10 Ways Star Wars Has Improved Rise Of Skywalker In The Last Five Years

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may very well be the single most controversial addition to Star Wars’ movies and TV shows, but Star Wars has made improvements to the movie in the 5 years since it was released. Although the sequel trilogy in general proved unpopular, with many still viewing them as some of Star Wars’ worst movies, The Rise of Skywalker was easily the most heavily criticized. This was due in large part to the movie’s many plot twists, most notably the reveal that Emperor Palpatine had “somehow” returned.

There were a host of other complaints lobbed at The Rise of Skywalker, including about Rey choosing the last name Skywalker, the death of Leia Organa (which was sadly necessitated by the real-life passing of Carrie Fisher), and the at times nonsensical nature of the plot on Exegol. While there were problems with the sequel trilogy, the movies are not irreparable. With The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars has resolved or improved upon many of the movie’s issues over time, through the novelization, TV shows, other books, and upcoming Star Wars movies.

Star Wars Has (Sort Of) Explained Palpatine’s Return

Star Wars Has Made Some Moves To Address The Movie’s Biggest Issue

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Easily the biggest complaint about The Rise of Skywalker was the shocking return of Palpatine, which was only explained by Poe Dameron declaring, “Somehow, Palpatine returned.” This only added to the speculation that Palpatine’s resurrection was little more than a last-ditch effort to make the trilogy work after the movies had changed hands multiple times. This plan certainly backfired, as his return received significant backlash and continues to be an aspect of the sequels that frequently gets disparaged.

Star Wars has done some work in recent years to explain this bewildering turn of events. Star Wars: The Bad Batch revealed significant information about Project Necromancer and Palpatine’s resurrection plan, which involved making Force-sensitive clones of himself. This at least offered some insight into how Palpatine could have pulled off his return. Oddly, though, The Bad Batch season 3 ended with the cloning facility being destroyed, calling the exact details into question yet again. Star Wars will therefore almost certainly need to revisit this arc in the future.

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The Rise Of Skywalker Novelization Reveals More About Leia’s Training

Leia’s Time As A Jedi Was Only Minimally Shown On Screen

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Another surprise in The Rise of Skywalker—albeit a much more pleasant one—was the flashback scene revealing that Leia Organa had trained with Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi. This brief glimpse into her training and the few scenes between Leia and Rey were all audiences got to see of Leia as a Jedi, though. This was unfortunately dictated by Carrie Fisher’s absence, but it was nevertheless disappointing that Leia was finally revealed to be a Jedi only for her screen time to be so limited.

Star Wars books have provided one way around this, as Leia’s story can continue on the page even if the franchise hasn’t recast the character (and it’s unclear whether she ever will be recast). In the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker novelization, written by Rae Carson, Leia’s time both training with Luke and training Rey were expounded upon. The book specifically explained:

Leia was no Jedi Master, but she had learned from the best. And not just from Luke; over the years she’d occasionally heard the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi through the Force, and even more rarely, that of Yoda. Some days it had felt as though she’d learned from the Force itself. She was first and foremost a politician and a general, but she had accepted her Jedi legacy and embraced it as best she could.

This excerpt alone provides so much more insight into Leia’s Jedi training than The Rise of Skywalker does, which improved those original scenes from the movie considerably.

Purchase the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker novelization on Amazon

Shadow Of The Sith Explained Ochi Of Bestoon’s Mission

This Assassin Remained Mysterious In The Rise Of Skywalker

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Ochi of Bestoon was introduced in The Rise of Skywalker, but he remained largely mysterious in the movie. Rey and the others happened upon Ochi of Bestoon’s skeleton in the caves of Pasaana, where he had been caught in the sands years before and died. It was also at this point that Rey found Ochi’s dagger, which ended up being key to her finding the Sith wayfinder that would bring her to Exegol. (Notably, this ended up happening in a very convoluted way, wherein the blade perfectly aligned with the wreckage of the Death Star.)

While the details about Ochi of Bestoon were therefore quite sparse in The Rise of Skywalker, in the canon novel Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith, written by Adam Christopher, much more about Ochi was revealed. While on a hunt for Lando Calrissian’s kidnapped daughter, Kadara Calrissian, Luke Skywalker and Lando discover that Ochi has been hired as a Sith assassin to kidnap a young girl. Evidently, it was the Sith Eternal themselves that gave Ochi the blade, so that he could carry out his mission to deliver Darth Sidious’ heir.

