Did Vanity Fair Accidentally Drop a Major ‘Rise of Skywalker’ Spoiler? Here’s What They Later Changed in Their Article
Vanity Fair’s publication of images from Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker this week was treated with event-style coverage. The magazine published six total articles online about the film, and one of them may have revealed a bit too much. Soon after publication, Vanity Fair changed their reporting on a plot point that they were previously able to “exclusively confirm.”
It’s just one of ten reveals we pulled from the magazine’s coverage of the film.
Check them out here.
1. Will Kylo Ren turn on the Knights of Ren?
When Vanity Fair published their coverage on Wednesday, they dropped an interesting tidbit in one of their supporting articles. In a story called “Everything New In Vanity Fair’s ‘Rise of Skywalker’ Cover Story’ (click here to read it), author Joanna Robinson stated “Vanity Fair can exclusively confirm that, yes, those are the Knights of Ren that Kylo is mowing down in The Rise of Skywalker trailer.”
Here is a screenshot of the paragraph in question.
Here is a screenshot of the larger article text around it.
Within hours, however, the article had changed. The words suddenly changed to “Vanity Fair can exclusively confirm that, yes, the Knights of Ren are back.”
At the end of the article was a notice that stated: “Correction: An earlier version of this article mischaracterized a scene including Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren.”
The initial reveal of Kylo taking on the Knights of Ren was also made in an article titled “The Knights of Ren Make Their Long-Awaited Return.” It was also removed, with the “correction” notice included as well.
However, the article headline still carries a teasing statement, referring to Kylo Ren as the “onetime” leader of the Knights of Ren. That’s something not hinted to in the previous films.
While a still from the Rise of Skywalker trailer (above) shows that Kylo Ren might be attacking one of the Knights of Ren, it isn’t clear.
If the original statement was true, and not a mistake, it appears to contradict what we know about the movie. In particular, Vanity Fair mentions and shows a photo of the Knights of Ren being filmed in Jordan, as they appear on the desert planet of Pasaana. The image of Kylo Ren supposedly fighting them is in a snowy grove of trees, hinting that it could be Kijimi. It is possible that they appear on both planets, however.
It’s possible the characterization Vanity Fair originally published is a mistake, but it’s an error that goes totally counter to the otherwise well-written, informative articles. The author herself (Robinson) is a self-professed Star Wars fanatic and even a self-professed “Reylo” fan. This would be a huge mistake for her to get wrong, and it doesn’t make much sense if she did.
Robinson, in an odd twist, has no tweets posted on the day her stories were published (May 22). She is a prolific tweeter, and often discusses her stories, but made no mention of her work, despite the publicity surrounding it. It is not clear if she deleted any tweets from that day or if she ever discussed her stories. We did not check her Twitter feed until several days after the story was published.
If it is true, however, it may hint that Kylo may be taking a path to redemption, away from the Dark Side. And that is a heck of a revelation Lucasfilm doesn’t want to leak.
2. Wait…is Luke alive?
The reveal of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) looking very much alive in a photo by Annie Leibovitz is perhaps the biggest reveal, but it still leaves many questions. Since it’s not an official still from the final film, there’s still a possibility that Luke appears only as a “Force Ghost” in The Rise of Skywalker.
However, Lucasfilm knows fans will pick apart every image from the movie for clues, and it doesn’t seem likely that they will provide such misdirection, only to disappoint fans later. Remember, it has been made clear that Lucasfilm heard the fans who complained that The Last Jedi was a senseless mess, especially in how Luke’s character was handled. They don’t want to disappoint again.
Star Wars is known to use Biblical themes in its storytelling. We’ve already seen a virgin birth – could we now see a resurrection? It would certainly explain what the title means.
3. Keri Russell’s character may be bigger than we thought
The magazine revealed that Keri Russell’s character of Zorri Bliss can be found in the “Thieves Quarter” on the snow planet of Kijimi. This is significant, because it plays into fan speculation that Russell may be Rey’s mother.
