The new novelization of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sheds some light on many important subjects about the last entry in the saga, but there’s still no Ben Solo Force Ghost at the end.
When Star Wars films receive the novelization treatment, they usually give us a lot of insight into intricate plot details that the theatrical cut didn’t manage to include. Unfortunately for Episode IX, though, not even a series of books could hope to cover all the unexplained narrative threads and plot holes. Three months after its release, The Rise of Skywalker is currently one of the most divisive movies in the saga and the fact that it’s failed to live up to box office expectations doesn’t help matters, either.
Most of the critics bashed Abrams’ concluding act of the Sequel Trilogy for its shallow resolutions and fan-service moments that go against what Rian Johnson set up in The Last Jedi, though some genuinely think that the film was rushed and incomplete.
In fact, there’s so much wasted potential in The Rise of Skywalker that people think it should’ve been two movies. Namely, many were disappointed that they didn’t see Ben Solo as a Force Ghost at the end of the film alongside Luke and Leia, especially since the last scene directly mirrors Return of the Jedi when the ghosts of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin appear to Luke.
Ben went through the same journey as his grandfather and ultimately embraced the Light Side again, so it’d only make sense to have him as a Force Ghost at the end of the movie, right? Well, apparently Abrams didn’t share this popular opinion and as a user on Twitter reported, not even the novelization includes any mention of Ben’s Force Ghost, though they did say that there’s some added information in his death scene which fans might find hopeful.
While these extra tidbits of information do little to undo the damage caused by the lackluster resolutions of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, fans will at least get a chance to have a more cohesive story, even if it means that they must approach other sources to find their answers.
Tell us, though, what were you expecting to see in the last entry of the Skywalker Saga? Sound off in the usual place below.