As theories go this one brought forth by Kevin Burwick of MovieWeb seems to be one of the least stable since it seems to indicate that the dark Rey we see in the Rise of Skywalker trailer could in fact be a clone. As a lot fans know Palpatine has a long and sordid history with clones as in the EU canon he uses clones like others use different outfits sometimes, though they never seem to turn out the way he wants them since he still gets defeated. The idea that Rey could have a clone however, or possibly be a clone, is something that seems messy and could end up as a curveball or a massive deus ex machina that is meant to pull everything together and unite Star Wars fans finally, which isn’t a realistic goal but is at the very least something that might be an interesting tactic. At this point though everything with Star Wars seems to have become so convoluted that simply trying to sort it out is an effort in futility. Going with the flow is difficult as well since the flow seems to change from one movie to another, promising little more than the idea that things will change in a way that is predictable even if they’ve been built up to make people think that they won’t see what’s coming. Yeah, it’s a little cynical, but it’s what a lot of people have come to expect in the last few years.
Had The Last Jedi been something special and not dragged its feet so much then Rise of Skywalker might be experiencing a lot more love considering that it’s the supposed end of the Skywalker saga and will put to rest a story that’s been decades in the making. But the whole idea of Rey being a clone and Palpatine having more to do with her than anyone else is cherry-picking to a degree that makes Disney one of the biggest and worst hypocrites in show business since quite honestly their denial of the EU as canon gave a lot of fans the impression that we’d see only bits and pieces of the story that couldn’t be ditched thanks to their presence in the original trilogy and the prequels. But what we’ve seen so far makes it evident that Disney is doing its level best to bring forth various bits and pieces of the EU while at the same time trying to pass it off as their own creative, innovative ideas, and fans aren’t buying it. Andrew Todd of SlashFilm has more to say on this matter.
The theories seem to be a way to deal with the hypocrisy and thankfully it takes a lot of peoples’ attention from the fact that the Mouse House is running a bit dry in the idea department given that they feel the need to keep recycling old ideas over and over and giving them a new spin to make them more appealing to viewers. But even bringing Palpatine back is EU canon, like it or not, and using Rey to explain any part of it would further hypocrisy since quite honestly if one is going to pass this off as canon then the EU needs to be brought back online and discussed when it comes to new trilogies and in regards to how the Star Wars universe will continue following the Rise of Skywalker.
I can already hear the arguments against this and how some folks might actually think that I’m making little sense. Some might even call me a butthurt fanboy, which is all well and good since I know the truth of my own argument, and that’s the fact that the EU canon is being used far more than people seem to realize. In all honesty a lot of us should be glad that Disney is seeing the light and how much they passed up on, but then again the manner in which they’re using the cherry-picked information is kind of hard to stomach at times since it would seem that they’re jamming things into place like a kid trying to smash a square peg into a round hole. The result is the mess we’ve gotten at this point which, personally I do like in some respects, but can’t help notice is still kind of a hot mess that needs a lot of help. Let’s clarify though, having a female protagonist is fine, having diversity is great, and having a story about good vs. evil is fully expected. But the idea of downplaying some of the greatest characters before axing them and thereby resting the movie on the shoulders of a relative newcomer was perhaps one of the most insane ideas ever. And now that the third movie seems to rest on Rey’s shoulders, it would seem as though Palpatine is absolutely needed as the big bad in order to give her even more validity that she should have been able to establish in the first movie. In other words, Disney’s been using Star Wars like a blunt instrument to hammer the idea that they know what they’re doing into the heads of the audience, and a lot of us are tired of the continual headache.
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