Chris Terrio, the co-writer of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, reveals in detail why certain force ghosts didn’t appear in the movie.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now out in the wild and while critics haven’t taken to the film, Episode IX seems to be going down better with core fans according to Rotten Tomatoes – at the very least, they are enjoying it more than The Last Jedi.
One of the biggest points of contention in Episode IX, however, is the use of force ghosts. At the end of the film, when Rey buries the two Skywalker sabers on Tatooine, she sees the force ghosts of their former owners and her masters – Luke and Leia. But why didn’t other ghosts appear during this scene? Such as Anakin Skywalker, who is a fundamental figure in the entire saga?
Well, writer Chris Terrio looks to explain the decisions made in detail, telling THR that while this was considered – and Anakin does speak to Rey during her battle with Sidious – they didn’t want to detract from the power of seeing Luke and Leia together 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.”
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Apparently, J.J. Abrams 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. 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.”
Terrio also said that they wanted the film to “fulfill the promise of ‘there is another,’” spoken by Yoda years ago in Return of the Jedi. “It has to put Leia into the Jedi pantheon. To do that without new footage of Leia was challenging, but that became the central story of Rey finishing the Jedi journey of Leia. That way, by the end of the film, Leia could join Luke as a Force Ghost and spiritually join her father and all the other Jedi.
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“While you only see the twins in that moment, we thought that would give Leia more centrality, and you would really feel the strength of seeing Leia in the Jedi afterlife for the first time. Spiritually, it’s not a crazy idea that all the Jedi would be standing with them, but it might’ve been a bit of a visual shock to see all these new characters on Tatooine who weren’t part of the story of Leia, Luke and Rey.
“It’s a fair question from fans because it’s a question that we debated endlessly — about what the final shot of Force ghosts would be. We spent hours and hours talking about this and debating it, and we decided that the moment when the Jedi have to be there for Rey, when it dramatically counts, is when she hears their voices. So, seeing them all at the end would be a lovely grace note, but we thought that Rey seeing her two masters, two Skywalkers, was stronger. Rey was in the unique position of having been trained by two Skywalkers, which is what’s going on in the moment where she destroys the Emperor. It’s her, Luke and Leia standing together because she’s got the two Skywalker sabers in her hands.”
It’s clear that a lot of thought went into this big moment and its nice to hear that other force ghosts such as Anakin were considered. But, as Terrio mentions, it was great to hear Anakin’s voice as well as other famous Jedi from the past, lending Rey their strength to defeat Emperor Palpatine.
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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sees J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) directing a cast that includes Star Wars veterans Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Greg Grunberg (Snap Wexley), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) as well as new additions Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), and Keri Russell (The Americans).
Originally published December 31, 2019. Updated February 22, 2020.
