'Star Wars 9' Theory Says a Surprising Force Ghost Will Help Beat Palpatine

Fans have speculated over the meaning of The Rise of Skywalker ever since the official title for Star Wars: Episode IX was revealed. Now, imagine a scenario where all of the Skywalkers quite literally rose up to help defeat Emperor Palpatine. That would make for an epic close to the long-standing franchise, right?

We already know Mark Hamill is returning as a Force ghost in Episode IX and an intriguing new theory suggests Luke won’t be alone. He could be joined by Leia (assuming she dies during the movie) along with Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.

Star Wars director J.J. Abrams has leaned heavily into legacy and since The Rise of Skywalker will be the final film in the third trilogy, there would be no better way to go out than to include a Skywalker reunion. After all, Force ghosts are no strangers to the Star Wars universe and it’s a little weird that we haven’t seen Anakin in any of the sequel movies so far. Maybe he can show up and finally solve the mystery of his blue lightsaber and how it was found.

Redditor u/FuzzyTeddyBears suggests that not just Anakin, but all of the Skywalkers, will return to assist in fighting Palpatine. They might not necessarily stick around for long, but they could offer some advice or act as distractions while Kylo, Rey and the others put whatever plans they have into motion. And it “would make sense to have the Skywalker saga end with the Skywalker family killing the big bad of the entire saga once and for all,” they write.

From a narrative and logistical perspective, this makes a lot of sense. So far, Kylo’s storyline has drawn the most parallels to Anakin’s, but he hasn’t exactly had a great relationship with either his uncle or his mother. Considering Leia will probably pass away at some point in Episode IX (due to Carrie Fisher’s real-life death prior to the end of filming), it would serve as an amazing reunion and a way to finally witness the Skywalkers working together instead of being separated by a bitter rift.

Plus, a canonical Star Wars book, titled Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi has already confirmed that Luke kept in touch with Anakin’s Force ghost for years. If Anakin continued guiding Luke, then there’s hope he and the other members of his family will do the same for Kylo, who’s still lost between the Dark and Light sides of the Force.

So far, Disney and Lucasfilm have mostly managed to keep things under wraps, with the big reveal of “Dark Rey” at the D23 Expo proved to be a surprise to everyone. After all, nobody knew Yoda would make an appearance in The Last Jedi, but there he was, visiting Luke as a Force ghost. If Anakin is returning, the studio would want to keep that a secret too. Plus, Vader’s helmet has already played such a fascinating role in Kylo Ren’s story and it would be a missed opportunity not to bring back the Skywalker who started it all.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters December 20, 2019.