ST My story treatment for Episode VIII (post yours)

Hi,

After quickly noticing how much TFA borrowed from ANH, I've realised that Episode VIII will probably borrow lots of stuff from ESB aswell. Before I saw TFA, I had a really hard time trying to figure out what could happen later in the ST... But now I just couldn't stop myself from getting all these amazing ideas.

While my story treatment is serious, its also a bit pessimistic since its based on my prejudices of Disney, JJ and the creative team behind the ST. I won't hesitate to mock Disney whenever I can in my treatment.

You're welcome to add your own treatments aswell.

Jonipoon's story treatment for Episode VIII:

Since Episode VIII will be a direct sequel to TFA (taking place either hours or weeks after), it will have both sides of the conflict remained in weakened positions. The Resistance is all that's left of the new Republic, while the First Order just lost their biggest superweapon. None of this will be explained enough in the opening crawl though, because Disney is scared ****less of politics. The opening crawl will instead focus on the CHARACTERS, with emphasis on Rey and Kylo. The movie will begin with a boring panorama shot of a Star Cruiser and TIE-fighters which we've already seen 100 times. Then we'll see Kylo Ren arriving on the Star Cruiser, meeting with General Hux talking about how the Resistance base at D'Qar have been abandonded, and now the First Order will send out spy droids throughout the galaxy to locate the new base (total rehash of ESB, that's how Disney rolls).

There will then be a cut to the new Resistance base with Finn waking up, finding out about his new robot spine and getting teary eyes. Poe is there, but Finn just keeps asking about Rey wondering if she's safe. After getting out of the bed and looking out the window, Finn finds out that he is at a cloud planet! (but it's not Bespin, its a NEW planet that just looks similar to Bespin, that's how Disney rolls). Poe will ask Finn if he's ready to finally redeem himself and become part of the Resistance, and after Finn says something like "YOU BET I AM!" there'll be a cut to Poe and Finn flying X-wings in formations (Poe teaching Finn how to fly). It will be very Top Gun-esque, as they will continue to build on Poe and Finn's friendship. And then suddenly, Finn will crash into a spy droid from the First Order! UH OH! Back to headquarters! First Order has found them! They must relocate quickly! As they prepare for the battle, Poe looks out in the sky and says "Looks like there's going to be rain".

Once the First Order arrives at dusk, there will be thunder, flashes and rain pouring down. The atmospheric battle scenes will be extremely dense, and both Poe and Finn will engage in the battle. Ships from both sides will get struck by lightning. The Resistance will suffer losses, but nevertheless they will suceed in sending away their transports, and then Finn and Poe will part ways again. Finn says he's gotta go find Rey. Everything will be bery fast and intense without time to let things sink it. Right before jumping to hyperspace, Finn's ship will suddenly get caught by a medium-sized freighter! (without explanation, its just to create plot lines in the open air, that's how Disney rolls) The freighter will be painted with grafitti, and is obviously stolen. Its operated by a bounty hunter/smuggler-type played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and she'll first confront Finn asking for valuable goods saying stuff like "you're with the Resistance right? Bet you have lots of cash then". Finn however will just keep telling her to let him go because "the First Order will soon find us, and then we'll be dead, you gotta trust me!" Gugu's character will take his advice and leave but won't let Finn go. She says she might have use of him, and they gotta go see her boss, a Hutt.

Then there will be a cut to Rey training on the island planet with Luke. This will basically be very similar to Luke's own training at Dagobah. The plotline in TFA with the lightsaber will however not be picked up but simply just forgotten (this is how Disney rolls). Luke will talk a lot about the Force, but Rey will have trouble focusing and ask questions about the vision she had at Takodana. Luke will tell her that she is not ready to know the truth. The training continues and Rey will have to do exercising stuff such as swimming around the island while Luke and Chewie lays comfortably at a cliff above. This will be a cheap trick to make the audience laugh, but to be honest its a pretty funny scene. Especially if Luke says something like “Go on, focus, let the Force floooow through you”.

Cut to Kylo training with Snoke. It is not shown where they are, but simply in a big dark room with little but no lights. Snoke will constantly tease Kylo telling him how “weak” he is, and that he must grow stronger to prepare himself for his final test into becoming a Knight of the Ren. Kylo will be very angry and perhaps even show small signs of doubt in his master.

Cut to a dusty, dystopian city planet that could be a withered Coruscant , but its not – it’s a new planet again! It’s a smugglers planet inspired by Nar Shaddaa from the EU, and this is where Finn and Gugu’s character meet with a Hutt. Gugu’s father is a slave bartender, and the reason why Gugu’s character works as a bounty hunter for the Hutt is so that she can free her father. The father is revealed to be Lando Calrissian, and he instantly recognizes Finn as his lost son while revealing that he and Gugu’s character are siblings.

From here on I’m not sure how the film will play out before the final third act, but in one way or another both Rey and Kylo will end up on the dystopian city planet after having similar visions of it. There will be an epic lightsaber duel between them on top of some skyscrapers, very similar to the fight between Luke and Vader in ESB. Rey is wounded, then has her hand/arm cut off and loses her lightsaber. As she helplessly crawls onto the edge of the skyscraper, Kylo starts to mock her and says:
“I could have showed you the Dark Side, Rey! I could have shown you wonders that liar Luke would never tell you! But you’re just weak! WEAK! And now I will kill you, just like I killed my pathetic father!”
But suddenly, a hooded figure emerges. It’s freaking Luke!!! Kylo looks upon him with a gasp and mixed facial expression of fear and anger. But mostly fear. Kylo will start to mock Luke and try to use Force push on him, but Luke is so powerful and resists it with no problem.
After much more mocking and hesitation from Kylo’s side, he will ultimately attack Luke. Luke will then finally ignite his green lightsaber (with the audience cheering in joy). The lightsaber duel will be extremely powerful and utilize Force powers. Luke will be toying with Kylo and trying to end the fight by telling Ben that he feels the conflict in him, just like with his grandfather Anakin. As the fight goes on, Luke reveals more and more things about Anakin, and finally he says:
"Before you grandfather died.. he turned to the light. It is not too late for you, Ben".
Kylo will almost look as if believes it, before he screams:
"LIAR! YOU KILLED HIM!"
And in his rage, Kylo comes back strong, but he is still no match for Luke. He loses one arm aswell, but continues fighting with one arm, almost fainting. Luke offers him his hand, but Kylo refuses. Instead he does the most cowardly thing and uses his last powers to Force push the wounded Rey over the edge. This of course distracts Luke to follow after her, while Kylo escapes. Luke catches Rey midair and then lands softly at a balcony using the Force. Rey is partially conscious and asks Luke why he came after her, even though she disobeyed his advice, to which Luke responses:
“Because… You’re my daughter.”
And it’s probably the happiest and saddest moment ever.

Cut to Kylo in his shuttle talking to Hux via hologram about the current situation. Hux informs Kylo that the First Order is back on schedule, but they will need more men if they are to succeed in defeating Luke Skywalker and rest of the Resistance. Kylo simply responds:
"I know, and that is why the Supreme Leader have contacted me personally in this matter. I'm about to see him soon.. He says has a surprise for all of us".

Meanwhile Finn, Gugu's character and Lando have escaped the Hutt's bar with the help of Chewbacca and R2-D2. They find Luke and Rey, and together they all fly to a temporary Resistance base on a large asteroid in the middle of a asteroid field. Even though Luke and Lando should be happy to see each other, this meeting is missed and overlooked in the script (that's how Disney rolls). When Luke meets Leia on the Resistance base however, it is indeed a very emotional meeting. And now with Rey and Finn and Gugu's character and Lando and all, the situation suddenly feels a bit hopeful again. Leia acknowledges this by saying "Now we're a family again".

