There was a heck of a lot of pressure on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to provide a satisfying ending to the Sequel Trilogy, so it’s not surprising that the actual ending it delivered has proven to be a hugely divisive one. Just to jog your memory, it sees Kylo Force-resurrecting Rey after her battle with Palpatine, sacrificing his own life in the process. Rey then goes on to Tatooine, where she tells a local her name: “Rey… Rey Skywalker.”
There are various elements of this that are controversial, but probably the big two are Kylo’s death – which is essentially identical to Vader’s demise in Return of the Jedi – and Rey taking on the Skywalker name, which some have viewed as forced. It’s fascinating to hear, then, that an alternate ending was shot and included in earlier cuts of the movie. And it completely flipped Rey and Kylo’s fates.
While speaking with Popcorn Talk, actor Juan Bautista – who played one of the Knights of Ren – revealed that an initial version of the film he saw featured Rey remaining dead. In this conclusion, Kylo was the one to survive and went on to repent his past sins. The final scene of the movie would’ve been much the same, though, with Kylo traveling to Tatooine and naming himself Skywalker.
Whether this ending would’ve been any more popular is hard to say, but it’s certainly shocking to hear about. No doubt a lot of fans would’ve loved to have seen Kylo survive. The idea of him also looking to make amends for his crimes with the First Order would’ve been a fascinating premise for future Star Wars media to explore. However, you can bet that an equal amount would have been furious that Rey was killed. Honestly, probably the most popular ending they could’ve done was to keep both alive. But then maybe that would have lacked the necessary dramatic punch.
We likely won’t see this alternate ending materialize any time soon, meaning we’ll never know if it would’ve worked better. But let us know what you thought about the conclusion we did get in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in the comments section below.
