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Rise of Skywalker Doesn’t Retcon The Last Jedi. Here’s Why.
Kylo Ren said “Let the past die; kill it, if you have to,” but did J.J. Abrams take that too literally?
Many people will see Rise of Skywalker this week and come to the same conclusion: J.J. Abrams retconned what Rian Johnson did in The Last Jedi.
But to me, Rise of Skywalker didn’t retcon the previous movie anymore than Return of the Jedi retconned the movies it followed.
Retconning the previous movie is, frankly, a staple of the Star Wars franchise and nothing to get pissed over; the only difference is we have lived with the retconning the original trilogy did to itself for 30 years, and so it no longer feels like a retcon- it feels like a plot. It feels like history. (also, I’m already tired of saying “retcon”).
I’m certain in 30 years, we will all feel the same way about this trilogy.
But looking at the main points of contention, honestly, I think many are confusing retcon with plot twist. Because the moments people are complaining about don’t feel like backpedaling to me; they feel like story progression.
Let’s tackle each one from a character perspective.
