The Rise of Skywalker: Discussion

You spend all your free time on Screen Rant, don't you? I think they owe you commission!  

Let's first look at their premise:


I can see how the whole notion that Rey is completing Anakin's mission and overwriting Anakin's unique status as "The Chosen One" may be get people's backs up (especially as Anakin is never specifically named in the Sequel Trilogy, nor does he show up at any point as a Force Ghost or a "memory" -- a la Han -- of any kind), but I quite dig the idea that The Chosen One concept occurs in dyads or in triplets: first, it's Anakin and Luke overthrowing the Emperor in a "dyad" of their own, and then it's Rey, using the combined strength of all the Jedi, but strongly inspired by Luke and Leia and the voices of the other Jedi (including Anakin), and restored to life by Kylo (whose source of inspiration and power runs the gamut from Anakin, Han, and Leia, but who is especially being impelled in his final "Bendemption" scenes by Leia herself).

So, I guess... yah... the Sequel Trilogy takes this idea to completion in a convoluted way and may certainly be criticised on that basis; but it's nice, I feel, that there's a strong afterglow in the Force after the "Lucas Saga", and I find it cool and interesting that certain beats are reprised in something of a stereophonic, "double heartbeat" kind-of-manner (not unlike the many resonances between the PT and the OT). I've said it before and I'll say it again: The ST, rightly or wrongly, is essentially a retelling of the OT in light of the PT. In fact, I think, in the words of Snoke, "there's something else", and this breakdown gives a "meta" linkage between the movies and trilogies:

OT = TFA (masked Kylo)
PT = TLJ ("naked"/unmasked Kylo)
ST = TROS (reforged mask Kylo)

(And with a certain interplay between masked and unmasked in each "Kylo" configuration).

But, again, the fact that the ST is so darn meta could, indeed, grind the gears of many, and that's perfectly acceptable. There's no right or wrong here.

Back to the article:


I'll admit: It would have been good if some of those details actually made it into the films. As it is, I can see how it pisses people off that they have to consult secondary material for a glimpse of some of the cogs that caused Ben's fall, and for anything approaching a rationalisation (from Ben's/Kylo's view) as to why he must "stay the path". For instance, there was originally a longer exchange in TFA in which Snoke tells Kylo -- per the above -- that his grandfather (i.e., Anakin) only turned back to the light out of sentiment; Snoke was here encouraging Kylo to see familial attachment as a weakness that needs to be overcome, which explains why Kylo later derides his younger self in Han's presence as "weak and foolish like his father" (ironically, Snoke's tutelage here mirrors the Jedi's attitude in the PT, wherein personal attachments are looked upon as a risk factor for falling to the Dark Side in the first place).

Continuing:


True -- this all fits. But I suppose it depends very much, as the author notes, on one's "point of view", and whether or not one buys into the conceit that lightsabers in the Disney era possess a conscience or a will of some kind. Personally, I don't see what's so bad about them exerting some influence over Force users; but this whole "Sword In The Stone" motif seems more to have been something either J.J. Abrams or Lawrence Kasdan or other people at LFL came up with after Lucas' direct involvement fell to zero. Yet Anakin's lightsaber undeniably forms a major part of the "meta" tapestry of the Sequel Trilogy (undergoing a transformation similar to the one described for Kylo earlier: from whole yet incomplete, to shattered, to reformed), so the imputation of some kind of basic agency on the lightsaber's part certainly works well with the finished product.

Back to the article:


Yes. And notably (the makers certainly made this a big issue): Rey is a female Jedi... As Leia was intended to be before her. Here is a basic reading from TFN that explains what makes the ST poignant in that regard:


Palpatine's plans are basically foiled by the feminine Force -- or the feminine linking with the masculine -- at the start and end of the nine-film saga.

Note also that a black-costumed lead character defies Palpatine, much to the Dark Lord's surprise, by crossing in front of him when they choose to join forces and stand proud with their other half (Amidala with the Gungans, Kylo with Rey), and how these are framed from opposing angles:



Final paragraph from the Screen Rant article:


Right. So it's something to see as a binding motif at work in two story regimes: the original six-movie saga (what you might call "The Complete Saga") and the new, nine-movie saga (what you might call "The Extended Saga").

Here are some other perspectives pivoting around the idea of Anakin being "The Chosen One" and Rey being either a second Chosen One or someone taking his legacy to fulfillment. Note that I have left all the spelling, punctuation, and grammar unaltered. Click the links for a fuller explanation in each case:

A post that argues that Rey is more like a summation of the Palpatine and Skywalker legacies:


A post that argues that the Force continues to "regulate" itself with other balancing or quasi-balancing phenomena:


A post that suggests that Anakin somehow "hijacked" Palpatine's clone (I assume they mean either Palpatine's son or Rey herself):


And a comment from the previous thread arguing that Rey and Kylo are "manifestations" of Anakin:


Another post arguing that Rey and Kylo are essentially the "balance" themselves:


And a theory that echoes many of the previous ones, arguing that the Palpatines and Skywalkers are "one and the same", and a result of Palpatine's long-term meddling:


Directly from the link mentioned by the last user:


I offer all these as thinking points only. It's good to see fans engaging with the text and attempting to see it from new angles. Personally, I like that the ST represents "unfinished business" between the Palpatine and Skywalker clans, placing a new slant on the entire saga and the centralising motif of the Force in the process.

Great post, Cryo! It allowed me to reminisce about the intense joy I experienced over what few visuals I allowed myself to take in during the run-up to TROS's release. I stayed away from this trailer and all the TV spots until after I saw the film but I remember seeing stills from some of the key moments in this trailer.

It's a well-trodded cliche to say this but part of what I love about this whole franchise is the feverish excitement of anticipation. It strikes like few other film properties manage to do. That said, it was torture restraining myself and denying glimpses of the final mainline Star Wars film. Nevertheless, I stuck to my guns the strongest with this final entry in the ST and I'm glad I did because I was glued to that silver screen come mid-December. So much fresh, new and "shiny" Star Wars to behold! For all the raucous criticisms these films received, we were all truly spoiled (no pun intended) in terms of spectacle and cinematic fecundity.

By the way, what was your approach with spoilers? Did you fully indulge in the gamut of pre-release material or did you set limits for yourself? I'm asking Cryo but anyone can chime in if they'd like.

On this momentous day (and at a chaotic time in global politics), I decided to create a compilation of images, in "story order", of the rise and fall of Trumpatine Palpatine.

It was originally fifty images, but because I wanted two columns, there was no way to break the two sets of images (one for each regime: Lucas/Disney) cleanly in half. I was originally going to leave it at 26 images for the Lucas saga, and 24 for the Disney saga. The aim was originally to have roughly four images describing something related to Palpatine's machinations for each movie. I knew some needed more than others, and I also quickly discovered that the Sequel Trilogy, despite only being three films, could get away with having more images than the previous trilogies (at the end, when Palpatine appears, anyway). So the break happened rather "naturally", and the two complete compilations looked neat enough that way. However, realising I only needed to add an extra two images to the Disney half to make it exactly even, I decided to tweak the Disney compilation by bumping it up to the same number. The extra two images were added for TROS. This makes TROS extremely overrepresented in the compilation (18 images in total), but this is the TROS thread, so I think I'm safe! Indeed, I think it justifies posting it here, along with all my other TROS-related musings.

Moreover, in gathering all the images for the compilation(s), I noticed that a rapid flurry of events concerning Palpatine and the Sith plot to rule the galaxy (and/or erase the Skywalker legacy) happens at the end of TROS. It's a little reminiscent, in an abstract meta sense, of the "lightspeed skipping" shown in the first part of the movie (which, incidentally, occurs not long after Palpatine reveals himself and the Final Order to Kylo). When a triumvirate of powerful Force users get entangled with one another on a mysterious Dark Side planet, I guess that's what happens! Podracing. Very fast, very dangerous. I still believe there's a certain energy and comic-book intensity in TROS that makes it unique among the Disney movies -- indeed, I would argue, unique among all the Star Wars movies. 

I think the TROS images also have a unique texture to them. They are not only dominated by various shades of teal and cyan blue, but there are subtle flare and light-beam effects all over the place. Along with that close-up on Palpatine's fingers and his raising-up of all the Star Destroyers (not necessarily to be taken literally: i.e., the novel suggests Palpatine has half-hypnotised Kylo and places a vision in his head: you know... "images and feelings"), TROS sort of announces itself as the great conjuring event of the saga. The operative word is prestidigitation. How did Palpatine return? How come Kylo wasn't killed by his ship exploding on Pasaana? How did he arrive so fast at the ruins of the second Death Star and surprise Rey? How did he leave and get to Rey so fast on Exegol (and without a wayfinder) in that old-era TIE Fighter? And so on.

I hold that TROS is a fun movie with relevant themes. That's why I'm celebrating it through the lens of the saga -- and vice versa -- with this double image compilation today. I'll "stop talking" now and let the images take over. But I'll lead into the images with a relevant quote. It was actually the inspiration for this little visual exercise:


“You see, evil always contains the seeds of its own destruction. It is ultimately negative, and therefore encompasses its downfall even at its moments of apparent triumph. No matter how grandiose, how well-planned, how apparently foolproof of an evil plan, the inherent sinfulness will by definition rebound upon its instigators. No matter how apparently successful it may seem upon the way, at the end it will wreck itself. It will founder upon the rocks of iniquity and sink headfirst to vanish without trace into the seas of oblivion.”


-- Neil Gaiman

Cryogenic
did you hear about the new info on what GL's Trilogy would have been?

I would have probably preferred Maul to Kylo and the First Order as ST villains. Of course, I wonder if Lucas would have recast the OT trio since his ST seems to have taken place less time after ROTJ (15 years maybe?).
I would guess no, but still worth speculating in my opinion.
Darth Talon is a cool villain in the Legacy series and I'd also have been interested in seeing what was done with her.

I think about the Apollonian/Dionysian dichotomy often, thanks to Nietzsche. And that saved-from-oblivion blog post is something else! Rich, lucid and penetrating!

I'm old enough to remember the forum and blog on the official site but if I knew there was gold like that to be found there, I would have spent more time plumming its depths.

It's another silly clickbait article. These same sources have been trashing the prequels for years. It's hard to take their bashing of the new films seriously.

Ironically, you deleted one of the best articles you ever entered into this thread -- one of the few that is flattering to TROS and treats it in a serious fashion.

Anyway, continuing:


Let's see if that thesis holds up, shall we?


Funny. None of the men in the film really get either thing, either.

Continuing:


Really? Because Luke gives Rey a pep talk? 

Gee, sorry about that, Luke. I guess you're too old and male now. Sucking on cow tits wasn't penitence enough.


The call for help was ignored because, in Leia's own words, "The galaxy [had] lost all its hope". Lando, however, has a lot of connections, and the situation has changed one year later. Rian Johnson himself made the choice to have Luke -- that old white male loser -- being the one to defy the First Order on Crait and kindle hope in the galaxy again. This writer clearly fences TLJ off from the purported sins of TROS, but there's actually a trilogy here, and to dwell on one over the other (when one is being implied to be deficient and a retconning of the other) is dishonest.

Leia didn't necessarily foresee the Force corrupting her son, but rather: his death. She was spooked and gave up her training to return to war and politics. This mirrors Anakin freaking out at the thought of losing Padme through a series of visions, giving up on the Jedi path and looking elsewhere for solutions. Leia, on the other hand, tried to ring in further changes for the greater good, hoping to avert personal catastrophe in the process. Again, that sounds like Anakin, but Leia was less selfish about it. This plot detail also stresses love and free will: visions aren't necessarily reality and Luke didn't oppress his sister or shame her for her choice.

