Warning! âStar Warsâ spoilers below!
Just when you thought you had all the âStar Warsâ mysteries figured out, âThe Rise of Skywalkerâ comes along, and now...
... and another... and another...
In closing out the main nine-film âStar Warsâ storyline, âThe Rise of Skywalkerâ offers surprising reveals: Rey was actually the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine. But now fans are left pondering a number of conundrums: Why didnât we learn more about how Palpatine survived? Why did Rey and Kylo kiss? Also, what was going on in that Jannah and Lando scene?
Youâve got questions, and âThe Rise of Skywalkerâ editor Maryann Brandon has answers.
Brandonâs had to keep certain âStar Warsâ secrets for years, ever since she was an editor on 2015âs âThe Force Awakens.â So when she jumped on the phone recently with HuffPost, she was glad to finally be able to chat.
During the conversation, it became evident that some questions donât have official answers that can be gleaned from the movie.
What was Finn trying to tell Rey? Brandon says she wants to leave that up to the audience. If Palpatine was Reyâs grandpap (Grand-Palp?), who was her grandma (or, put another way... who the heck had a relationship with Palpatine)? Brandon doesnât know, but she figures itâs someone âbadass.â
âIâm guessing behind every evil emperor thereâs a bigger, badder evil empress,â Brandon said.
But those aside, there were plenty of mysteries the editor could shed some light on, so without further ado, here are some of the answers to your biggest âStar Warsâ questions:
Why Rey and Kylo kissed.
When Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo (Adam Driver) snogged, it was the kiss heard around this galaxy and those far, far away. The moment made Reylo fans shout for joy and detractors just shout. According to Brandon, there was a lot of back-and-forth about whether the scene would happen at all. She cut a lot of different versions of âshould they/shouldnât they,â she said.
âI always said, âThe movie will tell us whether they should kiss or not. We will know by the time we get to the end of our process, if it should happen.â And I felt it should, and [director J.J. Abrams] agreed with me, and other people who saw the film agreed.â
Brandon praised the performances in the scene, especially the moment Kylo Ren smiles, the first time the character has smiled in three movies.
âI know itâs not for everybody,â she said of the kiss. âI know there will be people who wish they hadnât, but this is a film that was never going to please everyone, and I think that the reviews are kind of reflective of that. The things that certain people love, other people hated. And thatâs the phenomenon of âStar Wars.ââ
Why Kylo died.
After using the Force to heal Rey and getting that infamous smooch, Kylo Ren disappears. But... why? Did he die from wounds incurred during the fight with Palpatine? Was Reyâs breath so bad it killed him? Maybe there arenât a lot of Tic Tacs in space?
According to Brandon, dental hygiene wasnât a factor. In order to save Rey, Kylo had to give up all that was left of his life force.
âHe got his redemption, I think, in a lovely way. And right after he disappears, [his mother] Leia disappears. Iâd like to think that theyâre together,â she said.
Why we donât hear many details about how Palpatine survived.
The opening scenes with Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) were âtrickyâ in terms of how much of the characterâs backstory to explain, how much to show of him and what he wanted, Brandon explained.
âIt was kind of a delicate balance and went back and forth a lot about how much we wanted to reveal,â she said. âSome scenes changed quite a bit, the way that we wanted to present it to the audience. In the end, we ended up showing a lot less of it than we started with.â
There was originally âa little more information about it, what was keeping [Palpatine] alive,â but, Brandon said, âit seemed to go off topic.â
âThere was so much information in the film and so many characters that we wanted to have an audience concentrate on. I think we felt we didnât want to clutter the film up with things you didnât need to know,â she said.
Why Palpatine lost.
In the movie, Palpatine says if Rey kills him, his spirit will enter into her, and heâll win. But she does kill him. So why doesnât he actually win? Also, could Rey have just unplugged that big machine that was keeping Palpatine alive?
âShe canât,â Brandon said to the suggestion that Palpatine could just be unplugged. âShe canât kill him in anger.â
The whole reason Palpatine lost is because Rey didnât strike him down in hate. By ending Palpatine the way she did, reflecting his Force lighting back at him, Rey was able to avoid playing by Palpâs rules.
Why Snoke was revealed as a clone.
Fans have been wondering about Former-Supreme-Leader Snokeâs mysterious background since âThe Force Awakens.â Where did he come from? Why does he look the way he does? Has he ever heard the word âmoisturizerâ?
âThe Rise of Skywalkerâ finally gives us some answers. A scene showing multiple Snokes held in glass containments seems to suggest he was a clone used by the Emperor, which Brandon confirms.
âI just think that came up as a visual effect that we thought would be really fun for an audience, to create a visual that would tell that whole story,â she said. âI believe thatâs successful. We didnât have to change a lot of dialogue. You just see one shot [...] and you kind of get it. I love stuff like that. We can just have a moment where you just see something in the background and you go, âOK, I totally get that.ââ
Why Rose didnât get a ton of screen time.
The role of Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) in âThe Rise of Skywalkerâ is noticeably reduced from âThe Last Jedi,â and Brandon said that came down to Abrams choosing to tell a different story.
âThere were a lot of characters in the film, and because J.J. wanted to make this film about a journey of the three main friends and then Reyâs conflict with Kylo Ren, it became very hard to service a lot more characters,â Brandon said. âSheâs an important character in the Resistance, and we tried very hard to show that in the film, and I think we did, but the film just really couldnât handle much more character stories.â
The editor said she went to Rose a few times at the end of the movie to make sure she was given her due.
âWe all love Rose,â Brandon said. âAnd we want to make her character sing. And thatâs why sheâs in the end battle. And I cut to her a few times in the end battle because I know sheâs a fan favorite, and I wanted to show her being involved.â
What was going on in the scene between Jannah and Lando.
Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) is a smooth guy. Thatâs not up for debate. What can be questioned is whatâs going on in the scene between him and newcomer Jannah (Naomi Ackie) at the end of the movie.
In the scene, Lando offers to help Jannah, a former stormtrooper, find out where she came from. At first, it seems sweet. Some interpret it as a fatherly figure offering help. But the internet is where sweet intentions go to die: There are those who think perhaps Lando is hitting on Jannah rather than just being a good dude.
According to Brandon, you need to get your minds out of the gutter.
âI donât think it ever occurred to any of us that he was hitting on her. I think it was always fatherly, you know, help you find your way home,â she said. âYeah, it never went that way.â
Why there was no FinnPoe.
Among the many deaths in âThe Rise of Skywalkerâ was the demise of FinnPoe, the theory/fan dream that Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) would end up in a relationship together. The idea has been around since âThe Force Awakens,â but Brandon apparently hadnât heard about it until now.
âBecause Iâm cutting it together, Iâm kind of taking it at face value, and Iâm not reading as much into it as an audience. And maybe thatâs just my nature. I donât know,â she said. âBut I think, again, theyâre best of friends. There is a kind of brotherhood there where they understand each other, and theyâve got each otherâs back.â
As for any future love between the two, she says, âThatâs really up to Lucasfilm if they want to make that sequel.â