Since we first brought you that breakdown of Colin Trevorrow's script for
Star Wars: Episode IX, multiple outlets have confirmed that it is indeed the real deal and not fan-fiction submitted to Reddit!
Now, additional details have been revealed about the movie's final act and, well, there are some major shockers here. You definitely need to check out our initial recap before delving into this (you can do so by clicking
HERE), as we kick things off with Kylo Ren meeting his new "Master" before diving deep into the final battle between the former Ben Solo and Rey.
Oh, and there just so happens to be a massive, albeit temporary, character death.
It's still hard to say whether
Duel of the Fates would have better than
The Rise of Skywalker, but there's a lot here to love - as well as some things many fans are bound to hate.
To check out this recap of key moments from the original movie's final act, all you guys need to do is hit the "View List" button below.
Kylo Ren Gains A New Force Power
We follow Kylo Ren as he arrives on the planet that ancient Sith Master Tor Valum calls home. The decrepit alien once helped train Emperor Palpatine, but his home now lies in ruins and a Sith helmet with a skull lies on the ground,
"A reminder that while the Jedi live on...the Sith become dust."
Coming face to face with the Sith, Kylo asks him if he trained Darth Plagueis and Valum makes it clear that the name means "nothing" to him. A hint, perhaps, that Palpatine lied about his past? Either way, he makes it clear that Kylo needs to forget his past or he risks becoming just like the other dead Sith who have been left behind on this planet.
"The living force is nourishment," Valum says. "The more one consumes the stronger one becomes. To take life is to cheat death." He shows Kylo how to essentially remove the Force from living beings, a power which is described as being vampiric in nature.
Rose Tico Gets Something To Do
On Coruscant, Finn is shocked by just how many of the planet's citizens are now living underground. Rose points out that the rich don't spend much time thinking about the people they stand on, and as our heroes enter the Jedi Temple, they see that it's now inhabited by the homeless.
It's described as a sad reminder of a better time, but there is some humour here as R2-D2 mocks C-3PO for being "elitist" and standing out among the poor who are living in hiding on the planet.
Kylo Ren Vs. Darth Vader
Back on Remincore, Kylo Ren successfully removes the living Force from various creatures. As this continues, Kylo notices a cave which Valum refers to as a "vergence" in the Force.
He enters and comes face to face with his grandfather, Darth Vader. Ultimately, it's Vader who emerges victorious and after Valum makes it clear that Ren is unworthy of being a Sith, the Supreme Leader drains the Force from his newfound Master, killing him in the process.
Who didn't see that one coming?
Bossk's Cameo
You remember Bossk, right? Well, he makes his return in
Duel of the Fates and sees the transmission that Finn and Rose successfully managed to send out to the Galaxy. Apparently, he's
"sitting like a sultan in his den of pleasures" and
"turns angrily towards the hologram projected from his servant droid" before it becomes clear that he too hates the First Order.
Leia's message inspires people around the Galaxy to no longer live in the shadow of the First Order as its time that they step into the light and fight for what they believe in.
Rey Vs. The Knights Of Ren
Rey, Poe Dameron, Chewbacca, and BB-8 are aboard a sailing ship before being attacked by the Knights of Ren. While fighting them, Rey has a series of visions and ultimately kills them, something she seemingly regrets. She wonders whether that's something a Jedi would do, and realises that she knew them somehow.
Telling Poe that he needs to return to the Resistance, he resists and successfully pushes away one of her Jedi mind tricks. There's a back and forth (it turns out that there are hints throughout the entire script that he has feelings for her) and Rey kisses him which causes Poe to submit to that mind trick and leave her to continue her journey to confront Kylo Ren alone.
Leia Is Reunited With Lando Calrissian
We find Leia in a smokey "cabaret club" owned by Lando Calrissian, where he reveals that most of his clientele are First Order. She pleads with him to help her gather an army as he knows so many smugglers, and Lando reveals that he promised Han he would protect her if anything happened to his old friend and rival.
Taking Leia to a docking bay, he insists that she leave the planet as he can't protect her. Leia urges him to rejoin the fight and help the Resistance as he points out that,
"We won a war once already. What good did that do?" Kissing her on the forehead, he declines the General's offer.
Rey Learns More About Her Past
Arriving on Mortis to confront Kylo Ren, Rey climbs an "icy peak" and finds statues of robed ancients who appear to be the Sith. Having a vision of her childhood and the last time she saw her parents, we see that they vowed to come back but never did.
