The Star Wars sequel trilogy may have wrapped up nearly seven years ago, but it remains hugely divisive among fans. The Force Awakens is often criticised for sticking too closely to A New Hope's blueprint, while The Last Jedi frequently comes under fire for its handling of Luke Skywalker.
The Rise of Skywalker, however, is considered something of a mess. In trying to please everybody, filmmaker J.J. Abrams struggled to make anyone happy. The movie also crammed in a lot and came in the wake of a major leak revealing what previous director Colin Trevorrow had planned for his take on Episode IX, Duel of the Fates. After that, comparisons were inevitable.
Among the many differences was the fate of Domhnall Gleeson's First Order villain, General Hux. In Duel of the Fates, with the final battle playing out on Coruscant, upon realising the First Order was going to lose, Hux took the coward's way out and used one of the lightsabers in his collection (it would have been purple in the movie) to commit seppuku.
In The Rise of Skywalker, Hux was revealed as a turncoat sending information to the Resistance. When his betrayal was discovered, he was unceremoniously—and quickly—gunned down by Richard E. Grant's General Pryde.
Talking to /Film, Gleeson reflected on his Star Wars send-off. "Devastating. Absolutely devastating. I wanted to be in that more, and they killed me off. But they had to," he acknowledged. "And actually, if you're going to die, having Richard E. Grant be the one who blasts you across a black corridor, that's pretty cool. Yes, I was happy it was Richard who did it, but I was sad to go."
As for the stunt itself, the actor recalled, "They pulled me back on some of it, and I had to do a fall back, but the big drag back was a stunt performer who did a great job. And so it's similar on ... I think it was in 'The Last Jedi,' we had a great stunt performer who face-planted for one of them."
"I thought they did an amazing, amazing job," Gleeson continued. "No. No, when the stunt [performers] are that amazing, I'm more than happy to hand it over."
Ultimately, Hux's death was a disappointment in a movie that, for many Star Wars fans, featured many of them. Before that, the First Order General's dynamic with Kylo Ren was one of the trilogy's most interesting subplots, especially when Ben Solo became Supreme Leader.
The Star Wars sequels wrapped up with a long list of unanswered questions, including how the First Order was formed and the creation of Supreme Leader Snoke at the hands of the secretly alive Emperor Palpatine. Whether we'll ever learn more about the First Order's formation remains to be seen.
Do you think Hux had a fitting end in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker?