Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was edited on set, reveals JJ Abrams' editor

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker editor Maryann Brandon reveals she edited the film on-set during production to save time as the project was already behind by four full months. 

Unlike The Rise of Skywalker, The Force Awakens wrapped in October 2014, and The Last Jedi concluded principal photography in July 2016 (nearly a year and a half before the film hit theaters). Post-production in a Star Wars movie, due to the big-budget, spectacle-driven nature can take a long time to complete. Though Episode IX has been on course for a Christmas 2019 premiere since the fall of 2017, the film was pushed back from its original date after JJ Abrams took over as director. Speaking at the Script to Screen series at the Carsey-Wolf Center, Brandon discussed what she did on Episode IX  to accomodate for lost time:

“When we did The Force Awakens, we started in May and we finished shooting in October, and we were out [the following] Christmas. For this film, we didn’t start until August, so we weren’t done until February shooting – so we have four months less time, and it’s a very big film. So I convinced JJ to let me cut on the set. He was like, ‘No, we never do that’.”

It is interesting to note that Abrams didn't finalise The Force Awakens until November 2015 - one month before the movie came out in theaters, and that's with four additional months of post-production time.

The final chapter in the Skywalker saga will release on December 20, 2019.