IMAGINE IF D/LF HAD REALLY INVESTED IN MAKING THE DOTF STORY GREAT INSTEAD OF JUST GIVING UP ON IT!!! Trevorrow/Connolly had some good ideas. Chancellor Hux, more Knights of Ren, Luke/Leia, Lando, Finn/Rose(Poe should’ve been with them), the droids…if they had just reworked Ben and Rey…it ALL would’ve fallen into place!
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
EPISODE IX
DUEL OF THE FATES
Supreme Leader KYLO REN has disappeared! The iron grip of the FIRST ORDER has spread to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Only a few scattered planets remain unoccupied. Traitorous acts are punishable by death.
Determined to suffocate a growing unrest, CHANCELLOR HUX has silenced all communication between neighboring systems.
Led by GENERAL LEIA ORGANA, the Resistance has planned a secret mission to prevent their annihilation and forge a path to freedom...
It’s REY.
Not the girl we last saw. A grown woman. Powerful. Strong.
FINN: What are you doing here?
Rey spins and BLOCKS A LASER BLAST we didn’t see coming. Her robes fall from her shoulders, revealing a battle-ready outfit of ALL BLACK.
REY: A simple “thank you” would do.
She THROWS THE DOUBLE-BLADE LIKE A BOOMERANG, ducks behind a power regulator as the spinning saber slices all in its path, then rises in time to CATCH IT.
This is a new weapon of her own design, made from the pieces of Anakin’s broken lightsaber and her own staff. She wields it with grace.
INT. KUAT ORBITAL - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
An Officer races to Admiral Vonn.
ADMIRAL VONN: What happened down there?
OFFICER: The last Jedi is with them, sir.
Vonn’s confidence turns to fear.
ADMIRAL VONN: Alert the Knights of Ren.
EXT. KUAT ORBITAL RING - SPACE
The Eclipse blurs and VANISHES. Silence.
We TILT UP, stars raining down... WHOOMMMM. A jagged, sinister ship appears from hyperspace.
EXT/INT. KUAT ORBITAL - EXTERNAL LANDING AREA - SPACE
Knife 9 lands on an exposed landing pad, protected by quantum shield from the cold dangers of space.
The KNIGHTS OF REN appear from their ship.
TALON, the leader, armored and caped in black, eyes the scene in studied silence. The Knight gives a ominous, masked gaze to Admiral Vonn.
ADMIRAL VONN: W-we uploaded a veil cipher to the droid. You’ll have the Jedi’s location…
TALON: Where is Kylo Ren?!
ADMIRAL VONN: The whereabouts of the Supreme Leader are unknown.
Talon draws a RED lightsaber AND CUTS VONN DOWN.
A few Stormtroopers instinctively raise their weapons. The other Knights RAISE THEIR DISTINCTIVE WEAPONS.
Officers and Stormtroopers back away. Tense, afraid.
The Knights return to their ship, leaving Admiral Vonn’s body in their wake.
EXT. MUSTAFAR - DAY
The terrain is obsidian-like, black and reflective. Jagged mountains spike in the distance.
A cloaked figure in tattered robes rises into frame.
KYLO REN, bearded and weary. He checks the stars for navigation, climbs over a rock precipice...
...to reveal VADER’S ABANDONED CASTLE in the distance. A drone droid, VX-20, floats just behind him.
KYLO: Stay here.
EXT. CORVAX FEN - DAY
Supreme Leader Kylo Ren cut a swath of blood and destruction through the pathetic Mustafarian colonists. He battled through the gloomy woods of Corvax Fen, one of the few patches on this hellscape of a lava planet that was cool enough to support native growth. A few more steps and the ground became soggy.
EXT. WEBBISH BOG - DAY
As Kylo approached, the water bubbled up in the center, sending tiny waves to lap at his boots. A giant emerged from the oily water with a spidery creature draped over its massive bald head. The two were locked in symbiosis.
CREATURE: I am the Eye of Webbish Bog. I know what you seek.
KYLO: You will give it to me.
The Eye cocked its head, making an eerie squealing noise. It took a moment for Kylo to realize the creature was laughing at him.
CREATURE: No need for that. Do you really think my lord would have trusted it’s whereabouts to one who could be swayed by a trick of the Force?
