Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Novelization Doesn't Have a Ben Force Ghost Either

When Star Wars films get the novelization treatment, the story often earns added details that might not have made it into the theatrical release of a film, with the release of the novelization of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker at this weekend's C2E2 confirming that Ben Solo doesn't appear as a Force ghost at any point of the story. The events of the film mirrored the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, with Kylo Ren's redemption and embrace of his Ben Solo persona feeling similar to what Darth Vader experienced in that film, so with Anakin's appearance as a Force ghost at the end of that film, some fans were disappointed that the only Force ghosts in the film's finale were Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.

Twitter user @shelbylynnmarie confirmed the lack of a Force ghost, while also noting that there is added information in his death scene that some fans might find hopeful.

Heading into the release of the final film in the Skywalker Saga, expectations were tremendously high, as the film had to conclude not only the sequel trilogy of films but the entire nine-episode saga that began back in 1977. While some fans felt fully satisfied with the events of the film, others were left disappointed over what they perceived to be missed opportunities.

As is the nature of the internet, it wasn't long before conspiracy theories emerged that claimed the theatrical ending underwent serious changes from the film's original plans, seemingly to fulfill the narratives that fans themselves had conjured about the ending. One such theory was that, instead of Rey surviving and Ben Solo dying, the roles were originally reversed, forcing the filmmakers to repurpose footage from earlier in the film to craft the finale. One of the film's editors, Maryann Brandon, previously debunked that notion.

"That shot was shot in the desert where they shot the sequence on Pasaana, but it was shot for that shot," Brandon revealed to ComicBook.com. "It was specifically shot for that and then ILM created a lot of that shot, so that's a question for Roger Guyett and the artists at ILM, how they created it. I picked the shot of Rey, which I know was shot in the same desert. It wasn't already in the film, it was for that sequence."

The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker novelization officially hits shelves on March 17th. Pre-orders are live on Amazon now. The film hits Digital HD on March 17th and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on March 31st. Additional details about the release can be found here.

Are you disappointed by this news? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!