The Last 'Star Wars' Movie Almost Had A Different Ending

The last Star Wars movie, “The Rise of Skywalker” was extremely controversial for many reasons.

Many considered it to be a lackluster conclusion to the nine-episode Skywalker Saga. The return of Empire Palpatine in the final installment was not well-received by fans. Kylo Ren and the redeemed Ben Solo, played by Adam Driver, was one of the most well-received character of the sequel trilogy.

However, the kiss that Ben Solo shares with Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, in the final scene they shared together, has been hotly debated among fans. Ridley revealed that the infamous kiss almost didn't make it to the final version of the film.

Author Sariah Wilson did a Zoom interview with actress Daisy Ridley, who explained that “The Rise of Skywalker” almost had a different ending.

“Back to when I asked Daisy Ridley if there was an alternate ending to TROS, and she was telling me that it was kiss or no kiss. She was doing ADR in LA and JJ asked her if she wanted to see what they put together for the ending and she said yes,” she tweeted.

She said Daisy said they “initially used the no kiss bit. And it was still moving, I guess. But when he [JJ] said he'd put it in, I was really glad.”

Daisy said she felt like when they were filming that “both of us [Rey and Ben] knew it was goodbye, so it was awful, and just at the moment where everything might be okay and then it isn't.”

Wilson tweeted that Daisy wasn’t sure where Rey and Ben’s story could have gone in Ben Solo had lived, but compared it to the final scene in “The Graduate.” Wilson said Daisy “thinks part of the beauty and heartbreak of Reylo’s story is that it ended the way it did.”

Editor Maryann Brandon spoke with the Huffington Post shortly after the movie was released.

She said, “I always said, 'The movie will tell us whether they should kiss or not. We will know by the time we get to the end of our process, if it should happen.' And I felt it should, and [director J.J. Abrams] agreed with me, and other people who saw the film agreed.”

She also acknowledged that the kiss would be divisive, but admitted that she felt that many elements in the movie would prove to be polarizing among the fanbase.

“I know it's not for everybody,” she confessed. “I know there will be people who wish they hadn't, but this is a film that was never going to please everyone, and I think that the reviews are kind of reflective of that. The things that certain people love, other people hated. And that's the phenomenon of 'Star Wars.'”

Slashfilm revealed that “The Rise of Skywalker” novelization, written by Rae Carson, takes away the romantic notion behind the kiss, describing it as a “kiss of gratitude.” The passage reads:

“His heart was full as Rey reached for his face, let her fingers linger against his cheek. And then, wonder of wonders, she leaned forward and kissed him. A kiss of gratitude, acknowledgement of their connection, celebration that they'd found each other at last. But then she drew back, concern on her face. She could feel him growing cold. Ben smiled at her. He had given Rey back to the galaxy. It wouldn't atone for the darkness he'd wrought, but it was what he could do.”

Although the Skywalker Saga is over and the franchise is moving away from the sequel trilogy, many still wonder if Ridley will ever return to a galaxy far, far away.