The Rise of Skywalker’ fan theories

There’s a lot weighing on Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, not only as the final installment in the new Star Wars trilogy, but as the last film in the Skywalker Saga, a series that ballooned from one film, to three, to six, to nine over the course of 42 years. To say that the movie is highly anticipated is an understatement of intergalactic proportions, so it’s only natural that fan theories about how the saga will end are paramount in the Discourse — here are seven of the most plausible theories about what will happen in The Rise of Skywalker. 

Are any of them right? Only the Force knows. 

1. “Skywalkers” will rise as a new order of Force users

The thing about titling a movie The Rise of Skywalker after the last movie killed Luke Skywalker is that it’s really darn confusing. Whomst is the Skywalker now? From whence will they rise? Luckily, fan theories are here to potentially provide an answer. 

The Last Jedi ended with Luke’s mortal death but also made a point to revive his legacy as a beacon of hope for the galaxy. Young people like Rey and the Canto Bight stableboy who retells the story of Luke’s final battle are hinted to be the future of the force, and with the last Jedi gone they won’t be tied down to the strict teachings of a thousand-year-old abstinence cult with cool swords. 

The Skywalkers theory says that the absence of Jedi (and the presumed final destruction of the Sith) in The Rise of Skywalker will lead to a new order of Force users who are dedicated neither to the dark not the light side of the Force — they will be “grey” wielders who aim for balance in all things. As this order rises, they will take the name of the fallen who who was tempted by the Sith, abandoned the Jedi, and found balance at the end of his life. They will be the Skywalkers.  

2. Kylo Ren will redeem himself and join the light side

This is less “Rise of Skywalker theory” and more “plotting trilogies 101,” but many have predicted Kylo Ren turning away from the dark side and redeeming himself by aligning with the light side of the Force in the final installment of the new trilogy. 

Kylo has been struggling with his “pull to the light” since The Force Awakens, and all of his super dark-sided actions have been tempered so far with a tangible resistance to go full Vader on the galaxy. For example: he killed Han Solo but refused to pull the trigger on Mama Leia and killed Supreme Leader Snoke only to take the throne (all hail the Renperor) for himself. 

Rey believed for much of The Last Jedi that there is still light in Ben Solo, and dragging him away from the anger and fear that motivate his darkness may be the one way to defeat the dark side’s greatest champion and complete Kylo/Ben’s arc. 

That or he dies or something idk. It’s a real toss up after The Last Jedi. 

3. Rey will be seduced by the power of the dark side 

This theory comes from The Rise of Skywalker‘s trailer, which showed Rey wielding a telltale red lightsaber. Some thing this is just a vision (a classic way to get surprising footage in a trailer), but Rey turning to the dark side could be a reverse version of Darth Vader turning to the light at the end of Return of the Jedi. 

Rey also has shown a pull towards the dark, seeing as she literally could not stay away from the seaweed hole of doom on Ach-To and went along with Snoke’s Force Skype sessions with Kylo Ren way longer than any normal person would have. 

Rey going to the dark side would certainly upset the equilibrium of the Force, but if Kylo turns light as said in the previous theory, it might bring balance after all. Just not the way anyone expected. 

4. Reylo will bring balance to the force

Ok, here. Fine. Rey could go dark, Kylo could go light, but the Force is gonna do what the Force is gonna do. And what the Force might do is balance everything out in the end. 

Reylo is more than a ship name for fans who want to see Kylo Ren and Rey end up romantically attached in Star Wars, it’s a theory that unites the light and dark side of the Force with two sides of a couple that fully represent its greatest extremes. Reylo may darken Rey while lightening Kylo, but the overall idea is that their love for each other to fully counteract each other and exist as a fulcrum upon which the energy of the galaxy can rest. 

