Huge 'Rise of Skywalker' leaks reveal a long-awaited kiss with a big catch

We’re less than two weeks from the theatrical debut of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and the Disney-Lucasfilm hype machine has ramped into high gear, unleashing a spate of new TV spots, interviews and teasers on a thirsty, thirsty public. But the latest information about the film making the rounds online isn’t the kind of stuff Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams want you to see, because it potentially blows the whole damn story wide open. This leaker claims there’s a very dramatic kiss at the climax of the film, but there’s a pretty massive caveat involved.

The leak comes via the Instagram account of Star Wars rumor site Bespin Bulletin, citing redditor JediPaxis (who happens to be a moderator of the Star Wars Leaks subreddit). Let’s dive into this pit of spoilers and find out who’s (allegedly) doing some smooching — and what it could cost them.

Warning: potentially MASSIVE spoilers ahead for The Rise of Skywalker. We’re talking like big twist ending stuff here people.

According to Bespin Bulletin the kiss takes place between the two characters who spawned a million fanfics: Rey and Kylo Ren. It’s not a particularly romantic venue, given that it happens during the final showdown against Emperor Palpatine, who’s memorably described elsewhere in the leak as a “corpse puppet.” Cool.

Here’s how it happens. Rey and Ben — yes, he goes back to being good boy Ben Solo — are challenging Palpatine in his extremely metal lair on Exegol. He sucks the life force out of both of them, and his eyes go full-on Sith yellow, just like when Anakin first turned to the Dark side in Revenge of the Sith. Palpatine chucks Ben into a bottomless pit, which we’ve heard about already in previous leaks.

Here’s where things start to get a bit wild. After getting some encouragement from a bevy of Force ghosts — including Mace Windu — Rey musters all of her considerable strength to deflect Palpatine’s Force lightning back at him, killing him. Unfortunately, the effort seemingly kills her, too.

It’s then that Ben emerges from the pit, transferring his life force to Rey in order to save her. They kiss. (Sadly there are no gory details about whether it’s super romantic or a mere peck on the forehead.) Then, after the moment passes, Ben dies. The film closes with Rey visiting Tatooine as a kind of pilgrimage for her old master.

There’s a lot more in this leak, to be sure. A whole bunch of Force ghosts return to cheer on Rey (including Yoda, Mace Windu, but no mention of Anakin). Elsewhere, Chewbacca finally gets a medal for his bravery in battle — and also finally wins at holochess. But when it comes to bombshells, we have a feeling this Reylo moment will be the one fans keep talking about long after the movie is over.

**Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker comes to theaters December 20.