The finalStar Warsfilm,The Rise of Skywalker, may have been controversial, but you can’t deny that it changed the entire saga in so many ways. Releasing in 2019,The Rise of Skywalkeris the final film in thesequel trilogy, depicting the events surrounding the return ofEmperor Palpatine, and the Resistance’s desperate battle against him. The film takes us all across theStar Warsgalaxy, leading to a lot of new lore developments that have had lasting consequences.
The Rise of Skywalkerbrought together a lot of interesting loose ends, while also posing many questions of its own that were only answered (or are still being answered) in laterStar Warsstories. This list will compile the most influential aspects ofEpisode IX, ranging from character details, to galaxy-shaking revelations.Like it or not,The Rise of Skywalkerhas changedStar Warsforever in some very interesting ways.
9Kijimi & The Spice Runners
The Ice Planet & Its Crime Syndicate
One of the biggest impactsThe Rise of Skywalkerhas had is the planet Kijimi. The icy Mid Rim world is where Rey & Kylo Ren duel, and is the location of the iconic Babu Frik’s droid workshop. Since its appearance in the film, Kijimi has appeared rather significantly in the recentStar Wars: Outlaws, where it’s a playable area with a significant amount of world building. This includes the complicated crime syndicate, the Spice Runners Of Kijimi.
The Spice Runners appear only minimally in the film, but they’ve played a big role in other media released since 2019. WhileOutlawsdoesn’t feature the Spice Runners directly, they are mentioned, and have most recently played a key role in the post-Endor comic seriesBattle of Jakkuwritten by Alex Segura. The story of Poe Dameron joining the Spice Runners and meeting Zorii Bliss was also told in the novelPoe Dameron: Free Fall, also by Segura, which established them as one of the biggest and most important crime syndicates in theNew Republic era.
The Missing Kadara Calrissian
One of the most anticipated parts ofThe Rise of Skywalkerwas the return of Lando Calrissian himself. The Resistance heroes encounter the aged smuggler & war hero on Pasaana, living as a hermit, reluctant to return to the fight. But why was Lando living like this? Well, the story in the film’s deleted scenes has had a huge impact on Lando’s life in the rest ofStar Warscanon.
As revealed in tie-in material for the film,Lando Calrissian actually had a daughterduring the New Republic era, named Kadara Calrissian. But sadly,Kadara was kidnapped by the First Order at just two years old, leaving Lando a shell of his former self. This is why Lando was a hermit on Pasaana, and it has changed how he’s characterized post-Endor in canon, with Adam Christopher’s novelShadow of the Sithshowing Lando’s future containing immense regret and sadness, although he did find some peace on Pasaana.
7General Pryde In The Empire
A Connection Between The Empire & First Order
One of the new characters introduced inThe Rise of Skywalkeris Enric Pryde, the Allegiant General of the First Order. But Pryde is not only an iconic performance by Richard E Grant,he has also become a pretty key connection between the original and sequel trilogy eras retroactively. Since his introduction in 2019, Pryde has appeared in several stories, almost all set during the reign of the Empire.
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Pryde claims inThe Rise of Skywalkerthat he served the Emperor “in the old wars”, andStar Warscomics have now shown that. A younger Pryde is seen alongside Darth Vader himself in Greg Pak’s 2020Darth Vadercomic series, where his cunning nature is on display. Beyond that, Pryde’s role in the Battle of Endor has been expanded in a story inFrom A Certain Point Of View: Return of the Jediby Adam Christopher, as well as in the New Republic era inShadow of the Sithalso by Christopher.
6The Truth About Princess Leia’s Jedi Training
Jedi For A Short Time
One of the biggest questions aboutStar Warscanon following the events ofReturn of the Jediwas aboutLeia pursuing Jedi training. Books related toThe Force AwakensandThe Last Jedipurported that Leia only trained in a fewForce powersafter the Battle of Endor. ButThe Rise of Skywalkerabsolutely redefined this notion, showing us that while Leia indeed didn’t pursue it far, her training went well beyond basic Force abilities.
In a rare flashback sequence,The Rising of Skywalkeractually firsthand depicts Luke and Leia training on Ajan Kloss, dueling in the misty forest. The film revealed Leia’s lightsaber to be blue-bladed, and the saber itself played a major role in the Battle of Exegol as well. The fact thatLeia was actually temporarily trained as a Jedi, but quit before her training was completenot only explains her usage of the Force so adeptly inThe Last Jedi, but also redefines every post-Endor Leia story in an interesting new way.
