The Dark Redemption

The Dark Redemption
Director(s)	Peter Mether
Producer(s)	Peter Mether, Warren Duxbury
Writer(s)	Peter Mether, Dwight Boniecki, Derek Curtis
Starring	David Wheeler, Leah McLeod, Damian Rice, Jason Chong
Music by	Craig Sue, William Bowden, and Nitocris
Distributor	TheForce.net
Released	March 5, 1999
Runtime	25 min
Budget	$30,000 ($AU 50,000)
Language	English
Timeline	0 BBY
Era	Rise of the Empire era Rebellion era
Preceded by	Knightquest
Followed by	Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

[Source]

The Dark Redemption is a 1999 Australian fan film which was made using the studio grounds of Foxtel in Sydney. This follows the story of how the plans for the Death Star were sent to Princess Leia's ship the Tantive IV as well as Han Solo's escape from Kessel which results in a bounty being put on his head by Jabba the Hutt. The film came under attack by Lucasfilm due to the fact that the story is constructed within the Star Wars canon.

Opening crawl

THE DARK REDEMPTION There is a state of emergency in the Galaxy. Tension is high with Imperial forces seizing control of the OLD REPUBLIC spice mining colony of Kessel. Hopes for the Rebel Alliance lie in the hands of Jedi Mara Jade who is being detained on Kessel. The prisoner is suspected of holding plans to the Empire's top secret DEATH STAR project. In an attempt to maintain a hold on valuable shipments of Kessel's contraband spice, Jabba the Hutt has dispatched the bounty hunter Boba Fett to the planet to strike a deal…

Plot

Two days before Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Rebel Alliance agent Mara Jade is imprisoned on Kessel. Unbeknownst to all, Mara holds the Death Star plans given to her by Kyle Katarn. Upon being rescued by Zev Senesca and Klaus Vanderon, and their Aqualish ally, Hah'Shyyk, she forwards the plans to Princess Leia's ship.

At the same time, Boba Fett makes a deal with Commander Garrock to ensure that Han Solo's spice will reach Jabba the Hutt. Fett also attempts to stop the Rebels from escaping Kessel, but is forced to help them when his prior contract (to ensure the spice transportation) requires it.

However, (ostensibly) to create a diversion, Mara jumps into the reactor core. Zev and Klaus assume her dead and make their escape.

Meanwhile, Han Solo dumps the spice as a tactic to avoid capture - snidely remarking that he can handle Jabba the Hutt. The Millennium Falcon escapes.

Blamed for his incompetence in the apparent fiasco, Garrock is summarily executed by Darth Vader.

The success of Mara's mission sets things in motion for the Battle of Yavin. Yet Mara is shown to be an Imperial mole...kneeling before the Emperor, in his throne room on the Death Star, with Vader by his side. Dressed in her Emperor's Hand garb, her fealty to Palpatine is fully revealed. The entire Operation Skyhook has been a scheme by Darth Sidious to ferret out the Rebel Alliance for extermination (much like the leaking of the plans for the second Death Star).

