NerdCraft Nation’s “Rise of Skywalker” Theories
Written by Austin Hall (@ADWAustin), Brandon Kesselly (@bckesso), Jose Lopez (@Sh1tJayLowSays), and Chris Walker (@cwlkr20)
After 42 years, the Star Wars Skywalker Saga is finally coming to an end. We’ve seen the deaths of Han Solo, Supreme Leader Snoke, and Luke Skywalker; who else will bite the dust? What will happen in the final Episode? Today, we break down our collective theories on the upcoming film.
Austin
- Anakin Skywalker speaks with Kylo Ren: It would be a missed opportunity to not bring Anakin back, and I like the real-life redemption arc of Hayden Christensen, an actor that had some cringe-worthy scenes, as well as some underrated ones, in the saga.
- Rey constructs a double lightsaber: We saw an image of her with one in the trailers, so it’s possible she built that one, or may build another
- Rey teaches new Jedi: I can’t imagine this not happening in the movie, it just seems too perfect to leave out
- Finn has a new character ark: Please!
- Keri Russell’s character, Zorii Bliss, turns on them: Not sure if I really believe this will happen or not, but it could be an interesting turn of events
- Rey kills Palpatine: The trailers seem to set this one up, don’t they?
- Rey and/or Kylo are Palpy clones: It would answer a ton of questions while staying away from retconning The Last Jedi (TLJ). I will say that it is far more likely that Rey is a clone than Kylo, considering she may or may not have parents, but wouldn’t it be interesting if Palpy found a way to create Kylo as well?
- Lando Calrissian blows something up: Obviously
- General Leia and Luke Skywalker have one last goodbye: Unlikely based on the fact that they already had a big goodbye in TLJ, but it would be nice to see another scene between these two
Brandon
- Kylo Ren will be “redeemed”. He might not join the light side, but his murderous intent might be purged. In The Force Awakens (TFA), Leia declared “There’s still light in him. I know it.” Similarly, Luke tells her in TLJ “No one’s ever really gone,” after she’d seemingly given up hope herself (which, why not? She’d been sent into a coma by his attack on her ship). I think, in order to do something unexpected, he joins forces with Rey one last time and he leaves the First Order behind entirely to travel the galaxy. Or, you know, he surrenders and goes to prison for war crimes and mass genocide.
- Leia is training Rey. I think this is the case because of the forest scene of them hugging and the obvious fact that Carrie Fisher is dead ?. There’s also the allegedly scrapped plotline of her being “the last Jedi.”
- Leia gave Maz Kanata the lightsaber. She was likely trained as a Jedi but gave it up for politics, kind of like Count Dooku from Attack of the Clones. She’s kept her Force sensitivity, obviously, but isn’t a Jedi anymore.
- Palpatine is a Horcrux paradox. Vader’s helmet, Snoke, possibly even Rey — or Ben Solo — could have all been his Horcruxes. It could also have been a part of the First Order’s endgame given how they worship the Empire in a cult-like manner. Reviving the Emperor and having the Knights of Ren as his new enforcers would be a Palpatine move.
- Finn and Poe are Force sensitive. In TFA, Finn hears the screams of people dying but that’s impossible without the Force. They were on a different planet. For Poe, his piloting skills are way too flashy for him not to be. Plus the Force sensitive tree his mom got from Luke in the comics
- The Mortis Arc of Clone Wars may be important. Rey is the light side avatar while Kylo Ren is the dark. In order to maintain balance, these two must coexist, albeit peacefully. This likely also ties into the dagger from the trailer: on Mortis, there was a dagger capable of killing Force avatars (but it looked different).
- Rey will restart the Jedi Order and take on the name Skywalker. Keep in mind that the Skywalkers haven’t been the only Jedi, and that Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, and Qui-Gon Jinn all got trained as children. Same with Yoda. Look back to the TLJ stable boy who’s Force sensitive but up for grabs from the light or dark sides. Force sensitive children have been a plot point in the films, TV shows, and other media. It would make sense here as the legacy of the Force.
- Anakin Skywalker cameos. His grandson idolizes him, tries to emulate him, and now Palpatine is back in play. Anakin has to appear and talk to Ben in some capacity.
- Rey is another virgin birth of the Force. It would explain her raw Force power and sensitivity. She always had it, but it surged after her first encounter with Kylo Ren and subsequent torture.
Jose
- Rey is a Palpatine Clone/ Was created by Palpatine just like Anakin was, so the thing Kylo said about Rey’s parents being nobodies is true…from a certain point of view 😉
- Leia will complete Rey’s training.
- Disney won’t have the balls to make Finn and Poe a gay couple so they’re probably gonna pair up Finn with either Rose or that new character Jannah. Poe will probably have some time of romantic past with Keri Russell’s character Zuri.
- Knights of Ren will have ~10 mins of screentime at most
- Dark Rey is just a vision Rey has if she embraces the dark side.
- Either Finn or Jannah is Lando’s kid
- Either more characters from the original trilogy will die or they’ll do a fakeout death to throw us off. I’m looking at you (Leia, Lando, 3PO & Chewie).
- The dagger seen in the trailer will relate back to how Papa Palps returns
- Snoke was one of several Palpatine Clone attempts
- C-3PO will probably have his memory wiped and that’s why he’s taking “one last look at his friends” from the trailer.
- The Force Ghost of Past Jedi will help Kylo and Rey take down Palpy, including but not limited to: (Luke, Leia, Anakin, Yoda, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Mace “THE BAD MOTHERFUCKER” Windu)
- Maz Kanata will NOT reveal how she found Luke’s old lightsaber, will get answered in a comic book probably
- Leia will probably pass away and become a Force ghost cuz I doubt they had enough leftover footage for the whole thing.
- Kylo Ren will die in a redemption arc
- First Order will be destroyed by the end
- Rey will take on the Skywalker last name as an homage to Luke near the end of the film, probably looking at a binary sunset or something.
Chris
- Not a ROTJ retread: JJ and company have already taken enough slack on how the films thematically line with the original trilogy, which weighs down the effectiveness and originality of storytelling in this new trilogy. So , here’s hoping JJ has learned something.
- There def will be elements of ROTJ: Dad Lando Calrissian is in it so of course, the cool is back, but I’m expecting a big, convoluted mission of sorts to start the movie.
- The whole crew is going to try and bring Kylo back to being Ben, successfully
- Chewbacca and maybe Poe or Finn die
- Luke returns as a force ghost to train Rey
- Rey is a Palpatine clone gone good, but dips into the dark side for a beat — very Harry Potter-Voldemort-Horcruxes of them, especially with the presence of a double saber
- Finn and Rose fall in love, and Poe hates it but is happy for them and bones Zorri, Jannah, and/or Lando
Final List:
Rey is a Force Child and/or possibly created by Palpatine
Redemption Arc for Kylo Ren
A Major Character Death Will Occur
Anakin Skywalker Will Make A Cameo Appearance
Rey completes her training by one of the OG twins (either Luke or Leia)
How do you feel about our predictions? What do yours look like? Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters December 20, 2019.
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