Star Wars Is Officially Rewriting The Rise Of Skywalker

Seven years after its release, Star Wars is officially rewriting The Rise of Skywalker. The Rise of Skywalker is the most recent movie in Star Wars' timeline. That said, upcoming Star Wars movies are looking beyond it, be it Shawn Levy's Starfighter or a new trilogy in development by Simon Kinberg.

For Lucasfilm, these movies will hopefully allow the franchise to move beyond The Rise of Skywalker in terms of both timeline and backlash. Episode IX is often considered one of the worst-ranked Star Wars movies, primarily due to its reliance on unearned nostalgia and a borderline nonsensical plot.

With this backlash in mind, it becomes evident that future Star Wars movies and TV series are officially rewriting The Rise of Skywalker, seven years after the film's release.

Episode IX Was Supposed To Be The End Of The Skywalker Saga

Firstly, it is worth exploring exactly why future movies look to be rewriting The Rise of Skywalker. For all intents and purposes, The Rise of Skywalker was thought of as the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga. What began with Episode I - The Phantom Menace was set to conclude with the 2019 film, with the latter's story supporting this.

The resurrection of Emperor Palpatine, his claim to be all of the SIth, the galaxy-altering stakes of his Final Order, Rey's rise to finish what Anakin started, become all of the Jedi, and christen herself as a Skywalker to boot, indicated that the story was over.

To further support this, the final shot of The Rise of Skywalker is Rey staring at the twin suns of Tatooine, a direct parallel with how the Star Wars franchise began in 1977. Evidently, Lucasfilm intended The Rise of Skywalker to be the final installment in the episodic Star Wars franchise, with the studio admitting as much since.

After The Rise of Skywalker, several movies were announced. From Taika Waititi's standalone movie and Rian Johnson's trilogy to Rogue Squadron, these movies were all billed as original stories that stand apart from the Skywalker Saga. This was the final piece of evidence that Lucasfilm intended The Rise of Skywalker to be the end of the saga, with future movies taking Star Wars in a new direction.

Star Wars Is Now Revisiting The Sequel Trilogy Era

Despite all of this happening in the last seven years, Star Wars' future will instead revisit the sequel trilogy era. Effectively, this is walking back the decision for The Rise of Skywalker to end the Skywalker Saga. One of the upcoming Star Wars movies still in development is the story of Rey's New Jedi Order, starring Daisy Ridley.

Although updates about the project have been few and far between, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is still set to direct the movie, with the story set to take place 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker. While this timeline will allow the film to stand on its own to some extent, it would be impossible to make a movie about Rey Skywalker without tying it back to the events of the sequels.

Beyond that, Simon Kinberg's aforementioned Star Wars trilogy will seemingly be the next step in the Skywalker Saga. In fact, respected industry trades like Deadline reported as much when Kinberg's trilogy was first announced, describing the three films as Episodes X, XI, and XII of the Skywalker Saga.

If this turns out to be true, The Rise of Skywalker was not the conclusion of the Saga that it was initially intended to be. Via Rey's movie and Kinberg's trilogy, the sequel trilogy and the entire Skywalker Saga will be changed, adding more stories to it and rewriting the initial "ending" that Episode IX was supposed to be.

Rey's Star Wars Movie Will Change How You See The Rise Of Skywalker

While details about Kinberg's trilogy remain unclear, the same cannot be said for Rey's Star Wars movie. The film's timeline and overall plot have been revealed, with Rey Skywalker rebuilding the Jedi Order post-The Rise of Skywalker. No matter what, this movie will change how audiences see Episode IX.

Rey's return, how she interacts with other sequel characters, the impact of her heritage, her new role as a Skywalker, and how she rebuilds the Jedi Order will all stem directly from The Rise of Skywalker. Even if Rey's Jedi Order movie is intended as a standalone story, it will be nigh on impossible to shake free the feeling that it is a direct sequel to The Rise of Skywalker.

What Should Star Wars Episode X Look Like?

This begs the question of what Star Wars - Episode X should look like. In many ways, this is an impossible question to answer. Every single new Star Wars project causes division, whether it be an homage to Lucas' films like The Force Awakens, a new direction like the prequels or The Last Jedi, or an attempted mix of both like The Rise of Skywalker.

Therefore, Episode X needs to find the right balance. The film, be it Rey's story or the first installment of Kinberg's trilogy, needs to introduce new, exciting elements that feel distinct from the rest of the Skywalker Saga. That said, it still needs to include recognizable elements and the same spirit and themes of previous Star Wars movies.

If Episode X manages to succeed in finding this balance, it will already be more successful than Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was. If so, it will be an indisputable fact that Star Wars' future is looking to rewrite Episode IX, almost a decade after it was supposed to conclude the franchise for good.