Cast

Cmdr. Garrock ... David Wheeler

Mara Jade ... Leah McLeod

Zev Senesca ... Damian Rice

Klaus Vanderon ... Jason Chong

Boba Fett ... Martin Greus

Lt. Pol Treidum ... Peter Sumner

Darth Vader ... Ben Craig

General Towa and Voice of Darth Vader ... Alan Cinis

Emperor Palpatine ... Drew Sneddon

Voice of Emperor Palpatine and Cantina Alien ... William Bowden

Kyle Katarn ... Nathan Harvey

Hah'Shyyk Baba ... Michelle Ellard

Lt. Arras and Rebel officer ... Andrew Gibson Maynard

Lt. Drovas ... Jake Downs

Lt. Raltar ... David Lucas

Lt. Vallie ... Will Usic

Lt. Tighe ... David Edwards

Capt. McDougal and Imperial Officer ... Robert McDougal

Bitha Tah' … Tabitha

Ramsa Lenam … Jabba

Zelig, Kessel Slave Miner, and voice of Cantina Alien … Yul Kannan

Royal Guard, Stormtrooper, and Imperial Officer … Daniel Budd

Stormtrooper and Boba Fett (double) … Warren Duxbury

Stormtrooper … Jason Keur

Imperial Officer … Gus Araya

Imperial Officer … David Tomley

Imperial Officer … Anita Blake

Imperial Officer and Stormtrooper … Scott Page

Cantina Alien … Debbie Blake

Cantina Alien … Peter Clark

Cantina Alien … Katie Newman

Cantina Alien … Jo Watson

Cantina Alien … Mark Breust

Cantina Alien … Michael Johnstone

Cantina Alien … Daryl Samuels

Cantina Alien … Craig Webb

Cantina Alien and Royal Guard … Ken Bright

Cantina Alien … Bryson Shafer

Cantina Alien … Katrina Muir

Cantina Alien … Rob Kabel

Voice of Cantina Alien … Ainsley Crabbe

Voice of Cantina Alien … Dean Friske

Jawa … Kale Bullen

Jawa … Eddie Cinis

Jawas … Kristy and Trent Hannah

Kessel Slave Miner and Stormtrooper … Lufti Hady

Kessel Slave Miner and Stormtrooper … Trent Perman

Kessel Slave Miner … James Koch

Kessel Slave Miner … Fran Mether

Kessel Slave Miner … Geoff Mether

Kessel Slave Miner … Dominic Baudish

Kessel Slave Miner … Lisa Watkinson

Kessel Slave Miner … Andrew Oliver

Kessel Slave Miner … Anthony Brennan

Kessel Slave Miner … Peter Watson

Kessel Slave Miner … Kirralee Taylor

Kessel Slave Miner … Andrea Stenway

Kessel Slave Miner … Mathew Cooley

Kessel Slave Miner … Darrin Campbell

Kessel Slave Miner … Kendall Bastion

Kessel Slave Miner … Dorothea Damberg

Kessel Slave Miner … Marty Keller

Kessel Slave Miner … Michael Liddel

Kessel Slave Miner … Simon Miller

Kessel Slave Miner … Helen Sattler

Kessel Slave Miner … Tanya Towell

The voice of Han Solo goes uncredited in the film.

Crew

Director … Peter Mether

Executive Producers … Warren Duxbury

Producers … Peter Mether and Warren Duxbury

Writers … Peter Mether, Dwight Boniecki, and Derek Curtis

Music … Craig Sue, William Bowden, and Nitocris

Reaction from Lucasfilm

We've been very clear all along on where we draw the line. We love our fans. We want them to have fun. But if in fact somebody is using our characters to create a story unto itself, that's not in the spirit of what we think fandom is about. Fandom is about celebrating the story the way it is.

Due to the fact that The Dark Redemption places the story within the Star Wars canon, the film came under fire by Lucasfilm and it was excluded from the Star Wars Fan Film Awards and its website, (http://www.thedarkredemption.com), was forcibly shut down. This triggered a reaction from fans saying that they wished to share their own Star Wars fantasies, not to dilute the mythology that inspired them or the revenue that Lucas derives from it.

Recently, Lucasfilm's policy toward fan films has changed, turning a blind eye if they are not made for profit.

Trivia

• The movie is an alternate non-canon version of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
• The movie's logo (The Dark Redemption) replaces the Star Wars logo during the opening crawl, which doesn't have the movie title. It also had a cold opening of Mara Jade thrown into a cell, after A long time ago in galaxy far, far away… is displayed.
• Since Mara Jade was born in 17 BBY, she would have been 17 at the time. Additionally, her actress, Leah McLeod, was 28, when the film was released.
• Kyle Katarn appears bearded in the film, unlike his appearance in Star Wars: Dark Forces. However it is disputed whether he had a beard or not during this timeframe. Surprisingly, Jan Ors and the Moldy Crow were never seen nor mentioned in the film.
• Original Star Wars cast member - Australian actor, Peter Sumner - joined the ensemble cast, reprising his role as Imperial Officer Lt. Pol Treidum.
• The story also shed light to how Han came to be wanted by Jabba. According to canon, Han smuggled glitterstim, when boarded by an Imperial patrol and had to dump his load. Han never did recover the spice.
• Tydirium was a Lambda-class shuttle stolen by the Rebel Alliance around the time of the Battle of Endor.
• The film depicts Vader's flagship, the Executor, in the timeline prior to it's construction as depicted in the licensed Dark Horse Classic Star Wars comics. Lately, newer sources such as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed have shown the Executor being used by Vader before it's construction was completed. That retcon has made its appearance here plausible.
• C-3PO, R2-D2, and Captain Antilles were unseen, but on board, the Tantive IV.
• Mara was never actually trained as a Dark Jedi, she was a grey Force user even during her service to Palpatine. She also got Luke's green lightsaber five years after the Battle of Endor.
• Since Garrock's Imperial rank is a commander, his rank badge has five red rectangles above five blue rectangles close to each other, rather than three red rectangles above three blue rectangles separating from each other and two code cylinders. His Imperial military uniform looks different than the other Imperial officers. Additionally, he is credited as Garrock in the ending credits.
• General Towa has two code cylinders instead of one, and his rank badge rectangles (four red rectangles above four blue rectangles) were close to each other, rather than separating from each other.
• Hah'Shyyk Baba might be related to Ponda Baba (Dr. Evazan's partner) since they both have the same surname.
• Kessel is a low-oxygen planet.
• Boba Fett's ship, Slave I, is a Firespray-class, not a survey craft.
• The music in the closing credits is the song "Dark Side" by the once popular band Nitocris, from Sidney, Australia.
• The music playing in the Kessel cantina is "Dirty and Delicious" by Nitocris.
• One of the cantina aliens on Kessel looks like a Gorn from Star Trek.
• Bitha Tah' is an anagram of Tabitha, her actress.
• Geoff and Fran Mether are related to Peter Mether in real-life, as well as Eddie and Alan Cinis, Daniel and Craig Webb, and also Kristy and Trent Hannah.
• Mara Jade and Kyle Katarn are the only 2 EU characters in the film.

