Star Wars Fans Are Obsessing Over Leaked Early Concept Art That Shows a Much Better Episode IX

Dom Nero

From Esquire

UPDATE: Colin Trevorrow has confirmed that the latest batch of leaked early concept art for his Star Wars IX movie Duel of Fates is real. He also confirmed the rumored title of his original film. "Yes, this is from Duel of the Fates. But I’d never kill R2...he just took a bad hit. Happens to all of us," Trevorrow said on Twitter, responding to a fan's query about the leaked images. The images that Trevorrow have confirmed were made for the movie he wanted to make show Leia kneeling to input data into BB-8 in an incredible nod to the iconic scene from A New Hope. We also see Rey with a double-bladed blue lightsaber that appears to be modeled after the staff she used on Jakku. The image Trevorrow is referring to shows C-3PO cradling an injured R2-D2, which we know know, was a moment where the little blue droid was injured but not dying as fans had feared. The final image shows what appears to be Kylo Ren locked into a duel with Darth Vader, the details of which are unknown at this point.

Original post below:

The Skywalker saga is over. But the internet's obsession with the behind-the-scenes drama that (allegedly) took place during the production of The Rise of Skywalker is far from finished.

Most recently, new concept art for Episode IX has surfaced online that seems to show Colin Trevorrow's vision for the big Star Wars finale. His movie, according to the leakers, would have been called Duel of the Fates. And by the looks of the art, Trevorrow had a very different Episode IX in mind. It involves a Rebel uprising on an Imperial-occupied Coruscant, Rey wielding a double-sided blue lightsaber, and Luke Skywalker grabbing Kylo Ren's lightsaber with his bare hands. Very different indeed.

This concept art comes as yet another leak in a seemingly endless stream of secretive Episode IX development rumors.

Before the film was released, fans on the Star Wars Fan Theories Subreddit were speculating over a breakdown for J.J. Abrams' Episode IX screenplay. The main question at the time was what will happen in the big finale? Now that the film is out, the focus has turned over to what the film might have been, if Trevorrow had retained creative control.

First, there was a leaked script breakdown of Trevorrow's version of the finale. He was Disney's original choice for the project, and exited the production in September 2017. Neither Trevorrow nor Disney have confirmed or denied the speculation surrounding the supposed original script leak. But a lot of "reputable sources" from media sites around the web have seemed to deem it legit.

Then, we saw leaked concept art for Duel of the Fates. This art looked similar to the art that's been revealed this week. There were elements of Trevorrow's screenplay in the leak, such as the appearance of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kylo Ren searching Darth Vader's castle, and an ancient, Lovecraftian Sith Lord named Tor Valum.

But then Trevorrow offered some clarification. Responding to a tweet by IGN.com, Trevorrow said, "Some beautiful work in here from artists I was lucky enough to work with, but nothing from our story. Credit where credit is due."

Now the latest development is a new set of concept art. These images, according to Twitter account @DRMovieNews1, are actually renderings from Trevorrow's time with Episode IX. And boy do they look apocalyptic.

We see Hux committing seppuku with a lightsaber as the First Order is defeated in Coruscant. There's a tender image of R2D2 mutilated in battle with C-3PO hugging him. And, mirroring A New Hope, we see Leia giving a message to BB-8, which, if these images really do correlate with the leaked script breakdown, would mean Leia is once again sending a beacon of "hope" to the Rebellion. Full circle!

Again, none of this new stuff has been confirmed to be legit. Though he clarified the authenticity of the original leaks, he hasn't said anything about these new images. And why would he? These renders are fantastic. If I was the guy who made The Book of Henry, I'd take all the good publicity I could get.

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