Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was not only divisive in terms of narrative choices, but also infuriatingly inconsistent with the continuity of the saga, leading many fans to wonder if Lucasfilm rushed the production to meet the release date.
The last entry in the Skywalker Saga saw the return of Palpatine in a final confrontation between the Sith and the Jedi while the remnants of the Resistance fought the Final Order to decide the fate of the galaxy. But the initial version of Episode IX as scripted by Colin Trevorrow was quite different than what we got in The Rise of Skywalker. From what we’ve been told, the director left the project due to creative differences with the head of Lucasfilm. That’s why when J.J. Abrams came on board, he had to rework the plot and write many things from scratch.
Ultimately, this resulted in a plot that feels convoluted and rushed, to say the least. Indeed, since its premiere back in December, Episode IX has come under fire many times for relying on fan-service moments and forsaking a sensible narrative in the process. The movie also compromised several established plot points, both from The Last Jedi and other Star Wars projects.
Namely, The Rise of Skywalker undermined Poe Dameron’s origin story in the official canon. As we know, Poe was the son of two Resistance fighters who eventually followed his parents’ footsteps by joining the fight after his time in the New Republic Defense Fleet. However, the last installment reveals that Poe was a spice-runner before joining the Resistance.
Obviously, this contradicts the established lore, though it would appear that Lucasfilm is trying to cover this mistake up by releasing a new novel called Poe Dameron: Free Fall. The book, which will drop on August 4th, details Poe’s early years as a headstrong teenager after the death of his mother on a journey to find out the kind of man he really is.
At any rate, this is just one of the details that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker managed to mess up in terms of continuity, but it’ll be interesting to see how Lucasfilm fits in this new narrative with Poe’s already established backstory prior to the last movie.
