The Alternate Reylo Moment That Fans Never Got
When the Star Wars sequel trilogy started, viewers were not completely certain what would be the endgame for Rey and Kylo Ren. Some people shipped them right away, and others were heavily against the pairing because of Kylo's despicable actions. It was a bit of a surprise when the last chapter of the trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker, ended with Ben Solo turning back to the light side, reviving a dead Rey, getting a kiss from her, and then dying peacefully because of all the effort that it took for him to revive her. Some people liked this ending, and some were put off by it, because it (intentionally or not) felt like it was sending a message that people could only be redeemed by dying. We saw this happen with Anakin Skywalker, so this felt like another retread.
All that aside, it seems that we now have a bit more info about how the ending could have played out a little differently. USA Today bestselling author Sariah Wilson shared on her Twitter page that she had a chat with Rey actress Daisy Ridley. These are her words:
"Reylo fans: Daisy says the only two possible TROS endings [were] kiss or no kiss, she said Ben dying was the only thing that never changed from the beginning and that there was no dialogue in the kiss scene other than 'Ben' and her saying 'No, no, no, no' when he died."
Obviously, they went with a yes for the kiss, but it looks like they cut out a few words that would have made the scene feel more sad. The way that it plays out in the film treats it like a happy ending of sorts, with Ben's redemption and passing being conveyed as a triumphant moment. As the thread continued, it appears that Wilson was asked about whether there was another version of the dialogue in the scene. It is a bit unclear since the original question from one of the users has been deleted, but Wilson's answer remains:
"I think [Daisy Ridley] would have told me if there was dialogue. She did stop and think about it and told me the only things that [were] said were what I mentioned."
Wilson was later asked whether the "from the beginning" part of the statement referred to the beginning of the scriptwriting process for The Rise of Skywalker as opposed to the beginning of the trilogy's development. She clarified:
"I don't know, and she didn't specify, but I would guess from the beginning of this movie rather than the entire trilogy."
It would make more sense that the scene that we saw, kiss or no kiss, would have been there from the beginning of The Rise of Skywalker scriptwriting specifically, rather than from the beginning of the trilogy's development. We know that Colin Trevorrow's version of Episode IX, titled Duel of the Fates, would have ended a bit differently for Kylo Ren. He still would have died, but the details were a bit different. It does not feel like a type of scene where a kiss would even be an option, just looking at the details on the surface. In the end, we got the ending that we got in The Rise of Skywalker, with a kiss, and each viewer seems to have their own opinion on the matter. Maybe a little bit more dialogue would have changed things for better or for worse, but things are what they are. While it may not be healthy to dwell too much on what could have been, it can sometimes be an interesting exercise to imagine what could have been when it comes to stories.
Source(s): The Direct