"The Rise of Skywalker" was a divisive entry in the long-running series to be sure, and many of the moments peppered throughout the ninth mainline film in the franchise are hotly debated by "Star Wars" fans who were none too pleased with how J.J. Abrams wrapped up the third film trilogy. But, wouldn't you know it? One of those controversial moments was almost totally scrapped. So pull up a chair as we take a look at the controversial "Star Wars" scene that almost didn't happen.
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00:00A director with an impossible choice, a kiss that may never have been, and fans that are
00:05nigh impossible to please.
00:07Yes, it can only be Star Wars.
00:10Keep watching for all this and more.
00:13A great deal has happened in the Star Wars galaxy over the last few years.
00:17The TV side of the franchise has taken a major foothold over on Disney+, and particularly
00:22the Mandalorian has paved the way for a whole new generation of storytelling within the
00:26franchise.
00:27This is the way.
00:28This is the way.
00:29This is the way.
00:32But the movies still remain the cornerstone of a galaxy far, far away.
00:36The last time a Star Wars movie graced a silver screen was with 2019's Star Wars The Rise
00:41of Skywalker, and much like The Last Jedi before it, the film was met with a divisive
00:46response, albeit for very different reasons.
00:49One such moment that remains a topic of debate amongst fans is the kiss between Daisy Ridley's
00:53Rey and Adam Driver's Kylo Ren towards the end of the film.
00:58Many people were on board with the two Force users getting together as a sequel trilogy
01:01rolled along, while others were strongly opposed.
01:05It turns out that this was not something that director J.J. Abrams or Lucasfilm were firm
01:09on including in Episode IX, and it sounds like the decision kind of came down to the
01:13wire.
01:14Abrams, who also directed The Force Awakens, was spinning a lot of plates in crafting the
01:18story for The Rise of Skywalker.
01:20It seemed much of the decision-making on the movie was made last minute, and that meant
01:24keeping options open.
01:25For example, author Soraya Wilson revealed on Twitter that, in a Zoom interview with
01:30Daisy Ridley, the actress confirmed that the film's finale had two versions, one with the
01:34kiss and one without it.
01:36Per Ridley's account, the ending she was initially shown was the one without the kiss, and only
01:40afterwards did Abrams decide to use the version that included it.
01:44If Abrams was seriously showing this ending to the star of the film, that means they were
01:47very seriously considering releasing that version of Episode IX.
01:51The idea that there were two different endings for The Rise of Skywalker was also backed
01:55up by the movie's editor, Marianne Brandon.
01:58Speaking with the Huffington Post shortly after the film's release, she had the following
02:01to say about the kiss.
02:02I always said, the movie will tell us whether they should kiss or not.
02:06We will know by the time we get to the end of our process if it should happen.
02:09And I felt it should, and J.J. Abrams agreed with me, and other people who saw the film
02:13agreed.
02:14Abrams then also acknowledged the Reylo kiss was divisive, but claimed it was something
02:18they were well aware of while tackling the conclusion of the Skywalker saga.
02:22She said,
02:23I know it's not for everybody.
02:24I know there will be people who wish they hadn't, but this is a film that was never
02:28going to please everyone.
02:29The things that certain people love, other people hate it.
02:32And that's the phenomenon of Star Wars.
02:34There is another wrinkle in the saga of Rey and Kylo's kiss.
02:38Novelizations of the films are a tradition in the Star Wars franchise, and the novels
02:42themselves often offer interesting insights or even reshape moments from the movies in
02:47major ways.
02:48In the official Rise of Skywalker novelization, the Reylo kiss is addressed, but some context
02:53for what unfolds on screen is provided.
02:55Author Ray Carson explains that the kiss wasn't as romantic as the moment itself might have
03:00implied, writing,
03:01And then, wonder of wonders, she leaned forward and kissed him.
03:05A kiss of gratitude, acknowledgement of their connection, celebration that they'd found
03:09each other at last.
03:10A kiss of gratitude and acknowledgement is not exactly the romantically charged kiss
03:14of passion that fans of this relationship may have had in mind.
03:18Frustratingly, the interpretation found in the novel leaves us in some sort of middle
03:22ground, between Rey and Kylo being genuinely in love, and between them merely being bonded
03:27by the Force.