Cloning, dark science, secret director's cuts...

Wai-wai-wai-wait, is he saying that there's a better version of the movie out there? Because if that's the case, maybe we were all a little too quick to-huh? Who's saying what about what movie? Why Dominic Monaghan, that's who. Remember him? He was the exposition Hobbit from The Rise of Skywalker.

Pictured: The Exposition Hobbit. Spread it around,
hashtag it, whatever. Let's make this happen people.

 I had to make sure it wasn't some kind
of fever dream. Which, the jury's still out.

Yes, I know I said I was done talking about that movie, but I say a lot of things. And also, I am done with it, but I think what I'm asking is a broader question about director's cuts and deleted scenes as a phenomenon, rather than taking more shots at the mess that was TROS. Anyway, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Monaghan referred to additional material that wasn't used in the cut of the movie that we all sat through. Some of us twice. What? Don't look at me like that.

This still image is more screen
time than Kelly Marie Tran's Rose
Tico clocked in the entire movie.

"Like a lot of Star Wars fans, I'm hoping there will be a director's cut so we'll get to see more and more of the stuff that was filmed. I wasn't there all the time, but even in the short time that I was there, there was so much stuff filmed that didn't make it to the theatrical version...Oh, man there was so much stuff!"

-Dominic Monaghan, who was still in the 

movie way more than Kelly Marie Tran

I just want to be clear here: I don't have anything against Dominic Monaghan. He's fine. But I'm not sure he's quite put his finger on what went wrong with TROS. Like, the problem with it wasn't that there wasn't enough stuff in it. Sure, there were some plot lines that didn't make sense because scenes were cut, but if they were that cuttable, maybe they weren't that necessary in the first place? 

Look, that droid D-0 is cute, I mean, I'm not a monster, but did we need him in
the movie or is he just there to sell toys? And since when has Star Wars been
just about selling action figur-oh...wait, I...yeah I get it now. Never mind.

"Let's take that again, but this time,
less interesting. Just, really bore me."

-Joss Whedon, on set

But I said I wasn't really going to go on about Star Wars. Obviously I lied, but let's move on to the bigger question: how many tries does a movie get? There's been this internet demand for the maybe real, maybe not cut of Justice League made by the film's original director Zach Snyder who left the film after suffering a personal loss. If this cut exists, fans-wait, is it kinda weird that a movie nobody has seen has fans? Anyway fans insist that it's way better than the six-hour (slight exaggeration) Joss Whedon version. Which, it couldn't be worse, right?

But I guess what I want to know is did we-well, those of us who didn't care for TROS-all sit through a two and a half hour jumble of retcons and references to the original trilogy when there was a better version of it in Kathleen Kennedy's desk drawer or something? And if so, which is the real version? And how many tries do we give the movie before just giving up and admitting that nothing will ever meet everyone's expectations?

And perhaps the biggest question of all: Has a Star Wars
movie ever been improved upon with a special edition cut?