Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation #5Star Warshas confirmed a major secret about the Sith throneworld of Exegol, and it really should have been inThe Rise of Skywalker. In the final Skywalker saga movie, the resurrected Emperor Palpatine has accumulated all of his dark side power, his Final Order is ready to conquer the galaxy, and he declares himself “All the Sith.” However, Rey proves that “a thousand generations of Jedi live within her” as she destroys Palpatine once and for all. That said, the scenes could have been so much better, and it’s been canonically proven that Exegol was the planet to make it happen.
Located in the Unknown Regions and hidden within a web of hyperspace anomalies known as the Red Honeycomb Zone or Blood Net,Exegol was an ancient throneworld of the Sith. During the days of the Empire, the world was reclaimed by Palpatine and turned into his secret stronghold, remaining hidden in the shadows while his Sith Eternal cult made him a new body afterReturn of the Jedi.WhileThe Rise of Skywalkerended with Palpatine’s demise, a canonical secret about the dark world could have made The Battle of Exegol so much cooler, as proven by Marvel’s new adaptation.
The Rise of Skywalker Movies Failed To Give Fans The Perfect Scene To End The Skywalker Saga
We Should Have Seen “All The Jedi”
Having been knocked back by Palpatine’s power, Rey was shown calling upon the spirits of the Jedi to “be with her” and give her strength. As such, multiple Jedi voices are heard inThe Rise of Skywalker’sincluding Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Kanan Jarrus, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Aayla Secura, Luke Skywalker, and more. It’s a pretty cool moment, especially afterRey stands back up and tells Palpatine that she’s “All the Jedi”.
However, many fans were hoping that these fallen Jedi would actually appear as Force ghosts, appearing next to Rey and offering her their strength as she repelled Palpatine’s blasts of Force lightning, defeating him once and for all. Unfortunately, this wasn’t meant to be for the finalRise of Skywalkermovie. As such, it’s certainly one of the movie’s biggest missed opportunities that really would have tied all 9 Skywalker saga movies together incredibly well.
Marvel’s Rise of Skywalker Adaptation Corrects The Movie’s Mistakes
Multiple Force Ghosts Canonically Makes Sense on Exegol
Surprisingly, Marvel’s newRise of Skywalker Adaptation #5corrects the movie’s missing Force ghost mistake. Featuring even more voices than were heard inThe Rise of Skywalker, Rey is joined by several Jedi Knights from across the ages, including some from theHigh Republic Erain the very back, like Stellan Gios and Avar Kriss. All of them appear to be Force ghosts, their lightsabers ignited as Rey prepares to face Palpatine once more.
However, what’s even cooler is that so many Force ghosts appearing is canonically possible, particularly on a world like Exegol. As has been revealed in books like George Mann’sDark Legends,Exegolis described as a vergence world where the boundaries between the netherworld and the physical world are “unusually thin”. This explains why the Sith made the planet one of their throneworlds as they sought to unlock the secrets to immortality (and Palpatine setting up shop centuries later).
As such, one can argue that all of these Jedi did appear as legitimate Force ghosts on Exegol, rather than being a more metaphorical presence.Becoming a Force ghost and retaining one’s identity in the cosmic Forcetypically requires special training, as seen with a select few Jedi like Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Luke.However, perhaps Exegol being this kind of special vergence that bends the rules over life and death creates a rare exception, one we absolutely should have seen on-screenThe Rise of Skywalkerfilm.
