A recently completedStar Warsfan project has edited theAhsokaseries into one film, fixing a lot of issues audiences had with the landmark Disney+ adventure. The subject of a lot of buildup over many years,Ahsokafinally broughtGrand Admiral Thrawninto live-action, and answered the burning question ofEzra Bridger’s fate followingStar Wars Rebels. InStar Warsfan Kai Patterson’s edit, however, things go a little smoother.
The overall reception toAhsokawas lukewarm, with many appreciating its story, score, and cast, while others criticized its visuals, pace, and character development. This, together with previous experiencere-editingObi-Wan Kenobiinto a feature-length film, has resulted inAhsoka: The Patterson Cut, a fan edit of the series that changes a lot about the intergalactic story. Here are the top 10 ways this excellent fan edit actually improves on the series.
10A Cleaner Beginning, Focused On The Villains
No Map Quests or E-Wings
The beginning of Patterson’s cut ofAhsokais one of the biggest changes from the original series. Because of its significantly shorter runtime, the edit removes Ahsoka’s original discovery of the map to Peridea, the E-Wing chase, and every bit of action that happens on Lothal from the story.This makes the pacing work significantly better, with Baylan and Morgan reaching Seatos within the first 10 minutes of the runtime.
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This causes a little bit of a shift in Sabine’s characterization, but her overall story definitely still works. It also removes Sabine and Ahsoka’s earlier interactions, shifting their initial meeting until the point at which they depart Lothal, removing a lot of developmental time for Sabine from the beginning of the story.While reducing Sabine’s impact on the map to Peridea side of the story, this drastically improves the pacing.
9Small VFX Changes
Lightsabers & Helmets
Some changes are much more subtle, requiring a detailed eye to notice, and those are the small VFX changes Patterson implemented. For example, Sabine no longer trains withHuyangwith a wooden saber, but actually uses her lightsaber.In another change, Shin Hati’s eyes turn yellow like a Sith during her duel on Seatos.
Along with those, almost every lightsaber is redone to more accurately reflect the movies, and that even includes theBlade of Talzinwielded by Morgan Elsbeth. Most significantly,a common fan criticism is addressed with the removal of Ezra’sNight Trooperhelmet upon his arrival atHome One. InThe Patterson Cut, Ezra doesn’t do a fake-out on Hera and the otherNew Republicsoldiers, and simply walks up without his helmet.
8Much Better Color Grading
More Colorful, Less Gray
A common criticism ofAhsokawas its visuals, tied into its creative choices that affected them. Many called into question the grayness of the series overall, with a distinct difference from its predecessor,Star Wars Rebels, which was often very cinematic and warm visually. Thankfully,The Patterson Cutimproved the color grading, overall saturation, and contrast ofAhsokain several sequences.
There appeared to be an increased saturation across all the Peridea scenes, making the desolate world feel a bit more alive and otherworldly. The events on Seatos were upped in contrast, sometimes resulting in amateur-looking shadows, but mostly improving the sequences and making them feel more appropriately gothic. Corellia is where the biggest changes seemingly happened, though, with a much more saturated sky and a fuller range of white and black values across the sequence there.
7Lightsaber Choreography Improvements
Faster & More Intense
Ahsokafeatured a seriously high number of lightsaber duels, andThe Patterson Cuttakes a note from George Lucas to improve them: “faster - more intense”. The choreography behind lightsaber fights is hard to master.Ahsokabrought in some good technique, but it sometimes fell short of the sheer speed associated with duels in the prequel trilogy.
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Patterson improves this by seemingly speeding up clips across all the series' duels, and eliminating standstill moments in between strikes. This definitely helps with speed and pacing, while making each fight feel a lot more dangerous for the combatants. These incremental changes all add up in the runtime as well, making the whole film flow better.
6An Opening Crawl Is Added
More Context, More Star Wars
Once again, in the beginning ofThe Patterson Cut, an opening crawl is added to this film. This is a huge contribution that makes the entire series feel much more like the rest of theStar Warsepisodic saga. Perfectly matched in execution, and increasing in cinematic appeal, this is a fantastic change.
Ahsokaalready had a distinct, red opening crawl as a series, though, and this edit also changes that a bit.Beyond the obvious visual differences, Patterson’s crawl contains information about the star map, explaining away Ahsoka Tano’s original first scene in a succinct and effective, yet veryStar Wars,way.
