The Star Wars films, at least as we know them, are over for the time being. The release of The Rise of Skywalker brought the epic franchise to an end, with fans flocking to their local movie theater to see what Disney's final sequel trilogy installment had to offer. However, to quote Master Yoda, there is another...
It's been alleged that Colin Trevorrow's script has leaked and, had he stayed in charge of the movie, then it would have been extremely different. We now take a look at the 10 best bits from the script, entitled Duel of the Fates, that has surfaced online...
Palpatine Has Another Master...
Palpatine returns in The Rise of Skywalker, despite fans believing him to be dead following his fall down the Death Star chute at the end of Return of the Jedi back in 1983. However, Trevorrow's script wouldn't have involved the Sith Lord being the antagonist.
Instead, it would have had Palpatine sending Kylo Ren on a mission from beyond the grave. Rumor has it that we would have seen Tor Valum, supposedly the Sith Lord's old master before Darth Plagueis. And the prospect of Palpatine having more than one evil master certainly sounds intriguing...
...And Kylo Ren Learns Some Crazy Things
The Rise of Skywalker sees Adam Driver's Kylo Ren redeemed, with the villain shedding his alter ego to become Ben Solo once again following the death of his mother, Leia Organa. However, in Trevorrow's script, Driver's character would have stayed bad to the bone pretty much right up until the end.
Tor Valum would reportedly have taught him some rather horrific things — like being able to drain the life force of others. And we think this may have paved the way for Rey's force-healing skill that we see in the final movie of the saga.
We Go Back To Coruscant
It would be no understatement to say that the prequel trilogy was divisive. George Lucas' decision to make another three films didn't satisfy everyone but, for the most part, people think the planets involved were a redeeming factor.
And Duel of the Fates would have taken us back to Coruscant, the setting for the most of the prequel action. It's here where the old Jedi Temple stood, and this would have made an appearance in what would have been a nice throwback. The First Order would reportedly take over the location and the Resistance would rally to try and reclaim it — with one member in particular playing a starring role...
Finn Leads The Resistance
John Boyega felt "a bit iffy" about The Last Jedi when the movie came out back in 2017, However, he was happier with The Rise of Skywalker due to the fact that the character of Finn gets a chance to bathe in the spotlight, leading the Resistance during their epic final showdown with the Final Order on Exogal.
And Finn would have had a similarly good role in Duel of the Fates. Boyega's character would have reportedly used his old Stormtrooper connections to spark an uprising and, given that his past was somewhat forgotten about in the sequel trilogy, this would have been a good decision.
Kylo Ren Needs A Mask For A Legitimate Reason
Back to Kylo Ren and Tor Valum now. The former would reportedly have come into contact with a Sith holocron at one point in the movie, an object we actually get to see in the final movie of the saga. However, it would reportedly have exploded in his face, leaving him disfigured — prompting Kylo into making a new mask for himself.
This would have been another parallel with grandfather Anakin Skywalker — and one we wished we'd seen. We weren't entirely sold on Kylo fixing his mask in The Rise of Skywalker, given that it didn't actually make one bit of difference to the story.
Kylo Ren Fights Darth Vader
Part of the reason why Duel of the Fates sounds so good is because of how much stuff Kylo Ren gets up to in the movie. And the "leaked" script suggests that he'd have actually engaged Darth Vader in lightsaber combat after Tor Valum sends him into a cave.
Obviously, this would have been a throwback to when Luke Skywalker fought Vader in the cave on Dagobah during The Empire Strikes Back. Fans would have no doubt relished seeing Kylo fighting — and losing to — the family member he idolizes so much.
Luke Torments Kylo Ren
The final words Luke Skywalker speaks before his death in The Last Jedi are, "See you around, kid." These are to Kylo Ren and are accompanied with a cheeky wink. Fans could be forgiven for thinking this was just Luke being cool, particularly given how he barely appeared in The Rise of Skywalker.
But these words would have been taken literally in Duel of the Fates. Luke would reportedly have tormented Kylo and trained Rey at the same time. This, we feel, would certainly have appeased fans angry at how Luke was portrayed in the previous movie.
Chancellor Hux
Out of all the characters from the sequel trilogy, we can't help but feel we should have seen far more of General Hux. He's central to The Force Awakens but is turned into a comedic figure in The Last Jedi before being killed off rather abruptly in The Rise of Skywalker.
In Trevorrow's script, though, Hux would have had a much cooler storyline. He'd become Chancellor, collect lightsabers of dead Jedi, and then kill himself when the First Order lose at the end. If we'd have got this, then Hux would have come across a lot cooler than he did.
More Force Ghosts
We get to see force ghosts in The Rise of Skywalker in the forms of Luke and Leia, who both smile at Rey on Tatooine after she buries their old lightsabers at the Lars homestead. On top of this we get to hear — but not see — the likes of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Mace Windu and much, much more as Rey battles against the rejuvenated Palpatine.
However, Trevorrow's script would have had the ghosts of Luke, Obi-Wan and Yoda all assist her. One of fans' biggest complaints about J.J. Abrams' blockbuster is how we never got to see the characters we love — so this would have been a popular moment from the movie.
R2-D2 Is Destroyed And C-3PO Mourns
Another big complaint about The Rise of Skywalker is how Ben Solo and Palpatine, the two villains, are the only two major casualties. Leia's death doesn't really count due to the fact that Disney had to find a way to write her out of the script.
There's a Chewbacca dying fake-out — that nobody was convinced by — and C-3PO's loss of memory turns out to be temporary. However, in Duel of the Fates, R2-D2 would have been destroyed. To make things even sadder, C-3PO would also have mourned him. We're pretty sure droids can't cry but that doesn't matter — it would have been a real tearjerker nonetheless.