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Kylo Ren and Rey's Last Scene in The Rise of Skywalker Wasn't Originally Planned


Credit: Lucasfilm


With now over a week since its premiere, it looks like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is quite divisive among the fans. One of the parts that got the audience talking was Rey and Kylo Ren's last scene in the movie. And as it turns out, that wasn't even originally part of the plan.

This article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The Reylo scene in question was towards the final part of the movie. Rey has finally beaten Emperor Palpatine, but doing so has cost her life. Ben Solo then sacrificed every ounce of his life force to revive Rey, the heroine wakes up and the two of them kissed.
This scene was kind of a bittersweet moment for Reylo fans because Ben eventually dies after they shared a kiss. For some, they weren't particularly fond of the two being a couple because their relationship was unhealthy. That being said, the kiss wasn't even initially planned.

"I always said, ‘The movie will tell us whether they should kiss or not. We will know by the time we got to the end of our process, if it should happen,'' Episode IX editor Maryann Brandon revealed to Huff Post. She said she felt it should happen and director J.J. Abrams also agreed with her, as well as other people who saw the film.

"I know it's not for everybody," Brandon added. She knows that there will be some fans who wished that Rey and Ben shouldn't have kissed. However, Brandon pointed out that this is a movie "that was never going to please everyone," and she admits that the reviews "are kind of reflective to that."

"The things that certain people love, other people hated. And that's the phenomenon of Star Wars," she added. Brandon also mentioned that there were a lot of versions on whether they should do the kiss or not. But she praised Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley's performances, which seems to be one of the reasons that the kiss made it in the final cut.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now showing.

Also Read: The Rise of Skywalker Director on Finn/Poe Romance: 'I'm Kind of Taking it at Face Value'

For more articles like this, take a look at our Star Wars: Episode IX page.