Star Wars 9 Had to Be Edited On Set Due to Tight Schedule

J.J. Abrams is indeed back behind the camera for "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," but details on the final installment of the Skywalker saga have been kept scarce. There was a  teaser trailer and an Vanity Fair cover story with never-beore-seen photos. Otherwise, we will likely have to wait a few more weeks, maybe months, before we see a proper full-length trailer being released.

The shoot for this final installment, something Disney is banking on to save the brand, have been nothing but ordinary. Take or example the peculiar editing process  ' The Rise of Skywalker' editor Maryann Brandon was tasked to do.  Brandon recently revealed  that she literally cutting part of the movie on set as it was still being shot. Time constraints between the shoot and upcoming December released of the film required an editor editing the movie on-set. Something I have never heard happen before.

Speaking with Express, Brandon explained it was actually her idea to edit the film on-set:

“When we did The Force Awakens, we started in May and we finished shooting in October, and we were out [the following] Christmas. For this film, we didn’t start until August, so we weren’t done until February shooting – so we have four months less time, and it’s a very big film. So I convinced J.J. to let me cut on the set. He was like, ‘No, we never do that.'

This experimental approach to filmmaking is no doubt risky but it seems like it ended up making everyone on-set a little more focused and attentitive to nailing the details of the mise-en-scene.

 “I had the [director of photography] right there to ask questions. If I needed a shot, or if J.J. decided we needed another shot, we would set up in a corner and get a green screen shot of something. Getting to know the cast and having them be comfortable with me, it was a really great way to understand what they were going through.”

Could this be the beginning of something new in filmmaking? Well, it does make sense. Editing on set can also make it easy to see what’s working and what isn’t when it’s all cut together. Being able to pick up shots while the sets and actors are still in place is significantly easier than waiting to see what they need in the editing room.

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is set to hit theaters December 20, 2019