Characters

• Captain Antilles (Indirect appearance)
• Hah'Shyyk Baba
• C-3PO (Indirect appearance)
• Chewbacca (heard only)
• Boba Fett
• Commander Garrock
• Jabba the Hutt (Mentioned only)
• Mara Jade
• Kyle Katarn (appears in hologram)
• Princess Leia (Indirect appearance)
• Ramsa Lenam
• Admiral Melaan
• Emperor Palpatine (Darth Sidious)
• R2-D2 (Indirect appearance)
• Zev Senesca
• Han Solo (heard only)
• Bitha Tah'
• Grand Moff Tarkin (Mentioned only)
• General Towa
• Lieutenant Pol Treidum
• Darth Vader
• Klaus Vanderon
• Zelig

Ships

• TIE/ln starfighter
• Imperial-class Star Destroyer
• Death Star
• Lambda-class T-4a shuttle (Tydirium)
• Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft (Slave I)
• YT-1300 light freighter (Millennium Falcon)
• X-wing starfighter
• CR90 corvette (Tantive IV)
• Executor-class Super Star Destroyer (Executor)
• YV-666 light freighter

Events

• Galactic Civil War
  • Mission to Danuta (Indirect appearance)

Organizations and titles

• Alliance to Restore the Republic
  • Princess (Indirect appearance)
  • Rebel pilot (Indirect appearance)
  • Rebel fleet trooper
• Bounty hunter
• Chewbacca's family (Heard only)
• Clan Fett
• First Mate (Heard only)
• Galactic Empire
  • Emperor's Hand
  • Emperor's Royal Guard
  • Galactic Emperor
  • Imperial officer
    • Admiral
    • Captain
    • Commander
    • General
    • Grand Moff (Indirect mention only)
    • Lieutenant
  • Imperial Navy trooper
  • Stormtrooper
    • Sandtrooper
  • TIE fighter pilot (Indirect appearance)
• Katarn family (Appears in hologram)
• Order of the Sith Lords
  • Sith apprentice
  • Sith Lord
  • Sith Master
• Organa family (Indirect appearance)
• Palpatine family
• Senesca family
• Skywalker family
• Smuggler (heard only)
• Solo family (heard only)
• Tarkin family (Mentioned only)
• Vanderon family

Locations

• The galaxy
  • Outer Rim Territories
    • Kessel sector
      • Kessel system
        • Kessel
          • Garrison Moon
          • Kessel prison
          • Spice mines of Kessel
          • Kessendra
• Anoat (Mentioned only)
  • Anoat City (Mentioned only)

Weapons and technology

• Armor
  • Darth Vader's armor
  • Mandalorian armor
  • Stormtrooper armor
• Code cylinder
• Comlink
• Death Star plans
• Fex-M3
• Force pike
• Hologram
• Jetpack
  • Z-6 jetpack
• Whipcord launcher
• Rocket dart
• Blaster
  • EE-3 carbine rifle
  • Blaster rifle
    • E-11 blaster rifle
• Lightsaber
  • Darth Vader's lightsaber (Indirect appearance)
• Laser
• Officer's disk
• Tractor beam

Creatures

• Mythosaur (as armor sigil)

Sentient species

• Aqualish
  • Quara
• Bith
• Human
  • Alderaanian (Indirect appearance)
  • Clone
  • Corellian (heard only)
  • Cyborg
  • Eriaduan (Indirect mention only)
  • Naboo
  • Sulonese (appears in hologram)
• Hutt (Indirect mention only)
• Jawa
• Ramsa Lenam's species
• Rodian
• Trandoshan
• Wookiee (heard only)
  • Rwook (heard only)

Droids

• 3PO-series protocol droid (Indirect appearance)
• IT-O interrogator droid
• Kesselian spice-mining droid
• MSE-6 series mouse droid
• R2-series astromech droid (Indirect appearance)
• R5-series astromech droid

Miscellanea

• Alcohol
• Alien
• Aurebesh
• Bandoiler (Indirect appearance)
• Blood
• Breast
• Cockpit
• Color
• Death
• Death Star project
• Droid
• Ear
• Eye
• Galaxy
  • Star
    • Star system
      • Planet
      • Moon
      • Asteroid (Mentioned only)
• Hair
• Hyperspace
• Imperial military uniforms
  • Rank insignia plaque
• Language
  • Aqualish
  • Basic
  • Shyriiwook (heard only)
• Lightspeed
• Reactor
• Spice
• The Force
  • Force power
    • Force choke
    • Force lightning
    • Force push
• Wookiee breath (as insult)
• Zeyd cloth

Music played in The Dark Redemption

• "Darkside" (Nitocris)
• "Dirty and Delicious" (Nitocris)

External links

• The Dark Redemption at TheForce.Net
• The Dark Redemption at the Internet Movie Database