This also relates to Luke attempting to kill Ben for an instant in TLJ: he had already let Leia go her own way, and perhaps his hand was ultimately stayed by recalling the very thing he tells Rey (regarding Leia) in TROS. He remembered the lesson just when it mattered most (even though the damage was done): that the Force, in essence, is dynamic and the future is "always in motion". There's a poignant irony in that. Luke had no right to be Ben's judge, jury, and executioner, despite the cataclysm he may have thought he was averting. So Leia breaking from her training was something that sat in his conscience, and he was able to see the horror of what he was about to perpetrate, withdrawing and letting Ben live (albeit with serious consequences). He recovered his senses: he wouldn't be the one to make that vision come true.


Yes. Leeway should be given on this issue -- as the author confesses, but only after she has complained and tarred and feathered the film, anyway.


According to Chris Terrio in December 2019 (alternate link), some reduction in Rose's screentime occurred because she had several scenes with Leia, and not all of those scenes hit the level of photorealism they aspired to. However, he took heat for saying this and quickly backtracked (alternate link), although only partially. I certainly think Rose should have had a bit more screentime. But... These things are complicated.

According to a plausible and detailed leak posted to Reddit, the original plan, even if it wasn't taken very far, was to split TROS into two movies. Disney were against that. But after bargaining, they allegedly agreed that TROS could be a three-hour movie. After extensive editing and possibly a good deal of intervention and overseeing on Disney's part, it was reduced to around two-hours and forty-minutes (the leak specifically says: "The cut JJ eventually and hesitantly agreed to in early December was 2:37 minutes long. It wasn’t the cut we saw which he wouldn’t have approved of (and which is 2:22 long)."). In this longer edit, it is likely that Rose had more screentime. She was probably positioned as more of a side character in TROS to begin with. The JJ film is clearly juggling a lot of plates. Side characters will naturally have their screentime reduced with an aggressive editing process (which, again, seems to have taken place on TROS). So Rose/Kelly Marie Tran became a victim of the editing process. Lucas himself significantly reduced Padme's screentime in ROTS from what he originally intended -- and she's a main character.

While I think they maybe should have taken more care to protect Rose's screentime, and she was even arguably sidelined by being left at the Resistance base, they did try to put her close with Leia. In the few times we see her, she appears to be one of Leia's most trusted assistants. To assert that Rose doesn't get "connections, friendships, or a job" is patently false. She gets those things; they're just not shown in any great detail. On the other hand, I agree she lacks a romance (not that she needs to have one) and a proper story of her own. Her reduction, in my opinion, is troubling, and one of the weaker parts of the film. But I can live with it. I do understand people feeling cheated on this matter. She was sidelined. But if TROS was intended to be a longer film until late in the game, or if Disney backstabbed Abrams at the last minute, it's more understandable. Also: All final entries in Star Wars, in my view, are flawed. While not on the same level of reduction, Han and Leia get less to do, or less conflict, in ROTJ. And in ROTS, many plot threads, including aforementioned material with Padme, were entirely excised to keep the focus on Anakin. Star Wars trilogies turn into big, sprawling things, and I don't think the third film, locked into the same basic runtime, is quite able to do justice to the accumulated weight of the material (even if I concede that ROTS and ROTJ do a better job overall).


The Force is always willing people to do things. But it's a two-way street:

LUKE: You mean it controls my actions?
OBI-WAN: Partially. But it also obeys your commands.

Neither Finn nor Jannah had the luxury of being told that or mentored by a Jedi. They still made a choice to quit the First Order cold turkey. Finn even tells Rey that in TFA in Maz's tavern at just past the one-hour mark:

FINN: Like all of them, I was taken from a family I'll never know. And raised to do one thing. But in my first battle, I made a choice. I wasn't going to kill for them. So I ran.

The writer is basically strawmanning their characters: if the Force did it, it doesn't count. But the Force didn't do it. Not entirely. It opened up a conduit where they could catch themselves in the act; and from there, they made a choice. I mean, not to get all heavy and existential, but where does choice from, anyway?

