The sequel trilogy of the Skywalker Saga earned a divisive reaction from fans, but it still honored the characters from the original trilogy in many ways.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens managed to highlight Harrison Ford's Han Solo in an emotional arc while Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker earned the spotlight during Star Wars: The Last Jedi . Additionally, the last entry to the saga in the form of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker paid tribute to Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa in a surprising way.
The Rise of Skywalker was the most intriguing among the three movies since it had a massive undertaking by giving a complete resolution to the narrative of the Skywalker Saga. While the film earned mixed reception from fans and critics , the 2019 blockbuster still delivered a conclusion that came full circle for the franchise.
Now, a significant piece of information has surfaced, detailing the film's notable connection to an iconic Star Wars character.
NEWS
IGN revealed Darth Vader's connection to The Rise of Skywalker by breaking down the events of Star Wars: Darth Vader #6. The outlet shared a comic book panel which showed Emperor Palpatine torturing Darth Vader to avoid "the thought of Anakin Skywalker reawakening" within the Sith Lord.
This eventually made Vader helpless with an added burden of not being able to call out the Force, courtesy of Palpatine.
As Vader heads off to the Techno Union facility to fix his current state, it was revealed that Palpatine sent out Sith Assasin Ochi of Bestoon to hunt down the Sith Lord, marking the end of the current issue.
The appearance of Ochi of Bestoon is the comic's actual connection to The Rise of Skywalker since the Sith Assassin's corpse made an appearance in the film. The scene in question was during the time Rey, Finn, and Poe stumbled across his corpse on Pasaana. Not only that, IGN also pointed out that Ochi was the one who was tasked with hunting down Palpatine's grandaughter and Rey's parents.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Part of the fun of Star Wars is the franchise's interconnected storylines, and this latest piece of connection to the sequel trilogy is more evidence of that. Darth Vader has been referenced numerous times during the sequel trilogy, serving as Kylo Ren's inspiration to turn to the dark side, but this reveal showcased another interesting connection from the Sith Lord's past.
This might be a small, yet fun connection towards the sequel trilogy, but it shows how closely the narrative ties together. Not only that, the blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo of Ochi from The Rise of Skywalker proves that characters in the background serve a grander purpose in other stories. In a way, this could also hint that the franchise still has plans to explore more characters in the future, maximizing on the trans-media approach of the franchise.
Star Wars is venturing into a whole new narrative in the form of The High Republic , and it's a safe bet that the franchise will lean towards utilizing more connections towards the overarching narrative of the Skywalker Saga by using that medium.
