For years, the ending of Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) has represented one of the most contested chapters in the entire Star Wars saga. Fans have spent nearly seven years debating whether the film successfully closed the Skywalker Saga or stumbled under the pressure of ending a story that began in 1977.
Now, a newly updated Star Wars publication is revisiting the film’s final scene and offering a perspective that could reshape how some audiences view Rey’s controversial decision to take the Skywalker name.
Released in 2019, The Rise of Skywalker marked the conclusion to Disney and Lucasfilm’s sequel trilogy. Directed by J.J. Abrams, the film brought back Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Kylo Ren for one final conflict as the Resistance faced the unexpected return of Emperor Palpatine.
The production arrived carrying enormous expectations. It not only had to conclude a trilogy that began with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015), but also wrap up the broader nine-film Skywalker Saga spanning more than four decades of storytelling.
Instead, the movie became one of the franchise’s most polarizing entries. Viewers criticized the speed of the narrative, the handling of Palpatine’s resurrection, and the limited development given to major concepts like Exegol and the Knights of Ren. Some longtime fans also believed the film attempted to reverse or soften several narrative ideas introduced in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2018), resulting in a finale that struggled to balance competing creative visions.
Among the most heavily debated moments was the movie’s closing sequence on Tatooine. After defeating Palpatine with the support of past Jedi voices, Rey travels to the old Lars homestead and buries the lightsabers belonging to Luke and Leia Skywalker. When a passerby asks for her name, she responds, “Rey Skywalker.”
The moment immediately became a major flashpoint online. For supporters of Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, Rey’s adoption of the Skywalker surname appeared to contradict one of the previous film’s strongest themes. In that movie, Kylo Ren argued that Rey came from “nothing” and that her parents were insignificant figures in the larger galaxy. Many audiences interpreted that revelation as a refreshing statement that the Force did not belong exclusively to legendary bloodlines.
The Rise of Skywalker altered that dynamic by revealing Rey as Palpatine’s granddaughter before ultimately associating her with the Skywalker family name anyway. Now, a new passage from the updated edition of “The Secrets of the Jedi: The Chronicles of Luke Skywalker” is reframing the sequence through Rey’s own internal perspective.
The book presents Rey’s choice as an expression of gratitude toward Luke Skywalker rather than an attempt to inherit his status or family identity.
“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 with another line that ties directly into the film’s climax: “Because, in the end, I am all the Jedi. And maybe we all are.”
That addition significantly changes the emotional framing surrounding Rey’s final scene. Instead of positioning “Skywalker” as a replacement identity, the text suggests Rey sees the name as symbolic of the Jedi ideals Luke represented throughout his life. Under that interpretation, becoming “Rey Skywalker” is less about ancestry and more about carrying forward the teachings of her mentor.
It is the latest example of Lucasfilm revisiting The Rise of Skywalker through expanded storytelling material.
Since the movie’s release, books, comics, and animated projects have worked to add context to storylines that received relatively little exploration onscreen. “The Secrets of the Sith” explored the origins of Snoke and Palpatine’s experiments, while Star Wars: The Bad Batch added more detail to the Empire’s cloning research programs.
Earlier this year, Marvel Comics released perhaps the clearest attempt yet to revisit the sequel trilogy finale.
The publisher’s five-issue adaptation of The Rise of Skywalker, written by Jody Houser and illustrated by Will Sliney, expanded multiple scenes from the film and restored material not included in the theatrical release.
Its final issue finally visualized the “All the Jedi” sequence during Rey’s confrontation with Palpatine. In theaters, audiences heard the voices of Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Ahsoka Tano, and Luke Skywalker, but never actually saw them. The comic adaptation changed that by depicting the Jedi appearing beside Rey during the battle on Exegol.
For many readers, the sequence gave the climax greater emotional clarity and strengthened the idea that Rey was acting as a continuation of the Jedi legacy as a whole. The renewed focus on Rey also arrives during an uncertain stretch for Star Wars films.
Lucasfilm has not released a theatrical Star Wars movie since 2019, though that changes this year with The Mandalorian and Grogu from filmmaker Jon Favreau. After that comes Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy and currently scheduled for May 2027.
Several other announced projects remain in development, including Dawn of the Jedi, Dave Filoni’s planned New Republic crossover feature, and New Jedi Order, which is expected to bring Daisy Ridley back as Rey.
Adding another layer to the franchise’s future, former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that Simon Kinberg is developing a separate trilogy for the studio. Whether those projects intersect with Rey’s storyline has not yet been revealed.
Still, one thing has become increasingly apparent: Lucasfilm is continuing to reevaluate and expand the sequel trilogy through supplemental material. And as the franchise prepares for its theatrical return, Rey’s legacy — and the meaning behind the name Skywalker — remains a central part of the discussion.
How do you feel about these changes over half a decade later? Let us know in the comments down below!