I feel (!) they could have made Jannah separate to Lando. Yes, not everyone has to be related, it arguably diminishes her, etc. However, given that these films place a strong emphasis on the motif of family, it's a good way to strengthen that motif, and even lend hope that maybe Finn could also discover his own family one day. Moreover, some people wanted Rey to be Luke's long-lost daughter, so carrying that concept across to Lando and Jannah is a nice last-second save. The writer unfortunately seems to sneer at the concept that the Force "binds the galaxy together" -- including making a bunch of people more related to one another than they first realise. It's a little reminiscent of people bitching that Lucas "shrunk the universe" by making everyone related to everyone else, including having Anakin as the builder of C-3PO. In other words, an old complaint in new clothing.


Okay, now THAT's funny.

THREEPIO: Because she's holding a thermal detonator!

I think Zorii's a cool character and a nice throwback (in name) to Zorro (and the real-life actresses' name). Keri Russell is fantastic in the part, too. It's nice that there's some sexual chemistry between Poe and Zorii, even though the latter is in a mask with the visor down for most of the movie. It is fair to say, however, that Rose might have fit the role better, especially since Zorii gets more screentime than she does and has the same skills, or knows people that do. And yes -- there is more of a history between Poe and Rose given the events at the start of TLJ. But the third film also isn't really the place for recrimination. Not when you want a lighter tone after the gloom of the previous film and a chance to show off the camaraderie of the three lead heroes. A bit more could have been made of Zorii's connection with Poe, however -- especially in terms of how it might have provoked a touch of jealousy or frustration from Rey (TROS is built out of the Trevorrow scripts where, in Trevorrow's version, they clearly have romantic feelings for one another and even kiss; it's more subtle in the JJ film).


I think they are misreading the premise of TLJ -- and certainly TFA. TFA blatantly sets up a "mystery box" background for Rey's lineage. TLJ works hard to imply the box itself is empty and devoid of any substance: that one needs to create one's own meaning. Perhaps TROS overrides this a degree, but I think some kind of legacy lineage was always intended for Rey, and the second JJ film ultimately imparts the same lesson: find your own identity and power ("Never be afraid of who you are"). 

There were certainly hints that Rey had a special background in TFA and TLJ. Her habit of going "straight to the dark" is shown in TFA when she is attracted to Anakin's saber in Maz's cellar and has a dark vision (which comes closer to a lucid dream: almost a vision she can control). Later, she unleashes her anger, in a Maul-ish manner, against Kylo. In TLJ, she is instantly attracted to the mysterious Dark Side grotto, and falls for Kylo thereafter. 

And frankly, her skillset is so extreme that a special legacy was the only way to make her character palatable, in my opinion. I struggle to believe, given the basic rules of the Star Wars universe, that anyone can simply spring up that powerful out of nowhere. It also lends irony to her telling Luke that she's "no-one": a fear Kylo plays into when he tells she's "nothing" (later repeated by Palpatine when he is attempting to overpower her with lightning). She was actually a someone, but her past had been hidden from her; or, in her desire to believe herself good and moral (and to spare the pain of losing her parents), she had hidden it from herself. Daisy's acting is sufficiently convincing in TROS, especially when she tells Kylo to "stop talking", that I can believe she knew and simply buried the truth all that time. 

Also: Lucas was going to have a bunch of Force-powered grandchildren -- actual Skywalkers tied to a male (and female) bloodline -- running around. In the end, the saga returns to a relatively classical pattern. Sorry about that, folks. The clue is in the name: saga.


I didn't like the Mary Sue-ness of Rey in TFA or TLJ. It was asking people to buy a lot. Of course, some had no problem doing so. TROS improved the situation for me. The idea that Rey is powerful or gets to live because of a man is ridiculous and not what the film portrays. She is powerful because of Sith meddling (echoing Anakin's conception). It is implied that some of her power comes from her paternal lineage, sure. But we also see a brief scene of her with her mother in flashback (her mother, incidentally, looks a bit reminiscent of her Skywalker antecedents, but this never seems to matter). And she is trained by Leia. It is also Leia and the legacy of thousands of generations of Jedi protecting her in her confrontation with Palpatine. The sabers that she uses to defend herself from Palpatine's lightning are both masculine (Luke) and feminine (Leia). It is possible to make a generous reading and see that she was actually gaining protection from Padme (who gave birth to the Skywalker twins). And Rey herself is, y'know... female.


