So here comes what could be some major revelations that may change how you view TROS...  courtesy of an apparent insider who worked on the movie production.  If true, it would explain a LOT of the rumors that just swirled around this film for most of this year e.g. was Dr Who actor Matt Smith really playing a young Palpatine, possible a young clone, or was he one of the Knights of Ren.

The info was reported in this video, but for the convenience of my fellow Snowtroopers, I typed up the report so you can also just read the details below too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybJSuVcparI
Matt Smith’s Deleted Star Wars Rise of Skywalker Character Revealed & Other Leaks

Quote

- KK wanted Rian Johnson to direct eps9, but Iger wasn't impressed with TLJ and instead asked JJ to return for eps9
- JJ loathed TLJ and had a serious beef with RJ, and would only come back if he had total control and didn't have to compromise with KK and the Lucasfilm Story Group.

- JJ's first move was to consult with George Lucas for the story in eps9, they came up with a story that had strong connections to the Clone Wars cartoon which featured the Dagger of Mortis, and Matt Smith as the Son of Mortis (who would've been the film's antagonist).
- this story also used many elements from the unused Lucas sequel treatments

- but Disney really wanted the movie to be another Force Awakens in that it would unite all fans and be initially universally loved. After the TLJ backlash, the SOLO flop at the box office and the decline in SW merchandise, it was paramount that eps9 be a success with SW fans, they did not want another TLJ.

- the film's direction changed around midway of principal photography; JJ told Disney that this film would not satisfy and unite all the fans. This is where the studio meddling began, leading to the second abandonment of Lucas' ideas.

Nearly all the details were either abandoned or bastardized.

Palpatine was always to have a presence in this movie, but NOT alive or as the main villain (it was to be the Son of Mortis). Disney feared this would alienate the audience since they wouldn't know who the Son of Mortis was, making the movie harder to market, they were fearful of this JJ/Lucas cut that it would turn out to be another TLJ. This led to replacing the Son with Palpatine and thus removing Matt Smith completely from the movie.

Disney ordered extensive reshoots that went on right to October. JJ was not happy with many of the changes that were made to TROS. EVen JJ isn't at all pleased with the final product.

- from the reddit insider: JJ's original outline had Luke live until eps9 when he does die, but Rian, KK, and Kiri Hart wanted Luke dead in TLJ; the StoryGroup hates George Lucas, JJ Abrams, Colin Trevorrow, they only like Rian Johnson.

- the version in theatres now is the Iger cut, which is Disney changing the initial film into what they felt would be most profitable.

- Trevorow wanted both Luke AND Snoke alive for his version of eps9 (so he could explore Snoke's backstory). Could Colin's plan been for Snoke to have been the Son of Mortis?

It's mindblowing to me, because I would never have guessed that Lucas wanted The Son to be the villain (in hindsight, Snoke would've been perfect as a decrepit version of the Son AND it would verify what Andy Serkis said about Snoke being a creature that was thousands of years old... not merely a failed puppet clone of Palpy).

It also shows the incredible amount of FEAR that Disney had after TLJ's huge backlash... apparently fear doesn't lead to hate which leads to suffering, it leads to reshoots and more reshoots.  But Disney is going to make its money from general audiences not from hardcore SW fans, so in a way I can actually understand Iger not wanting some villain that only hardcore fans would even know about.

Just out of interest - has anyone gone to see it twice ?