“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” has been unleashed on the world for a little less than two weeks. In that short time, there have been hundreds of thinkpieces, incredible amounts of debate, and overall quote-unquote Discourse about the Skywalker Saga finale. And while fans seem to have very polarizing thoughts about the content of the film (as with any new “Star Wars” release), you can’t deny that there is definitely some artistry on display with the technical achievements in the film.
In a new interview on The Rought Cut podcast with Maryann Brandon, the editor of ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ she explained how even with a fairly long production cycle on the film, her and director JJ Abrams were working up to the very last minute to make sure the film was completed in time. In doing so, Brandon and Abrams had to go to fairly unorthodox lengths to get the work done.
The discussion begins with talk of how the director turnover (from Colin Trevorrow to Abrams) led to a production schedule that was shorter than they would have liked. In fact, Brandon and Abrams didn’t turn in their final cut of the film until the very last second and up until then still were using that time to shape the film.
“We were definitely still trying to figure out a lot of stuff,” said Brandon about the sped-up editing process.
The editor explained that they had three months less time to work on ‘Rise’ than with ‘The Force Awakens.’ This compacted timeframe meant that shortcuts had to be taken to ensure that the film met its release date.
“It’s a struggle. It affected everything,” she explained. “About a third of the way through, Kathy [Kennedy] was like, ‘JJ has got to spend more time in the cutting room.’ And I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Not with the schedule that we were on. Not with what he was dealing with on a daily basis…he was just exhausted at the end of the day.”
Brandon added, “So, I suggested I cut on the set…we had two tented rooms…so I just went wherever JJ was, usually 10 feet away from the camera, wherever the camera was. And I just mobile-y cut. And between takes, he could sit down with me and we could go over things.”
Brandon went on to say that JJ Abrams was apprehensive about the idea of editing on the go like that, but eventually, both of them warmed to the idea and it turned out to be “amazing.” Apparently, it was such a great experience that Brandon said that she’d like to “always” work with this new set up and that Abrams would be interested in using it on other productions as well.
As for the end result, the editor feels proud of the work she and Abrams accomplished during the post-production process. And she says that ultimately, doing the Skywalker Saga finale was a no-win situation for whoever took on the job.
READ MORE: The Events Of ‘Rise Of Skywalker’ Prove That ‘Star Wars’ Has A Canon Problem
“In a time when the whole world is polarized, it should not be a film that is polarizing,” Brandon explained. “Basically, the message of the film is, ‘Hey you know what? You can be bad and good can come into your life. And maybe if you’re open-minded to it, extraordinary things can change your mind. And you have to believe there’s always hope’”
She calls the final film a “no-win” situation when it comes to the reaction from fans and critics. And Brandon comments on the reviews can call ‘Rise’ just a fan-service film.
“Look, sure, it’s fan service and if you didn’t service the fans, it would be, ‘Oh, he didn’t go along with the history of “Star Wars” and what it all means,’” she said.
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is in theaters now.