One of the most anticipated moments in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was the Dark Rey scene, but it seems that the supposed Empress initially rocked a very different look.
Now that the last chapter in the story of Skywalkers is out of the way, Lucasfilm is looking to embark on a new narrative in the form of The High Republic initiative. Additionally, several movies are currently in development to fill the void left by the main saga, but seeing as how Episode IX has just made its digital debut, fans will spend a long time debating about whether J.J. Abrams’ entry did the franchise justice and gave us a conclusive end or if it was a disappointing finale.
So far, the general consensus seems to not favor Abrams’ work, with many fans thinking that The Rise of Skywalker left much to be desired in terms of narrative resolutions and character developments. Simply put, the movie is an incomplete mess, relying on other pieces of media like the novelization to shed some light on some of its enigmas. Moreover, people felt that the producers could have dedicated more time to fleshing out the plot and delivering scenes that were more fulfilling to watch.
Namely, we were all disappointed that ‘Dark Rey,’ which was set up in the promotional campaign as a big revelation for the movie, merely served as a vision that haunted the protagonist for less than a minute. Although, some new concept art from The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker reveals that the dark side counterpart looked very different in the beginning.
As seen above, this Dark Rey doesn’t wield a double-bladed lightsaber and her apparel somehow resembles Anakin when he embraced Vader in Revenge of the Sith. In favor of something with more mobility, though, the designers went with the simple black robe we saw in the theatrical cut of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. After all, Rey did fight her, even if it was only briefly.
What do you think about this design, though? Is it better than what we got? Let us know your thoughts in the usual place below.