Then cut to Kylo's shuttle flying into a planet that looks very reddish. Then cut again to the ship landing outside some sort of temple entrance, then cut again to Kylo walking down a wide and deep staircase that looks very old. Very dark music plays in the background.
He then enters the same dark room we saw earlier in the film, and we then find Snoke sitting on a throne in the middle of the room. Kylo kneels before him.
"What is thy bidding, my master."
It is then shown that Snoke has a secret chamber with members of the Knights of Ren frozen in carbonite. Kylo take his mask off, bedazzled.
The film ends by zooming into one of the carbonite-frozen knights. Upon closer look, you can see that it's Benicio del Toro's character. Another cliffhanger ending (that's how Disney rolls!).


Now, I also have some ideas for how Episode IX might unfold, but I'd like to hear your opinions about this story treatment first.

 

Pretty good. I like all the snarky disney references.

Here's mine, it's much more basic:

Opening scene, the Resistance gets attacked by the First Order - they fight them off but Leia is captured. Finn and Poe go off to rescue her with C3PO. Meanwhile, Luke has begun to train Rey, when he suddenly senses his sister is in danger, so he decides they are going to go find her and rescue her. Which is great news to Chewie, who's bored out of his mind.

So basically, it's two parallel rescue attempts, with lots of shenanigans.

Of course the Falcon breaks down on some weird planet and Luke and Rey and Chewie need to get out of it. Along the way we learn Rey's backstory.

Also, Finn and Poe get captured by Captain Phasma, and rescued by Lando.

They all end up together of course, and we have a big ol' battle scene. Somewhere along the line, Luke realizes that Finn is strong in the force. Rey gets her foot cut off by Kylo Ren, Luke and Finn attack Kylo and injure him and capture him. but Snoke arrives, somehow Snoke gets a hold of Finn and Luke and Rey escape with Poe and Chewie and Leia and the injured Kylo.

So the setup for Episode IX is that Finn's in the custody of Snoke, Kylo is in the custody of Leia and Luke, the First Order is trying to establish a new galactic empire, and Lando is named chancellor of the New Republic.

Episode IX would be Rey going to save Finn!

 

I like your idea of Leia being captured, I could have snuck that one into my treatment as well.

 

Leia gets captured. Luke finds out and goes after her. Winds up standing in a huge dark room with the knights of ren around him and he says "one last time, where is my sister" and ignites his green saber. Would be funny if rey stands beside him "are you sure about this, master?"

 

I’m not sure about the overall treatment at this stage, but the following two groups of scenes is how I would begin my treatment. It is unfinished and I do like your idea Jonipoon with the interaction between Skywalker and Kylo; where Kylo calls him a liar, etc. I’d certainly love to include that idea of yours in my treatment towards the end of the movie as I believe this character interaction has huge potential to be a very powerful and iconic scene. So my treatment would begin like this;

The opening scenes for my treatment for number 8 would take place on the Sith homeworld of Byss; where Kylo Ren has been secretly sent by Snoke to “complete” his training. Although Kylo is known to be the “field” leader of the Knights of Ren (Snoke is the real leader), the audience is beginning to realise that Snoke may not just be the leader of a group that brings balance to the force, but rather a Sith Lord as well in disguise. In a remote location on Byss, we are first introduced to the character played by Benicio Del Toro. He is an ancient and evil Sith trainer/ instructor/teacher of sorts who once helped train Darth Vader. Up to the limits that a PG-rated film will allow, we bare witness to the hideous Sith training methods that are used to purge any remaining goodness a being may feel. The lighting for these scenes are dark, gloomy and there are many pools around containing a boiling and bubbling black liquid-like substance; used to enhance the evil feel to the surrounding environment. Basically this location is what hell would look. We watch as Kylo undertakes extreme challenges (virtually torturous) and is constantly zapped with force lightning as a means of motivation. The opening bit involving Kylo and Del Toro’s character ends with Kylo crawling and clawing his way along the black sand towards a rock wall inside a massive and ancient Sith throne/tomb room. Along the walls in the backround are giant statues of the great sith lords of the past; some may even be recognizable. As an exhausted Kylo (racked with extreme agony) starts to pull himself up to his feet via the wall, Del Toro’s character hisses with venom “Your grandfather was weak when he first came to me; still pining over his need for the flesh of a woman. When he left me, I thought I had cured him of this weakness. I have waited a long time to correct this mistake. It will never, ever happen again”. And with an evil Palpatine-like smile, Del Toro’s character raises his fingers and shoots out another blast of force lighting. A screaming Kylo ends these opening scenes.

The next group of scenes involves the contrast in force training methods; those undertaken by the Jedi. Although Rey is required to undertake physically enduring feats during her training, the Master’s / trainer’s guidance and instruction is conducted using all of the “goodness” found in the Jedi way. The scenes are conducted during broad daylight on Skellig Michael to reinforce the contrast between the light and the dark. The initial sequences show Rey by herself conquering rock walls, light saber training on narrow mountain peaks and performing other great feats. Then the very first scene involving Luke and Rey together contains an ideal very close to my heart and something I have expressed in the EU forum; the idea where the EU becomes official canon again. Whilst Rey is undertaking a great feat of endurance and strength (similar to Luke on Dagobah), Luke speaks to Rey in a similar way Yoda would have spoken to him. Here, Luke says something like “when you are relaxed, calm, meditative, you will see visions of events, ….people. The past, the present, the future. Some may happen, some may not. Always in motion is the force. During my isolation, during my reflections, I have seen many of these visions”. Basically words like that are spoken over the duration of one to two minutes. And during that time (as the words are spoken), images of beings and places repeated flash before our eyes. These images are of the most iconic EU characters and events and this finally brings the entire Star Wars saga into one unified canon.

THE NEXT PART I STARTED TYPING BEFORE I HAD READ “THE FORCE AWAKENS – THE VISUAL DICTIONARY”; which basically reflects the following sentences as to what happened after JEDI.

Immediately after this scene (where Luke recalls visions he had), Rey relaxes and she asks about what happened. It is here that we start getting a broad outline of the events that occurred after Return of the Jedi and up till the events of the Jedi Temple slaughter and Luke’s self-imposed exile. The scenes don’t have to be long and drawn out, but the audience understands that a few years after the Battle of Jakku (and a few other smaller battles), a “New Republic” government had been established following the final “clean-up” of what was believed to be the last remnants of the Empire. It was a time of relatively short lived time of peace where Luke had founded a Jedi Temple and a New Jedi Order. But in a similar fashion to what was mentioned and had actually occurred in the prequels, it did not take long for the Republic to descend into a bureaucratic body suffering from the effects of self-interests and corruption. A lot of this will be due to Snoke’s influence.



So having read the “The Visual Dictionary” and gaining a greater understanding of the events that had shaped the galaxy in the last 30 years (particularly involving this disarming process and the fact that the New Republic barely have a space fleet that could oppose the New Order fleet), the two main themes forming number 8 would involve the training of Rey and Kylo into the forces they will inevitably become and the search by the Resistance in finding a long-rumoured missing fleet (in the same vain as the Katana Fleet from the EU) to help combat the First Order. Poe, Finn, Chewie and Lando will search for the fleet after the Resistance base is ravaged by the New Order towards the beginning of the movie; without the film seeming like it’s a rehash of the Empire Strikes Back. Learning of this mysterious fleet, Phasma and a few others also set off to prevent the fleet from falling into the Resistance’s hands.

In the closing stages of this movie, I would love to see a twin lightsaber battle (an all-time epic) featuring Skywalker and Rey vs Kylo and Del Toro’s character; with possibly Snoke thrown into the mix as well to slightly distort the odds and ensure a “baddie” victory of sorts.

Once I’ve given it some more time and thought, I will try and post more.

 

cool ideas. I think EP 8 will be each side of the Force racing to be trained and achieve power over the other. I think Rey will not only already know that Luke is her father, but might also find out who her mom is. She might be tempted by Kylo to join her.

