Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Writer Reveals the Two Biggest Questions Driving the Film

The upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is meant to conclude not only the sequel trilogy of films, but also the entire Skywalker Saga, with writer Chris Terrio noting that the biggest questions that fueled the narrative relate to Rey's identity and how powerful the Force truly is. Despite the screenwriter confirming that these were some of the biggest ideas he kept in mind, that doesn't necessarily mean we'll get explicit answers to these questions, though we'll likely get enough answers to satiate our curiosities. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will answer the audience's questions when it lands in theaters on December 20th.

"One of them is a simple one: 'Who is Rey?'," Terrio shared with Empire Magazine of questions he aimed to address. "Which is a question that people not only wonder about quite literally, but wonder about in the spiritual sense. How can Rey become the spiritual heir to the Jedi? We kept coming back to 'Who is Rey?', and how can we give the most satisfying answer to that not only factually – because obviously people are interested in whether there's more to be learned of Rey's story – but more importantly who is she as a character? How will she find the courage and will and inner strength and power to carry on what she's inherited?"

Since the debut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, fans wondered if Rey's parents connected her to famous characters from the series, only for Star Wars: The Last Jedi to seemingly reveal they were "nobodies." With some fans having doubts about the veracity of these details, in addition to footage from the upcoming film hinting at Rey being persuaded to the Dark Side, the new film will set the record straight once and for all.

Throughout the course of the franchise, various characters have demonstrated new Force abilities, with little to no explanation of how they learned these skills. In The Rise of Skywalker, we could witness the full potential of the Force.

"The second one is, 'How strong is the Force?'" Terrio pointed out. "It sounds a little simple, but actually when you get down to it, that is a sort of Zen Koan that we would really meditate on – not literally in yoga poses or anything, but like we would discuss, 'What is the Force and how strong is the Force?' Those two things were really important."

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker lands in theaters on December 20th.

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