Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is one of the franchise's most divisive entries, and for many fans, it remains a disappointing conclusion to the Skywalker Saga.
During the final act, things looked bleak for Rey when she battled her "grandfather," Emperor Palpatine. However, hearing the voices of several Jedi from the past, she declares herself "all the Jedi," and proceeds to vanquish the villain once and for all.
We've heard that Lucasfilm considered having those characters appear as physical Force Ghosts. For whatever reasons (likely financial and logistical), it didn't happen, and we had to make do with the voices alone.
Well, in the final issue of Marvel Comics' adaptation of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, we finally get the moment we should have seen on screen back in 2019, as Rey is joined by an army of fallen Jedi.
This would have been a sight to behold in live-action, though it not happening did prove beneficial to subsequent Star Wars projects. Liam Neeson's return as Qui-Gon Jinn in Obi-Wan Kenobi would have been nowhere near as impactful had it happened in The Rise of Skywalker first, and the same could be said for Hayden Christensen's turn as a Force Ghost in Ahsoka.
When the movie was released, co-writer Chris Terrio said this about only Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa appearing as Force Ghosts in the final scene on Tatooine:
"We absolutely discussed who would be there at the end. It’s not as though those Force ghosts will never appear to Rey now that she really is the first of the new Jedi. I think she has all of those Jedi behind her. J.J. was pretty clear about the idea that he didn’t want to take away from the moment of Leia finally appearing as a Force ghost and the twins finally being together."
"This might be in the novelization, but we talked a lot about how Leia lost her home. Alderaan is gone. So, she could never take Luke to see where she grew up as a princess, but Luke could’ve taken Leia to see where he grew up as a farmer. But, the twins never got to Tatooine together (to visit Luke’s childhood farm). So, the idea of seeing the twins together after the sabers are laid to rest felt like it was something that was very moving to me and J.J."
Check out this cut moment from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker below.
THE LAST HOPE OF THE RESISTANCE! REY races to confront PALPATINE, but can she stop him before the FINAL ORDER devastates the galaxy? Hope comes from unexpected places as the RESISTANCE makes its last stand!
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER ADAPTATION #5
Written by JODY HOUSER
Artwork by WILL SLINEY
Cover by PHIL NOTO