Five years on from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars universe has continued expanding – and fixed many of the movie’s plot holes. The final movie in the landmark Skywalker saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens carried a lot of weight, and its success is highly subjective question. Many view this as a failure, and still hold to that view to this day; others have come to love the movie in the years since. But there are deep reasons for this change of views.
What both groups can usually agree on, is that The Rise of Skywalker had many apparent plot holes – but some of these are simply elements that could have been expanded upon. These are things that either change the Star Wars galaxy’s lore, or the story of the entire sequel trilogy. But the franchise has continued on over the last five years, with many tie-in Star Wars stories that have improved the movies. Many of The Rise of Skywalker‘s plot holes have been patched up. Let’s take a look at the biggest plot holes that Star Wars has fixed in the past few years.
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The Sith Dagger’s History Has Been Explained
Shadow Of The Sith Reveals The Blade’s Dark Origin
One of the most talked-about aspects of The Rise of Skywalker is the Goonies–esque usage of a seemingly ancient Sith dagger to find the Wayfinder. This has been explained in Adam Christopher’s novel Shadow of the Sith, which explores several of The Rise of Skywalker‘s unfinished plot points. The novel features Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon receiving an ancient Sith dagger from the Sith Eternal, one that has recently been reforged so it will present the route to Exegol.
The Sith dagger is described as emanating dark power, and making Ochi feel good when he used it to kill. Ochi was tasked with tracking down a young Rey, and would have succeeded if the dagger’s bloodlust had not pushed him to murder her parents. It’s not surprising Rey sensed darkness from it.
Palpatine’s Resurrection Now Makes (A Lot) More Sense
The Mandalorian, Darth Vader (2020), And The Rise Of Skywalker Expanded Edition
The entire plot of The Rise of Skywalker hinges on the fact that Emperor Palpatine returned, after he was believed to be killed in Return of the Jedi. This goes mostly unexplained, but has been fleshed out significantly in the years since release. The Mandalorian has done a lot of this heavy lifting, depicting the Imperial Remnant having a huge focus on cloning, as Palpatine’s new body is indeed a clone body.
On top of that, the novelization of The Rise of Skywalker by Rae Carson has a few dedicated paragraphs explaining Palpatine’s spiritual consciousness transfer to his clone body on Exegol. This Sith redoubt has been fleshed out in George Mann’s Dark Legends, which revealed Exegol was a Force vergence where the veil between life and the netherworld of the Force was unusually thin. Palpatine’s experiments at this world, situated deep in the Unknown Regions, are explored in the 2020 Darth Vader comics by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco.
Star Wars Has Explained How Rey Repaired Luke/Anakin’s Lightsaber
The Jedi Apprentice Used The Sacred Jedi Texts To Fix The Skywalker Saber
After its apparent destruction in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the return of the Skywalker family lightsaber was surprising to many. The saber featured a leather strap across the break, as Rey repaired it – including repairing the blue Kyber crystal. Rae Carson’s novelization explained this, linking Rey’s efforts to the Force Heal power she demonstrated in The Rise of Skywalker:
“Whenever she fought, or leapt through the jungles of Ajan Kloss, or even mind-tricked a stormtrooper into releasing her shackles, she channeled the Force, using it for her own advantage in some way. But this would call for a different technique, something she’d learned from the Jedi texts when she was mending Luke’s kyber crystal. This time, she would give.”
This adds on to the things Rey learned from the ancient Jedi texts, proving just how much of an aid they were to her Jedi & lightsaber training – and probably how much they’ll help with Rey’s New Jedi Order as well.
There’s A Reason The Republic Banned The Sith Language
C-3PO’s Claim About The Sith’s Dark Language Is Explained
When asked to translate the Sith runes on the dagger, C-3PO explains that the Republic actually made it illegal to translate the Sith language. This went unexplained for a long time, until the book Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S Dawson shed some light on the subject. According to the book, Sith runes themselves are somehow steeped in the dark side of the Force, which means the Republic’s banning of the translation make a lot more sense.
What Was The Deal With Lando’s Exile And Daughter?
The Fate Of Lando’s Daughter Was Revealed In Shadow Of The Sith
While Lando Calrissian’s return in The Rise of Skywalker was applauded, it also posed a lot of unanswered questions. For example, Lando is inexplicably found in exile on Pasaana, and he also seems oddly curious about Jannah’s backstory. Adam Christopher’s Shadow of the Sith once again holds the answers, as the book confirms that Lando actually had a daughter, presumably with his love interest Kaasha Bateen.
Lando’s daughter, named Kendra, was kidnapped as a child – an act that Lando eventually blamed on the First Order, explaining his curiosity about former stormtrooper Jannah. Lando worked with Luke to investigate Ochi of Bestoon, but the trail went cold on Pasaana after Ochi’s death. He chose to remain there.
Poe Dameron’s Retconned Story As A Spice Runner
Poe Dameron: Free Fall Explains The Proper New Republic Backstory
The Rise of Skywalker contains a lot of backstory reveals, one of which being Poe Dameron being a former spice runner. This was met with hostility for various reasons, but the full backstory wasn’t explored until the release of Poe Dameron: Free Fall by Alex Segura. This novel reveals that in his rebellious teenage years, Poe ran away from his home on Yavin 4 to join the Spice Runners of Kijimi with Zorrii Bliss. Poe left after about a year, joining the New Republic Navy, making his spice-running past a lot less significant than many viewers had feared.
How Is Rey Related To Palpatine, & Who Was Rey’s Father?
Rey’s Father’s Runaway With Vader – And His Clone Status
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s biggest reveal was that Rey was the granddaughter of Palpatine. Adam Christopher’s Shadow of the Sith once again told this tale, revealing Rey’s father – who named himself Dathan – was a strandcast clone like Snoke; Dathan escaped during an attack on Exegol by Darth Vader, seen in the 2020 comic book run. Dathan fell in love with Rey’s mother, Miramir, and the two wound up on the run from the Sith Eternal. They sold Rey to Unkar Plutt for her own safety, heading off to confront the Sith – and dying. This is one of the most complicate lineage plots from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but it’s great to have it fully explained.
Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker
This is the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and serves as the culmination of the Skywalker saga. The film sees Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe (Oscar Isaac), and Finn (John Boyega) team up to put an end to the First Order after Palpatine mysteriously returns. Jurassic World helmsman Colin Trevorrow was originally named director back in 2015 when the film first entered development, but he parted ways with Lucasfilm due to creative differences over the script. In September 2017, Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams signed on to finish what he started.
- Release Date
- December 20, 2019
- Director
- J.J. Abrams
- Cast
- Carrie Fisher , Oscar Isaac , Anthony Daniels , Joonas Suotamo , Mark Hamill , Adam Driver , Ian McDiarmid , Kelly Marie Tran , Billie Lourd , Keri Russell , Richard E. Grant , Daisy Ridley , Lupita Nyong’o , Dominic Monaghan , John Boyega , Domhnall Gleeson , Billy Dee Williams , Naomi Ackie
- Runtime
- 142 minutes
- Writers
- Chris Terrio , J.J. Abrams
- Budget
- $275 million
- Franchise(s)
- Star Wars