I see the Republic and the First Order almost like World vs North Korea. South Korea is sorta like the Resistance. North Korea is still stuck in a dictatorship that it truly believes in, is always in war mode and is always promising to use nuclear (death star) weapons on their neighbors. The Force Awakens was North Korea taking out the U.N So now the Republic has to retaliate.

So I'd like to see a Hoth-like reversal battle. (Not on actual snow, mind you, just a reversal of the dynamics) The Republic/Resistance goes full on attack on the First Order. We'd see Republic tanks and ships and heavy gunners all blasting them down in their secret bunker bases.

 

The whole trilogy will be about ending the remnants of the Empire once and for all and restoring the republic as it was before the Clone Wars and the resurrection of the Jedi Order who are the keepers of peace within the galaxy.

I still see them doing the time jump from 6 months to 1 year. The opening scene after the crawl will feature Republic capital ships unloading a number of transport vehicles for an assault on the FO headquarters. Finn is leading one platoon and Poe is leading the aerial attack. Cut immediately to Rey who is still training with Luke and Kylo completing his training with Snoke.

Rey sees a vision and immediately goes off with Chewie and R2 on the Falcon to regroup with Finn and Poe where we see the Republic is victorious in their battle. At this point, Rey already knows her parentage and she will reveal this herself later in the movie instead of the enemy revealing it to her. Rey and Finn share some moments of flirtation and eventually romance creating a friction in Rey's training as a Jedi.

I can't think of a third act but it should involve another lightsaber duel between Rey and Kylo Ren, this time the latter besting her. He is about to deliver the final blow but cannot bring himself to do it. Snoke comes in and berates his student. Luke comes out of nowhere and tells Ben he cannot harm her because she is his sister. That was the light still in him; killing Han Solo did not take out the light.

 

Cheers for that DarkGinger Jedi. And I like your ideas too. The only thing I think different is that Rey may turn out to be Kylo's sister.

I was also trying to think of a real-life situation to reflect the dynamics of the current state of the galaxy, TFA and number 8 and I think you have hit the nail on the head exactly. It is a North Korea vs South Korea and UN situation.

 

Wow, if Episode 8 really does include a plot about searching for a secret Republic fleet, perhaps my old guess-title Star Wars: Fleet of Destiny isn't too far-fetched after all.

In a more traditional manner, Star Wars: Fleet of Hope could work too. Or, to contrast the First order - Star Wars: Fleet of Disorder.

 

The film opens with a crawl detailing what happened in the year and a bit after The Force Awakens:
Episode VIII: _______
With the destruction of Starkiller Base
and The Hosnian System
the galaxy lacks governance.
Warlords and Bounty Hunters have
laid claim to star systems and the lawless
prosper.

The Resistance, led by General Leia Organa
is still fighting the malicious First Order.
Both armies are weakened and are looking for the edge
in a conflict that may decide the fate of the galaxy.
Leia has sent her two best operatives Poe Dameron and
Finn to investigate reports of a powerful fleet from the time
of the republic that would give the Resistance the ships they need.

Rey is training under the watchful gaze of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker,
and is progressing to become one of the most powerful Jedi.
Meanwhile Supreme Leader Snoke is moulding Kylo Ren into a dark warrior.

We open with a starry field (yes we've seen it before but it is what they are going to do) an imperial shuttle flies across our view and heads down towards the planet below. Cut to inside the shuttle and its Finn, Poe and BB-8. There is some banter between the two about how Finn (who now has a mechanical spine) wished never to see the inside of one of these again. We cut to the planet and as they land we see that it is a large city planet that has fallen into disrepair. Poe says something like: "So this is Coruscant huh? How the mighty have fallen."

Cut away to a figure lying motionless on the floor of a dark room illuminated by flames. We are on a rocky planet (Morabund) and hear the voice of Snoke berating Kylo Ren and telling him he is weak. The figure hauls themselves up to reveal a scarred bruised Kylo Ren who is broken and seems afraid. He slowly however appears more determined the more Snoke insults him finally he stands up and reignites his lightsaber as we hear the sounds of animals approaching. Four monstrous creatures emerge around Kylo Ren and he prepares to fight.

Cut to an overhead view of Skellig Michael Island and we see a lightsaber duel, elegant and more like a dance than a fight. Rey is using Anakin's saber and Luke is using his green one. After some amazing cinematography they stop and discuss the force and Rey's visions.

Back to Coruscant. The planet seems empty but slowly bounty hunters emerge from the buildings around the landing pad Poe and Finn are arrested and taken back to a gang of bounty hunters led by Gugu Mbatha-Raw they convince the bounty hunters to help them but receive news that the first order have tracked them down and are attacking Coruscant. They organise a defence of the planet with Benicio del Toro's character a warlord who rules Coruscant kylo (now wearing a refashioned vader mask), snoke, rey and luke all head towards the planet. There is a huge battle and the bounty hunters are winning with unorthodox tactics like booby traps and ambushes. Rey and Luke turn up and have a duel with kylo and snoke. Luke is mortally wounded and rey loses her fight. Finn faces of in a gunfight with Captain Phasma and his gun gets shot out of his hand out of his reach. He turns around to grab it, reaches towards it and it flies into his hand (h has the force).

Cut to a star destroyer, Hux is standing opposite a hologram of Benicio's character. He says something like "it is the time. Do it now." The bounty hunters turn on Finn and Poe and they only escape with the help of Gugu Mbatha-Raw's band of bounty hunters who get them back to the rebel base with rey and luke. Luke is never going to fight again but resolves to train Finn to combat the Knights of Ren.

 

In short.

• First Order attack a Resistance base (maybe they won't be as obvious to have it on a snow planet)
• Resistance holds off to allow Escape, however Leia stays behind to protect others, but get's captured by Phasma.
• They take her to First Order station of some sort.
• Meanwhile Rey and Ren are training / learning developing
• Finn, Poe, Chewie and BB8 (Chewie got bored and left Rey and Luke) go on a dangerous rescue mission
• Snoke orders Ren to go to Station (X) and kill Leia as the final part of his training.
• Rey senses Finn is in Danger and Tells Luke she must leave. Luke gives her a big speech how he's been there before and it backfired etc etc, Fails to Convince her to stay BUT different to Yoda, Luke says he will go with her.
• Rey and Luke split up. Rey and Ren meet again, This time Ren is the Victor (perhpas cuts off a hand, or Scars her like she did him) and just as he's about to finish her off, Luke shows up to save the day, Ren and Luke duke it out, But Ren is no match for a Jedi Master, Just as Luke gets the Upper-hand is about to Defeat Ren, SNOKE shows up and smacks Luke with some Force Lightning (or something) disabling Luke, Ren rises, Rey pleads with Ren not to do it... But he slays him down anyway
• A split second before Ren kills Luke, Leia shows up (with Finn, Chewie and Poe) and bares witness to her sons Evil.
• a Gun battle ensues before they make their (rey,finn, poe and chewie) getaway, Managing to escape by flying through an Asteroid Field.

More combination of 4 and 5 with a Suitably Dark Ending which also makes Ren more of a bad mother fluffer

 

I like the idea of war lords and bounty hunters playing a bigger role in the movies. It'd be more interesting than just focusing on the traditional standing army of the First Order/Empire versus the scrappy Rebels/Resistance.

 

I really like the dystopian coruscant. I also like Benicio Del Toro's roose bolton moment. Sounds really good.

man they have to go back to coruscant in this trilogy. That planet was just so important in the prequels it has to be visited again for continuity purposes.

 

I like your script, but I want Kylo instead of saying "You're weak!" say "I love you, from the first sight, come with me to the dark side, let's get married and we can rule the Galaxy as a couple!" and Rey saying "You're a loser, I hate you! We will never be together!" and he will say "Who do you love? That traitor?" and will try to force choke her.