"Sex is pure evil"? This is just their trendy political projection. If they feel that strongly that the films are speaking down to them, one wonders why they even bother with Star Wars -- a fairly chaste universe -- to begin with. What makes it even funnier is their whole essay began with the following words: "Besides Reylo..." Their whole diatribe starts with a snark-attack on people who read sexuality into the Force tryst between the main characters of the Sequel Trilogy. Why be snarky toward such people if they themselves are contemptuous of the films for condescending to them and (in their mind) negativising sexual attraction?

Romantic love isn't a flaw (we see two women kissing at the Resistance base at the end of the film -- outside of certain countries dominated by religious interests, anyway); but Jedi are meant to be extremely cautious around the issue. Rey is a Jedi. Perhaps that has escaped the writer's attention. That said, she is a more liberated form of Jedi than in the previous trilogies. The films walk a fine line between implying that Rey should be mistrustful of romantic overtures and saying that it's okay to find romance; provided your intentions are pure or you don't have a lot on your plate. The ol' "Should priests get married or shouldn't they?" question. 

I think there are many ways to read the "Dark Rey" encounter. For one thing, it's exceptionally brief. So it's a little hard to pin anything concrete onto it. If Rey is terrified, she has a right to be: it's as much a depiction of unintegrated feminine energy (a premonition of her upcoming savagery toward Kylo) as anything else. The short scene suggests repression. It even takes place in a closet. I like to think it points in the direction of Rey having a mixed sexuality. But there are many things you could make of it. The Emperor encourages us to do just that, actually: "Look what you have made." So make it something good (and interesting). There's nothing worse than an ossified, unadventurous interpretation of these fantastic film texts.


I'm not seeing the "chill acceptance of her darkness" in TLJ. In that film, she's still afraid of who she is. If she comes under Kylo's spell, it doesn't last. She implores him to return to the light, and when he tries to turn her instead, she rejects him. Her quick-to-anger persona remains in TROS; especially around Kylo -- like when she destroys the troop carrier because she doesn't want Kylo to "win". She even kills Palpatine with a fierce look on her face. I doubt her reactive streak has completely dissipated at the end of the movie. If anything, she shows a dangerous level of passion for a Jedi, but this nothing to do with her being a woman.


It's not so much a regression, but a basic (and ceremonial) return to innocence. That's a subtle but important difference. Anakin also returns to a kind of innocence after he is freed of being Darth Vader and appears to Luke as he once was. Both are a sort of cleansing event. Rey's maturity is also shown in the same scene when she buries the sabers and adopts the Skywalker name. I can agree that she doesn't show much reaction to Ben's passing, but the film is full of moments like this. It's oddly poignant: life is fleeting. The big and the small: they all come and they all go. However, I would have liked a longer epilogue. I think, if Episode IX is intended to close the so-called "Skywalker Saga", it could have done with having a fuller and thicker denouement. But Rey at least takes the sadness (and the joy) of Ben's passing with her to Tatooine. There is something beautifully wistful about the final scene. Yet I agree it could have been meatier. Perhaps it's just a symptom of not wanting Star Wars to end.


Because, ironically (given what the writer just said in the last part), she actually shows maturity by embracing the "coarse", the "rough", and the "irritating". What more fitting destination for her at the end of the trilogy is there than Tatooine? It's essentially the spiritual hearth of the series: a crucible where things are tested and made strong. The sleeper must awaken. In a way, Rey pays homage to human civilisation itself. From an interesting link (and yes, in part, it's another tip of the hat to Frank Herbert's "Dune"):


There's also this fascinating Buddhist meditation on the consciousness-raising quality of sand and sand structures (note that the homestead is half-submerged in sand and slowly decaying). I'll quote a chunk of it:


People who feel Rey journeying to Tatooine and burying the sabers there is inappropriate or silly are taking the situation too literally. Here is how Chris Terrio described it:


You can argue that they ignored Naboo if you like, but I don't really see it that way. Rey has no direct connection to Padme, and the final scene shows she is more comfortable in a desert environment, despite her being awed by forests, lakes, and oceans. Again, I think it brings the series full-circle, reprising the last scene of ROTS, but in a way even more stark and personal. Few things are more romantic in Star Wars than that classic binary skyline.

