Anna Daniels
With #ReleaseTheJJCut trending on Twitter, Star Wars fans all want to know if there is a J. J. Abrams’ directorial cut. Right around the same time that the hashtag began trending, The Hollywood Reporter published an article of an interview with Dominic Monaghan. Let’s take a look at how Monaghan might have confirmed the source of the Reddit user’s claims.
Where did #ReleaseTheJJCut regarding ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ come from?
A recent Reddit post claims that Disney made several changes to the film that Abrams did not approve of. Star Wars fans took to social media demanding that Disney release the cut scenes by creating the hashtag: #ReleaseTheJJCut.
“J.J. [Abrams]’ original early November cut was three hours, two minutes long,” explained the Reddit user who claims to be “corresponding with someone who worked closely on the production of TROS.”
Star Wars fans want to see the director’s cut if it exists.
“Over a period of nine months, J. J. [Abrams] started realizing that one by one, his ideas and whole scenes were being thrown out the window or entirely altered by people who have ‘no business meddling with the creatives,’” wrote the Redditor.
Many fans believe that the Abrams’ cut is much better than The Rise of Skywalker that is playing in theaters.
What did Dominic Monaghan say that implies he believes there is a J. J. cut of ‘The Rise of Skywalker’?
In the new film, The Rise of Skywalker, Monaghan portrays Beaumont Kin, a Resistance fighter alongside Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) and Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix, played by Billie Lourd— the daughter of the late Carrie Fisher. The Lost and Lord of the Rings star asked Abrams numerous times to star in a Star Wars film. He finally got his wish with the latest installment, and it was everything he had hoped for.
“Oh, man, there was so much stuff,” Monaghan told The Hollywood Reporter. “But, I remember texting J.J. at the end of certain days and saying, ‘Oh my God, I can’t wait to see that.’ It was just extraordinary to even just be involved in that scene, and unfortunately, with the time constraints, they didn’t make it, or they changed things around.”
Monaghan explains that there are numerous scenes left out of the film that he hopes surface at some point.
“So, I’m hoping that if and when the DVD comes out that maybe they’ll add extras or they’ll have deleted, additional scenes,” the actor continued. “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,” Monaghan describes the cut scene. “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.”
It sounds like there are numerous scenes that did not make it into the final cut of the film.
Why do fans believe that Monaghan is implying there is a director’s cut of ‘The Rise of Skywalker’?
Fans took the interview with Monaghan to imply that there is indeed a director’s cut of the movie that needs to be released.
“Read between the lines,” wrote one Reddit user. “I get the feeling he implies a lot more than that. Keep in mind, if he does know something, he likely can’t answer directly either because of NDAs or just not wanting to get his friend, J. J., in more trouble than he’s already in.”
Several other fans agreed that Monaghan is confirming the Reddit source without coming out and saying it.
“I read it as him openly saying it could be true,” added another Redditor, “because that is explicitly what he said. He can’t confirm it, but he also refused to deny it. That certainly doesn’t close the door on this leak. Quite the opposite.”
Although Monaghan does not implicitly state that #ReleaseTheJJCut is true, he does not deny it. Therefore, fans will keep asking for it. You can catch the movie, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in theaters now.
Written by: Cheat