5. Snoke was a Palpatine clone created as a test for Kylo Ren 

When Kylo Ren sliced Supreme Leader Snoke in half three quarters of the way through The Last Jedi, he launched a thousand theories as to why the alleged big bad of the new trilogy turned out to be effectively disposable. The most plausible theory, that Snoke was a failed clone of Emperor Palpatine, got a boost when ol’ Palpy’s signature cackle closed out the first trailer for The Rise of Skywalker — but what other evidence is there for the late clone on the throne? 

Palpatine’s surprising level of control over the clone troopers in the prequel trilogy shows that he had intimate knowledge of the Kamonian cloners, and his explicit desire to cheat death ties in nicely with the theory that he created one or several clone bodies to house his Force ghost in the event of his death. Snoke was obviously a messed up clone (just look at the guy, like, yikes) but using a jacked-up version of himself helped hide his influence as the First Order rose in the galaxy and provided cover for Kylo Ren’s final test. 

Consider the way Snoke talks to Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi. He unfavorably compares him to Darth Vader, speaking of the late Anakin Skywalker as if he knew him. “You’re no Vader,” Snoke sneers, and criticizes Kylo’s mask as a poor attempt to emulate the powerful Sith. The intimate way he describes Vader and puts Kylo in direct competition with his memory suggests that Kylo is failing at fulfilling the exact same role Vader excelled in: being an apprentice to the Emperor. 

Darth Vader killed Emperor Palpatine in an ultimate display of an apprentice overpowering his master, but he did so while turning back towards the light side of the Force. Snoke is preoccupied with Kylo resisting the light side, and Kylo kills him while maintaining his allegiance to the dark. In the moment he murders his master without turning to to the light side, Kylo exceeds Vader and becomes exactly what Palpatine desires most. The timing is perfect for the Emperor to reveal himself, perhaps in a better clone body this time, and congratulate Kylo on a job well done. Now their real work can begin. 

6. Rey is a clone made with Skywalker DNA

Even though Kylo Ren told Rey that her parents were nobodies in The Last Jedi, many fans still believe that the scrapper from Jakku has some noteworthy lineage that ties into the greater story of the Skywalker family. It’s unlikely at this point that The Rise of Skywalker will course-correct towards making Rey the daughter of any known Star Wars characters, but a series where rampant cloning is totally a thing offers another option that is far more interesting than the idea that Luke Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi had a kid.

The “Rey is a Skywalker” clone theory also revolves around Emperor Palpatine’s aforementioned interest in cloning. He had ample access to Darth Vader’s DNA and could easily have cloned Anakin Skywalker  in attempt to make a second “chosen one,” or he could have retrieved the hand Luke lost in The Empire Strikes back to make a clone of Luke for the same reasons.

 Further evidence is in Rey’s uncanny upbringing on Jakku, which pretty much follows the Star Wars recipe for creating a Skywalker to the T. Take a super-strong Force baby, subtract their parents, dump them in a desert to grow up hard, throw a cute droid in the mix, and extract them when the galaxy needs them most. It’s almost too perfect, like Palpatine was literally trying to homegrow his own chosen one to use as he wishes. 

7. Anakin Skywalker will appear and finish his destiny as the chosen one

Darth Vader is almost certainly dead, but in Star Wars “dead” doesn’t always mean “gone.” The nine films  in the Skywalker saga have all low-key been about the effect of Vader on the universe, starting with the prophesy that Anakin Skywalker was a chosen one who would bring balance to the force. Thing is, he kind of didn’t. Not in the long term. 

The “Anakin returns” theory is predicated on the idea that Anakin’s work isn’t done and he still has to fulfill his destiny. Whether he returns as a Force ghost, as a clone (see “Rey is a Skywalker clone” theory), or somehow in the flesh, it’s possible that the dees ex machine of The Rise of Skywalker will be Vader himself. 

There’s also the suspicious willingness of Star Wars to reveal in their first trailer that Palpatine returns in The Rise of Skywalker. That’s the kind of huge reveal most films would save for a surprise but they just…put it out there. Anakin returning would be an even bigger surprise, and possibly the only twist huge enough to justify spoiling Palpatine straight out the gate.