Kylo supposed not.
CREATURE: You’ve been seeking it for a while, yes? I must warn you, our fiery planet burns away deception. If you proceed down this path, you will encounter your true self.
Kylo was growing impatient. He glared in silence.
CREATURE: Fine. In accordance with Lord Vader’s wishes, you have defeated my protectors and earned it. I’m sure you’ve noticed that the Corvax Fen has begun to heal…much like Ben Solo. Good luck with the girl.
Had the creature read his mind? He had been thinking of her a lot lately. The blind giant beneath the Eye raised its enormous hand from the water and pointed toward a small island in the lake. Kylo turned off his lightsaber and hooked it to his belt. He waded into the shallow lake, soaking his boots and cloak. On it was a secret underground entrance to Vader’s fortress. Kylo looked up, and was startled to discover that the Eye of Webbish Bog was gone, slipped back beneath the surface of a lake so still it was as though nothing lived within it at all.
INT. VADER’S CHAMBER - NIGHT
A forgotten, decrepit cathedral. Crumbling. Pieces of structure litter the ground, untouched for decades.
Kylo lights his red crossguard lightsaber, holds it up as a torch. Tiny creatures scurry at the disturbance.
A WIND blows against his cheek.
KYLO: Leave me alone.
LUKE(VO): This is where the dark path leads. An empty tomb.
KYLO: And where did your path lead? You’re a ghost.
LUKE(VO): I know what you’re searching for, Ben. Your Master promised you strength, but you feel hollow. The dark side has failed you, like it failed my father.
KYLO: Anakin Skywalker was weak.
LUKE(VO): His love for his family saved him. I wish it could save you.
Luke looks deep into his former student’s pained eyes.
KYLO: I did what I had to do.
LUKE(VO): You chose hate.
KYLO: I chose power! Soon I will be more powerful than any Jedi. Even you.
Luke appears before his former student.
LUKE: Are you sure?
Kylo FIRES his saber and ATTACKS. But Luke CATCHES THE BLADE, stopping it in midair, stronger than Kylo could possibly imagine.
LUKE: Go home, Ben...go home to Leia...
Luke disappears. Kylo is shaken. But on the altar beyond, the artifact he came here to find.
A SITH HOLOCRON.
He kneels before it. Holds out his palm, channels the Force.
The three sides of the pyramid pull away, revealing an energy within. It grows in intensity and PROJECTS A HOLOGRAM.
EMPEROR PALPATINE, recorded decades ago.
EMPEROR PALPATINE (HOLOGRAM): Lord Vader. I have rediscovered the well of the Living Force, the source of the galaxy’s birth. Young Skywalker will soon be ours, I have foreseen it.
The Holocron’s blue light swirls RED. It emits a laser that SCANS KYLO’S BODY.
EMPEROR PALPATINE (HOLOGRAM) (CONT'D): You will take the son of Skywalker beyond the Unknown Regions where he will learn to harness the untapped power of Mortis. At last we will realize--
The holocron ALARMS--BEN SOLO is not Darth Vader. Palpatine’s image stutters.
EMPEROR PALPATINE (HOLOGRAM) (CONT'D) (breaking up)
-- the d-destiny...po-potential--
A blast of RED LIGHTNING shoots from the pyramidal device into Kylo’s eyes.
The invasive pulse of energy SPREADS OVER HIS FACE like a cancer. Horrible, raw purple veins streak through his skin. Kylo SCREAMS in deep, unbearable pain.
INT. RESISTANCE BASE - KORILEV - DAY
A pair of blue eyes SNAP OPEN.
LEIA: Ben.
LEIA ORGANA grips a stone wall, regaining balance.
Her hair is long and grey, her robes white. A wise elegant leader, Leia has suffered more loss than a human can endure. She stands overlooking a terrain of rainforest dusted with crisp white snow. KORILEV, the Resistance’s secret base.
LUKE (VO): He’s in pain.
She responds to Luke as if he speaks to her often.
LEIA: I feel it too.
Luke’s Force Ghost steps forward, at her side.
LUKE: He’s MORE powerful than our father.
LEIA: So is she.
