One of the main twists of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was the revelation that Rey was the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine. Ahead of its release though, there were rumors that this revelation was a last minute addition to the film, but the timing of such a possibility doesn’t come together.
Matthew Wood, one of the movie’s principal sound editors, stated that Adam Driver recorded some ADR close to the film’s release to be used in the moments Kylo Ren is speaking while wearing his mask, and some have taken this to be when the line about “Rey Palpatine” was added in. However, Wood stated Driver’s dialogue was recorded on the same day he was a guest on Late Night With Seth Myers to promote the film, which was November 21st, 2019.
Of course, this doesn’t tie in with one of the multiple leaks that beset the production, with a story outline posted on Reddit back in August even containing the revelation a full three months before Driver recorded lines for the supposed afterthought. Even if the idea wasn’t already there at the beginning, it had certainly been thought up well before final edits were being made. At the very least, it was likely decided that something was needed to counter The Last Jedi’s far more interesting stance that Rey’s parents were nobodies, meaning that the destiny she forged was fully her own.
Some fans had already seen the twist coming due to it being completely and utterly stupid, and it was something I myself predicted four years ago after The Force Awakens due to my growing contempt for J.J. Abrams and my assumption that Rey’s intuitive wielding of the Force would be declared to require some narratively quantifiable explanation.
It’s a matter of personal preference whether or not you think the Rey/Palpatine twist added anything to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, or was just another example of the Sequel Trilogy’s need to connect every single detail back to the originals. Whatever your thoughts on it though, it was indeed a part of the story for a long time and not just something added in late in the day, as had been rumored.
