#ReleaseTheJJCut is trending on social media as viewers protest Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While there are many people who enjoyed the Skywalker saga’s finale, reactions to the film have been quite mixed. The general consensus is that the movie is rushed, overstuffed, and messy in its attempt to satisfyingly bring the trilogy to a close. Much of the Rise of Skywalker backlash concerns perceived Last Jedi retcons (such as the true nature of Rey’s parentage and sidelining Rose Tico) and poorly developed plot points (like how, exactly, Emperor Palpatine survived all these years). The Rise of Skywalker posted the lowest box office opening in the sequel trilogy, which was partially attributed to the word-of-mouth.
While it isn’t entirely an apples-to-apples comparison, some drew parallels between The Rise of Skywalker and 2017’s Justice League - in the sense that they were both attempts by studios to “course-correct” following a divisive franchise entry (The Last Jedi and Batman v Superman, respectively). Anyone with even passing knowledge of Justice League’s development knows Zack Snyder’s original vision was significantly changed via Joss Whedon’s extensive reshoots, leading to the impassioned Release the Snyder Cut campaign. Star Wars fans are now taking a page out of that book, pushing for the Abrams Cut of Rise of Skywalker.
Today, #ReleaseTheJJCut and #ReleaseTheAbramsCut started trending on Twitter, seemingly sparked by unverifiable rumors detailing alleged Disney-enforced alterations to The Rise of Skywalker. One in particular that’s gained traction with fans is a cut scene that would have featured a cameo from Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker’s Force ghost.
Again, it’s highly important to keep in mind the information that led to the #ReleaseTheJJCut trend is unsubstantiated at this time. Unlike Justice League, where there’s concrete evidence proving the Snyder Cut is real, there’s nothing verifiable out there suggesting Disney meddled with Abrams’ plan for The Rise of Skywalker the way WB turned Justice League into a mishmash of Snyder and Whedon’s styles. It’s true Oscar Isaac recently blamed “Disney overlords” for the lack of a Finn/Poe romance in The Rise of Skywalker (implying Mouse House executives had a hand in some creative decisions), but that shouldn’t be taken as a sign the studio demanded fundamental overhauls to the film’s story behind-the-scenes. As far as what’s publicly known, there isn’t an “Abrams Cut” of The Rise of Skywalker.
Still, the fact viewers are jumping on this trend speaks to the general dissatisfaction surrounding The Rise of Skywalker. It’s quite surprising there was no push for Phil Lord & Chris Miller’s cut of Solo: A Star Wars Story to see the light of day, indicating audiences hold the spinoff in a higher light (they’ve instead campaigned for a sequel to Ron Howard’s movie). Abrams knew going in he wouldn’t be able to please everyone with The Rise of Skywalker, but he probably wasn’t anticipating this sort of development to take hold.
More: Star Wars: All The Skywalker Saga Movies Ranked Worst to Best
Source: Twitter
