Just as the link between Luke and Vader brought emotional stakes to the original Star Wars trilogy, the connection between Kylo and Rey has proven crucial to the trajectory of this current series, and you can expect the messy relationship between these two frenemies to come to a head in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX.
This new rumor offers just one idea for how this shared arc could climax, and though the legitimacy of this report seems dubious, at the very least, it’s not a bad prediction for how the story could reach its emotional zenith. Express.co.uk relays the description of an alleged scene in which Kylo and Rey are seen hugging while kneeling on the ground inside a base. While Rey looks to be crying, Kylo rests his head on his shoulder, with rips visible on his clothing. In the background, there are ships seen leaving the sky and pilots running towards their starfighters.
If this leak is pure fakery – and quite frankly, it probably is – then it sounds like the leaker is trying to paint a picture here of a post-action scene, suggesting the moment where Kylo and Rey have finally worked through their differences after the pair’s inevitable lightsaber duel. And honestly, there are worse guesses to be made of where this could all be headed.
The Express piece tries to link this rumor to the report earlier this year that Daisy Ridley cried upon reading Colin Trevorrow’s original script, and while it’s unclear how many of the departed filmmaker’s ideas made J.J. Abrams’ eventual screenplay, it’s easy to see next year’s film packing a weepy finale like this.
Either way, it’s clear that this trilogy aims to go out big, and we’ll find out exactly how Abrams intends to do that when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.