Web Animation Watch Special: 'The Cancelled Star Wars Episode 9 Animated' and More

In the world of cinema, it's not uncommon for a film to go through more than one iteration before it finally reaches the screen. And for those of us who follow movie news and developments, it can be tempting to wonder what it would be like if those earlier versions had made it rather than the one we actually got to see. What would it be like if we could see James Cameron's Spider-Man, Guillermo del Toro's Hobbit, or Edgar Wright's Ant-Man? A recent example is Star Wars Episode 9,  which before it was ultimately made by JJ Abrams, was originally to be written and directed by Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow. Recent leaks revealed that  Trevorrow's version, which was to be titled Duel Of The Fates, would have been quite different from Abrams's Rise Of The Skywalker. And now, through the magic of animation, we get to see a little of what it would have been like.

The original is recreated in a new video from YouTuber Mr Sunday Movies, aka James Clement, who is also half of the popular (and hilarious) geek podcast The Weekly Planet. The video features Clement recounting the original plot from Duel of The Fates in his own inimitable style. The narration accompanies an animated version of his recreation, produced by animator and artist Ethan Taylor.

It's a fantastic piece of work. The visuals render the Star Wars universe in an adorable cartoony style that is very fitting for the video's comedic bent. Although Taylor animated the video in CG it has a distinct stop-motion style to it. It feels almost like a lost kid's show (UK audiences may get a slight Trumpton vibe).

In a neat inclusion, after the video itself, it includes some 'special features'. There's a couple of minutes of making-of/work-in-progress footage included at the end of the video. That's certainly a welcome touch for us animation nerds.

This is extremely polished and well produced, and if there is any justice should lead to Taylor getting a lot more work in animation.





This isn't the first time Mr Sunday Movies has released an animated video- although this is definitely the most ambitious. In fact, some time ago he released a video which in a similar style visualised an earlier version of Batman Vs Superman. This one used audio taken from The Weekly Planet, so it also co-stars the hilarious Nick 'Maso' Mason. Animation comes from Sean Willets.



Taylor has previously produced a pair of animated videos for the channel, set to audio from the podcast, and also bringing to life 'what if?', scenarios. Unlike the most recent collaboration, these videos are produced in 2D animation.





There's also a popular series of recreation of iconic scenes from Marvel and Star Wars movies in pixelated 16-bit style, including scenes from The Last Jedi, Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War.  Animated by John Stratman of 8-Bit Movie Trailers.




For more, find Mr Sunday Movies on Youtube here, and Ethan Taylor on Twitter and Instagram.