The Rise of Skywalker writer on the two key questions which fuel the film

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is slated to serve as the culmination of the entire nine-film saga which began decades ago in 1977 with the release of the first film, so it naturally has quite a lot to live up to. Chris Terrio, who co-wrote the script for THE RISE OF SKYWALKER along with director J.J. Abrams, recently spoke with Empire Magazine to tease that there are two simple yet key questions which fuel this final installment of the Skywalker Saga.

One of them is a simple one: ‘Who is Rey?’ Which is a question that people not only wonder about quite literally, but wonder about in the spiritual sense. How can Rey become the spiritual heir to the Jedi? We kept coming back to ‘Who is Rey?’, and how can we give the most satisfying answer to that not only factually – because obviously people are interested in whether there's more to be learned of Rey's story – but more importantly who is she as a character? How will she find the courage and will and inner strength and power to carry on what she's inherited?

Considering that Rey's (Daisy Ridley) origins have been a major mystery since STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, it's no surprise that this will factor into the final film. As far as whether or not Kylo Ren's (Adam Driver) revelation about Rey's parents in STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI proves to be correct, that remains to be seen. "'How strong is the Force?'" is the second question, which Chris Terrio admitted also sounds a little simple, "but actually when you get down to it, that is a sort of Zen Koan that we would really meditate on – not literally in yoga poses or anything, but like we would discuss, ‘What is the Force and how strong is the Force?' Those two things were really important."

Chris Terrio also spoke about how the bond between Kylo Ren and Rey will be explored in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. "Some of the most interesting scenes in The Last Jedi are the conversations between Rey and Ren," Terrio said. "We’ve tried to pick up that complicated relationship that really has been present ever since the interrogation in Episode VII. When Ren takes off his mask, there’s a nakedness about him with Rey that he doesn’t express to anyone else. Rian developed that in fascinating ways and we’ve been able to develop it even further." Speaking of Kylo Ren, Empire also released a new image from the film which features Kylo struggling to stand his ground while something off-camera blasts a group of stormtroopers on their asses.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER will hit theaters on December 20, 2019.