5Babu Frik & The Anzellans
The Adorable Addition To Canon’s Aliens
During the Resistance’s brief trip to Kijimi, they stop at the Spice Runners' droid workshop to see Babu Frik. This tiny, puppet-operated alien is of theAnzellan species, one that has now had a pretty huge affect on canon. In fact,I’d argue that Babu Frik & the Anzellans are now an iconic, if not the most iconic alien design from the sequel trilogy.
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Since 2019, Anzellans have shown up in various places across the Skywalker saga. Most significantly, a group of Anzellans have appeared inThe Mandalorian, working on Nevarro in season 3, having some great interactions with Grogu. Also prominent, Shug Drabor was revealed to be the in-universe designer of the Galactic StarcruiserHalcyon, appearing in comics and books.
4Exegol, Homeworld Of The Sith
A Total Change In The Sith’s Origin
One of the biggest introductions that the sequel trilogy accomplished was that of the abstract origin story for both the Jedi and the Sith. Both groups' “homeworlds” are featured inThe Last Jedi&The Rise of Skywalker, withEpisode IXintroducing Exegol, the cold, blue, desert world considered a Sith redoubt. Even more intriguingly, the Force Dyad shared by Rey and Kylo Ren was apparently the basis for theSith Rule of Two.
Exegol has been fleshed out both in comics and novels. Perhaps the most exciting of these can be found in George Mann’sDark Legends, which reveals that Exegol is a Force vergence where the boundary between life and the netherworld of the Force is unusually thin.This explains why Palpatine could only be resurrected on Exegol.
3Palpatine’s Master Plan
The Contingency Seeded Decades Earlier
The biggest reveal in the entirety ofThe Rise of Skywalker, though, is undoubtedly the fact that Emperor Palpatine survived his “death” inReturn of the Jedi. This idea was previously done inLegendsstories, but its canon adaptation has arguably had more rippling story effects than it did inLegends. This is because Palpatine’s return necessitates an entire organized Sith cult contingency to create his Final Order on Exegol, and that hasn’t all happened off-screen.
Palpatine’s cloning plot, and the development of his plans beyond Endor have been seeded throughout differentStar Warsstories in the years since the film’s release.One such place is inThe Bad Batch, where the cloning of Force-sensitives has become a prominent topic of research, and of Palpatine’s interest. Darth Vader has also been revealed to have known about and visited Exegol in comics by Grek Pak, and the idea of Palpatine’s contingency leading toThe Rise of Skywalkerhas been retroactively applied to Chuck Wendig’sAftermath Trilogyas well.
2A Noble “End” For The Skywalkers
Ben Solo’s Redemption & Grace
One of the most popular aspects of the entire sequel trilogy is Kylo Ren– Ben Solo. As the son of Han and Leia, and a former Jedi, Ben had a big legacy that he was not living up to by being a villain throughout the sequels. Luckily, though, Ben went through a redemption arc inThe Rise of Skywalkerthat gives both him and the Skywalker family as a whole a new legacy.
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Ben returns to the light side of the Force after drifting closer and closer to it, spurred on by his mother’s love, and the selflessness of Rey Force-healing Ben after she succumbed to the dark for a moment.This brought Ben Solo back to the light side, and made the last Skywalker a selfless hero, as Ben sacrificed himself for Rey, giving his own life force to bring her back to life. Ending the genetic Skywalker lineage with an act of pure selflessness, redefines Ben Solo’s character, and makes the family end in the light.
1The Citizens' Fleet: Hope For The Galaxy
The climax ofThe Rise of Skywalkeris the Battle of Exegol, where the Resistance is helplessly outnumbered and outgunned against Palpatine’s fleet. Then suddenly, heeding Lando’s call to follow their lead, a gigantic fleet of citizens appears to aid the Resistance, helping them win the day. But this isn’t just a fun moment, it could very well be our biggest look at what the future of the galaxy post-First Order will look like. The people of the galaxy looked to the Resistance for leadership, yes, but they were largely fighting for and with each other.
The people of the galaxy looked to the Resistance for leadership, yes, but they were largely fighting for and with each other.
This time, it wasn’t an organized military. This type of collaborative effort by citizens of the galaxy was unseen before this, and signifies that things will be different going forward. The war isn’t just won by the people, it’s a constant ideological struggle everyone has to have a hand in, which will hopefully reverberate throughout futureStar Warsstories thanks toThe Rise of Skywalker.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
Cast
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker concludes the Skywalker saga with Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron leading the Resistance against the First Order. As the final battle unfolds, they draw upon the wisdom and strength of previous generations to confront their adversaries. Released in 2019, the film concludes the sequel trilogy.