Final part of the CBR article (heck, even the letters practically scream ClickBait(eR)):


"Logically happier"? Is happiness ever truly logical? Rey isn't lying about her true ancestry. She was partly conceived in response to the Skywalker family. The Sith plot involved Palpatine getting revenge on the Skywalkers. She simply accepts her new family after they have accepted her. She feels adopted and now one of the clan. It's worth pointing out that her Force bond with Ben Solo half makes her Skywalker, anyway. In fact, when he gives up his life for her, she essentially gains his part of the dyad; so, in a way, it is like she is betrothed to him. The fertility necklace from Pasaana, which he quickly swipes from her, is another clue. She has found a sense of belonging and a genuine sense of purpose at last.

And Rey -- just to emphasise the point -- has found family. She's found it with Han, Luke, Leia, Ben, Finn, and Poe. Some of those people no longer live, but they are essentially guiding spirits that can enrich her powers, her perspective, as she cuts a new path with her living companions. The world stretches before her. The Jedi flame stands ready to be carried anew.

Is it the best end possible? Few things are that. I've personally seen better film endings. If the main saga has to end there, fine -- but I'd like more. I don't think it should be ended when Rey and her friends are still at an early stage in their own journey with one another. It works, but like the end of ROTJ, it feels a bit... abrupt. Again, maybe I just don't want Star Wars to end.

Keeping with musical posts here, this piece of music from TROS -- its main suite -- is charming, beautiful, and underrated:



Handing over to some commenters (some more negative/critical views for balance):

Mikey McDonagh, 11 months ago
I swear John Williams doesn’t get enough credit. He’s the only thing that unites all the prequel, original and sequel trilogy fans. I wasn’t keen of ROS but John Williams really elevates the material.

Lord Vader0727, 11 months ago
This is a combination of Anakins theme, Rey’s theme, Yoda, Luke and Leia, Across the Stars all combined into one piece that represents Star Wars as a whole and the Skywalkers.

Drew Collier, 11 months ago
The main theme of this is an interesting example of Williams taking a simple motif and making it memorable by putting through non-tonal modulations. Other composers should learn from this.

Tyler Garrett, 5 months ago
This is a light-hearted version of the Schindler’s List theme by John Williams, and it makes sense. While that theme expresses the importance of showing love to others in a dark time (the Jewish victims of the Holocaust,) this new variation showcases the fruit of such labor: the triumph of light against darkness that results in a holy, well-earned peace. There’s also remnants of Hedwig’s Theme in this composition, which, in my opinion, represent the effort needed to achieve peace and the need to sustain it. It works well within the context of the Skywalker Saga’s final film because the light throughout the saga conquers it’s darkness to bring about an incredible peace to last generations. Thus, I hope that music like this can help to inspire people to work hard to conquer this world’s darkness with God’s light.

MIKINATION, 8 months ago
The Rise Of Skywalker is not Rey taking the name, it is not Ben's redemption, it is the Galaxy Wide Revolt and the galaxy wide celebration. Finn even said it himself during this musical sequence. "People are rising up across the galaxy" Perhaps they are rising in the name of Luke Skywalker's sacrifice thus "The Rise Of Skywalker"

Clement Chew, 10 months ago
This is kinda weird, but I can almost picture myself as I hear this beautiful piece, the Skywalker family reunited as force spirits from Anakin to Ben, and just chilling across the binary sunset. The Skywalkers will always remain the legend and heart of the Star Wars Franchise.

MsHyperviolet, 10 months ago
This Rey and Ben Love Theme is so satisfying. I adore the ending when the theme’s big sweeping melody holds its breath, unresolved, for Ben’s POV to speak up - softly wondering whether it’s true, is it really possible for him to be happy? - causing Rey to swoop in with all her hope and love and a resounding yes he will - and then all their friends back away with knowing smiles, leaving the Dyad to their tender kiss.

