Seven years after its theatrical release, Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019) continues to generate discussion — not for anything new on screen, but for how the surrounding library of tie-in fiction has steadily reshaped the meaning of its final scene.
Two recent releases — an updated reference volume from Insight Editions and a new tie-in novel — have each supplied narrative justification for Rey's decision to adopt the Skywalker name, addressing a criticism that has followed the film since its debut.
Context: A Contested Finale
Directed by J.J. Abrams, The Rise of Skywalker closed the nine-film Skywalker Saga with Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) leading the Resistance's final confrontation with a resurrected Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) on the Sith world of Exegol.
Critical reception at the time was mixed. Reviewers pointed to Palpatine's underdeveloped return, the abandoned Knights of Ren subplot, and a compressed emotional arc between Rey and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). A recurring line of criticism held that the film worked to reverse narrative choices established in Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017).
The film's closing scene drew particular scrutiny. After defeating Palpatine using the collective strength of past Jedi, Rey travels to the deserted Lars homestead on Tatooine, buries the Skywalker and Leia lightsabers, and identifies herself to a passerby as “Rey Skywalker.” The scene was intended to convey chosen family and earned legacy. Critics offered a competing reading: that it undercut The Last Jedi‘s thesis that heroism does not require a notable lineage, and that the title read as self-conferred.
Insight Editions: A Tribute to Luke
An updated edition of Insight Editions' “The Secrets of the Jedi: The Chronicles of Luke Skywalker” includes a first-person passage attributed to Rey that reframes her adoption of the name as an act of tribute rather than inheritance:
“I had to continue the fight and finish what he started. I had to stop Palpatine from rising again and regaining power. To redeem Ben Solo once and for all. And to proudly wear my Master's name while doing so, in honor of his life and his sacrifice. Luke Skywalker may be gone from this plane, just like all the Jedi who came before him… but he will live forever.”
The passage continues: “Because, in the end, I am all the Jedi. And maybe we all are.”
This positions the Skywalker name as a designation earned through commitment to shared values rather than claimed through bloodline or self-declaration — addressing, though not resolving, the film's structural criticisms.
This update is consistent with a broader pattern of post-release expansion. Marc Sumerak's “The Secrets of the Sith” detailed the origins of Snoke, while Dave Filoni's The Bad Batch explored Palpatine's Force-sensitive cloning program. In early 2025, Marvel released a five-issue comic adaptation of The Rise of Skywalker, written by Jody Houser with art by Will Sliney. Its final issue visually depicted the “All the Jedi” sequence, rendering the Force ghosts of Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker, and others alongside Rey during the Palpatine confrontation — a moment that was audio-only in the theatrical release.
Star Wars: Legacy: An Earlier Invitation From Leia
A newly surfaced excerpt adds a second layer to this ongoing reassessment. “Star Wars: Legacy,” a novel by Madeleine Roux set in the period between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, traces the origin of Rey's declaration back to Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), according to Holofiles via The Direct.
In the novel's final chapter, Rey and Leia repair the damaged Skywalker lightsaber together on the planet Tython. Rey tells Leia the weapon “belonged to your family”: “I don't know if I could have done this without you. And this isn't just mine; it belonged to your family.”
Leia replies, “Rey, I think you know that it still does.” The chapter, and the novel, concludes on a single word: “Belonging.”
According to this account, Leia extended an invitation into the family prior to the events of Episode IX. Rey's later declaration on Tatooine is recast not as a claim she originates, but as an acceptance of terms Leia had already established.
Assessing the Combined Effect
Each work resolves a distinct objection to the ending. The Insight Editions passage addresses questions around motivation, grounding the name in mentorship rather than lineage. Legacy addresses questions of legitimacy, establishing that the family — through Leia — had already extended the offer. Considered together, the two works recontextualize a moment once viewed as abrupt and self-authored as the culmination of two relationships the films gestured toward but did not fully develop on screen.
Franchise Outlook
This reassessment arrives amid renewed activity for the franchise following a lengthy release gap. Lucasfilm had not released a theatrical Star Wars film since 2019, a drought that ended in May 2026 with Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian and Grogu, followed by Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter, slated for 2027. Three additional projects announced in 2023 — James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi, Dave Filoni's New Republic crossover film, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's New Jedi Order, expected to feature Daisy Ridley — have seen limited public development since their announcement.
Former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed in 2024 that producer Simon Kinberg is separately developing a new Star Wars trilogy. Whether Rey will factor into that project, into Obaid-Chinoy's film, or into another undisclosed production remains unconfirmed.
What This Means for You
Taken together, these two pieces of supplemental media provide Lucasfilm's intended reading of the Tatooine ending with a textual foundation it lacked at release — grounding Rey's declaration in both a posthumous tribute to Luke and a prior invitation from Leia. The films themselves are not being altered, but the surrounding narrative continues to be built out as “Legacy” reaches wider audiences and Lucasfilm's 2026–2027 release slate advances.
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