– Spoiler Review –
The Rise of Skywalker novelization, written by Rae Carson with expanded content, certainly helps add more depth and context to a film that just needed a few extra minutes to let events sink in, making it a great read for those left wanting a little more from the Skywalker Saga’s finale.
Reviewing the novelization, I’ve decided not to go in depth regarding The Rise of Skywalker’s plot or story beats, as I’ve already covered that for my review of the film. Instead, I’m going to focus on how the novel changes the feel of the film to some degree, with its additional scenes and character internalizations. One of my biggest critiques of the film was how it didn’t let any of its big moments or revelations marinate, quickly moving onto the next plot point or revelation, making the film feel like it was rushing to its conclusion. The book manages to slow down the overall pace, reshuffling some scenes to make it flow better, and lets the movie’s big moments land and stick. Honestly, as much I did enjoy the film overall, I found I preferred the novelization form of it due simply from how it expands on every possible moment in the film. Be it the Rey Palpatine reveal, Leia’s touching death, Kylo’s flip to Ben Solo, etc., each of these gains far more weight and substance hearing how the characters feel in the moment and how new scenes offer added context and setup. For Leia’s passing, when she uses all her strength to reach out to Ben, the added context is enlightening, giving the emotional scene even more resonance, as we learn Leia’s time in space in The Last Jedi took a toll on her and Luke constantly reaches out to her, telling her it’s her time to join him, while hearing her come to an understanding about what she must do to help save Ben, about passing into the Force and passing the baton, really helps add closure to the scene from the film. Or for Finn’s revelation that he’s Force-sensitive, it’s far clearer what he means to tell Rey and they even get to acknowledge it in the finale on Ajan Kloss. And even the last thoughts of Ben Solo, helping explore how the young man views his past, his present, and his final decision to bring Rey back to life. It’s this depth, added to nearly aspect of the film via Rae Carson’s deft writing, that’ll forever be in the back of mind when I watch the film, helping coalesce its points/themes and combat the rushed feeling of its runtime.
After reading Most Wanted, Carson’s previous Star Wars novel, I found I enjoyed her writing so much I felt like the book worked better than the film did to better dive into young Han and her writing struck again here. Sometimes the action and quick POV switches to ratchet up the tension jarring, but her prose for character internalizations is always rather incredible. It’s never lengthy, as the entire book only runs 272 pages long, but it’s very descriptive and gets right to the point; I do enjoy lengthy prose, but there’s something about Carson’s distillation that strikes a stronger chord with me, eliciting the same emotional response as if it was lengthier.
Even the most minor of additions exacerbated the baffling feeling of knowing the film doesn’t include any deleted scenes in its home releases, as some of the best additions would likely extend it only 10-15 mins tops. The novelization was never meant to “fix” the sometimes chaotic film however, instead providing context and support for its decisions and outcomes, and Carson’s work does so expertly and gave me a better feeling towards the film. I’ll be curious to see if they ever release any deleted scenes in some future sequel trilogy box set release (and later include them with TROS‘ Disney+ page).
Here are a few other things:
- Much like how this novel helped me understand and come to terms with some aspects of the film, there’s been some excellent think pieces online which have also offered excellent and eye-opening interpretations of what it was trying to say and do in regards to not only the sequel trilogy, but the Skywalker Saga at large. For starters, at Eleven-ThirtyEight there’s Timothy’s dissertation on how the film, while clumsily in-context, manages to honor the Skywalker Saga as a whole and some of its cinematic legacy. The article really opened my eyes and is easily one of the best reads I had about how the somewhat messy film has great things hidden within. And then on io9, James’ article recounts how the film shows Leia succeeded where her brother Luke failed, as her actions reveal she was best prepared to give the next generation a true, fighting chance by trusting them. The text in the novelization seems to support that feeling, as she comes to peace with her passing knowing Poe, Rey, and Finn will carry on her legacy.
- The additional Kijimi scenes, where we see Zorii’s escape, were great to read but are the only additions I can understand not being included in the film.
- More Rose content was GREALY appreciated, after she was shafted in the film, as at the very least we learn she’s leading the mechanics and responsible for the Falcon’s restoration and many other aspects of their base, making her being at the base more often at least understandable, though still disappointing.
- I liked the connection between Dark Rey’s saber and Rey’s finished saber at the story’s end, as she originally envisioned one exactly like Dark Rey’s, but after the encounter, switched it to a single blade.
- The Emperor’s return is explained far more than the film ever has the chance to, mentioning his clone body plan and how his “son,” a clone of sorts, came to be and how it led to the birth of Rey, though the lack of mention about her mom is saddening, to say the least. There are a lot of little details on the technology keeping him alive as well, while some extra dialogue should’ve made it into the film as it would’ve cleared up some confusion with his return.
- There’s a short but sweet interview with Rae Carson on the official site’s blog.
- The digital edition of the film was released early due to the current pandemic and the physical release should be out March 31 still. But that’s not all! The “Art of” book arrives alongside the film on March 31 and then fans of comic adaptations will have one for TROS starting in June, but with the major comic distributor Diamond halting shipping, it might be delayed till later/simply released as a trade paperback. It’ll include extended/additional scenes as well, so I wouldn’t mind seeing some of the novel’s additions visualized, but it’s very bizarre the end of the Skywalker Saga only gets 5-issues while Solo got 7-issues. We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess!
The Rise of Skywalker Expanded Edition Novelization fulfills its name with ease, adding much needed context to the film’s blindingly fast pace.
+ Nary an addition that didn’t add much needed context and understanding to the film’s big moments
+ Carson’s writing hits the right chord
+ Slows down the pace
– Action scenes/switching POVs a little too jumpy
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
ALSO BY RAE CARSON:
Most Wanted (novel) | “The Red One” – From a Certain Point of View | “Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing” – Canto Bight