 

I love this. I've been working on a treatment with much of the same aspects:
- The Underground taking control of the Galaxy
- Del Toro as a Crime Lord
- Coruscant

 

I came up with a new idea over the past few weeks:

The movie opens with Hux and Kylo traveling to see Snoke.
Next scene is Luke and Rey - they argue and Luke says he cannot train her or help the resistance. He lights his green saber and tells her to go, which she tearfully does. Then the Falcon is held as if in a tractor beam and Rey realizes Luke is holding it and landing it with the Force.

So she comes out. Luke apologizes and agrees to come with them, but first he wants Rey to go into the dark-force cave on the island. When she does, she sees a vision Windu vs. Palpatine, and the saber in her hands cuts between them. She sees Windu falling but it looks like Han falling. Then she sees a vision of clone troopers. She turns around and the saber starts to move to strike down the younglings, but Rey throws it down, and finds herself back in the forest of Takodana. Then she is on Cloud city and Kylo ren is pursuing her. But he morphs into Vader. Then she reaches for her saber but sees her severed hand holding it.

Then she sees her hand holding her mothers, and sees younger Luke, arguing with her mother about Ben Solo. Rey's mom says he is too far down the dark path. Luke disagrees, and Rey's family leaves.

Next, she is on Jakku, at night. Her mother is giving her the piece of the map and telling her to stay there, that she'll be right back. She runs over a sand dune where lightsabers are flashing.

Next, it is morning. She sees her mother, father and brother, sinking in the sand before Kylo Ren, who boards her parents' ship. We see young Rey again, seeing the ship take off.

Rey runs out of the cave, pissed at Luke. But she still wants him to come with her. At that point, the First Order attacks, and the Falcon barely escapes.

Meanwhile, the First Order attack the Resistance base. Most of the Resistance forces escape. Poe goes back for Finn but can't get him out (he's still in a coma attached to machines) and he narrowly escapes with Leia while Finn and Threepio are captured by Captain Phasma.

Phasma cuts off Finn's lower body and fits him with robotic legs, which she controls. She throws him in a dumpster as an example to the other stormtroopers.

Meanwhile, Rey and Luke arrive at Ilinium, and fight some First Order forces. Luke displays some crazy force abilities by throwing First Order fighters around. They escape and go to the rendezvous point on Kashyyk. In transit, Luke and Rey talk, and Luke apologizes for not listening to her mother. They talk about Kylo Ren, and Rey calls him a monster, and Luke says the monster's his nephew, and Rey says she can't imagine having someone like that be a member of her family, at which point she looks at Luke and says "Oh no, don't tell me." After a moment of tension, he assures her she's not related to him in any way! It's a big relief for Rey!

Poe and Leia and BB-8, meanwhile, make a detour and visit Lando, who, after being impeached as a senator for secretly aiding the resistance, is running a mining operation with a big fleet of ships to clandestinely supply the resistance. Leia tells him about the Republic and about Han and tries to convince him to convert his fleet to warships. He's non committal.

They all meet up back at the Resistance base on Kashyyk, and -surprise - Maz is there too. but they know the First Order's going to attack them because they've got C3PO and Finn, so they prepare for the attack. Luke flies an x-wing again, Rey takes the falcon, and they completely wipe out all the ships in the landing bay. The Falcon and Poe's x-wing land, and Rey and poe end up on Phasma's ship trying to rescue Finn. Meanwhile, Kylo has come back from Snoke's, where he's undergone the opposite 'positive force cave' training.

Rey and Poe and bb-8 rescue Finn but Rey's kind of grossed out by his robot legs., Since he can't control his legs, Poe is carrying him with great hilarity. Then Kylo shows up and Poe takes Finn back to his x-wing as Rey and Kylo battle.

Meanwhile, the Resistance has crippled Phasma's ship and it's plunging into the atmosphere. Rey runs to get back to the Falcon, but Kylo catches up to her. Chewie pilots the falcon out of the crashing destroyer as Kylo and Rey fight aboard the Falcon, Kylo's wild lightsaber swipes are breaking the Falcon's systems, and Chewie manages to crash land the Falcon in a big Kashyyk tree. Kylo cuts off Chewie's hand and the fight continues. Kylo has the upper hand. He cuts off part of Rey's foot, and all looks lost, until Luke drops in....

Meanwhile the other First Order destroyers are getting through and all looks lost. But then Lando's fleet arrives and starts kicking everyone's ass. The First Order loses another ship and is outnumbered. Hux orders the fleet to retreat.

Kylo is now abandoned, and Luke is beating him. Finally, Luke slices off his hand (it's a slice fest!). Leia shows up and they lock Kylo in a force field.

Chewie decides to retire and stay on Kashyyk. The Falcon is now a permanent fixture in the trees of Kashyyk.

Leia, Luke, Lando, Poe, Finn (with new legs, under his control), BB-8, R2, Threepio and Rey all celebrate the victory and the survival of the Resistance. But you get the feeling having Kylo captured is going to be more trouble than it's worth

 

Title - The Power of the Dark Side

Crawl talks about a galaxy in chaos as regional governors all seek to assert control. Hundreds of small wars have broken out, and the Resistance is the only force still equipped to directly confront The First Order.

Onboard his mysterious command ship, Snoke and Kylo stand in a circle of dark figures. Snoke asks Kylo if he is ready to complete his training. Kylo agrees. Snoke takes out a large blade and splits Kylo's skull. He falls to the ground, dead. A moment later the dark figures and Snoke begin to fire force lightning at Kylo's body. After a few moments, Kylo rises. Snoke tells him he has been reborn in the Dark Side. He is now ready to hunt down and destroy Luke and Rey.

Rey and Luke train at the Jedi Temple. During a break, Rey tells Luke that she is ready to learn the truth about her family. Luke explains that he is her father, and that her mother had left him before he knew about her. She was killed by Ben Solo when Rey would have been just 5 years old.

Finn and Poe fight a desperate battle against the First Order. Kylo Ren directly engages them in a space battle, from which Finn and Poe barely escape. With their ship damaged and no friendly systems, all hope seems lost until they are rescued by Luke, Rey and the Millenium Falcon.

Finn, Poe, Rey and Luke are now chased by Kylo Ren. Eventually Luke and Rey decide or are forced to confront him. A lightsaber battle ensues, and at one point, it appears that Rey strikes a killing blow, but Kylo gets back up a moment later and kills Luke Skywalker. Finn pulls Rey away and they escape once more, but now, things seem darker than ever.

We end on Rey once more giving terrible news to Leia. But then, Luke appears to them both and tells them not to despair, it is time to complete Rey's training and the light is stronger than the darkness.

 

These aren't treatments, but whatever.

 

Ah, but they've already said Episode VIII will be very different from anything else we've seen in Star Wars. Whatever else they do, I hope it doesn't copy ESB, gah.

Anyway, here's my wishful thinking:

Two split time-lines, one past and one present, alternating through the film - like in The Godfather II.

One story begins during Kylo Ren's childhood/training with Luke, and covers all the way through to his decision to join the First Order. This can also show us the Luke debacle and Rey getting dumped on Jakku, etc.

The interspaced forward storyline begins immediately following events in episode VII, and follows Kylo Ren and Rey's parallel journey, culminating in their inevitable epic duel, which Kylo Ren has to win.