5Ahsoka & Sabine Are Reunited Later
The Rebels Ending Is Preserved
One of the most interesting things thatAhsokadid was almost completely recontextualize the epilogue toStar Wars Rebels. As practically a sequel to the animated series, it makes sense that this scene would have an impact onAhsoka, but nobody expected it to be changed as much as it was within the wider narrative, especially considering inaccuracies involving Sabine’s haircut.The Patterson Cutfixes all of this, and then some.
Star Wars Rebels
Cast
Set between Episodes III and IV of the Star Wars film franchise, Star Wars Rebels is a canon animated series that follows a group of ragtag heroes who band together to face the Empire. In an age where the Galactic Empire is hunting down the last of the Jedi, a teenage outcast named Ezra Bridger is discovered to be force sensitive by a surviving Jedi known as Kanan Jarrus. Agreeing to join them and accept Jedi training, Ezra becomes a part of a small but growing crew of rebels determined to destroy the empire covertly.
In the fan edit, the departure from Lothal is the first time Ahsoka and Sabine see each other, and the continuity-defying shots of Sabine seeing the Jedi shuttle fly overhead are gone.Instead, Sabine receives a transmission from Ahsoka announcing that she thinks she’s found a way to Ezra, and then Sabine cuts her hair to meet Ahsoka again. A small shift, but one that preserves connections toRebels, and makes the departure the beginning of Sabine’s journey rather than just a step on it.
4A Better Paced Edit
Show Don’t Tell
In general,The Patterson CutmakesAhsokainto a much quicker story in all the best ways. The series as it originally released was often bogged down by slow conversations – and not the good kind. Slow conversations absolutely have their place inStar Wars, as evident in almost every movie in the series. However,Star Warsalso has an energy to it thatAhsokawas notably missing.
Lots of repetitive conversations with Ahsoka, Hera, and Huyang were removed, along with discussions between Baylan and Morgan, and more. This altogether made the entire storyline feel more dynamic, allowing for actions to speak for themselves. Things aren’t explained, they happen and are reacted to with more actions – much more than in the original series.
3Less Night Troopers?
Fast Pacing, More Action
One of the biggest shifts involved in streamlining the events on Peridea was the almost complete removal of focus on the Night Troopers. This doesn’t seem like a positive change at first, as the zombie stormtroopers were a highlight for many viewers. In terms of pacing, however, this is a heavy-lifting change.
The Night Troopers are, of course, still present in the story. They still provide quite a threat to our heroes, especially upon raiding theGreat Mothers' Fortress, but are never directly focused on like they are in the series. Instead,the audience simply understands that they’re zombies visually, and they still prove to be formidable enemies, while not taking up nearly as much time on screen.
2Everything On Peridea Is Streamlined
The Story Feels More Cinematic
The final three episodes ofAhsokatake place almost completely on the extra-galactic world of Peridea. This means that around two hours of story take place there, bringing the pacing of the series to a major shifting point. Patterson fixes this as well, streamlining Peridea’s story into what feels like much more of a single string of events.
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Morgan and her crew arrive at Peridea about 80 minutes into the 157-minute film, about halfway through, and this lack of meandering on Peridea is felt.Everything that happens there has been boiled down to the absolutely necessary, making the story flow better and the stakes feel more real. It feels less like a week on Peridea, and more like an action-packed day or two. Everything there serves character or narrative development, making it much more exciting than in the series.
1Anakin Vs Ahsoka On Malachor
Another Setting In The World Between Worlds
DuringAhsoka’sWorld Between Worldsvision quest, Tano walks through various battles from her past - from Teth to Ryloth and eventually Mandalore, where Anakin never actually was. InThe Patterson Cut, however, there is one more location that is completely added via clever VFX. It’s a key location they’ve been to before.
At the end of their duel, where Ahsoka usually falls back onto the light bridge in the World Between Worlds, she falls into the superweapon on Malachor.Malachor is the location where she last saw Anakin, making it an obvious choice for reliving her past and relationship with him– not to mention how significant this location is inRebels. This subtle yet impactful change is one of the best in the entireAhsokafan edit.
Ahsoka
Ahsoka follows the journey of former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy. Released in 2023, this series takes place within the Star Wars universe and features Ahsoka navigating through a complex political and cosmic landscape.