Purchase Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith on Amazon

Shadow of the Sith also shockingly revealed that Ochi had come face-to-face with Luke and Lando, even fighting Luke directly with the Sith blade at one point. The book also depicted Ochi being plagued by visions of Rey’s parents after killing them, adding an interesting layer to his otherwise fairly flat character. While Shadow of the Sith couldn’t single-handedly change The Rise of Skywalker, it did improve the scenes with or about Ochi, as it provided much more context.

Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Story Continued In Star Wars TV Shows

Luke’s Jedi Temple Has Finally Been Shown In More Detail—But Not In The Sequels

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One of the biggest disappointments in the sequel trilogy was Luke Skywalker’s arc. Many had been expecting Luke’s sequels story to include leading a Jedi Order of his own, similar to what had been seen in Legends. Instead, Star Wars: The Force Awakens revealed that he had gone into exile, hiding from the galaxy and losing faith in the Jedi. By the end of The Rise of Skywalker, he had come back around on his opinions of the Jedi, but it remained a letdown that Luke’s Jedi Temple was never truly shown.

One of the biggest disappointments in the sequel trilogy was Luke Skywalker’s arc.

Star Wars shows have improved upon this to a degree, particularly The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. In The Mandalorian season 2 ending, Luke Skywalker made an incredible Star Wars return, coming to collect Grogu and exhibiting his immense power in the Force to do so. In The Book of Boba Fett, this went one step further, with the show finally showing Luke acting as a Jedi Master—even if Grogu did walk away in the end.

Rey’s Parents Have Been Given Names And Additional Background

Dathan and Miramir Have Become Much More Fleshed Out

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Like Ochi of Bestoon, Rey’s parents, Dathan and Miramir, have been given considerably more backstory since The Rise of Skywalker. The identity of Rey’s parents was perhaps the biggest mystery of the sequels for the first two movies, and although Star Wars: The Last Jedi seemed to have confirmed that they were ‘nobody,’ The Rise of Skywalker revealed that they were actually linked to Palpatine himself. Still, little about them was revealed in the movie, beyond Rey’s father being a ‘failed’ Palpatine clone who only abandoned Rey to protect her.

Rey's parents in The Rise of Skywalker flashback, with Rey in the foreground

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Dathan and Miramir have been fleshed out considerably in Star Wars books—including finally being named—especially Shadow of the Sith and the Rise of Skywalker novelization. In fact, those stories revealed that Rey had evidently inherited her mechanic abilities from her mother and even hinted that Miramir herself may have had the Force. Most importantly, Shadow of the Sith proved beyond any doubt that Rey’s parents had truly loved her, which makes Rey’s arc in the sequels, including her connection to Palpatine, much better.

Star Wars Has Confirmed Rey’s Story Isn’t Over Yet

Although The Details Aren’t Yet Known, Rey Is Returning

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Star Wars has also revealed that Rey is returning to the franchise in an upcoming movie, and while that won’t change The Rise of Skywalker itself, it does mean Rey’s arc can continue to improve and become more compelling, ultimately improving the sequels as well. For quite some time, it seemed as though Rey’s return would be in her own movie, rumored to be titled Star Wars: New Jedi Order. This rumored title clearly suggested that Rey would have established her own Jedi Order, presumably leading a new generation of Jedi.

While that movie hasn’t been canceled, its future has become increasingly dubious, not only because there still doesn’t seem to be a script but also because a brand-new Star Wars trilogy was recently announced. This trilogy, led by Simon Kinberg, will allegedly see Rey in an ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi role,’ which means she may not be the head of a Jedi Order after all. No matter the project, though, Rey’s story evidently will continue, leaving the door open for her arc in The Rise of Skywalker to get even better.

The Rise Of Skywalker Novelization Reveals More About Ben Solo And Chewbacca’s History

The Sequel Trilogy Didn’t Share Much About Ben’s Childhood

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Ben Solo’s story in the sequels was also a bit of a disappointment, especially when it came to The Rise of Skywalker. The title of that movie heavily implied that a major turn was coming for Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, as the last of the Skywalker bloodline. Although Ben was redeemed in The Rise of Skywalker, he also died, and, even worse, none of his deceased relatives showed up for him as a Force ghost as he passed (despite Luke and Leia appearing as Force ghosts for Rey to bury lightsabers on Tatooine).

However, the Rise of Skywalker novelization did right by Ben Solo’s story in many ways, including by offering a glimpse into Ben and Chewbacca’s relationship. Chewbacca would undoubtedly have been like an uncle to Ben, as Han Solo’s best friend, yet the sequels never really depicted any such connection on screen. In the novelization, Ben experiences a flashback of Chewbacca holding him when he was young, revealing that there was a genuine connection there. That added complexity made Ben’s story and the larger story arc so much better.