LUKE: She feels too much. Love. Anger.
LEIA: Don’t we all?
LUKE: This is why the Jedi live in isolation. The pain of loss only leads to the Dark Side.
LEIA: I’ve lost everything, and everyone. But I’d still choose to love. Leia regards her brother. Missing him.
INT. ECLIPSE DESTROYER - BRIDGE - DAY
Leia approaches Finn.
LEIA: How’s she doing?
FINN: Hard to tell. Maybe you can talk to her?
LEIA: She doesn’t need a master right now. She needs a friend.
INT. ECLIPSE DESTROYER - CORRIDOR
Finn approaches Rey, tentative.
FINN: You okay?
REY: I failed.
FINN: Don’t say that. They know our tactics. We’ve been fighting this war for too long.
REY: Those people, the children. I saw hope in their eyes.
FINN: They believe in you. We all do.
Those words add more weight to Rey’s heavy shoulders.
REY: I can’t be who they need me to be. I’m not strong enough.
FINN: That’s not true.
REY: Every night I wake up screaming. Every night, another bad dream.
FINN: It’s him isn’t it?
REY: No. I mean yes. It’s complicated. There’s something between us. I can’t explain it.
FINN: You love him…don’t you?
REY: I don’t know.
INT. RESISTANCE BASE - DAY
Rey trains with Luke.
LUKE’S VOICE (VO): Your pain is an illusion.
REY: It isn’t actually.
Rey senses a disturbance in the force.
INT. MUSTAFARIAN HUT - NIGHT
KYLO, in worse shape than we left him, damaged veins stretching down his neck.
KYLO: Why are you helping me?!
The colonists say nothing and continue to dress his wounds. Kylo grits his teeth.
INT. RESISTANCE BASE - DAY
Rey touches her cheek. Feeling a sharp but distant pain.
INT. MUSTAFARIAN HUT - NIGHT
Kylo feels a soothing presence…it’s Rey. She could feel his pain. Kylo is suddenly WRACKED BY A VISION...
A MOUNTAIN
Snow on the jagged peaks. A TEMPLE older than all known time.
AN ANCIENT CHAMBER
Two massive thrones built into the rock. A WELL OF LIGHT, pulsing from deep below.
INT. RESISTANCE BASE - DAY
Rey is wracked by the same vision...but it continues...
A DARK FIGURE
Hooded, masked. Kylo Ren. He activates his red lightsaber, facing off with Rey before the two thrones.
They fight, vicious, intense.
Kylo knocks her down and removes his mask. Rey sees herself! She’s petrified by the revelation. Her POV changes…she’s standing over Ben Solo. He looks heart broken.
INT. MUSTAFARIAN HUT - NIGHT
KYLO: No!
INT. RESISTANCE BASE - DAY
REY: No!
INT. MUSTAFARIAN HUT - NIGHT
Heartening words echo in Kylo’s mind…
Go home, Ben...go home to Leia...
INT. RESISTANCE BASE - DAY
LUKE’S VOICE (VO): What did you see?
REY: I saw a mountain. Two thrones in the rock. Kylo Ren was...changed.
Rey didn’t want to tell Luke what she really saw.
LUKE SKYWALKER steps into the light. A more tangible form of Force Ghost, similar to his projected self on Crait.
LUKE: You saw the future.
REY: Kylo saw it too. I could feel him. Like he was...there with me.
LUKE: Where?
REY: Mortis.
Luke turns grave. He sits, as Obi-Wan once sat beside him.
LUKE: What do you know of Mortis?
REY: It’s an ancient place. From a time before the Jedi, before the Sith. Two thrones, two powerful beings. One of darkness, the other of light. Together, they brought balance. (disbelief) But it’s a myth.
LUKE: So was I, if you remember.
Luke is almost present now. All traces of blue light are gone.
LUKE: Beneath the Temple of Mortis lies a power beyond anything the Jedi have ever known. If Kylo reaches the Temple, all we’ve fought for will be lost. You have to confront him.
Rey scoffs, petulant, angry.
LUKE: The Force guides us toward balance. It doesn’t always show us what we want to see.
REY: “Balance”. Dark suffocates the light. Light extinguishes the dark. Over and over. How is that balance?