 

The following is abit more of how my treatment for number 8 would unfold. It’s not a proper treatment in the sense of the word, but more of an over-view of how scenes and main ideas would unfold. The treatment runs 3 parallel stories (sometimes 4) and the words in italics are from other authors/contributors (with some alterations); whose ideas I have I liked and have incorporated them into my own treatment. The first paragraph of italics are ideas by Darth Nave (from the thread YOUR DREAM OPENING TO EPISODE 8 – page 3). I really like this opening scene and I feel that it has so much raw emotive power and potential to be one of the most iconic scenes of all time. The other two paragraphs of italics are from the website MoviePilot (http://moviepilot.com/posts/3751013). This article was written in response to and concerns someone who apparently got access to the Lucasfilm database, read the official treatment for 8 and described it on the internet. Whether it is true or not and whether the treatment/synopsis mentioned is Johnson’s intended storyline for 8, there were elements I liked and have included in my treatment. So my unfinished treatment begins immediately after TFA for the first paragraph / opening scene and then a few months later in regards to the rest. It goes like this…….

Scroll fades.

Cut to space.

A mysterious black freighter is shown headed towards a very evil-looking planet (Moraband). It enters the atmosphere and lands on the ground. Its loading ramp lowers and out steps Hux escorting Kylo Ren on a medical bed towards a very eerie-looking fortress. Hux asks to be let in, and the owner grants him permission. He steps into the castle and is met by two Knights of Ren who stop him from going any further. The KoR proceed to take Ben deeper into the castle towards the main chamber. Ben is in a critical condition from the wounds received in the last movie. He is brought to the main chamber where Snoke resides; sitting on his throne engulfed in shadows. To his side stands Benicio del Toro's character; a Knight of Ren (and former Sith trainer) who fulfills a similar function in relation to the Supreme Leader as the Hand of the King from Game of Thrones does. Ben is placed on an altar and Snoke steps down off his throne towards him. He then performs some sort of magic to recuperate Ben similar to what the Nightsisters used on Darth Maul and Savage Oppress. Ben starts convulsing violently; his uncontrolled Force abilities shaking the room and tearing up the scenery. The two Knights who escorted him into the room are lifted in the air and Force choked. He comes to and staggers to the ground on his hands and knees in front of Snoke.

Snoke: Kylo Ren. You may have failed me, but there is so much more I have planned for you



End Of Scene



Cut to the new Resistance base a few months after TFA. Inside the headquarters of the new resistance base (on some new planet – NOT AN ICE PLANET – that looks nothing like the audience has seen previously), General Leia Organa and Admiral Ackbar have received an urgent encrypted message from Lando Calrissian; who is currently “under-cover” in the Nal Hutta system.

In this HQ room with Leia and AA is Poe Dameron, Finn, Chewbacca, BB8 and R2D2 and it is at this point that Leia gives the audience the backround story of the current political standing of the galaxy. In a general overview of what has happened since ROTJ, Leia describes how a New Republic was formed and how (in time) lessons of the past were not learnt from and once again, the decision-making powers of the Republic Senate became limited due to corruption, self-interests and political stalemates (without knowing a particular “force” is once again behind these events). She then describes how the First Order and the Resistance came to be and the audience is informed that it was Lando Calrissian who first learnt of the First Order’s existence (and their re-arming) through his various contacts throughout the galaxy. Sensing that the events of 30-40 years ago were occurring again and given the lack of concern shown by the senate, Leia, Admiral Ackbar and Lando had decided that a “Resistance” would be created (with Leia as its leader) and that Lando would go on a secret mission to find more firepower; as the New Republic would only provide limited space-cruisers and fighters to their cause. Lando’s mission was to take him into the Nal Hutta system where it had been rumoured that someone there had discovered by chance the remenants of the Trade Federation’s droid battle fleet in a nearby system. The fleet has been in power-down mode since ROTS; when Nute Gunray had sent the fleet to an undisclosed location (following its attack on Coruscant) and they were instructed to remain there powered down until further orders were given. Due to obvious circumstances, that order never came and the fleet has lied dormant ever since.

Having provided the audience with this backround information, Leia tells the group (Poe, Finn, etc) that she is sending them on a mission to find and rescue Lando; whose encrypted message says that although he has discovered some important information about the missing fleet, his cover has been compromised and he is now being hunted by agents of The First Order. Leia tells the group that this mission is critical to the survival of the Resistance and that of the galaxy (the New Republic) as the Starkiller Base’s destruction of Hosnian Prime (and a significant portion of the New Republic’s Starfleet) has left the galaxy vulnerable to further attacks by The First Order. Leia tells them they cannot fail this mission.



End Of Scene



Cut to Rey, she is making her way through an old temple and finds a hooded figure. Rey thinks the hooded figure is Luke, but the hooded figure reveals himself to be Kylo Ren in his (now) iconic mask! He ignites his unstable lightsaber which lights up the room to reveal dead bodies of Luke's old padawan's. Rey panics as she is suddenly surrounded by the Knights of Ren. Rey tries to run away, but only gets a few feet before she spots Han Solo! Kylo Ren then comes out of nowhere and stabs Han Solo and his body falls. Rey is now surrounded once again by the Knights of Ren and Kylo walks over to her. He takes off his mask and reveals the huge facial scar that she left him on Starkiller Base. He ignites his lightsaber and... Rey wakes up sweating heavily. It was only a dream and she is alone in a bed in a small room. She looks over at a table to see Anakin’s / Luke's lightsaber; gleaming in the moonlight of the small darkened room. The camera lingers on the lightsaber for a matter of seconds to emphasize the conflicting dark and light energies being felt by Rey.

The next day shows Rey undertaking Jedi training on Ach-To. The initial sequences show Rey by herself conquering rock walls, light saber training on narrow mountain peaks and performing other great feats. Then the very first scene involving Luke and Rey together contains an ideal very close to my heart and something I have expressed in the EU forum; the idea where the EU becomes official canon again. Whilst Rey is undertaking a great feat of endurance and strength (similar to Luke on Dagobah), Luke speaks to Rey in a similar way Yoda would have spoken to him. Here, Luke says something like “when you are relaxed, calm, meditative, you will see visions of events, ….people. The past, the present, the future. Some may happen, some may not. Always in motion is the force. During my isolation, during my reflections, I have seen many visions”. Basically words like that are spoken over the duration of one to two minutes. And during that time (as the words are spoken), images of beings and places repeatedly flash before the audience’s eyes. These images are of the most iconic EU characters and events and this finally brings the entire Star Wars saga into one unified canon.

Immediately after this scene (where Luke recalls visions he had), Rey relaxes and she asks about what happened to the new Jedi. It is here that we start getting a broad outline of the events (plus flashback scenes) that occurred during the Jedi Temple slaughter and the reasons for Luke’s self-imposed exile. Luke then asks about the dreams Rey is having (in which Rey tells him) and he tells her that there is dark energy trapped within the lightsaber and it is trying to pull her to the dark side. The dark energy was drawn to the lightsaber following Anakin’s turn to the dark side and mass slaughter of the old Jedi. To release the energy from the saber, Luke informs her that the lightsaber must be dismantled and re-assembled using a new Kyber Crystal and that the only Kyber Crystals on Ach-To are found “up there”; pointing to a huge rugged mountain peak. Luke says he cannot help her and that it’s a journey she must take on alone.



End Of Scene



Cut To Kylo Ren on Moraband and Kylo Ren is now undertaking his own training. Training Ren is Benicio Del Toro’s character. As mentioned before, although he is a Knight Of Ren, he is also an ancient and evil Sith trainer/ instructor/teacher of sorts who once helped train Darth Vader. Up to the limits that a PG-rated film will allow, we bare witness to the hideous Sith training methods that are used to purge any remaining goodness a being may feel. The lighting for these scenes are dark, gloomy and there are many pools around containing a boiling and bubbling black liquid-like substance; used to enhance the evil feel to the surrounding environment. Basically this location is what hell would look. We watch as Kylo undertakes extreme challenges (virtually torturous) and is constantly zapped with force lightning as a means of motivation. The opening bit involving Kylo and Del Toro’s character ends with Kylo crawling and clawing his way along the black sand towards a rock wall inside a massive and ancient Sith throne/tomb room. Along the walls in the backround are giant statues of the great sith lords of the past; some may even be recognizable. As an exhausted Kylo (racked with extreme agony) starts to pull himself up to his feet via the wall, Del Toro’s character hisses with venom “Your grandfather was weak when he first came to me; still pining over his need for the flesh of a woman. When he left me, I thought I had cured him of this weakness. I have waited a long time to correct this mistake. It will never, ever happen again”. And with an evil Palpatine-like smile, Del Toro’s character raises his fingers and shoots out another blast of force lighting. A screaming Kylo ends these scenes.