The Sith Eternal Have Been Explained

In The Rise Of Skywalker, These Mysterious Beings Were A Bit Confusing

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Like many concepts that were only loosely touched upon in The Rise of Skywalker, the Sith Eternal have finally been better explained in Star Wars. In the movie, the Sith Eternal were a somewhat confusing cult on Exegol, clearly devoted to the Sith. However, their existence was very minimally explained, and they initially served only to add to the confusion that was this Palpatine plot twist.

In recent years, Star Wars has provided significantly more background on this group. The Sith Eternal were explored in both Shadow of the Sith and the Rise of Skywalker novelization, which revealed that the cultists were not Sith themselves but rather were followers of the Sith who worshiped both the ways of the Sith and the dark side of the Force more broadly. While this still may have been a bit of an odd inclusion at the time, Star Wars has since provided more insight into who these beings were and what their role was on Exegol.

The Acolyte Gave ‘Reylo’ Fans A Better Ending Through Qimir And Osha

Rey And Kylo Ren Had An Ending That Disappointed Many

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One of the most popular aspects of the sequel trilogy was the dynamic between Rey and Kylo Ren, which was in fact so celebrated that many members of the Star Wars fanbase took up the name ‘Reylos.’ Even now, with the sequels long over and many still feeling quite disappointed with how the trilogy ended, this remains a strong aspect of the fanbase. Unfortunately, The Rise of Skywalker gave Reylos a rather tragic ending, as Ben Solo died immediately after kissing Rey.

Star Wars has offered Reylos a fascinating consolation prize for this disappointing twist.

Star Wars has offered Reylos a fascinating consolation prize for this disappointing twist, with the relationship between Osha and Qimir in The Acolyte. Like Rey and Kylo Ren, Osha and Qimir represented the light and the dark side coming together, in addition to presenting a complex, compelling relationship dynamic. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that Star Wars no doubt intentionally also had a direct callback to Kylo Ren with Qimir’s shirtless scene in The Acolyte. Sadly, the future for Osha and Qimir may never be revealed because of The Acolyte’s cancelation.

The Force Dyad And Sith Rule Of Two Have Been Better Explained

The Force Dyad Was A Brand-New Concept

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The Force Dyad became key in The Rise of Skywalker, yet there was still plenty of confusion around what exactly that term meant. Throughout the sequel trilogy, Rey and Kylo Ren shared an odd link through the Force, frequently appearing before one another against their will. It wasn’t until The Rise of Skywalker that this connection was specifically named the Force Dyad, when Palpatine explained the connection to Rey and Kylo Ren on Exegol.

In the years since this revelation, Star Wars books have done much deeper dives into what this unusual link in the Force really is. In fact, it has been revealed that the Force Dyad was precisely what the Sith were chasing with their Sith Rule of Two, although they had never been successful. Surely, this is a concept that will be explored again in the future. While there are still plenty of questionable choices in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars has made improvements to the final installation of the Skywalker Saga in recent years.

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6.1/10

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

PG-13
AdventureActionScience Fiction

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, released in December 2019, follows the surviving Resistance as they confront the First Order. The film continues the journey of Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron as they harness the power of past generations to engage in a climactic battle against the forces of tyranny.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

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*Availability in US

Release Date

December 18, 2019

Runtime

142 minutes

Cast

Carrie Fisher
, Mark Hamill
, Daisy Ridley
, Adam Driver
, John Boyega
, Oscar Isaac
, Anthony Daniels
, Naomi Ackie
, Domhnall Gleeson
, Richard E. Grant
, Lupita Nyong’o
, Keri Russell
, Joonas Suotamo
, Kelly Marie Tran
, Ian McDiarmid
, Billy Dee Williams
, Greg Grunberg
, Shirley Henderson
, Billie Lourd
, Dominic Monaghan
, Hassan Taj
, Lee Towersey
, Brian Herring
, Dave Chapman
, Richard Guiver

Character(s)

General Leia Organa
, Luke Skywalker
, Rey
, Kylo Ren / Ben Solo
, Finn
, Poe Dameron
, C-3PO
, Jannah
, General Hux
, Allegiant General Pryde
, Maz Kanata
, Zorii Bliss
, Chewbacca
, Rose Tico
, Emperor Palpatine
, Lando Calrissian
, Snap Wexley
, Babu Frik (voice)
, Lieutenant Connix
, Beaumont Kin
, R2-D2 performed by
, BB-8 performed by
, D-O Performed By

Director

J.J. Abrams

Writers

Chris Terrio

YouTube Trailer

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