‘Star Wars’ Scribe Chris Terrio On Bridging Episode 8 Into Episode 9

Heading into the highly anticipated release for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” a multitude of questions plagued the fanbase, main among them including if "Rise of Skywalker" would retcon "The Last Jedi" and if the film would be better received than the 2017 installment. Following its debut, critics slammed Episode IX, yet most fans were seemingly far more lenient due to, on the surface, “Rise of Skywalker” feeling as though it fixed many of the problems from “The Last Jedi.”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” co-writer Chris Terrio explained away these ideas while instead drawing into the limelight the internal questions and debates he and director J.J. Abrams discussed while planning the divisive final Skywalker movie. He said bridging Episode 8 and Episode 9 wasn’t about a “Last Jedi” retcon so much as it was about ensuring all three sequels worked in-tandem to the best of the "Star Wars" lore.

“Those people who see it as a meta-argument between J.J. and Rian are missing the point, I think. At the end of ‘The Last Jedi,’ Luke has changed,” explained Terrio. “I think it would be a bad misreading to think that that was somehow me and J.J. having an argument with Rian. It was more like we were in dialogue with Rian by using what Luke did at the beginning of ‘The Last Jedi’ to now say that history will not repeat itself and all these characters have grown.”

Terrio likewise divulged upon the mass frenzy that arose following Rose Tico’s (Kelly Marie Tran) limited involvement in the movie, claiming there were far more scenes with her that eventually had to be cut, mainly due to Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa having a more central role in the "Star Wars" movie. To Vanity Fair, he explained, "We did as much as we could with the limited options available."

When asked by THR about Luke’s sacrifice in “The Last Jedi” and what all of that meant in relation to the finale of the Skywalker story, Terrio had some interesting words:

“In my mind at least, the legend of Skywalker and of his sacrifice is taking root in the consciousness of the galaxy. Again, I won't presume to decode the film, but when the galaxy answers this time around, I sure as hell wouldn't contradict anyone who draws a connection between the sacrifice of Skywalker, the final scene in 'TLJ,' and the galaxy coming when called at the climax of 'TROS.' It's all one story.”