Reylo shippers were devastated by the ending ofStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, in which Rey dies and Ben Solo transfers his lifeforce into her to bring her back to life, sacrificing himself in the process and mirroring the redemption arc ofDarth Vader in the original trilogy. In a yet-to-be-published interview with Sariah Wilson, Daisy Ridley revealed that no version ofThe Rise of Skywalker– from the earliest rough cut to the second-to-last cut – ended with Ben Solo’s survival.
It’s widely known thatThe Rise of Skywalker’s script was changed a lot during production. At one point, Ridley wastold that Rey was a Kenobidescendant before she was confirmed to be a Palpatine. But despite the accelerated shooting schedule (owing to the fact that J.J. Abrams wasn’t the first choice to direct) and the fact that Disney needed the movie to be a hit, the studio apparently didn’t enforce any changes to the director’s vision. Early last year, after the #ReleaseTheJJCut hashtag started trending, Abrams’ childhood friend Greg Grunberg (who played Snap Wexley in the sequel trilogy) shut down rumors that Abrams wasn’t happy withThe Rise of Skywalkerand that there was an alternate cut out there somewhere.
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According to a tweet posted by Wilson ahead of the interview’s release, Ridley said that there were only ever two options forThe Rise of Skywalker’s ending: “kiss or no kiss.” Ben was always going to die – Ridley said his death was “the only thing [in the script] that never changed from the beginning” – but whether or not he would kiss Rey before dying was a difficult decision. Some fans felt that the kiss had semi-incestuous overtones since Rey added herself to Ben’s family tree in the very next scene, but this isStar Wars, after all. Ridley added that there was never any dialogue in the scene besides Rey saying, “Ben,” and then saying, “No, no, no, no,” when he dies.
Although Abrams’ vision forThe Rise of Skywalkermight not have been compromised, Lucasfilm did clash withEpisode IX’s original director, Colin Trevorrow. After Trevorrow penned a script titledDuel of the Fates, Kathleen Kennedy got cold feet about his vision and ended up replacing him with Abrams, who threw out Trevorrow’s script and started from scratch. In the months sinceThe Rise of Skywalkerhit theaters, some tantalizing details have been revealed aboutDuel of the Fates: Rey really was a nobody,Finn and Rose had much bigger roles, and Luke’s Force ghost confronted Kylo Ren, who wasn’t redeemed.
WhileThe Rise of Skywalkermarked the end of the Skywalker saga, theStar Warsfranchise is still very much alive. At Disney’s recent Investor Day event, Lucasfilm announced a boatload of newStar Warsprojects.Wonder Woman’s Patty Jenkins is directingRogue Squadronfor a 2023 release while Marvel’s Taika Waititi and Kevin Feige are each working on their own secretiveStar Warsmovies. There are also December 2025 and December 2027 release dates set for untitledStar Warsprojects and, thanks toThe Mandalorian’s runaway success, Disney Plus will soon be filled withStar Warsshows.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkeris now available on Disney Plus.
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