Fans spot hidden dialogue in climactic 'Rise of Skywalker' Reylo scene
Were some heartfelt words from Rey left on the cutting room floor?
Love it or hate it, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is canon. However, that doesn’t mean fans are done poring over every detail in the film, including which voices Rey heard as she took on Emperor Palpatine or what Finn was actually trying to tell Rey. Now, one moment in a climactic scene between Kylo Ren and Rey has some fans convinced there may have been some dialogue edited out. Let’s dissect.
Warning! Major spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
After Rey finally defeats Emperor Palpatine, her life force is depleted and she collapses and dies. Kylo Ren, having been tossed into a pit, climbs out in time to heal Rey and bring her back from the dead. The newly redeemed Ben Solo dies shortly after, but not before he shares a moment with Rey and a brief kiss. Though this exchange in Episode IX was silent, fans have seemingly spotted some missing dialogue.
Did Rey call Kylo Ben right before he died? We may never know.
In an eight-second clip posted to Twitter, user BlackDiam0nd suggests that Rey is speaking to Kylo in the moments before his death and she allegedly says more than one sentence. After several viewings, it’s clear that Rey is saying something to Kylo, though it’s hard to make out because her face is angled away from the camera. Even so, her face is moving in a way that looks an awful lot like talking .
Her words to Kylo may have been a parallel to her conversation following their initial lightsaber duel in The Rise of Skywalker, in which Rey tells him she would have taken Ben Solo’s hand, not Kylo’s. It’s possible that she echoed the very same sentiment right before he died, but it was cut for some reason.
Though fans are disappointed that Rey’s dialogue was potentially removed, it’s possible the silence is intentional. Perhaps director J.J. Abrams felt it more intimate for the moment to remain between the two characters. It’s also possible the words were ultimately deemed unnecessary, so Abrams muted the dialogue altogether. After all, there’s a plethora of reasons why movies are cut or altered that might not have anything to do with changing the story.
That said, the case of the missing dialogue is part of a broader wave of fan speculation that holds other scenes from Rise of Skywalker were altered from their original versions.
One such scene involves Kylo’s actual death. After sharing a kiss, Kylo falls to the ground and dies, his body disappearing. A fan theory (via Reddit) suggests that the scene is actually reversed and fans have speculated that the way Kylo’s hair falls gives it away.
This has caused fans to speculate that perhaps Kylo wasn’t supposed to die in Episode IX after all. However, it’s more likely the positioning of Kylo’s body is simply that of the angle or a variation of takes rather than confirmation of his survival. Either way, fans will probably have to wait for the director’s commentary of the film to find out more about Abrams’ decision-making.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is currently playing in theaters.
