Rey’s upcoming Star Wars movie, Star Wars: New Jedi Order, breaks Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s biggest narrative promise. New Jedi Order will take place 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and follows Rey in the midst of rebuilding the Jedi Order. Hopefully, armed with the knowledge of the ancient Jedi texts, Luke and Leia’s teachings, and her own experiences, Rey’s newly evolved Jedi Order will be able to overcome the Jedi’s biggest flaws and protect the galaxy in earnest once again. New Jedi Order is particularly exciting because it will explore an entirely untouched period within the Star Wars franchise.

And yet, despite its distance from Star Wars’ previous movie installments and the promise of an entirely fresh and compelling crop of Jedi – plenty of new Force-sensitive characters could be introduced, providing a perfect jumping-off point for the franchise’s next slate of stories – there’s one crucial aspect that is holding New Jedi Order back from making its independent mark on the franchise. The question New Jedi Order’s existence raises is, as such: will Star Wars ever be able to move on from the Skywalker saga?

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Rise Of Skywalker Was Billed As The End Of The Skywalker Saga

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was originally meant to mark the end of the Skywalker saga and the end of the Skywalker family’s influence on Star Wars storytelling. Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and even Leia’s son, Ben Solo, who had only been introduced in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, had all sadly met their demise by the time the credits rolled on Rise of Skywalker, though Leia’s on-screen death was tragically brought about by Carrie Fisher’s untimely passing in 2016. The Rise of Skywalker’s story was supposed to allow Star Wars to move on from its decades-old legacy and focus on introducing new characters, stories, and lore instead.

On the one hand, it did. The Skywalker saga was, on the whole, about the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker and how his dark side transformation and his actions as Darth Vader affected the galaxy and his children. The fall of the Jedi, the rise of the Empire, the Rebellion, the First Order, the Resistance, and even Rey’s very existence are all tied up within Anakin Skywalker’s rise and fall. With both his and his descendants’ stories wrapped up (however messily), the Skywalker saga could and arguably should have come to an end after Rise of Skywalker, and yet it didn’t.

Rey Is A Skywalker … So The Saga Continues

The Rise of Skywalker’s final scene allowed the Skywalker saga to continue anyway. As Rey said goodbye to both Luke and Leia by burying their lightsabers in the sands of Tatooine, Rey chose a new surname for herself: Skywalker. Emotionally, this was a captivating turning point for Rey. All she’d ever wanted was to see her parents again and find out where she came from, but now that she knew the truth of her real heritage and the dark legacy behind it, she chose to reject it and embrace the family she’d found along the way instead.

Rey undoubtedly deserved that fresh start, but it also proved that Star Wars was not yet ready to completely detach itself from the Skywalker name and the history that comes with it. Had Rey Skywalker’s cinematic story ended with Rise of Skywalker, too, this wouldn’t have been an issue. Now, however, with New Jedi Order in the works, Rey will carry on the Skywalker name. The saga will be forced to continue because she is, now and forevermore, a Skywalker. Luke and Leia’s Force ghosts agreed with her choice, after all. There’s no going back now.

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Rey’s New Jedi Order Movie Is Episode X In All But Name

In the end, though New Jedi Order promises a look into the future and plenty of new characters and stories, it will still function like Episode X. The time jump won’t help distance Rey’s new narrative from the Skywalker saga enough. After all, while 15 years is a long time, and Rey will have grown and changed and become a more powerful Jedi, 30 years passed between the events of Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, too. New characters were introduced, yes, but the Skywalkers were still at the center of it all, and New Jedi Order is no different.

No matter how Lucasfilm decides to spin it, New Jedi Order will be seen by the majority as Episode X. It’s possible that, since this is currently supposed to be a standalone movie, New Jedi Order will mark the true ending of the Skywalker saga, but it remains to be seen whether that will change the audience’s perception of the movie and its leading character. The Skywalker saga is a pop culture juggernaut and made Star Wars what it is today. Star Wars: New Jedi Order can and hopefully will be a success, but there is no denying it will still be tied up with the Skywalker saga’s legacy.

Star Wars: New Jedi Order

The tenth mainline installment in the Star Wars franchise is the first movie to follow the sequel trilogy, where Mark Hamill’s Luke, Carrie Fisher’s Leia, and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo gave their final farewell. After the release of The Rise of Skywalker, development on a direct sequel had become dormant as Disney shifted focus on other parts of the galaxy, namely, Disney+ shows such as The Mandalorian, Andor, and Ahsoka. However, a movie starring Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker was officially announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023.

Director

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Writers

Steven Knight