Someone animated Colin Trevorrow’s original Rise of Skywalker script and it’s fantastic

Both the theatrical and home releases of J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker have come and gone, but people are still talking about the final movie in the Skywalker saga. Some are thinking about how it could have been different had Abrams not been brought in to replace original director Colin Trevorrow’s version of the movie, which we’ve caught glimpses of recently thanks to some behind-the-scenes material. We know that Trevorrow’s original script included a romance between Poe and Rey, as well as a last name for the trilogy’s hero that wasn’t Skywalker or Palpatine. We’ve also seen a lot of early concept artwork from Trevorrow’s team.

Trevorrow called his movie Duel of the Fates, and as you can see, it was drastically different than what Abrams brought us.

Now, thanks to the folks at the Mr. Sunday Movies YouTube channel, we can see some of those original ideas come to life in in gloriously cute animated form. Check it out:

I don’t know if it’s the narrator’s Australian accent or the animation, but this is now my favorite version of The Rise of Skywalker, and I say that fully realizing there are only two. Also, Kylo Ren is not even remotely intimidating — even with a face full of Mandalorian metal — and I’m absolutely okay with it.

The artwork for the video came from Ethan Taylor, who shared a screenshot on Twitter of Kylo Ren and Rey adorably clashing lightsabers.

Seriously, how can you be frightened of a bad guy that looks that huggable?

If nothing else, Duel of the Fates — even in silly animated form — proves you don’t need an Emperor Palpatine clone trying to hand the keys of his Sith kingdom over to his granddaughter to have a good movie. Too bad we’ll never get to see it in live-action, because General Hux impaling himself on Mace Windu’s lightsaber would have been something special.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels

h/t Digital Spy