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With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker now playing in theaters, the Skywalker Saga is officially over. Alas, just like how The Last Jedi earned polarizing reception two years earlier, The Rise of Skywalker has also been incredibly divisive, if not more than its predecessor. So much so that as of last week, there have been calls to release “The J.J. Cut,” i.e. a version of Episode IX that reincorporates deleted scenes.
You can count Dominic Monaghan, who appeared in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as Resistance member Beaumont Kin, among those who’d like to see an extended version of the Skywalker Saga capper be made available to the public. As he put it:
Like a lot of Star Wars fans, I’m hoping there will be a director’s cut so we’ll get to see more and more of the stuff that was filmed. I wasn’t there all the time, but even in the short time that I was there, there was so much stuff filmed that didn’t make it to the theatrical version... Oh, man, there was so much stuff!
It’s worth clarifying that Dominic Monaghan did not comment on the rumors that there’s already a longer version of the close-to-$1 billion Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that’s been assembled, and that studio interference is what led to the version that was released in theaters. However, he is aware of at least some of the material that didn’t make the final cut, which he believes fans should get to see. For instance, as Monaghan later told The Hollywood Reporter:
Another thing that we will hopefully see at some point in the future is that in the final battle, Connix injures her leg. Obviously, myself, Rose and Connix are exiting the battle, and Rose has a weapon. While Rose is busy doing stuff, I grab Connix’s arm and put it over my shoulder to make sure that all of us come back as unscathed as possible.
Whether or not you believe The J.J. Cut already exists, it sounds like there’s definitely plenty of deleted material that I’m sure fans would be interested in seeing. Along with what Dominic Monaghan shared, Domhnall Gleeson has said there was a battle scene involving his character, General Hux, and Kylo Ren that was removed. There’s also been talk about a scene where Finn would have shown off a Force power (after all, we did learn he apparently wanted to tell Rey he was Force sensitive).
However, for now, there’s no indication that an extended version of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released. While George Lucas would frequently make edits to the Original Trilogy (including the recently-unveiled “Maclunkey!”) and even tinker some with the Prequel Trilogy, director’s cuts have never really been a thing in the Star Wars franchise.
I suspect that just like with The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, there will be various deleted scenes made available on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but you’ll have to watch those separately as opposed to them being added back into the movie itself. Ideally one or several of those scenes will include Dominic Monaghan’s Beaumont Kin since he didn’t have much screen time in the final product, and it’d be nice to see how could have contributed more to the story.
Be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and you can re-watch the rest of the Skywalker Saga on Disney+ (which is offering a seven-day free trial). Don’t forget to also browse through our 2020 release schedule to lean what’s hitting theaters over the next 12 months.