Meanwhile, the battle at Coruscant begins as the Resistance make a final stand against the First Order and there are a number of big moments here, including Chewbacca flying an X-Wing and Rose being captured and tortured before later making her escape.
Kylo Ren Is Reunited With Han Solo
Similar to
The Rise of Skywalker, we see Han Solo confront his son and make one final plea for him to give up the Dark Side and embrace his Ben Solo side. Unfortunately, Han fails to get him to give up his lightsaber and Ren continues his journey up the mountain to confront Rey and find something he believes will make him unstoppable in the temple.
The Truth About Rey's Parents
As Kylo Ren and Rey confront each other, we learn from the latter that he's in great pain beneath his mask and that the Dark Side has left him an empty husk inside. He counters Rey's comments by offering her the chance to rule the Galaxy alongside him just like the ancients did, with the Dark side and the Light working in tandem.
She rejects him, though, and reveals that she now knows what he did to her family.
They didn't sell her for drinking money; instead, they were hiding from Kylo Ren and his Knights, and we then learn that the scene in The Force Awakens with the villains standing in the rain surrounded by those bodies was the night he killed them both at the behest of Supreme Leader Snoke. He admits to being responsible for their demise and takes credit for her being safe on Jakku.
The Battle Continues
Ren makes it clear that everything he wants is behind those temple doors and they both sap the living Force from each other as they fight. He gains the upper hand and strikes Rey across the face leaving the Jedi with a scar which runs from her "cheek to her forehead." Screaming in pain as she falls down the temple stairs, she's left blinded!
Finally, the villain has what he wants and enters the Temple of Mortis to gain his prize...
Goodbye, R2-D2
As the battle rages on Coruscant both on the ground and in the sky, R2-D2 is destroyed. His head is scorched and we see Threepio's emotional reaction to losing his best friend.
Finn is also left speechless, and Chewbacca straps the beloved droid to his back.
Kylo Ren's Prize
Remember how in our previous breakdown we talked about Luke warning Kylo Ren that he would gain nothing from heading down this dark path? Well, there's nothing in the temple. It's empty. Furious, he slashes at the statues inside with his lightsaber before Luke appears to tell him that he's lost.
Making it clear that Ren can't be saved at this point, Luke says that his nephew is
"no Skywalker," and as this conversation takes place, Rey blindfolds herself with a piece of cloth.
"The Force surrounds us," Luke says.
"It penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. We are bound by the Force and we will not be broken." His Force ghost vanishes and the battle between Rey and Kylo continues. Back on Coruscant, the fight is still taking place, but we still don't have the full story (it sounds like Lando does return, but we'll hopefully have more on that soon).
General Hux's End
There's also no redemption for General Hux in this movie, as we learn during the film that he collects lightsabers and wants to use the Force (but can't). Once it becomes clear that the First Order is going to lose, he pulls out a purple lightsaber from his collection (could it be Mace Windu's?) and uses it to commit suicide. Needless to say, this seems like a far more fitting end for the villain.
Rey's Real Name Revealed
A fight to the death between Rey and Kylo Ren ensues. They're evenly matched but his lightsaber is destroyed along with most of his hand. Rey stands above him and he uses his newfound ability to drain the force from her, healing his face and removing the metal attachment he had to cover part of his face with earlier in the film.
Leia senses what's happening as he begins to kill Rey, and reaches out to her son one final time. She begs him to come home, and feeling what Darth Vader felt when Luke pleaded for help all those years ago, he returns her life force and is reduced to an empty shell. With his dying breath, he reveals that her name is "Rey Palpatine"!
Just kidding. It's Rey Solana.
The Return Of Some Familiar Faces
She's regained her sight, but Rey is badly injured and
"Light fills up the space around her. She rises with the energy. The light engulfs the frame until we reach a place beyond what we know. The Astral Plane." Here, she meets with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Luke who offer her the chance to stay.
However, as she embraced the Dark side and the Light, she brought balance back to the Force and within herself. She chooses to return to the land of the living where she will experience both love and loss and there's one final message from Obi-Wan:
"You are a Jedi, Rey Solana, but you will not be the last."
The End
After defeating the First Order, we see Chewbacca repairing R2-D2 and Leia inserts the droid's memory bank. As he comes back to life, he projects sixty years of his memories, including key moments from
A New Hope,
The Empire Strikes Back, and
Return of the Jedi. Leia is taken aback seeing these glimpses of history, but it's a fitting tribute to what's come before.
Then, we cut to a planet where Rey is training a new group of Jedi with Finn. The End!