End Of Scene



Cut to Poe, Finn, Chewie and the droids entering the Nal Hutta system….

 

Star Wars: Episode VIII - An Order Rises Again

The New Republic is furious over the destruction of their capital by the First Order, members from throughout the galaxy volunteer to join a newly mobilized Republic fleet. The Republic mobilizes on a scale not seen since the Clone Wars and immediately invades space of the First Order with a large fleet. For her actions, Leia Organa has been given immunity by the Republic and enlisted in its military for destroying Starkiller Base. Poe joins the New Republic fleet with a new type of ship. Finn (who is not Force sensitive) becomes a ground soldier in the New Republic corps training recruits.

We open probably seeing Republic forces storm and bombard First Order holdings in unknown space as part of the large scale Republic invasion. Finn and Poe take part defeating Imperial forces. This battle is a Republic victory. They may come across intelligence saying that the First Order now knows where Luke Skywalker is and is intent on finding him. General Leia and Finn seek to attempt to make contact with Luke and warn them about the coming danger.

Things for the First Order are getting desperate. They only threaten to get worse with the potential return of the Jedi. Snoke realizes he is going to need to all of his knights of Ren to withstand the attack by the Republic. He even thinks of recruiting Rey potentially to ally with them, potentially with Kylo Ren as her teacher. Kylo Ren has now solidified himself in the dark side and looks more like a cyborg after losing limbs to Rey in the first lightsaber duel he had with her. The First Order is able to finally using spies put together the location where Luke has been in exile all of this time. Acquiring Skywalker and his new apprentice are Snoke's top priorities. A task force is sent to capture both before the Republic can.

On the ocean world where Luke and Rey are, she has started being given instruction in the ways of the Jedi, but become skilled along the way. Chewbaca and BB-8 serve as guardians over the temple, where Luke went to shroud himself in the Force to hide from the First Order. We see Rey training in the ways of the Force. Luke senses the approach of the dark side, with his nephew leading the charge of a First Order task force. An Imperial fleet of ships enters the system and prepares to land. Our protagonists begin plans to evacuate aboard the Millennium Falcon. The First Order arrives too late, forcing a ground battle with stormtroopers and eventually the emergence of Kylo Ren. Luke and Ren duel it out with lightsabers, with Luke clearly at the advantage. However, Imperial forces begin to overwhelm them in the retreat. It almost seems as if they will be captured until... Poe Dameron and Finn appear with a group of Republic forces to tip the advantage so that Luke and the others can escape aboard the Millennium Falcon. Our protagonists are able to escape this system and into space. R2-D2 also reunites with Luke and joins in the battle.

Aboard the Millennium Falcon, there is a joyous reunion between Finn and Rey who show off their new experiences of training in different ways. Poe and Finn are both enamored to meet the legendary Luke Skywalker for the first time. Our group decides they need to get the new Jedi to General Organa Solo in Republic space to ensure the survival of the Jedi. The First Order will be in fast pursuit of the new Jedi and a hot target in any system where a massive bounty has probably been place for Luke and the Millennium Falcon. General Organa Solo has put out a large reward for their safe return as well. Because of the location Luke chose to go into exile, they are all quite a distance from Republic space, even with the invasion of the First Order underway. They all must go somewhere where they will not attract attention to sneak through. The Millennium Falcon may also be damaged from the attack as well.

We return with the First Order where Kylo Ren reports his failure to capture Luke Skywalker to Supreme Leader Snoke. Snoke is beyond furious, he brutally punishes Kylo Ren with the Force and thrashes him around, even injuring him. For his failures, Kylo Ren is stripped of his command over the Knights of Ren and passed along by one of the other clan members. This decision shakes Kylo Ren's world. His punishment is to serve as an example to the rest of the clan. The new leader of the Knights of Ren is ordered to personally locate and hunt down where Luke Skywalker has left to and bring him and his new apprentice directly to him alive. They dispatch.

The Millennium Falcon eventually makes it to a criminal city under the control of the Black Sun group. They land in a discrete hangar to avoid detection and also to acquire replacement parts for the Falcon. Chewbaca will stay with the ship while others go out. They head out to find merchants willing to sell the parts they need. Unbeknownst to Luke and the others, a knight of Ren has tracked the group to this planet using the Force. They head out through the city to capture their intended targets. Some important character discussions happen on this planet. Eventually the inquisitors sent out by Ren find their targets and attack inside of a bar or merchant shop. Luke and Rey duel the inquisitors. Everyone flees as more First Order forces begin to appear and surround them again. Poe is severely wounded by a lightsaber. Luke and Rey are successfully captured by the First Order and brought aboard a nearby Star Destroyer. A mysterious cloaked figure leads Finn, an injured Poe, and Chewbaca into to the alleyways of the city and prevents their capture too by the First Order. Eventually this mysterious figure leads them down into a subterranean chamber of the city. Finn can do nothing but become hysterical and panic over the capture of Rey and Luke, but also how Poe is slowly bleeding to death. Suddenly, the mysterious figure waves her hands and is able to calm them. Using her same abilities, she is able to stop Poe's bleeding and heal his wound. It's obvious she is trained in the Force. The young woman removes her head garments and introduces herself as a Jedi apprentice of Luke Skywalker. This news stuns everyone. We call her Jada.

Meanwhile Luke and Rey are both eventually brought aboard a Star Destroyer where Kylo Ren is being subservient. They are to head directly for Snoke's location immediately. During the loading, Kylo Ren is able to briefly reunite with Luke and exchange tense words with both his uncle, and we now learn officially his cousin, Rey are. We learn that Kylo Ren kidnapped.

Back on the criminal world, Jada reveals that she is indeed a one of several Jedi apprentices trained by Luke Skywalker in the years of his absence. During his time in exile Luke had all of the surviving Jedi flee and train their own apprentices on different worlds throughout the galaxy under assumed identities for the sake of keeping the Jedi order alive. Each other's location and status were unknown to one another and would be until such a time when Luke came for them all and reunited the order. He sought not to repeat the same mistakes of past and be compromised by the First Order or one of his disciples again. That time was now as Luke secretly intended to reunite with her on this world and help them secure safe passage back to Republic space. He didn't even tell Rey this while training here. But seeing the new campaign of the Republic to defeat the FIrst Order and the imminent danger of her master, she has revealed herself to come out of hiding. Using the Force, she knows where Luke is being taken to and can help them get there. It is revealed Jada has a transport ship of her own, plus a crew pirates who are all really loyal Republic and Jedi sympathizers, and takes the damaged Millennium Falcon aboard. They intend to make a rescue mission out of this.