Joshqim, 3 days ago
This track is so emotional to me. The fact that it's Williams' last Star Wars score and possibly his last ever definitely adds to that.

Larry Wilson, 6 months ago
This soundtrack was the closest any of the Sequel Trilogy soundtracks have ever come to his London Symphony Orchestra "Star Wars" soundtracks. I've liked all of them, but I can't help but think there's something missing.

Captain Maximum, 3 months ago
I will be frank: The Rise of Skywalker is a confused mess of a movie. Some very emotional scenes and great visuals juxtaposed by a haphazard story, suicidal pacing, a premise that hurts Anakins' purpose as the chosen one and an ending that is nearly identical to that of Episode VI.

But the Music.

I probably don't exaggerate when I say that John Williams basically carried this movie on his back.

Schwatvogel, 1 month ago
I love these three Scores about as much as I dislike the movies they were composed for. Infact, while I'll probably never watch the Sequels again, I will always listen to their music. I just treat them as Concept-Albums, written for a hypothetical, never-made, Trilogy.

DLH, 3 months ago
The sequel scores lack edge or adrenaline, isolated bits and pieces notwithstanding. The Jedi Steps and The Spark are probably the best movie moments from Williams but I'm sure these movies and scores will fade in his overall legacy. Somewhat uncharacteristically for him, I would say the strengths are mainly in the quieter moments. The tracks I revisit are mostly things that feature Rey's Theme, or otherwise capture some wistful, magical feel. Tracks like this one or The Scavenger feel beautiful and authentically nostalgic to me from a composer in his mid 80s. Or something like the final 1:25ish of "The Jedi Steps & Finale" is valuable coming from Williams himself. Those moments where the music evokes this old man looking back at everything were the most meaningful for me.

RandomRiot, 3 months ago
This theme should remind everyone why Star Wars is special to us. Every end of this sprawling franchise has something to offer. Yes, even the oh-so-controversial Sequel Trilogy.

This theme just has this feeling of, “hell yeah, we made it this far. Episode 9. Star Wars, dude.” This is genuinely one of the best pieces of music John Williams has ever written, and it affirms my belief in these movies. I love every single one of these films, and though recently it’s seemed like you get beaten down for saying it, it’s stuff like this that makes me think that in 10 years these films won’t be the “new stuff,” they won’t be the “Disney trilogy,” they’ll just be Star Wars.

Don’t forget, the prequels were hated with the same passion as the sequels in their time. We lifted them to their current status because we grew up with them, we didn’t have any hang-ups with them, they were just part of the franchise, Jar Jars and all.

To any sequel fans out there, don’t be ashamed to like these movies. To anyone who genuinely dislikes the new trilogy, I’m sorry. I wish you saw in these movies the same thing I do. And to both sides, don’t beat down the other. At the end of the day we’re arguing for the same reason: we love Star Wars.

I love Star Wars.

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And here is a wonderful piano version from the YouTube channel tomekkobialka:

Yes! Warner Bros. did it way back in 2001 with "Superman: The Movie" (surely one of John Williams' best scores), but it's strange that George Lucas never offered such a thing, given that he's said the score (to the original film) was one of the few aspects that exceeded his expectations, and his exceptionally healthy working relationship with John Williams on these films has produced tremendous fruit.

Indeed, Lucas has said on more than one occasion that these are primarily visual storytelling excursions set to music:



There's also this quote from a 2002 interview with The Guardian:


Finally, this is another quote I've long loved from "The Final Chapter" (free additional piece to J.W. Rinzler's "The Making Of Revenge Of The Sith", covering post-production after the book had gone to print) -- I think, in a handful of words, it shows how indebted Lucas and Star Wars both are to John Williams' estimable contributions:


The only thing that was offered instead was a DVD release of a commemorative project called Star Wars: A Musical Journey: a 70-minute, 16-chapter odyssey through the six original films set to various musical themes released in 2005. Here's one of the chapters: