Fixing The Sequel Trilogy
Or rather: “Fixing The Rise Of Skywalker”.
Or should I say: “Fixing Luke Skywalker”.
Really, it’s all same thing.
The Last Jedi metastasised a fetid, Luke Skywalker-shaped lump in the heart of Star Wars: it was necessary that Episode IX dig it out if the patient was to heal. Sadly, while The Rise of Skywalker did make the critical incision, it failed to remove all the rancid tissue and, by consequence, Star Wars is now destined to wither and die.
I didn’t think any version of Episode IX could’ve turned out well. Colin Trevorrow’s proposed “Duel of the Fates” fails equally in this regard. The damage was done and there was just no fixing it. I felt that the whole sequel trilogy should be written off as the most egregious act of self-harm in blockbuster franchise history. I didn’t blame The Rise of Skywalker for it because – as I’ve said repeatedly – I didn’t think it was even possible to fix Luke Skywalker.
At least, I didn’t until now.
One day, out of an Alderaan sky of clearest blue, I felt a super-laser flash of inspiration: the solution to the great problem. The key to fixing the whole damn mess. Impossibly, it could’ve even transformed The Last Jedi into a worthwhile part of the saga.
The revelation came when I realised that the only way to repair Luke was, paradoxically, to trash his character even further. Again, the problem with The Last Jedi isn’t so much that Luke is seen to be doing wicked things — such as contemplating murdering his innocent nephew, stuff like that — it’s that the film wants to have it both ways: it still wants Luke to be the iconic hero at the end, the spark that lights the whatever. Luke is not heroic in The Last Jedi, he is the villain. No character in Rian’s movie is shown doing anything as evil as Luke’s past misdeeds. Lean into that, embrace that, and suddenly everything falls into place.
But fixing Luke is just the tip of the iceberg. The final movie in the Star Wars saga had a whole checklist of other tasks to tick off. It had to:
- Make sense of the many plot threads from The Force Awakens that The Last Jedi abandoned and contradicted.
- Make a damned decision about Rey and Ben’s relationship (or lack thereof). While Disney seems allergic to the suggestion of any icky romance in Mickey’s galaxy far, far away, Han & Leia’s blossoming romance was the beating heart of The Empire Strikes Back, easily the best film in the series.
- Find a plot for Episode XI, after Rian Johnson decided to kill off the principal antagonist of the trilogy (Snoke) and declined to replace him with anything else.
- Engineer a graceful exit for the already-deceased Carrie Fisher. In hindsight it’s regrettable that The Last Jedi orchestrated a note-perfect exit for our Princess… then gave it to a new character we don’t care about.
- Find a way for it to make sense that a Millennium Falcon-ful of rebels could defeat the First Order.
- Show Billy Dee Williams some god damned respect.
- Delve deeper into the spiritual nature of the Force, as per George Lucas’ original (and utterly bonkers) plans for the sequel trilogy. If we’re going to learn more about the Force, it’s now or never. (There was ample opportunity to do this in The Last Jedi, but just no time to squeeze it in around scenes of Jedi masters slobbering over whale milk.)
- End it. A request: could the film not culminate in a big, predictable, computer-generated, smashy crashy battle scene this time? I mean, I know that’s the way every single film in the saga has ended — save The Empire Strikes Back (that film again)— but no space battle has ever topped the one in Return of the Jedi, so maybe try something different? Perhaps even something meaningful, to suggest that this nine episode star war actually had a point?
Without further ado, I’ll lay out the rough outline of the film I think they should’ve made, including a few key scenes to flesh the thing out. I’ll attempt to address every point on my list in a satisfying way, and most importantly, of course, once-and-for-all: fix Luke Skywalker. I’ll let you, dear reader, be the judge of whether any of it cuts the blue mustard.
[Yes, it’s obviously just fan-fiction but then again – considering the sequel-trilogy was made without George Lucas’ involvement & Kathleen Kennedy binned his ideas (“George immediately got upset, he was disappointed that his story was being discarded”) – Disney’s efforts are no more legitimate in my eyes.]
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
STAR WARS EPISODE IX: THE LAST HOPE
ACT 1
IMPERIAL PALACE, CORUSCANT
Emperor Ben Solo slouches on his throne, miserable and bored. Armitage Hux, Admiral of the First Order Fleet, brings news that the Knights of Ren have tracked a Resistance ship to the Endor System.
HUX: Your Majesty, they appear to be scavenging for information in the wreckage of the Second Death Star.
BEN: Scavenging? It’s her. I know it. Ready my ship.
HUX: Your Majesty, may I remind you that your place is here, leading the Empire.
BEN: You take over while I’m gone.
Ben glances at a bronze statue of a dog-like animal. He lifts it up and positions it on the throne.
BEN: Even better, I’m putting him in charge.
THE OCEAN MOON OF KEF BIR, ENDOR SYSTEM — DAY
Ben’s Tie-Silencer swoops down to land on the storm-battered wreckage of the Death Star II. There he finds the Knights of Ren surrounding Rey, who is beaten, bound and kneeling before them.
The Knights, who have confiscated her newly constructed lightsaber, bow grudgingly to Ben. They offer him the honour of beheading their prized captive.
However, when Ben refuses — saying he will take her back to Coruscant — they become angry.
LEADER: She must die. If you won’t do it, we will.
Ben draws his lightsaber. The Knights of Ren encircle him.
LEADER: As we suspected. You may die as well.
Ben fights all of them all at once. He cuts their number down to three before he is wounded. Rey escapes from her bonds, retrieves her lightsaber and joins the fight by his side.
They eventually prevail, though both are exhausted.
After catching her breath, Rey helps Ben remove a metal shard from his side.
BEN: Why are you helping me?
REY: I don’t know. Just keep quiet.
There is an enormous crash and Ben’s ship — which was damaged in the melee — falls into the ocean, drifting but sinking fast.
BEN: I don’t have the strength to raise my ship, can you?
REY: I can’t. I’m too tired.
BEN: If we lose it we’re trapped here. We’ve got to swim to it.
Ben steps down to the water’s edge, but Rey hangs back.
REY: I… I can’t swim.
BEN: How come?
REY: I had a different childhood to you. There was barely enough water on Jakku to drink, let alone take swimming lessons.
Ben holds out his hand.
BEN: I’ll help you.
When they make it to Ben’s ship, Rey is able to patch it up it sufficiently that they manage to fly it to the grassy plains beyond the nearby shore.
GRASS PLAINS, KEF BIR — NEXT DAY
With his ship’s hyperdrive needing extensive repairs, Rey watches, amused, as Ben tries to fix it by himself. He obviously has no idea what he’s doing. He strips to his waist, but ends up frustrated and smeared with oil.
REY: You’ve just broken the drive-shaft.
BEN: No I haven’t, I just need to…
REY: You’re making it worse.
BEN: So help me then.
Rey raises her eyebrows.
BEN: (CONT) Please.
REY: Alright then. Actually, tinkering with ships helps me to unwind. But please put your shirt on and then leave me in peace. Why don’t you make yourself useful and light a fire, night is closing in. Uh, His Highness does know how to make a fire?
Away from the First Order Empire, Ben starts to relax, gradually reverting to his boyish former self. He is even a little charming. He constructs a crude shelter for the night and Rey is mildly impressed.
KEF BIR — NEXT DAY
Ben is eating breakfast rations while watching Rey still working on his ship.
REY: Right, that’s all I can do until the fuel cells finish charging.
BEN: How long will that take.
REY: I’d say we’ve got a few hours to kill.
They look at each other awkwardly.
BEN: Rey, tell me where General Organa is.
Rey sighs and glances toward the beach.
REY: I believe you said you’d teach me how to swim?
BEN: What, now?
REY: Well, we’re not discussing Leia, and I’m bored. So, let’s go, Your Majesty.
Rey starts walking toward the shore.
BEN: Just “Ben”, okay?
SOMEWHERE IN THE GALAXY
A battle-worn Millennium Falcon dives through the gap between two stars, in the middle of a star cluster. In the cockpit, Poe and Chewie are ignoring the many alarms that are sounding. Rose is back in the engine bay, hurriedly repairing one thing after another. Finn is bent over a scanner.
POE: Anything?
FINN: Nothing in the Denab Cluster. Wait, we’re coming up on the Jebralaan System.
POE: And?
FINN: It’s a possibility. But, last we heard they’d made a deal with the First Order. Maybe we should keep going? What do you think?
ROSE: (shouting) I think we need to land!
KANTA CITY OUTSKIRTS, JEBRALAAN
The Falcon parks in a hanger on the outskirts of Kanta, the largest city. Finn and Rose head downtown but are just as hopeless as ever at appearing inconspicuous. They take rest in a central square and are discussing their next move, when a gardener busy pruning a miniature tree beckons Finn to come over.
GARDENER: You know, you’re terrible at this.
FINN: At what?
GARDENER: Your super-secret reconnaissance mission.
FINN: How do you know what we’re doing?
GARDENER: Come on son, it’s pretty obvious. But maybe I can help, what do you need?
FINN: No offence, but we’re looking for a doctor, a specialist actually — not a landscape gardener.
GARDENER: Now why would anyone go undercover to find a doctor? Who’s the patient?
FINN: Someone very, very important.
GARDENER: Well now I’m intrigued, who exactly is this very important, very sick person?
He puts down his pruning shears and peers at Finn.
GARDENER: Hey, are you with the Resistance?
FINN: What makes you say that?
GARDENER: Is it Leia?
FINN: Uh, Leia who?
GARDENER: Why didn’t you say so? How much time do we have?
FINN: Uh…
The gardener calls loudly over to an elegantly dressed man sitting on a bench close-by.
GARDENER: Chet, my two honoured friends here are going to give you a list of things they need, and you’re going to make sure they get all of it, got that?
Chet nods.
GARDENER: And send for a team of our best physicians. I mean right now.
Chet immediately gets up and calls two other assistants over to help.
ROSE: Who are you?
GARDENER: My name is Lando Calrissian, I’m the Director of this Municipality. Gardening is just a hobby. Delighted to make your acquaintance Miss.
KEF BIR, NIGHT
In their shelter, Ben wakes with a start to find Rey standing over him, brandishing her lightsaber. It’s a mirror of the flashback scene from The Last Jedi. This time, Ben doesn’t flinch or react. He tells her to go ahead. Rey hesitates.
BEN: Do it. I won’t stop you.
REY: I don’t want to feel this. It’s wrong, it’s all wrong. But if I kill you then it’s over. The galaxy will be free.
BEN: I know what it’s like to be conflicted, never knowing the right path – believe me.
Rey closes her eyes
REY: (to herself) Help me.
Ben sits up, grabs her hand and moves the lightsaber blade toward his own chest – now echoing the death of Han Solo in The Force Awakens.
REY: No!
She deactivates the saber: the blade retracts at the same speed that Ben brings it forward. The cold metal of the hilt touches his chest at the spot over his heart.
Rey throws the lightsaber away into the grass, leans down and they kiss.
KEF BIR, DAYBREAK
Ben wakes up alone and emerges from the shelter to find Rey sat on top of his ship, lost in thought. He approaches her, smiling warmly, but she looks away.
REY: Your ship is ready.
BEN: What do you mean?
REY: I mean you can go. Don’t you have an Empire to run, Your Majesty? Or had you forgotten about all that?
BEN: Rey, I have no choice, I have to go back. But, we could go back together.
REY: There is always another choice. You keep telling me I am no-one, well on this planet we’re both no-one. Ben, I’ve been Rey from Nowhere my whole life, it isn’t so bad.
He shakes his head.
BEN: A fantasy.
REY: You’ve carried around so many names your whole life: “Solo”, “Skywalker”, “Kylo Ren”, Emperor. What’s wrong with just being Ben from Nowhere? He’s the only one I care about.
BEN: You can’t hide from yourself forever. Eventually morning comes and the dream has to end. Perhaps it would’ve been better if you’d killed me when you had the chance.
KEF BIR, NOON
Ben is aboard his ship, readying the pre-flight sequence.
BEN: Rey, the Resistance can’t win, I know you know this. But we don’t have to be enemies, you and I. You could rule by my side if you‘d just say the word. Why don’t you say yes?
Rey hands him his lightsaber.
BEN: Alright. At least let me help you off this planet. Shall I send a ship?
REY: Nothing I do is any of your concern.
BEN: Fine.
His ship lifts off. Rey watches it until it’s out of sight, then retrieves a small device from under the cloth wrap on her arm. She presses a button and after a moment an A-wing fighter mounted with BB8 descends from high in the sky. She climbs into the cockpit, plugs the data stick she recovered from the Death Star into the navicom, and asks BB8 to read it.
She learns that the archive contains the location of an ancient Sith temple on a far flung tropical world called Bantu — a temple once visited by Emperor Palpatine himself.
BANTU, DAY
Rey treks through water-logged jungles until she arrives at a huge peaked edifice built of smooth black marble. It stands on an island in the centre of a lagoon. The scene is eerily still and silent, like a set trap. When she moves nearer she discovers that the temple has no doorway, and despite its smooth, black surface, it reflects nothing.
Then, as Rey steps closer still, to within inches of the impenetrable black walls, she finally sees something that looks like a mirror image of herself within the stone (echoing the cave scene from The Last Jedi). When she touches the surface, the other Rey grabs her hand and pulls her inside.
SITH TEMPLE INTERIOR, BANTU
Light streams down, forming eerie conical shapes. Rey observes that each cone contains a decrepit spectral creature: a lineup of dead Sith Lords.
At the furthest end, near a kind of altar, the ghost-like form of The Emperor eyes Rey malevolently.
THE EMPEROR: So, you have come. I know all about you, Rey from Nowhere.
REY: Who were my parents? I think you know. That’s all I want from you.
THE EMPEROR: I could answer, but the truth will bring you no peace.
REY: Please, tell me.
THE EMPEROR: So be it. A squalid tale of usurpers and peasant filth. Unworthy Snoke, who by luck and cunning had learned something of our order, knew enough to seek an apprentice. He particularly craved a young child. When he learned that your parents — street workers from the slums of Coruscant — had attempted to contact Skywalker to beg for their gifted daughter be admitted to his school, Snoke sent his agents to acquire you. Your parents fled to the outer rim and left you in a desert, where you should have stayed.
REY: What happened to them?
THE EMPEROR: They lied to the The First Order that you were dead. After that they were disposed of. And so, Snoke set about grooming the teenage Skywalker boy instead.
Rey takes a deep breath and steadies herself.
REY: Thank you.
THE EMPEROR: But… there’s something else, isn’t there?
REY: Yes. How do I destroy the First Order and it’s leader?
THE EMPEROR: There is a prophecy: “the one who will bring balance to the Force”. A deceptively simple divination, oft repeated, little understood — which has brought an end to two great civilisations. What do you know of it?
REY: I’ve heard it.
THE EMPEROR: You’ve never heard all of it. The Jedi kept secret for a thousand years that it was made by a Sith Seer; indeed, by the very first of our order. Likewise, the Jedi did everything in their power to conceal the second part of the prophecy: only a few have ever known it even exists. It is that the chosen one would bring about the end of both the Sith and the Jedi. He, or she, would be a “being able to walk between worlds”.
REY: “Walk between worlds”? What does that mean?
THE EMPEROR: It’s the great unsolved riddle.
REY: (to herself) “It’s time for the Jedi to end”
THE EMPEROR: Why, yes. You are not the first to come here asking such questions. I’ll tell you same thing I told him: you will kill Kylo Ren.
REY: Luke came here?
THE EMPEROR: Long ago. And, like you, he already knew. But you are not weak like him, Rey from Nowehere. You do not deny it. Long have you known what you must do. And yet you still came to me hoping for a different answer. Why?
REY: But it might not be true… “Always in motion the future is”
THE EMPEROR: Fake wisdom from the mouth of a swamp creature. Some lesser beings believe that if they don’t know a thing, then that thing is unknowable. But the dark side of the Force is the path to all knowledge. It tells us not what may be, but what will be.
REY: It told you Anakin Skywalker would destroy you?
THE EMPEROR: It did.
REY: Liar!
THE EMPEROR: It also showed me the Son of Skywalker ruling a great empire in my image.
REY: (to herself) You thought that meant Luke.
THE EMPEROR: I came to realise he lacked the strength of his father. In the moment of my death I experienced a feeling that had been entirely unknown to me in all my mortal years: doubt. Had the dark side deceived me? But from here in my tomb of half-life I observe the universe, and never have I felt such a disturbance in the Force as at the birth of a new Skywalker boy. The last Skywalker. You will go to him in his throne room and there you will kill him. And when you do, the full power of the dark side will be revealed to you. You want it, don’t you? That’s why you’re really here isn’t it, Rey from Nowhere?
REY: Is the sermon over, Palpatine? Once an Emperor, now just a phantom trapped behind glass. Like a bug. Let me free you.
THE EMPEROR: (suddenly afraid) NO!
Rey raises her hand, and with a great cacophony of crashing stone, wills the temple to tear itself apart. Massive chunks of black marble crash down around her feet, pulverising the cones of light. The gallery of ghostly Sith are extinguished one by one. The spectral form of the Emperor screams as he dissolves into the air.
REY’S A-WING, BANTU ORBIT
REY: BB8, I want you to broadcast a message on both Resistance and First Order frequencies.
BB8 beeps to say he’s ready.
REY: This is Rey of the Resistance. On behalf of General Leia… the Resistance surrenders.
Rey instructs BB8 to set course for Coruscant.
ACT 2
IN SPACE, ABOVE CORUSCANT
Rey’s ship is intercepted by the First Order’s new Super Star Destroyer and is brought into its hangar bay. Flanked by stormtroopers, Admiral Hux approaches Rey and nervously takes her lightsaber. She gives it up without a fight.
HUX: Do you have anything to say?
REY: Tell your Emperor, the answer is “Yes”.
IMPERIAL PALACE, CORUSCANT
Rey is brought to the monumentally vast throne room by an escort of a battalion of Stormtroopers and fifty Red Guards.
She is ordered to halt, her handcuffs are removed, but then the escort abruptly departs. She finds herself alone in the deserted chamber. Confused, she wanders through room after room, seeing no-one. Finally, she finds a side-door that leads out to a lush garden overlooking the city. There, Ben is waiting for her.
REY: If you stop hunting my friends, end this war peacefully, and can show me that you will be a just and kind ruler… I will be your Empress.
BEN: I will. I swear it.
Ben and Rey marry in a simple ceremony.
Poe, Finn and Rose disown her.
Rey duly takes her seat in a throne beside Ben, but is withdrawn and distant. She rests a hand on her abdomen. Through the Force she senses a new presence, tiny and fragile.
Rey also soon learns that Ben has broken his promises and is still using his fleet of Star Destroyers to scour the galaxy searching for his mother and the remaining Resistance fighters. She sees that he is just as ruthless as ever.
We see a flashback scene of Leia and Rey together aboard the Falcon. Leia begs Rey to find a way to get through to Ben and save him. Rey promises that she will, “whatever it takes”.
THRONE ROOM, IMPERIAL PALACE, NIGHT
Ben is storming around the room, ranting at Hux and his assembled generals that his grandfather, Vader, never would have tolerated their incompetence. Ben swears he will throw one of them from the palace walls unless they start delivering Resistance fighters.
Rey abruptly interrupts him, catching him off-guard.
REY: Why do you never speak of your grandmother, Queen Amidala?
BEN: Why would I? She betrayed grandfather, conspired with his enemies against him, and hid his children from him.
REY: Why would she do that?
BEN: They say she came to fear him and believed he might harm my mother and Luke, if you can believe that.
REY: Yes, I think I can.
Rey suddenly has her lightsaber in her hand. She ignites it and impales him through the chest.
Bens eyes go wide with shock.
REY: I’m sorry it had to end this way.
Royal Red Guards burst in; Hux and the generals are mute with shock.
Rey stands her ground, raising her lightsaber.
HUX: Is he dead?
REY: He’s gone.
HUX: Then…
REY: Then the Empire is mine to command. And henceforth you shall call me Empress.
HUX: …Yes, Empress.
JEBRALAAN CITY SQUARE
Poe leads an open rally against the First Order Empire, calling for the galaxy to rise up and restore Freedom and Democracy.
However, just as he begins to speak dozens of Stormtroopers enter the square. The denizens of Kanta stand back, uneasily, as the First Order troops pass among them. Poe defiantly continues his speech as the Stormtroopers march right up to his podium. By his side, Finn is armed and ready to return fire.
LEAD STORMTROOPER: Enough!
POE: I will not be silenced. The Resistance will not be silenced! We are the spark that will light the —
LEAD STORMTROOPER: Let FN-2187 speak.
POE: Uh, what?
RANDOM STORMTROOPER: We want to hear from FN-2187!
Poe and Finn exchange blank looks.
POE: Uh, you’re up buddy.
They shuffle over on the platform so that Finn is behind the microphone.
FINN: I’m FN-2187, I mean Finn. I’m Finn. Yeah. How are you?
LEAD STORMTROOPER: First Snoke gone, then Kylo Ren. Some of us are reconsidering our positions. We never signed up for the First Order to be ruled by a Jedi.
FINN: None of you signed up at all. You were kidnapped as children and raised to be soldiers. Just like I was.
RANDOM STORMTROOPER: Can you get us out?
FINN: That depends – can you get me back in?
With the help of the Stormtrooper defectors, Finn infiltrates back into the First Order — dressed in Stormtrooper garb once more — to try to fan the flames of a popular revolt from within.
THE DARK VOID
Ben’s eyes flicker. He wakes up in near total darkness, on the shore of a vast black lake. It is rocky, silent as death and seemingly devoid of all life. There are no stars in the sky.
BEN: (to himself) Where am I?
LUKE: You know, I’m not entirely sure. One minute I was sat on a rock looking at twin suns, next minute I’m here talking to you.
BEN: Luke?
LUKE: Hi kid.
The two men keep their distance from one another.
BEN: But you’re dead?
LUKE: (mocking) Oh right, yeah you’ve got me there, I’m dead. So that makes you…
BEN: …she killed me.
LUKE: Yeah. I’m afraid so.
He touches the spot on his chest where the lightsaber had pierced him.
BEN: But… I thought when Jedi die they became blue ghosts or something?
LUKE: You were never a Jedi. And I haven’t been one for a long time.
BEN: Then where are we? What is this place?
LUKE: If I had to guess, I’d say this is the spirit realm of the dark side. Some have called it the Dark Void. It’s where dead Sith see out eternity. Peaceful, isn’t it?
BEN: The Dark Void? Wait, you said you just got here? That’s not possible, you died years ago.
Luke picks up a pebble and tosses it into the still-as-glass black lake.
The splash makes barely a sound and the water seems to rise and fall in slow motion, leaving no ripples.
LUKE: Looks like time works differently here.
Ben takes a deep breath and sighs.
BEN: It’s strange…
LUKE: What is?
BEN: For the first time I can remember, I feel nothing. No doubt, no conflict, no indecision, no pain. Just… nothing. It’s a relief.
Luke frowns.
After some time Ben looks over at Luke from where he’s sitting.
BEN: What about Rey?
LUKE: Rey? Haven’t you got it yet? The affairs of mortals are of no concern to us anymore. They don’t exist in this place any more than space and time. Look, Kid, here there’s no tomorrow, no yesterday, no life, no death, no struggle. An eternal void. Enjoy it, you’ve earned it.
BEN: I just — need to know… if she’s alright.
LUKE: I honestly couldn’t tell you.
BEN: Is it possible to get back?
Luke shakes his head. He holds up his lightsaber and presses the activator button, but nothing happens.
LUKE: Neither light nor hope can exist here.
BEN: What? I don’t understand.
LUKE: No, I know you don’t Ben. I didn’t teach you anything did I? Do you even know why Jedi carry lightsabers? Their true purpose? It’s not so they can go around slicing things in half y’know.
Ben comes nearer and sits down on a rock opposite Luke.
LUKE: The Jedi Order teaches that through the Force, light is hope and hope is light. They are one. According to legend, the first Jedi discovered the existence of the Force while meditating by candle-light. Ever since, they have carried the light with them. It’s more than a weapon, it’s an instrument for communing with the Force. A lightsaber can’t work here, because hope does not exist here.
BEN: Luke, may I try?
LUKE: (to himself) “There is no try”.
BEN: What?
LUKE: Nothing. Sure Kid, help yourself.
Luke hands him the lightsaber, observing Ben curiously. Ben concentrates and tries to ignite the blade. For a split second, faint blue sparks shoot out. Luke’s breath catches in his chest.
However, the tiny embers fizzle out almost immediately and Ben hurls the lightsaber away in frustration. Luke lowers his head.
THRONE ROOM, IMPERIAL PALACE, CORUSCANT
Rose has been captured and is brought to kneel before Rey.
REY: Rose, get up please, there’s no need for that.
Rose stands uncertainly. She looks around disdainfully at the ornate palace.
ROSE: I never could’ve pictured you in a place like this.
REY: Yeah, me neither. But it’s safe here.
ROSE: For you, maybe. What about the Resistance? Have you forgotten us Rey?
REY: Of course not, that’s why I ordered that you be brought here. I want you to be my voice in the peace negotiations.
ROSE: I have my own voice. And I will not be a part of any surrender to the First Order. No matter who’s on the throne.
REY: I didn’t mean it like that. The Resistance have lost Rose. But I don’t want Poe and Finn and General Leia and the others to keep fighting until they’re all dead. This needs to end. We must have peace in the galaxy. I can deliver it.
Rose glances at Rey’s bump.
ROSE: How far along are you?
REY: Seven months. She’ll be here very soon.
ROSE: She?
Rey nods, smiling.
ROSE: Congratulations. She’ll be royalty.
Rey’s smile falters.
REY: She’ll be safe.
ROSE: Okay Empress. I’ll try to talk to them.
THE DARK VOID
Ben is peacefully staring out across the eternal black lake. After a time, a thought occurs to him and he goes to find Luke.
BEN: How is it that you are here? I’m no fool, I know why my path was always leading to this place. I’m not sorry for it. But you don’t fit. There’s a missing piece — something you’re not telling me.
Luke looks up, a wry smile on his face.
LUKE: I’m here because of a promise I made to your mother, a long time ago. She made me swear that no matter what — no matter what — I would never leave you. I promised her. I meant it then, and I still do.
Luke tosses another pebble into the water.
LUKE: (CONT) Right from when you were a baby I was getting strange visions through the Force. Actually, it was the same vision, over and over again. I saw you, here in this place, exactly as I see you now. As the years passed I tried everything I could think of to set you on a different path. To help you, to encourage you, to try to reach you, but nothing made any difference. The visions never changed. So, I stopped trying to change them and started looking for a way to find you here. Promise or no promise, I wasn’t going to let you end up alone, for all eternity.
BEN: (shocked) Luke… I… I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?
LUKE: I made a lot of mistakes in my life Kid.
BEN: How did you manage it?
LUKE: I searched the galaxy looking for some ancient text trying to find a back door to this place, a trick, a loophole. There was nothing. I knew, deep down, the only way that someone could enter the realm of the dark side… was if they deserved to. So, I allowed the dark side… in.
BEN: You did all that, for me?
LUKE: “Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will”. Yeah. Well, eventually, it did consume me, just as Yoda said it would, and then one night I crept into your bedroom intending to murder you. My own nephew. I got here the same way you did: because I deserved to.
Luke breaks down, weeping.
LUKE (CONT): You were a child Ben. I should’ve been your protector, not your enemy. I’m so sorry.
They embrace.
BEN: I’m sorry too uncle. I never knew. Thank you for coming after me.
BEN (CONT): Hey, look… a star.
Luke whirls around, staring up at a faint pinprick of light shining through the darkness.
LUKE: It can’t be…
As Ben gazes at it, he seems to gain insights that weren’t there before.
BEN: Rey, was she… pregnant?
Luke says nothing, but Ben’s expression becomes one of joy.
BEN (CONT): A baby?
Suddenly the sky is FILLED with billions of stars, silhouetting Ben against them. Their light illuminates everything — as if all the realms of heaven and earth are somehow connected.
Ben Force-pulls the discarded lightsaber into his hand and it ignites instantly, the beam shooting high into the sky.
The saber disintegrates with the power of the blue light which spills out, filling every corner of the universe. Ben seems to be carried away by it, almost disappearing into it. At the last moment he reaches out for Luke. Through the light, Leia appears at Ben’s other side, her hand slipping into his.
For an instant, the three Skywalkers are united in the Force, before the light is replaced by churning water which crashes down over their heads. Ben and Luke are plunged into a brilliant blue — but very real — ocean.
GENERAL LEIA’S CHAMBERS, JEBRALAAN
Leia’s hand, which had been hovering in mid air, falls to her side, and Princess Leia becomes one with the Force.
MID OCEAN, KEF BIR, ENDOR SYSTEM
Ben and Luke struggle to the surface, gasping for air. They swim to the wreckage of the Death Star.
DEATH STAR II WRECKAGE, ENDOR SYSTEM
Ben leaps up to the lowest platform, full of energy; Luke slowly gets to his feet, exhausted.
LUKE: The Death Star? Is this the Endor system?
BEN: Yeah.
LUKE: I don’t get it? Does this place have some special meaning for you?
Ben looks away at the shore and grassy plains beyond.
BEN: Come on, let’s get to work. Hopefully we can get one of these old ships going so we can get out of here.
LUKE: You know how to repair a Tie Fighter?
BEN: I‘ve had great teachers.
ACT 3
SPACE ABOVE CORUSCANT
Hundreds of First Order Star Destroyers prepare for battle against an armada of ships from oppressed planets across the galaxy. They are united under the command of Poe Dameron.
Aboard the lead Star Destroyer, Rose conveys to Poe Empress Rey’s demands for his ships to stand down. Poe refuses. The Star Destroyers prepare to fire.
THRONE ROOM, IMPERIAL PALACE, CORUSCANT
HUX: Empress Rey, for the sake of the Empire we must crush them now, before this gets out of hand. Give the order!
REY: I won’t… I need more time.
HUX: Millions of lives could be lost…
Hux changes his tone, calculatingly.
HUX: …innocent men, women, and children.
His eyes flick to the scared two-year-old girl clutching her mother.
HUX: Your own lives are also at risk, Your Majesty. We need to move Her Highness Princess Amidala to a safer location.
Rey’s eyes flash.
REY: She stays with me. Touch her and you die.
HUX: Then give the order!
Rey crouches down and strokes her daughter’s hair.
REY: Forgive me Amidala. I can’t allow any harm to come to you.
Rey steels herself.
REY: (CONT) Alright Admiral, proceed with—
FIRST ORDER OFFICER: Admiral, a small craft has penetrated the Palace’s inner defences.
HUX: What?
FIRST ORDER OFFICER: It’s tiny. Appears to be an Imperial era Tie Fighter.
HUX: Neutralise it.
Though she can’t see it, Princess Amidala turns her head in the direction of the approaching ship.
AMIDALA: Daddy!
Rey stares at her daughter.
COURTYARD, IMPERIAL PALACE, CORUSCANT
The burning Tie Fighter, pock-marked with blaster holes lies abandoned at the base of a giant statue. Ben Solo and Luke Skywalker run through the palace grounds toward the inner chambers. They are unarmed.
Thousands of First Order Shock Troopers begin swarming through the Palace
LUKE: Ben, hurry. There isn’t much time.
Ben sprints straight toward a phalanx of troopers blocking the way. They raise their blaster rifles.
Luke’s eyelids flicker and he raises his hand. A great calm washes over him as he commands the Force to hold all space and time at bay. The laser blasts that were about to hit Ben all stop in mid air, and Ben runs right past the statue-like troopers. Above their heads in space, the two massed fleets hang motionless and inert. All across the galaxy, people, planets, even the stars themselves are frozen in time.
Luke strains with the monumental effort; he can’t hold it much longer.
Ben makes it to the doors of the throne room when all around, space and time gradually begin to return to normal.
THRONE ROOM ANTECHAMBER, IMPERIAL PALACE
Rey and Hux see Ben at the same instant.
REY: Ben?
HUX: What new betrayal is this?
Hux grabs a hidden blaster pistol and points it at Ben. Rey holds out her hand to grab it using the Force. Nothing happens. Hux grins madly.
HUX: Lost it, have you? Desert scum.
He swings the blaster to point at Rey and pulls the trigger. Once more, the blast stops in the air between them, before speeding back the way it came, causing Hux’s gun to explode. The blast knocks him to the ground where he lies motionless. Princess Amidala lowers her hand.
Ben reaches Rey and they tearfully embrace.
REY: How…?
BEN: It doesn’t matter. I’ll tell you later.
AMIDALA: Daddy!
BEN: Can I?
REY: Yes.
Ben picks up his daughter and hugs her.
REY: Ben, the galaxy is about to fall into another great war. Maybe it’s already started. This time it will be my fault. The Force has gone from me… please, tell me what to do.
BEN: You know what to do. You are Empress of the Galaxy. You have only to say what you want, and it will happen.
REY: Yes, you’re right.
She looks at the silver throne.
REY: (to herself) No-one should have that sort of power.
REY: (CONT) Amidala, stay with daddy.
THRONE ROOM, IMPERIAL PALACE
Rey assembles her generals.
REY: Open a channel to both fleets. I want to address them personally.
FIRST ORDER GENERAL: Yes, Your Majesty. The channel is open.
REY: This is Rey, Empress ruler of the First Order Empire. To the officers of my navy, and all the Stormtroopers of my armed forces, hear this: I release you. You are free.
The generals stare at her in shock.
REY: (CONT) The Empire is hereby dissolved.
SPACE, ABOVE CORUSCANT
Aboard Star Destroyer after Star Destroyer, First Order officers look around uncertainly. Many abandon their posts.
In unison, thousands of stormtroopers remove their helmets. They are of every race, creed and gender. Their guns clatter to the floor.
REY (VOICE OVER): With my last decree as Empress, I hereby appoint Rose Tico to act as Interim Galactic President until elections can take place.
REY: (CONT) May the Force be with you all.
THRONE ROOM, IMPERIAL PALACE
Rey steps forward and rips the rank insignia off the chests of her generals. The doors bang open behind them to reveal Luke Skywalker.
LUKE: Hi Rey, how’s it going?
Rey looks like an enormous weight has been lifted from her shoulders.
REY: Luke! I just ended the First Order Empire.
LUKE: Good move.
REY: I’m nobody again.
LUKE: How does it feel?
REY: Feels like… home.
LUKE: Where’s my grand-niece? I’m dying to meet her.
GARDEN BALCONY, IMPERIAL PALACE, NIGHT
A party is in full swing and the palace is thronging with ordinary citizens, all celebrating. Fireworks are being set off all over Coruscant. Poe, Finn, Rose, Rey and Chewie are together again. Princess Amidala is sat on the floor at Rey’s feet eating handfuls of sweets.
POE: So, will you miss it?
REY: Are you kidding? I just can’t wait to wear normal clothes again.
FINN: Not too many of those Princess.
AMIDALA: Not a Princess anymore, silly.
FINN: Hey, you’re a Princess if I say you’re a Princess.
Rey Force-pulls the sweets out of her daughter’s hands.
AMIDALA: Aww.
REY: Excuse us.
Rey leads Amidala to a private room where Luke and Ben are waiting.
BEN: Are you sure you want to do this?
REY: I’m sure. What about you? Can you accept just being ‘Ben from Nowhere’?
BEN: I am Ben from Nowhere.
They all embrace.
REY: Let’s go now, it’s the right time.
Luke walks with the little family over to the palace wall. Rey crouches down to speak to her daughter.
REY: Now, just like we practised. Remember to bend your knees when we land.
Amidala nods.
BEN: Goodbye Uncle Luke, and thank you.
REY: Good luck with the new school.
A tear rolls down Luke’s cheek.
LUKE: Look after your mom and dad Princess, and may the Force be with you.
Rey and Ben hold their daughter tightly and drop over the wall.
Through the Force, Luke sees them land softly on the ground below, then watches as they slip away through the crowd to start their new life together.
FINN: Luke, there you are!
CHEWBACCA: RWOOAARGGHGH!
Luke grins and turns to rejoin the party.
THE END
