*If you don’t want spoilers for The Rise of Skywalker, DON’T READ ANY FURTHER! Though this is just a rumor, it comes from a usually reliable source and details a massive moment from the film. So don’t read any further if you don’t want spoilers. This is your warning.*
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Ok, seriously, spoiler warning.
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Alright, so I’m assuming if you’re still reading this you’re on-board with wanting to hear potential spoilers for The Rise of Skywalker. Over the weekend, Making Star Wars’s Jason Ward posted an article detailing rumors that he has heard about the film and, primarily, the final fight. He makes it clear that it’s just a rumor, but he’s obviously comfortable enough to publish it. And it certainly is a pretty significant rumor.
Basically, it goes like this: Matt Smith (who has long been rumored to be in the movie, albeit in a secret and mysteriously still unconfirmed role) is indeed in the film, and is “a dark side acolyte” who is “willfully possessed by the Spirit of Emperor Palpatine” at some point during the movie. It is thus Palpatine – having possessed the body of Smith’s character – that Rey and Kylo Ren team up to fight against in the film’s climactic final duel. After a “pretty intense” duel, Kylo Ren kills Smith’s character, thus killing Palpatine’s host body. But Palpatine’s spirit jumps to possess Kylo Ren’s body, but because of the young man’s strength he is not totally possessed. Kylo, struggling to control his body, begs Rey to kill him. But eventually, Ben Solo rises up and sacrifices himself, thus killing Palpatine’s new host body. And due to the fact that Rey has not succumbed to the dark side, Palpatine’s spirit cannot possess her.
I don’t know about you, but I think that sounds really cool, and I think it would be a good idea. It would give us the chance to see Rey and Kylo Ren team up once more to face their greatest foe yet, and it would be against the villain who started it all in this Star Wars saga. But whereas some might be initially hesitant about bringing back Palpatine (due to not liking resurrection, or not wanting to cheapen Anakin’s heroics in Return of the Jedi, or some other reason), having his spirit possess host bodies makes a lot of sense and is a nice middle-ground. It has already been well-established in canon that, while Sith cannot manifest as Force ghosts, they can ‘haunt’ objects, so in this scenario it seems that Palpatine’s spirit would haunt the ruins of the Second Death Star and thus could possess someone who comes aboard, as long as the person has been involved in the dark side.
It would also allow Kylo Ren to be able to truly finish what his grandfather started, ending Palpatine once and for all. It would give Ben Solo a heroic moment, but it seems that he might die in the process (and I think things being handled in this way would appeal to fans who want Solo to be redeemed and those who don’t).
So, in other words, I like this idea a lot, as long as it’s done well (and I’m assuming that J.J. Abrams and company certainly will do that). Keep in mind that it’s only a rumor and thus must be taken with a grain of salt, but MSW is reliable and therefore worth discussing.
Star Wars Thoughts 