This speculation began, of course, with Russell’s casting, as she shares more than a passing resemblance to Daisy Ridley. That, coupled with the talk that Rey’s parentage was significant to J.J. Abrams all along, leads many to believe Zorri may be more than the scoundrel she is portrayed as.
Perhaps the biggest clue of a Zorri/Rey connection comes from The Rise of Skywalker trailer.
As many have noted, the ship seen leaving Rey on Jakku in The Force Awakens is also seen (supposedly) on the snowy planet of Kijimi, flying towards the “Thieves Quarter.” So, the character rumored to be Rey’s mother is also in the same outpost as a ship similar to the one who left young Rey behind. Coincidence?
4. Final Duel on the Millennium Falcon?
It appears the fateful duel between Kylo Ren and Rey takes place atop the Millennium Falcon, while the iconic ship is in the water.
Take a look at these pictures, one taken from the “making of” video Vanity Fair posted, the other from a picture released by the magazine.
The pictures lead to speculation that the Falcon may crash land at some point, and the only locale that we have seen in the trailer that looks similar to these images would be the ocean surrounding the fragments of Death Star wreckage. With fans losing so many classic characters already, are we ready to lose the Falcon as well because it crashed and sank in the ocean?
5. The Aki Aki and the Orbaks
We now know that director J.J. Abrams shot scenes for the desert planet of Pasaana in Jordan’s legendary Wadi Rum valley. Pasaana, which is the location for the Rey “flip” and the skiff chase seen in the trailer, is populated by a new alien race known as the Aki-Aki and a breed of horse-like creatures called orbaks (both shown above).
6. C-3PO’s “Surprising” Role
Fans of Anthony Daniels and his alter ego C-3PO will be happy to see that he isn’t just window dressing for this final film. Having been largely wasted for most of the sequel trilogy, Daniels says his character’s role in this film “surprises everybody.” That leads us to believe that the “leaked” poster – which shows the protocol droid carrying Chewie’s bowcaster – is actually happening and part of a great showcase for R2’s buddy. Vanity Fair says C-3PO “steps up to act as a strong link to the original trilogy.”
7. Richard E. Grant’s Role Revealed
We now know who Richard E. Grant is playing – and it’s not Grand Admiral Thrawn. He’s Allegiant General Pryde, and he is pictured here on the bridge of Kylo Ren’s destroyer with General Hux (Domhnall Gleason).
8. Billie Lourd and Carrie Fisher share scenes together
In one of the side articles for the cover story, director and writer JJ Abrams discussed how he re-purposed unused scenes with Carrie Fisher from The Force Awakens for use in The Rise of Skywalker. With some inventive writing (and CGI magic), Fisher actually interacts with the cast in scenes shot after her death.
That includes a scene with her real-life daughter Billie Lourd, who plays Lt. Connix. The article says in one scene, the two exchange dialogue and actually touch each other. Abrams says it wasn’t easy for Lourd, and he initially did not include her in Fisher’s scenes. However, she insisted, saying “I want to be in scenes with her. I want it for my children when I have kids. I want them to see.”
9. The Rise of Skywalker takes place one year after The Last Jedi
The Vanity Fair cover story reveals a year has passed since the end of The Last Jedi. “There has been a bit of shared history that you haven’t seen,” Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) says. “Whereas in the other films, Poe is this kind of lone wolf, now he’s really part of a group. They’re going out and going on missions and have a much more familiar dynamic now.”
10. No movies for Rian Johnson…for now
Disney recently revealed the release schedule for Star Wars films through 2026, and they did not include dates for Rian Johnson’s previously announced trilogy. That was welcome news to the hordes of fans who hated the missteps of The Last Jedi, which they say sidetracked the entire sequel trilogy with no hope of correction.
The Vanity Fair article confirmed Johnson’s films are not currently on the schedule and there was no word on them. That is an odd stance to take, as the publicity of the new film would provide a nice promotional springboard for future films. That could mean Johnson’s trilogy may die a quiet death, from Lucasfilm neglect.
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