A new leak claims that JJ Abrams was unsatisfied by several orders made by Disney in relation to his most recent Star Wars film.
One Reddit user is claiming that there were behind-the-scenes issues with the film from the off right through to its completion a few months back.
The report claims that Abrams was "devastated" by the film's final cut, which was 40 minutes shorter than he expected it would be.
Consequently, the phrase "Release the JJ cut" has begun trending on Twitter.
*Spoilers for the film below – you have been warned*
According to the leak, which cites bullet points from an alleged conversation with an anonymous person who worked on the film's production, Abrams was not a fan of the kiss shared between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) before the latter’s death. It is claimed to have been added by Disney to “please both sides of the fandom”.
Abrams reportedly shot a scene that would have gone down immensely well with die-hard fans.
The moment in question would have seen Star Wars actors Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Samuel L Jackson (Mace Windu) and Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) return as Force ghosts.
It’s claimed that these three actors shot scenes in costume and that, when their voices appear in the finished film, the dialogue is actually taken from this cut scene.
The scene is said to have been removed for unknown reasons, but its potential existence could explain why Christensen’s appearance on a Star Wars panel was cancelled at the last minute in September.
Since the film’s release last month, it has divided critics and audiences, with some highlighting the movie’s sense of adventure and others criticising it for its moments of fan-service.
Consequently, the film has a score of 57 per cent on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes – one of the lowest for any movie in the long-running Star Wars franchise.
Abrams recently revealed what he believes to be the answer to one of The Rise of Skywalker’s biggest mysteries: what Finn was about to say to Rey before getting sucked into the quicksand in Pasaana.
Find a list of every unexpected cameos in the film here.
