For all the things that can be said about the Star Wars sequel trilogy, there is no doubt that it shocked many people. While The Force Awakens did not have too many surprises, the latter two movies subverted so many fan expectations, giving audiences things they never expected to see. Whether or not they liked those things, however, remains an endless debate amongst the franchise's fans.

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From different character directors to new concepts, the Star Wars sequel trilogy managed to keep audiences on their toes in many exciting ways. Some of these twists are still often talked about.

The Holdo Maneuver

Holdo Maneuver in deep space in The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi has some simply stunning visuals throughout, but the best of the best comes when Vice Admiral Holdo takes her New Republic transport and uses it to rip the Supremacy and surrounding Star Destroyers in half.

With the use of hyperspace, the scene is awe-inspiring. The silence only serves to make it more goosebump-inducing. Nobody expected to see hyperspace used in such a way, but fans of the movie are happy Rian Johnson made that particular choice.

Snoke's Death

Kylo Ren kills Supreme Leader Snoke in The Last Jedi.

The Last Jedi subverts expectations unlike any other Star Wars movie, which is a significant factor in why the film is so divisive; some simply cannot stand the decisions made throughout it.

One of the decisions that left fans dumbfounded but also left many impressed was the death of Supreme Leader Snoke at the hands of Kylo Ren. Many expected Snoke to continue to the trilogy's end, but Johnson chose to set Kylo Ren up to be the central villain - something seemingly retconned by The Rise Of SkywalkerIt is safe to say nobody went into The Last Jedi expecting Snoke to be so easily tricked and killed.

Luke's Exile

Luke Skywalker at the end of Star Wars The Force Awakens

The exile of Luke Skywalker and Luke's overall characterization in the sequel trilogy is one of the most hotly debated Star Wars topics ever, with some loving the realistic exploration of Luke's trauma and others believing that it is not Luke Skywalker.

Nevertheless, it happened, and not many saw it coming. Fans expected Luke to be a hero in The Force Awakens, but he gets reduced to seconds of screen time. Then in The Last Jedi, audiences see Luke stubbornly remains a recluse, with no interest in becoming a hero for much of the film. Mark Hamill is perfect in the role and Luke has some unreal quotes and moments in the trilogy. Still, in terms of overall narrative direction for a character, it is one of the most unexpected arcs in Star Wars ever.

Luke's Force Projection

Luke's Force projection confronts Kylo Ren on Crait in The Last Jedi

Right up there with the death of Supreme Leader Snoke in terms of singular plot twists is the reveal that the Luke Skywalker who appears on Crait to confront Kylo Ren is a Force Projection.

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The whole sequence is outstanding. It is crafted wonderfully to make the twist both shocking yet make sense. This twist, of course, leads into another hugely unexpected scene, which is the death of Luke Skywalker, the only death of the original trilogy heroes that most fans did not expect at that particular moment.

Han's Return

Han Solo and Ben Solo speak with one another in Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker

Han Solo's death in The Force Awakens was expected deep down by most fans who saw the film back in 2015, with all of them believing that was their final goodbye to Harrison Ford's Han Solo. That turned out not to be true.

Following the emotional death of Leia and the light side of Ben Solo beginning to emerge, the son of Han and Leia shockingly speaks with a visible memory of Han on Kef Bir. This may well be one of the best scenes of the whole trilogy as well as one of the most shocking. It is beautifully done, mirroring their heartbreaking conversation on Starkiller Base, and absolutely nobody saw it coming.

Sidious' Unexplained Return

Emperor Palpatine with glowing yellow eyes in The Rise of Skywalker

When fans heard Darth Sidious' iconic cackle in the trailer for The Rise Of Skywalker, fans rejoiced. Snoke's death was seemingly done to set this up, the ultimate Star Wars baddie was returning, and it was all detailed and planned out. Alas, this was not the case.

Palpatine's return on its own was, of course, unexpected. Even more shocking was the lack of care and explanation have given for his return. "Somehow Palpatine has returned" will go down as one of Star Wars' most memed moments, as well as a moment that exemplifies fan frustration for this particular storyline.

Luke & Leia Training

Luke and Leia train together in a flashback in The Rise Of Skywalker

Despite some lackluster storylines and poor decisions, The Rise Of Skywalker had some jaw-dropping, emotional scenes. Alongside Han's return, the flashback sequence showing Leia and Luke training together was incredible.

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Fans never saw it coming. The reveal that Leia trained to be a Jedi at all was enough of a surprise. To see the Skywalker twins going at it, with their lightsabers, on-screen, with de-aging technology, was indescribable; almost a dream come to fruition on the big screen for many fans.

Force Dyad

Rey and Kylo Ren fight Praetorian Guards in Snoke's throne room.

One of the most fascinating concepts introduced in the sequel trilogy was that of the Force Dyad between the terrific duo of Rey and Kylo Ren. The characters have palpable chemistry in the films, and the idea of a Force Dyad helps give a narrative reason for that connection.

Rey and Kylo Ren are undoubtedly the best-done characters of the trilogy. Despite a couple of meh decisions regarding their direction, they are more consistent than any other original character with some truly wonderful performances. This Force Dyad between them makes sense but was not predicted by anyone; some saw them as romantic partners while some saw them simply as characters being portrayed excellently by a couple of talented performers.

No Scenes Involving The Four Original Trilogy Heroes

Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO,, and R2-D2 at the medal ceremony on Yavin IV in A New Hope

One of the most unexpected aspects of the sequel trilogy was something that did not happen rather than something that did, and that is not seeing the original trilogy heroes share one scene.

Fans got Han and Leia, Han and Chewie, Luke and Chewie, Luke and Leia, and even Han, Chewie, and Leia, but never all four. Fans were desperate for one last scene with the original trilogy heroes that many fans grew up idolizing, and most audiences expected to see as much. It was not to be, though. Thankfully the original trilogy and extended canon have tonnes of content involving them to enjoy.

A Clear Lack Of Plan Shown

Rey with a yellow saber in Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker

One thing that became abundantly clear as the sequel trilogy went on, which shocked and even appalled many fans, was the lack of overall plan shown for the trilogy. The fact there was no plan happened outside of the films, but the evidence of this took place on the screen. There was continual confirmation that there were no laid-out story beats, no set-in-stone character directions, and things got changed film-to-film.

The prequel trilogy got laid out pretty intricately, as were aspects of the original trilogy. The sequel trilogy made up so many of the story beats up as it went along. Fans expected Disney and Lucasfilm to have at least an idea of where each character would begin and end up, as well as things like what the tone would be and who the central villain would ultimately be. What unfolded throughout the trilogy was an incredibly disjointed set of movies with so many nuggets of excellence but no cohesive vision.

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