8 Movies Where The Worst Version Got Made

4. Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise Of Skywalker

J. J. Abrams and Chris Terrio's story for Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker is a perfect lesson in how not to make a sequel, from its infuriating attempts at relitigating Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi, to its cheap shots at invoking nostalgia for the original Star Wars trilogy. It is a bad film - easily the worst Star Wars entry (I will not hear a bad word about The Phantom Menace, sorry) - and one that could have easily been less bad had Lucasfilm committed to the story being developed by the director Abrams' replaced: Colin Trevorrow.

Jurassic World director Trevorrow was originally unveiled as the director of Episode IX in 2015, a few months prior to the release of Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. However, Trevorrow was booted off the project in 2017 as a result of creative differences, with Abrams replacing him as director and Chris Terrio also stepping in to draft a new screenplay, which included the now infamous "somehow, Palpatine returned" zinger in the opening 10 minutes.

Trevorrow's script, titled Duel of the Fates, was leaked shortly after the release of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. While bizarre in some respects, Duel of the Fates swings for the fences where Skywalker merely piddles sadly in the corner. It drew upon the themes of The Last Jedi, committing to Kylo Ren as a villain haunted by the ghost of Luke, continuing Rey's journey as a Jedi with her own double-bladed lightsaber, and even having Finn and Rose in a Les Mis-style uprising on Coruscant, which had fallen under Imperial control.

It's impossible to say whether or not Trevorrow would've nailed the landing (and it is doubtful, given the director's track record on Jurassic World). But in concept alone, Duel of the Fates is way more fascinating, ambitious, and cohesive than The Rise of Skywalker.