Star Wars' finale would've been titled 'Duel of the Fates,' Colin Trevorrow confirms

Early versions of scripts are always rumor-laden and tough to confirm. What was originally considered, what was simply first draft material, and what was never even put in front of decision-making eyes? All those questions become endlessly more complicated when the script is for something as deeply secretive, corporately complicated, and culturally loaded as the final film in Star Wars’ Skywalker saga. But, though there is still plenty fans don’t know about writer/director Colin Trevorrow’s jettisoned screenplay for Episode IX, they now know what he would’ve called it.

With unconfirmed leaks happening on a large scale last week, it seemed like everyone and their Bantha had a copy of Trevorrow’s script — breakdowns, diagnoses, and more of the screenplay (which allegedly featured plenty of Coruscant, Rose Tico, and Chancellor Hux) were everywhere on the internet. But the Jurassic World helmer remained publicly mum on the subject until now. Trevorrow tweeted out that some Star Wars concept art out there actually showed events from his version of the finale, entitled Duel of the Fates.

Take a look:

So…Duel of the Fates. Wasn’t that already a Star Wars thing? Like, the best song of the prequels, courtesy of the legendary John Williams? Yes, “Duel of the Fates” was originally composed for the final, force field-impeded lightsaber battle between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul at the end of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The song, which rules, long outlasted Jinn (whose final moments it preceded) thanks to its status as a recurring motif throughout the rest of the prequel films, video games, shows — even when Maul appears briefly in Solo.

So what significance does that title play as a potential ending to the Skywalker saga? Well, the death of Qui-Gon Jinn could be seen as the catalyst that kicked off the whole sordid affair. Jinn’s responsibility for Anakin Skywalker moved on to Kenobi, whose emotions were perhaps overly entangled in the situation, leading — eventually — to Vader and Palpatine’s reign.

Looking more at the evidence presented, the concept art in question shows Leia reenacting her famous R2-D2 data smuggling pose with BB-8, a double-bladed lightsaber in the hands of Rey, C-3PO mourning the fried husk of R2, and a Vader vs. Kylo Ren duel. The only comment Trevorrow had about the images was that R2 was still alive, even if he got shot in the dome.

Meanwhile, in the version of reality that gave Star Wars fans The Rise of Skywalker, Warwick Davis confirmed that the little Ewok seen in the film was not only played by his real-life son, but was canonically the son of his own Ewok character, Wicket. So at least the film has that going for it.