Aboard the Star Destroyer, Snoke via use of a hologram begins interrogation and torture of Luke Skywalker for all he can learn about his time in exile and the new Jedi order. Rey is kept in a room with other knights of Ren to be tempted into joining the dark side. She is tortured briefly as well. Kylo Ren who is demoralized after his treatment by Snoke listens intently to understand what is going on. Eventually, a the Star Destroyer comes under sudden attack by the band of pirates which Jada has led. It is pulled right out of hyper speed. An angry hologram transmission of Snoke is cut off in the process. A battle ensues between the pirates craft, now repaired Millennium Falcon, and Star Destroyer Avenger. Finn and Chewbaca manage to board the ship with Jada wielding her lightsaber at the end. During the chaos, Rey manages to escape as before, but Kylo Ren stops her. A brief duel is fought here. It is interrupted when Luke emerges to engage them. Seeing as they are outnumbered, the other Knights of Ren answering to Snoke, engage in the battle which becomes a duel of multiple Force wielders across the ship. Eventually Jada to reunites with her master and joins in as well. Poe, Chewbaca, and Finn hold off any Imperial reinforcements such as stormtroopers from entering. They manage to storm the bridge and take control of the craft. As this battle ensues, the Star Destroyer begins to disintegrate in space, leading to risks and hazards all over the ship, especially for those fighting with lightsabers. Eventually there is an outcome to the battle between Force wielders. Rey is injured and defeated by one of the Knights of Ren, Kylo Ren is disarmed by Luke, and Jada injured fighting others as well. The ships disintegration allows the Knights of Ren to capture Rey and take her prisoner. These dark force wielders escape aboard shuttle craft in the surviving hangar bay into light speed. Seeing Kylo Ren as weak and a failed subject, he is cast aside and abandoned by the Knights of Ren, as earlier ordered by Snoke.

This Star Destroyer begins to completely disintegrate. In order to keep all of themselves alive, Luke, Jada, and even Kylo Ren must collectively use the Force to prevent the ship from totaling falling apart. In a moment of nervous tension, all must work together to keep the hull of the ship from completely breaking up and killing them all. Eventually, the ship is miraculously stabilized. Jada knocks out Kylo Ren to ensure his capture as a valuable political prisoner. Even with it in tact, there is now risk of it drifting in space and not holding very long. Suddenly, another large ship appears out of light speed. Our protagonists fear the return of the First Order with reinforcements, however, a landing party comes aboard and reveals themselves to Republic forces, led by General Organa Solo herself. There is an emotional reunion between Luke and Leia aboard this ship. But is also a moment of despair because Poe has succumbed to his injuries, Rey has been captured by the First Order, and to top it off Ben Solo, Leia's murderous son has been reunited with her.

Republic forces scour the ship for intel they can about the First Order and all of its passengers are brought aboard. Poe Dameron is given a burial in space by the Republic for his servitude. Finn reflects deeply over the loss of Rey, as does Luke. A captured Kylo Ren, is brought before the stunned crew of the craft, amazed at the sight, and incarcerated in a secured cell as a prisoner of war by the New Republic. The Avenger is eventually allowed to drift into a nearby star after the Republic crews have evaluated it.

Meanwhile, aboard a dark and foreboding stone compound on a planet locked in permanent darkness, the escaped First Order craft carrying Rey and other survivors of the Avenger arrives. The party enters and comes before a massive, shrouded throne room deeply laced in the dark side of the Force. A voice welcomes Rey to her new home and now as an honorary member of the Knights of Ren. Supreme Leader Snoke reveals himself outside of a hologram for the first time. Rey is taken to a cell to be imprisoned there and converted to the dark side of the Force.

Afterwards, the group settles down to a permanent Republic base to reflect on the situation. on what needs to be done next. They all agree that the information acquired from the Avenger and what they make be able to garner from Kylo Ren make become valuable in the fight against the Knights of Ren and First Order. Leia is adamant that Luke must now take command of all New Republic forces leading the campaign against the First Order as Jedi of old once did before the rise of the Empire. He agrees to this calling, but admits he will need others to lead any rescue of Rey. Finn volunteers to lead the mission at once, Chewbaca also agrees to do so, as did Jada and her crew. Luke sighs and wishes there were more to help. Suddenly, from the background some calls "We will as an unknown group of characters covered over in robes of different alien species and ages reveal themselves without being detected earlier. Master Luke rises in deep surprise as these new mysterious individuals kneel before him and ignite their lightsabers one by one. These are the padawans that Luke mentioned earlier he has been training in secret in the years of his absence. They appear, united ready to defend the Republic and galaxy from the dark side and tyranny once again after over a half century in exile. The Republic war against the First Order rages on.

 

Ok, more ideas:

-Luke trains Rey, but is evasive about her backstory (which he knows about). She makes progress, but her anger/abandonment issues keep resurfacing. She also continues to have Force Visions, one of which confirms a past connection to Luke. She confronts him in an incredible emotional scene, and Luke finally comes clean. Either he is her father, but didn't know about her, or thought her dead. Or he knew her actual parents and had met her when she was a young girl. Either way, it ended badly because of the FO/KOR, and Luke didn't know where she was. Even though it wasn't his fault, he still harbors a lot of guilt about it.

-Luke feel like the traditional "Light vs. Dark" conflict is fundamental flawed. So rather than just continue the endless cycle, he went looking for answers from the original Jedi. They were able to balance the two sides of TF within themselves, without either side overwhelming them. But over the eons, that skill knowledge became lost/corrupted, hence the endless Jedi vs. Sith conflicts. The Sith were originally Jedi, who had let the darkness consume them, but the Jedi tried to compensate by leaning too far in the other direction. The balance between the two is key, Luke has learned.

-Luke also explains that, in an effort to correct this imbalance, a massive amount of Force energy is released every so often. This also serves to give certain individuals massive innate Force abilities, with Luke believing Rey and Kylo to be two such people. But one needs intense concentration and focus to spot and harness this energy, and those who are gifted with it need proper training to control it, or it could consume them. This is the titular "Awakening." Snoke is a powerful Dark Sider who seeks to harness this energy to spread true darkness across the galaxy and beyond. His backstory is also elaborated on a bit more.

-The conflict between the FO and TR (know openly allied with what's left of the NR) continues, with loses on both sides. Lando is the new Chancellor, and he and Leia bond over their shared grief over Han's death. Finn, Poe, and co go on secret missions for them, and along the way meet a female Mandalorian who was hired to kill them by the FO, and are also hunted by Captain Phasma and co. There's some confrontations, with the heroes barely escaping, and then Female Mando turns on the FO and helps them (as she was hired to by a "third party"). There's some romantic tension/chemistry between her and
Finn.

-Kylo as been trained in advanced DS techniques by Snoke, and is now much more focused/powerful. He uses the info that he took from Rey's head in the first film to track her and Luke down with the other KOR, forcing them to flee in the MF. A cat and mouse game ensues, and Rey is separated from Luke. She confronts Kylo, and a fierce battle ensues. But Kylo uses his new abilities, along with exploiting Rey's anger/hatred of him making her reckless, to defeat and badly injure her. He wants to take her back to Snoke, but Luke arrives to try and talk him down. This fails, and Luke engages Kylo and the KOR himself, overpowering them. But he is wounded himself in the process, and the FO arrives to back up Kylo (Hux having secretly placed a tracker on his ship). Luke and Rey attempt to fight, but are overwhelmed by sheer numbers and firepower. But then Finn and co arrive (Female Mando having hacked into the FO's communications and tracked them). A massive battle ensues, with multiple named characters dying, but eventually the FO regains the upper hand, with the heroes being forced to flee.

-The film ends with Luke recovering from their injuries, with the others trying to come up with a new strategy. Rey is later seen in a coma, with Finn watching over her (a nice callback to the ending of TFA). Meanwhile, Snoke compliments Kylo in his progress, and assures him that he will become powerful enough to kill Luke in time, and that the final stages of Snoke's ultimate plan have begun.