LUKE: I know that anger. I had it. My father had it too.
REY: So says my master. And his master before him. A thousand masters, so eager to tell us how to live.
LUKE: The Force is speaking to you, Rey.
REY: Maybe I’m not who it thinks I am.
LUKE: Who are you?
REY: I’m no one.
LUKE: If that’s what you believe, the last Jedi is dead.
REY: Maybe he is.
INT. RESISTANCE BASE - CORRIDOR - DAY
Rose catches up with Rey.
ROSE: Hey. Finn and I are worried about you.
REY: I have to bring an end to all this. I have to confront Kylo.
ROSE: You mean Ben.
REY: I stopped calling him that after the stunt he pulled on Chandrila.
ROSE: You don’t mean that. He’s as stubborn as his mother. Don’t give up on him. It’s never too late to change. Look at Finn. He left the First Order. What will you do?
REY: I’ve got to find Mortis. In the unknown regions.
ROSE: Mortis is a myth.
REY: It isn’t. I saw it.
ROSE: And how do you plan on finding it?
Rey hesitates, unsure.
REY: I’ll...figure it out.
ROSE: I might know someone who can find what you’re looking for. Well, Paige knew her. A navigator, lives on Bonadan.
REY: Do you trust her?
ROSE: Paige did. She’s been all over the galaxy. If this place exists, she can find it.
REY: Thanks Rose!
ROSE: Hey, that’s what friends are for!
EXT. RESISTANCE BASE - SPACECRAFT HANGAR - DAY
REY: Leia. I...
LEIA: You don’t have to say it.
REY: Right. Force-sensitive. I know the Resistance is counting on me…
LEIA: Rey, be careful.
REY: Master Luke trained me well.
LEIA: Some things you can’t train for.
REY: I don’t-- What?
LEIA: Come on. A mother knows.
REY: I can’t. There are rules. Jedi rules.
LEIA (scoffs): Written by who? Some old man, a thousand years before you were born.
Leia speaks to Rey like her own daughter.
LEIA: My whole life, I heard one word. Balance. I never really understood what it meant. Until the first time I saw you. I heard that word again. Like it was whispered to me. Balance.
Leia takes her hand. Intimate. Close.
LEIA : You’re not like my father. Or my brother. You’re new. Whatever happens, remember: the Force chose you, Rey. Your story isn’t written by anyone else.
Rey, Chewbacca, and BB-8 leave Korilev in the Falcon.
INT. MILLENNIUM FALCON - COCKPIT - SPACE
BOOM!! The Falcon quakes. Damage alarms blare. The ship is hammered with laser fire. Relentless. Chewbacca WHINES.
A familiar ship enters frame in blazing pursuit. The dark and jagged KNIFE 9.
INT. KNIFE 9 - COCKPIT
Ap’lek at the helm. Kuruk and Cardo flank their leader in elevated gunchairs. Ushar and Vicrul press buttons on a nav computer. In the deep background, Talon floats in an electro-oxygen chamber, tubes weaving around like snakes.
Kuruk and Cardo unload waves of targeted blasts on the Falcon.
INT. MILLENNIUM FALCON - COCKPIT
REY: Who’s this?
Rey eyes the pursuing ship on the rearview graphic monitor.
REY: I’m going to the gunner seat!
Chewie ROARS in agreement.
Rey stops at the display for the Falcon computer. She places her hand on the screen.
REY: Hey girl! Please plot a course to Bonadan. Thanks!
EXT. KORILEV - SPACE
Knife 9 pursues the Falcon. Chewie shows his skill as a pilot! He manages to get behind the enemy ship.
INT. MILLENNIUM FALCON - COCKPIT
Rey fires on the Knife 9. She hits the ship sending it wildly off course.
REY: We’re clear! Punch it!
Light bends ahead and they ROCKET INTO HYPERSPACE.
INT. KNIFE 9 - COCKPIT
Alarms blare as they spin out. Kuruk regains control, righting the ship. The Falcon is gone.
Vicrul approaches the electro-oxygen chamber, eyeing Talon through the glass. Wires protrude from Talon’s mask into the main computer. The Knight is in some kind of induced sleep.
VICRUL: What do you see?
