plagueis. However, there’s no indication, canon or otherwise, of that being the case. Contrarily, based on James Luceno’s (now) Legends book Darth Plagueis, we know his birth identity to be Hego Damask II. So why would the Trevorrow script make such a huge departure from something already recognized?

Plagueis; trevorrow script
Darth Plageuis. (Image credit unknown)

I don’t know. After reading the plot points, I certainly can’t say that the Trevorrow script would have been better than The Rise of Skywalker…. Especially with the Plagueis issue. Can you? Let us know in the comments!

Source: AV Club