Heading into the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, director J.J. Abrams and writer Chris Terrio had a tough task ahead of them, especially after Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi shook things up in such a significant way (for starters, Rey's parents went from being a big mystery to nobodies, while Supreme Leader Snoke had been killed off by Kylo Ren).
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ultimately proved to be massively divisive, of course, and whether the duo managed to stick the landing with their finale continues to be hotly debated. During the making-of documentary on the recently released Blu-ray, Terrio admitted that figuring out how to wrap up the movie proved to be an issue for both him and Abrams.
"J.J. and I were having a lot of trouble with the end of the film at one point in the process, and [production designer] Rick Carter said to us, "I think it's because you two don't want Star Wars to be over. You don't want the Skywalker saga to be over, so you don't really want to write it." And I think there was a lot of truth in that," the writer explained.
It's hard to say which part of the ending Terrio is referring to here, as he could be talking about the way Rey managed to defeat Emperor Palpatine or the somewhat controversial decision to have the Jedi declare herself "Rey Skywalker" in an ending which remains massively divisive.
The Skywalker Saga is over, though, and the ending we got is...well, it's the one we're stuck with!
For a ranking of every Star Wars movie, click on the "Next" button below!
11. Attack Of The Clones
Attack of the Clones certainly had its moments but far too many of them fall into the "WTF?" category to remember this sequel with anything other than disdain. From the awful subplot revolving around Anakin and Padme to Yoda's almost comical duel with Count Dooku, this movie did some good with the introduction of Clone Troopers and a strong villain.
However, for every plus point, there were moments like Jango Fett being the basis for those clones (and Boba thereby being one of them too) to ruin that. Attack of the Clones was simply one of those sequels that tried going bigger and better but ultimately failed in nearly every respect despite some impressive action scenes.
5. The Last Jedi
The Last Jedi has been an extremely divisive movie but so was The Empire Strikes Back when it was released! Yes, there was a lot of humour and the answers Rian Johnson provided to some long-standing questions were a underwhelming but he deserves to be praised for helping the franchise move on from what's come before and setting the stage for what should have been amazing finale in the form of Episode IX.
Things may not have panned out exactly as some fans wanted but this was an incredible addition to the series and one which blew us all away with a plethora of breathtaking sequences and memorable character moments. Unfortuantely, some creative decisions still don't sit right, including Luke Skywalker's new attitude. Undoing what came before to such a large extent also felt like a mistake but it's still great in many ways.
Oh, and we'll never not love the Porgs!