 

Want to create a anthology pitch thread for me? The anthology thread lacks this kind of thread

 

STAR WARS​

Episode VIII​

The Shadow Crusade​

• The First Order is a lie. Snoke doesn't care about the organisation, restoring the Empire or any of that. He's using the First Order to cripple the galaxy so that those he is really allied with can walk right in and destroy everything.
• Rey is a Skywalker and Luke's daughter. Luke's mother was a nobody, a simple farmer who lived and worked in a settlement not far from Luke's Jedi school. While she wasn't strong in the Force, she was honest and kind.
• Snoke appeared to Luke as a lost Jedi Master. He can hide his true nature. Having felt the rebirth of the Jedi, Snoke claims to have returned to help Luke build a new Jedi Order. Snoke gets close to Ben Solo, who is jealous of Luke's daughter and the other students at the school. He feels he deserves Luke's full attention.
• In order to keep Luke away, Snoke goes after Luke's wife and kills her. Luke battles Snoke, scarring his face, but Snoke can escape. When Luke returns to the Jedi school, First Order troops are rounding up the most powerful Force Sensitives and killing the rest. Ben Solo is helping them.
• In order to prove his loyalty, Ben is ordered to kill young Rey. He can't do it. Instead he takes her to Jakku and suppresses her Force abilities so that both Luke and Snoke won't be able to find her.
• It takes a while for Rey to accept who she is. Luke tells her that Snoke represents an ancient evil, one older than the Sith and perhaps even the Jedi. That's why he sought out the first Jedi Temple, from a time before Knights and Masters, before a Republic, a time when to be a Jedi was simply to serve the Force.
• Kylo Ren thinks Snoke is training him to be a Sith Lord. Snoke tells him that the Sith were weak, that Vader's failure wasn't just that he turned back to the light, it was that by not killing the last Jedi along with the last Sith, he failed to restore balance. Both the Jedi and the Sith are heretics as far as Snoke is concerned.
• Snoke is based on the ancient Sith home world of Moraband. This is where Kylo trains as it is the place strongest in the Dark Side in the galaxy.
• The Resistance has assumed control of the Republic and moved the capital back to Coruscant. Leia has found herself in the role of benevolent dictator until a new Senate can be called.
• Finn and Poe travel to Corellia to secure a new fleet for the Republic. It's there they meet one of the Resistance's main funders and suppliers - Lando Calrissian.
• The First Order's forces have been cut in half due to the attack on Starkiller Base. Despite this, Snoke tells Hux to cut off the Republic's military supply line and then to prepare an all out assault on Coruscant.
• Corellia is attacked, their shipyards bombed by the First Order. During the assault, BB-8 hacks into the First Order network and discovers the plan to attack Coruscant. With no ships coming from Corellia, Lando suggest an alternative, one Poe doesn't like.
• As Luke trains Rey on Ach-To, Snoke trains Kylo on Moraband. It seems both masters know a confrontation is imminent.
• Poe, Finn and Lando arrive at the world none of them really wanted to go to - Mandalore. They're quickly arrested and brought before the ruling council. As a representative of the Resistance, Poe puts in a formal request for aid. The Mandalorians say they have no interest in fighting their war. The First Order wouldn't dare go near them. Poe tries to reason with them but the Mandalorians see him as weak. Before they will even consider his request, he and Finn must prove their strength in combat against a pair of Mandalorian warriors. The fight is brutal. Finn and Poe never have the upper hand but refuse to give up. In the end, they lose, both having been knocked out, having refused to surrender. Lando comments that this hasn't gone well.
• The First Order attacks Coruscant. The Republic fleet was destroyed by the Starkiller and the Resistance fleet isn't faring much better. Coruscant's old Imperial defences are all that stand in the way of annihilation but General Hux knows how to disable the defences, using old Imperial codes. Coruscant is defenceless. The plucky Resistance tries to hold them back but there's no stopping the First Order now.
• On Ach-To, Luke and Rey are connected through the Force. They share a brief vision of Snoke. Luke tells Rey that he's never been able to find Snoke through the Force but together, they might have a chance. After searching together through the Force, they know where they must go.
• The First Order has broken through the Resistance lines and are headed straight for Coruscant. A fleet of Mandalorian ships moves to intercept, with Poe piloting one of them. It's explained later that though Poe and Finn were defeated, their refusal to surrender showed, in the Mandos eyes, their true strength. The Mandos decimate the First Order fleet, which is forced to retreat.
• Afterwards, Leia thanks the Mandos for their assistance. She only wishes she knew where the First Order was so they could end this war once and for all. BB-8 chimes in that he knows, having hacked into their network. Leia recognises the name of the planet. Moraband - home world of the Sith.
• The Falcon lands on Moraband. Luke explains to Chewie and Rey that this was the Sith home world. It might have been a beautiful world once but never-ending infighting among the Sith had turned it into a wasteland.
• Snoke has sensed the coming of the Skywalkers. He tells Kylo to be ready.
• The Star Destroyer FINALISER is in orbit above Moraband. Hux contacts Snoke to tell him the assault on Coruscant failed. Snoke tells him that his failure is even greater than that. Right on cue, a combined Resistance and Mando fleet enters the system. The final fight against the First Order begins.
• On the surface, Luke forces Rey to stay behind with Chewie. He goes in alone. He faces down Snoke and begs Kylo to abandon the Dark Side and come home, much as his father begged. Kylo refuses. With no choice, Luke ignites his lightsaber. Kylo attacks first but Luke easily swats him aside. Snoke calmly tells Kylo to find Rey. Before Luke can do anything, Snoke attacks.
• Sensing danger, Rey ignores Luke's orders and leaves the Falcon, intending to help him. She runs into Kylo. He's not alone. The rain comes down on Moraband and Rey finds herself in a moment from her vision, surrounded by Kylo and the Knights Of Ren. With no choice, she fights.
• The battle above swings the way of the Resistance. Hux begins to realise that the First Order may lose everything.
• Luke battles Snoke. He's stronger than Snoke but that doesn't matter. He senses something. Something very wrong. At last he understands. He uses the Force to push Snoke out of the way and runs, looking for Rey.
• Rey draws on the Force to fight the Knights Of Ren. She does well but she's fighting a losing battle. Luke arrives in the nick of time to save her and they fight side by side.
• The Resistance pushes its advantage. It looks like they're going to win. Suddenly, two dozen massive ships enter from Hyperspace. At first the Resistance thinks it's First Order reinforcements. The truth is revealed when the mysterious ships begin firing on both the Resistance and the First Order.
• Hux contacts Snoke to tell him what's happening. Snoke doesn't care. He informs Snoke that the mysterious ships are from his people. Hux asks why they're firing on the First Order and Snoke reveals that they've served their purpose. At this moment, Hux realises that the dream of the First Order was a lie.
• Hux makes the only decision he can make. He informs all First Order forces to stop firing on the Resistance and concentrate all fire on the mysterious ships.
• On the surface, several shuttles land and mysterious warriors emerge. The warriors begin slaughtering everyone in their path. The Knights Of Ren are cut down. Only Kylo, Luke and Rey remain standing, forced to fight together to survive. They defeat the first wave but Luke knows they need to retreat. Snoke appears. Luke begs Kylo to come with them. He tells Kylo that the First Order, Snoke and everything he promised was all a lie. Snoke tells Kylo that there's a place for him. Kylo considers. With sadness in his voice, he tells Luke he can't go back and goes to join Snoke.
• The Falcon departs wth Luke and Rey safely on board. They reach space to find the First Order and Resistance working together against this new threat. It's a battle they can't win. All forces retreat from Moraband.
• On the surface, Snoke is greeted by another being of the same species, Snoke's superior and as revealed in the conversation, his father. Snake's father congratulates his son and tells him their forces have launched simultaneous attacks across the galaxy. The heresy of the Jedi will soon be cleansed. When asked why Kylo Ren is still alive, Snoke says he believes that Kylo is the only one who can destroy the Skywalkers. When Snoke's father points out that Kylo is also a Skywalker, Snoke assures him that he too will die, finally getting rid of the heretical bloodline and bringing balance to the Force.
• Somewhere in space, General Hux and General Organa lead a mission debriefing, unlikely allies against this new, alien threat. As they hear of attacks all across the galaxy, Leia finds herself looking at her brother. He assures her this new war is far from over.
• Iris Out. Credits.

 

@jedisithor I like this very much, but I think there's not enough Rey in it.