‘Duel Of The Fates’: Leaked Concept Art Gives A Better Look At Colin Trevorrow’s Aborted ‘Star Wars’ Film

Much like the stories they present, the world of films is filled with some incredible legend and lore. There are stories of actors turning down roles that could have been huge. Studios passing on projects that could have been amazing. Directors trying to push up their passion project up a mountain. And so on. Normally, these stories take years to surface, they become mythic over time, and they paint an intriguing picture of what could have been. Well, in the case of “Star Wars” and Colin Trevorrow’s unmade version of ‘Episode IX’ titled ‘Duel of the Fates,’ the lore is being shaped right now, as we speak— the director’s unused vision is being made public…just over a month after J.J. Abrams’ controversial, somewhat poorly-received ‘Rise of Skywalker’ was released.

READ MORE: Colin Trevorrow’s ‘Star Wars’ Episode IX’ Was Called ‘Duel Of The Fates’ & It’s True, All Of It

First, for months there were rumors about what might have been included in Trevorrow’s script (co-written with his writing partner Derek Connolly). Then, a full-on leak revealed details of a story that, we confirmed to be real and honestly, sounds pretty great (at least compared to ‘Rise’). And now, thanks to the folks over at Reddit, and the leakers wanting to get the word out on this film, we have some concept images that were developed alongside Trevorrow’s script that help add some visuals to the story of ‘Duel of the Fates.’

And yes, we’ve checked with some sources close to that project, and the concept art is real (it also obviously checks out with all the leaked script information beat for beat which we can confirm because… we might’ve read it).

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If you’ve not read and heard all the leaks about “Duel Of The Fates,” then the images might not mean much to you. But suffice to say, this art frames Trevorrow’s vision well, and in hindsight, seems like a pretty great way to cap off the story that began in ‘Force Awakens.’

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Images depict Rey in all her Jedi awesomeness, complete with a double-edged lightsaber that she crafted herself based on her staff and Luke Skywalker’s busted saber from ‘The Last Jedi.’ There are also pictures that show the current state of Coruscant, occupied by Chancellor Hux (everyone’s favorite First Order punching bag got a promotion) and the First Order, and battles between Kylo Ren and Luke’s Force Ghost, Rey, and a training sequence with Darth Vader (it all makes sense in the script, go read the Reddit breakdown if you haven’t already).

READ MORE: Colin Trevorrow Earned A ‘Rise Of Skywalker’ Writing Credit & Reveals Palpatine Wasn’t In His Script

However, perhaps one of the biggest reveals in the images is the face of Emperor Palpatine’s own Sith master, Tor Valum, who helps train Kylo Ren. While Palpatine makes a brief appearance (as a hologram), it’s Tor Valum that serves as the Sith Lord that helps Kylo — badly wounded early on in the film and taking on Darth Vader-like dimensions with Mandalorian iron being melted into his face — become the villain he was meant to be (no redemption here).

READ MORE: Colin Trevorrow Refutes Reported ‘Star Wars’ Spoilers From His Aborted Film That Included A Particularly Bad Origin Story For Rey

You can see more of the images below (along with some concept images from ‘Rise,’ which were mistakenly leaked as part of ‘Duel’ but definitely are not part of any Trevorrow script), but it’s abundantly clear, Trevorrow had a very different vision for ‘Episode IX’ than Abrams (and most likely, Lucasfilm) and one that doesn’t remotely try and undo the ideas and elements of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and instead, expand and embrace them. Of course, it’s important to note that this version of the script was clearly written at a time before Carrie Fisher had passed on— dated and delivered one week before her death —and when she could have been a larger part of the story. So, what changed in light of the actress’ death? That’s unclear, but we have heard that news reports of Leia confronting Kylo in various versions of Trevorrow and Connolly’s script— a face to face showdown? — have been greatly overstated by the trades.

READ MORE: Carrie Fisher Would’ve Been “Front And Center” Of ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’

Either way, the lore surrounding “Star Wars: Episode IX” continues to be written and it’s a very interesting, somewhat tragic story indeed. – Additional reporting by Rodrigo Perez

These concept images are from ‘Rise of Skywalker’ and not Trevorrow’s script: