One of the most hotly discussed aspects of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker has to be the controversial kiss between Jedi hero Rey and former leader of the First Order, Ben Solo.
Taking place near the tail-end of the film, the two central protagonists manage to steal a cheeky smooch just seconds before Ben bites the dust in Rey’s loving arms. While it’s a touchingly poignant moment of downtime set against a backdrop of breakneck action spectacle, some fans have dismissed this “Reylo” romance due to the prickly and abusive nature at the heart of their fraught relationship.
Interestingly, during a recent interview with The Huffington Post, the pic’s editor, Maryann Brandon, was asked about the specific thought process behind the divisive kiss and funnily enough, it turns out that it wasn’t actually what the studio had planned from the beginning of development.
I always said, ‘The movie will tell us whether they should kiss or not. We will know by the time we get to the end of our process, if it should happen.’ And I felt it should, and [director J.J. Abrams] agreed with me, and other people who saw the film agreed. I know it’s not for everybody. I know there will be people who wish they hadn’t, but this is a film that was never going to please everyone, and I think that the reviews are kind of reflective of that. The things that certain people love, other people hated. And that’s the phenomenon of ‘Star Wars.’
Clearly, one of the major issues of Disney’s closing chapter of the Skywalker saga – and the new Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, as a whole – has been a slightly uneven narrative and an overly rushed production schedule, which has resulted in tonal and story inconsistencies. That being said, it’s super interesting taking a sneak peek behind the curtain and hearing the thought processes behind the filmmakers’ intentions.
Furthermore, when Brandon was asked about the decision to have Ben Solo die at the end of the movie – like his grandfather Darth Vader before him – she stood by the conclusion for the former big bad, saying:
“He got his redemption, I think, in a lovely way. And right after he disappears, [his mother] Leia disappears. I’d like to think that they’re together.”
While it wasn’t exactly a great film per se, there’s still plenty to enjoy about Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. Besides, it’s impossible to please everybody and the recent backlash to the Rey’s dad revelation and the fans’ insistence to release an extended director’s cut is proof of this.
But how did you feel about the controversial kiss? Did you hate it? Did you love it? Grab your lightsabers and lipgloss and let us know in the usual place down below.
