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Elijah Wood criticises unanswered questions in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

‘Lord of the Rings’ star made dig at JJ Abrams film on Twitter

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 20 February 2020 10:18 GMT
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Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker - Final Trailer

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Elijah Wood has subtly criticised the most recent Star Wars film on Twitter.

Like may viewers, the Lord of the Rings actor was frustrated with the lack of context and answers provided in The Rise of Skywalker, namely around the return of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).

Palpatine is resurrected in the film, but it remains a mystery as to how exactly that happened. It also is not known how, after his return from the dead, he acquired a huge fleet – but it turns out, The Rise of Skywalker‘s Visual Dictionary reveals that very information.

A Star Wars fan account on Twitter highlighted this, writing: ”Did you know? The Sith Eternal fleet... was created by Sith cultists on Exegol, who indoctrinated Exegol’s population with Sith values and raised and trained their children to become officers, mechanics and soldiers for the Final Order?”

In response to the tweet, Wood wrote: “No. How could we have known?”

His comment echoes the sentiments of many Star Wars fans whose criticism with JJ Abrams’ concluding chapter to the Skywalker saga is that it relies on other mediums – tie-in novels, interviews – to fill in the gaps.

Earlier this year, the script for Colin Trevorrow’s scrapped Star Wars film, which was abandoned in favour of The Rise of Skywalker, leaked online.

Jurassic World director Trevorrow stepped down from the project in September 2017, after reportedly clashing with Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy.

The most interesting aspect from the screenplay, which is said to have been co-written by Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, is the absence of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). Save for a mention in the breakdown, he doesn’t appear to feature in the film.

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