The Skywalker Saga came to an end not with a bang, but an unimaginative whimper.
At least, that’s the critical consensus on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, a film shackled by great expectations and an unrelenting need to honor everything that came before… save for The Last Jedi. Yes, Episode IX was not without its faults, but in the interest of retaining some semblance of mystery around the J.J. Abrams-directed flick, we’ll refrain from divulging any spoiler-sensitive information on this side of the jump.
However, for those who have seen the film, there’s a pretty interesting Twitter thread doing the rounds which claims that the movie’s final scene is comprised of an edited shot lifted from Rey’s time on Pasanna, where she quickly discovers the true extent of her powers.
Spoilers to follow!
Still with us? Below you’ll see that Twitter thread in question, which claims that The Rise of Skywalker‘s final shot – the one of Rey standing next to BB-8 under the twin suns of Tatooine – is actually a duplicate from the one featuring Rey on Pasanna, where she’s staring down the barrel of Kylo Ren’s oncoming ship.
Even at first glance, there are some interesting parallels – the dangling fabric, Rey’s overall posture – though it’s impossible to know for sure whether this scene is a duplicate. If that is the case though, it may well indicate that Ben Solo’s death was decided quite late on in the creative process, which would certainly explain the lack of footage featuring Adam Driver’s conflicted anti-hero during The Rise of Skywalker finale.
Here’s a snippet from Twitter:
The shot of Daisy “standing in front of the twin suns” is very clearly taken from the footage of her standing on Passana, waiting for the Tie Fighter. pic.twitter.com/NWtBQUz3Jc
— benjamin chewbacca organa skywalker solo (@im_organa) December 30, 2019
So many questions, so few answers. Truth be told, the debate surrounding Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will no doubt continue to rage well into 2020, but one thing’s for sure: this is really the end of the Skywalker Saga, as Lucasfilm and head honcho Kathleen Kennedy double down on The Mandalorian and the new film trilogy which is due to begin in 2022.
