The big-screen side of the Star Wars saga currently encompasses 10 movies (with an eleventh film premiering later this year), but if the entire multigenerational story was squeezed into a single film, it would probably look a lot like Star Wars: Always, a nonexistent movie teased in a 5-minute trailer created by actor Topher Grace and Jeff Yorkes.
Grace, already a well-known (and well-documented) Star Wars superfan, and video editor Yorkes assembled the trailer for Star Wars: Always with a mix of clips from all 10 existing films, sampling liberally from the original trilogy and three prequels, as well as the most recent episodic films (The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi). The pair even found a way to tie in moments from anthology films Solo: A Star Wars Story and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
It’s no surprise that the trailer initially focuses on Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), chronicling his experiences from the moment he receives his lightsaber from Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode IV: A New Hope through his climactic confrontation with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in The Last Jedi. Along the way, it weaves in the story of Luke’s father, Anakin (Hayden Christensen), and the elder Skywalker’s descent to the Dark Side, as well as the rise of young Jedi-in-training Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the recent films.
Amazingly, the trailer also does a nice job of summarizing the rise of the Galactic Empire in the prequels and the subsequent rebellion against the Empire, making use of both the prequels and several well-chosen scenes from Rogue One. Many of the series’ supporting cast members also get a nice (but brief) introduction, with Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Leia each receiving a surprisingly efficient preview of what their stories hold.
This isn’t the first time Grace and Yorkes have teamed up for a Star Wars summary.
In March 2012, the pair hosted a screening of an 85-minute film they created out of the prequel trilogy, condensing all three films into a single feature. The feature, titled Star Wars: Episode III.5: The Editor Strikes Back, used footage from the three prequels along with a few clips from the original trilogy and some music and other audio from various Star Wars tie-in projects and spinoffs. While the movie isn’t available online, it reportedly did a good job of encapsulating Anakin’s journey from aspiring Jedi to deadly Sith Lord.
A trailer for Star Wars: Episode III.5: The Editor Strikes Back did find its way online, however, but was eventually taken down.
