Star War: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker all made a lot of money at the box office, but they were also some of the most divisive films of the franchise. Now, a new rumor is claiming that a battle inside of Disney between Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Favreau could lead towards a complete reset of the franchise back to before Episode VII. Here’s what we know:
The rumor comes from an admittedly suspicious sounding YouTube Channel by the name of the Doomcock Overlord DVD YouTube channel. With that said, this channel did successfully provide spoilers to The Rise of Skywalker as well as insider info on struggles between Kevin Feige and Brie Larson.
The plan would be to utilize the Veil of the Force, which was introduced in In the Season 4 episode 13 of Star Wars Rebels, ‘A World Between Worlds.’ If you’ve seen the episode, it is the space between dimensions where Ahsoka ended up after her battle with Vader.
By utilizing this device, they can shift the most recent three films into a Multiverse canon, making it a Legends timeline and not part of Star Wars proper.
The key to making it all happen will involve the emperor:
Emperor Palpatine had a room on the second Death Star called The Room of Mirrors. The mirrors were created by The Emperor prior to the Death Star through the Dark Side using ancient Sith rituals. These mirrors linked to the Veil of The Force served many purposes. Using them, Palpatine could manipulate The Force in many ways to further his aims. For example, the use of the mirrors allowed Palpatine to cloud the Jedi Council to conceal himself and his dark apprentices from the Jedi and from Force-sensitives that followed their fall.
Using the mirrors allowed Palpatine to access the awesome powers of the Veil of The Force. They were indispensable tools that allowed him to rise to the pinnacle of ultimate power. It is this conceit that explains how Palpatine survived Darth Vader throwing him down the shaft in the throne room of the Death Star. In desperation as he fell, Palpatine opened a portal to the Veil of The Force and entered it. This explains why Palpatine is in such a damaged state in the Rise of Skywalker, as transporting himself into the Veil without the aid of the mirrors drained him and damaged him severely.
As with all rumors, this should be taken with a huge grain of salt. In some ways, we could see this making a lot of fans happy, but it would also be a massive shame. It would mean having to recast Carrie Fisher’s Leia if they decided to move forward with a new sequel trilogy and it would also drive an even bigger wedge between young fans who like the new movies and the people who grew up with the originals.