Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Writer Addresses Broom Boy & Other Force Sensitive Characters

Now that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in theaters, the conversation has shifted from how the franchise of films would end toward how well they all align, especially after the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi seemingly changed everything we thought we knew about the sequel trilogy. But while the questions about Rey's parents and Snoke's origin were finally answered, some fans were left wondering about the status of the Force awakening in the previous movie, especially when it came to new characters such as "Broom Boy."

But Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker writer Chris Terrio recently explained that this movie actually follows in the footsteps of The Last Jedi, as evidenced by Finn's journey and impact on the narrative.

"Hopefully, the film also suggests that Finn is discovering that he is a Force user and is Force strong," Terrio said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. "Finn feels the death of Rey, and in a crucial moment during the battle, Finn senses the command ship where the navigation signal was coming from. So, we wanted to begin to plant the idea that Finn is Force strong and that there are other people in the galaxy who are Force strong."

Terrio went on to explain that the Force is strong with many people throughout the galaxy, adding that Rey's on journey from discovering her heritage as a Palpatine helps echo the themes of The Last Jedi.

"The idea that this royalty of the Dark Side would be found as a scavenger in the middle of nowhere, literally living off the ruins of the old war that was created by her ancestors, felt really strong to us," the writer explained. "We couldn't agree more with the debate about the democratization of the Force, but for purposes of this story, we thought that it was a more interesting and mythic answer if it turned out that Rey descended from one of the families that has been at the center of this whole saga the entire time. In the end, the film asserts that there are things stronger than blood because she chooses a different family for herself."

This is one of the more curious aspects of the film, especially because the focus suddenly shifts back to Finn rather than exploring other characters' connections to the Force. But at least the filmmakers put some thought into how they expanded on those ideas.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is currently playing in theaters.