More than six years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters, Marvel Comics has finally completed its adaptation of the final Skywalker Saga movie. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation may be late to the party (the series was originally solicited in 2020 and canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic), but it does seek to bring something new to the table. The series includes scenes and dialogue not included in the film itself, and that includes a key change fans have been begging for.
Read on to learn what key moment plays out differently in the final issue, and why this change raises a few awkward questions in its wake.
The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation's Biggest Change
Like The Rise of Skywalker novelization before it, Marvel's adaptation aims not just to rehash the plot of the film, but add new scenes and lines of dialogue that expand on the plot. Issue #5 alone features several key changes. We actually get to see the message Lando transmits to the galaxy as he rallies an armada to fight the Sith Eternal fleet. We also see Rey and Ben Solo psychically talk to each other through the Force as their Force dyad bond strengthens.
But the biggest change comes during the pivotal scene where a battered but defiant Rey confronts her rejuvenated grandfather Palpatine in his Sith temple on Exegol. In the movie, Rey is strengthened when she hears the voices of the many dead Jedi who came before her, from fellow Skywalkers Anakin and Luke to Clone Wars-era giants like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Unduli, and Mace Windu to the likes of Ahsoka Tano and Kanan Jarrus.
While that scene proudly celebrates the enduring legacy of the Jedi, many fans have been critical of the fact that these cameos were merely voiceovers. We don't actually see these dead Jedi manifest, despite a shot of Rey that clearly has room for an army of Force Ghosts in the background. This is where the comic seeks to address that sense of disappointment. This time, Rey is physically joined by the Force Ghosts on Exegol:
This certainly makes for a more cinematic moment. It's just a shame the movie didn't go this route, though no doubt wrangling all these actors together for the sake of a split-second group shot would have been a major undertaking.
This isn't even the only example of issue #5 inserting Force Ghosts into scenes where they don't exist in the film. During the post-battle celebration on Ajan Kloss, Luke and Leia materialize to look upon their friends with pride and engage in a bit of sibling banter.
Director J.J. Abrams was sadly limited in what he could accomplish with Leia given the 2016 death of Carrie Fisher. Both the novelization and the comic take advantage of the fact that they don't face those same limitations, adding new scenes and moments that seek to expand Leia's role in the finale of the Sequel Trilogy.
The Mystery of Ahsoka Tano
As welcome as the Force Ghost scene in this issue is, it does raise some awkward questions. For one thing, how are so many of these Prequel-era Jedi able to materialize at all? The franchise has established that the ability to appear as a Force Ghost isn't innate to Jedi, but the result of intense training that Qui-Gon Jinn passed on to Yoda and Obi-Wan after his death. Why are so many Prequel-era Jedi like Mace, Luminara, Aayla Secura, and Ki-Adi-Mundi able to manifest now? Is The Force bending the rules because this is a special occasion?
We're also a little confused as to the inconsistency of the ages depicted here. Why do Anakin and Obi-Wan appear in their Clone Wars-era prime, but Luke is his aged, haggard hermit self from Ahch-To? When has Obi-Wan's Force Ghost ever manifested in Ewan McGregor form rather than Alec Guinness form?
But the most burning question here involves the presence of Ahsoka Tano, a character whose fate during the Sequel Trilogy remains up in the air. The Clone Wars and Rebels star Ashley Eckstein recorded a line for Ahsoka in the film (this being well before Rosario Dawson was cast as the live-action version of Ahsoka), but it was never clear whether that was meant to imply Ahsoka is dead by this point. Dave Filoni certainly cast doubt on the idea.
Should Ahsoka's inclusion in this page be taken as a sign that she is indeed dead? Or is she merely Force projecting, as Luke did during his final "battle" with Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi? It may be some time yet before Lucasfilm finally settles the issue. For now, Ahsoka's post-Return of the Jedi story is still very much a work in progress. Dawson will reprise her role in the upcoming second season of Star Wars: Ahsoka, and she's also expected to play a key role in Filoni's live-action Star Wars movie.
What do you think of the changes made in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation? Do they improve the story? Let us know in the comments below. And be sure to brush up on every Star Wars movie and series in development.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
