Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's novelization makes it appear as though Disney knows they messed up. J.J. Abrams' Star Wars 9 left some fans confused, containing a muddled plot with little explanation to some of its biggest factors. The Rise of Skywalker moved at a breakneck pace in hope viewers wouldn't notice the gaps in logic and storytelling. Suffice to say they did, leaving them in the dark about much of the narrative, and it's only now fans are getting answers.
In the time since The Rise of Skywalker released, the internet has been full of questions. How did Palpatine survive after Return of the Jedi? Who was Rey's grandmother? Who built Palpatine's Final Order fleet? These were just a handful of the queries in need of answers, and they were finally settled on the page as opposed to the screen. The Rise of Skywalker novel went through the vast majority of them, filling in some of the plot holes left by The Rise of Skywalker. This is good, in theory, since it gives some much needed explanations, but it's a symptom of a much larger problem. Disney knows the film didn't pan out as expected, so they attempted to use the book as a way to fix their mistakes.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Expanded Edition by Rae Carson was released in March 2020. It takes the essential story from the film and translates it to text, fleshing out many elements beyond what's in the film, most specifically those not well explained. There are plenty of additional scenes, and some big reveals: Palpatine was a clone; Rey's father was a failed Palpatine clone; Rey & Kylo Ren's kiss wasn't romantic, and so on. While the exact timeframe of writing the book is unclear (Carson was announced as the author in October 2019), it was presumably still being edited following The Rise of Skywalker's release in cinemas (the novel's own release was pushed back by two weeks from the initial date). The Rise of Skywalker novel directly addresses many of the elements fans found confusing and criticized, and the sheer number of answers it provides is astonishing, driving home how vital it is to one's understanding of the film.
It is not unlikely this was a decision made by Disney and Lucasfilm. The reaction to the story online was startling; the frustration with it from the fanbase well documented. So much so that the minds behind it had some serious explaining to do. They realized they messed up narratively and had to somehow cover it all up, which is why Abrams and Chris Terrio answered many questions about Star Wars 9 themselves. That could only go so far, though, and so using the novelization to retroactively fill in plot holes was their best option. They could get answers out into the world without admitting the film itself was lacking. At the same time, their choice to make the book integral in comprehending The Rise of Skywalker is a confession in and of itself.
The Rise of Skywalker was polarizing to say the least, with its backlash the opposite to that of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It's understandable, then, that Disney would want to try and remedy the situation, although their methods are to be questioned. Packing the novelization full of important details is not going to fix The Rise of Skywalker. In hindsight, it at least makes better sense of the story, but not everyone is going to pick up a copy, and for most audience members the film's confusing elements will remain unexplained. Disney will have to face the fact that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's story just didn't work, no matter how many novels they attach to it.
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