The Last Jedi Killed Snoke, But Didn't Replace Him Any movie that came after The Last Jedi had to either start from scratch or ignore what happened The Rise of Skywalker did both. Satisfying or not, these changes essentially threw away all the previous world-building. The Resistance lost most of its numbers while the First Order had a vital change in leadership. The first movie focused on establishing the Resistance and the First Order while the second spent its runtime tearing both of these groups apart. Without the help of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, the last movie had no way of making Palpatine feel like a real threat to Rey and the Resistance.

Related: Why Rise of Skywalker’s Lightsaber Duels Are Star Wars' Worst The same can't be said for The Rise of Skywalker. The stakes were high, and the danger felt genuine. Thanks to the world-building and character arcs from previous movies, the audience knew he was powerful and a real threat. His role in The Return of the Jedi isn't much bigger, yet he was an effective opponent, creating tension between Luke and his father and tempting both with the dark side. In the original trilogy, the Emperor appeared in a single scene in The Empire Strikes Back. His late addition came with no setup and little explanation, making him an unsatisfying final villain for the trilogy.Įxcept for Darth Vader, the Star Wars movies are generally not concerned with developing their villains beyond their goals however, any character can be a great villain when used right.

One major change caused by this was Palpatine's introduction as the main villain of J.J. Rian Johnson's movie was certainly divisive, and no matter which side of the argument someone falls on, it is undeniable that both films ended up going in completely different directions, both story-wise and in tone. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's villain problem wasn't Palpatine, but events in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

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