Vicrul places hand on the glass. Suddenly Talon does the same, hand flat on the glass against Vicrul.
The others look on, waiting for the answer. Vicrul’s head tilts up. He nods, removes his hand from the glass.
VICRUL: Set a course for Bonadan.
EXT. RESISTANCE BASE - DAY
A lone guard stands in a tower high above the landscape, surveying the countryside. He tracks Kylo’s TIE Silencer as it enters the atmosphere of Korilev and lands on the base. The entire Resistance arrives with guns pointed at the ship. Kylo exits and drops his lightsaber to the ground.
KYLO: I’ve come to surrender to LEIA ORGANA.
He is quickly placed in cuffs and escorted to Leia.
INT. LEIA’S QUARTERS - DAY
Leia’s son had finally returned to her. She smirks.
LEIA: Take the mask off.
KYLO: I’m not much to look at these days.
LEIA: I want to see the face of my son.
Kylo removes his helmet. Leia walks over to him.
LEIA: I’ve missed you so much. I should’ve never sent you away. Please forgive me.
BEN: Forgive you?
Ben begins to cry. Leia cries too. It was like seeing Han again on Takodana all those years later. They embrace.
BEN: I…I’m sorry…I wish I could bring him back…
LEIA: You’re back. That’s all that matters to me now.
BEN: Mom. I love you.
LEIA: I love you too. Now, let me look at you.
Leia touches her son’s face. She closes her eyes and uses the force to heal his wounds. A hum resonated in her chest as she gathered something inside her. Her own energy. Her own life. She felt Ben’s pain receding. The purple veins in his face began to disappear along with the scar that he’d received from Rey on Starkiller Base.
BEN: Where did you learn that?
LEIA: Ask me again sometime. We have to leave.
BEN: Leave? I just got here.
LEIA: We stole one of your Star Destroyers sweetie. The First Order will be here soon. Maybe I can win this war now that I have you and Rey.
BEN: Rey! Where is she?
LEIA: You just missed her. She left for Bonadan just awile ago.
INT. BONADAN - NAVIGATOR’S DEN
NOMI: You seek a place.
REY: A planet.
NOMI: Mortis is the place.
REY: Yes, I saw it in --
NOMI: The mouth on the Jedi stops and the mind makes the picture. The Force fills the Jedi and reveals the destination.
Rey closes her eyes and breathes.
The tiny marbles in the floor RISE INTO THE AIR, taking the three-dimensional shape of the galaxy all around them.
NOMI: The destination is very old. The first to know the Force. The first where the good was done. And the evil too.
Rey opens her eyes, surrounded by FLOATING MARBLES.
REY: Which one?
NOMI: The destination lies within.
The marbles swirl above Rey, a galaxy around her.
NOMI: The eyes close. Only the Jedi knows the path...
Nomi’s voice grows distant as Rey falls deep into meditation.
FLASH TO:
MORTIS
Snow on the peak. Autumn leaves in the valley below.
THE TEMPLE
NOMI (VO): There the two will meet. Drawn together by the Force.
Two thrones in the rock. A well of light, pulsing from deep within the mountain below.
NOMI (VO): The dark side and the light, but not as it once was…
A flat black oval stone at the center of the marble array falls from orbit into Nomi’s palm. She hands it to a rabbit-sized astroscrivener, GEB, seated at a tiny easel. He paints a starmap of the chosen location.
Geb the Astroscrivener tears the drawn planetary map off his easel, limps to Rey and hands it over.
REY: Thank you.
NOMI: The Jedi will make the journey. The journey will answer the question.
INT. LEIA’S QUARTERS - DAY
Ben enters the room to see that his mother has left him a change of clothes(white robes not too different than the ones he wore at Luke’s Jedi Academy). He stares across a table. He sees his father…Han Solo.
HAN: I’m so proud of you son.
BEN: You’re just a memory.
HAN: Your memory.
BEN: Dad.
HAN: I know.
BEN: I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it.
HAN: You do!
Ben looks down at the weapon that killed his father. When he looks back up…Han Solo is gone. He holds up the lightsaber…so different now than when he’d first constructed it. He uses the force to remove the outer casing. He takes the cracked red crystal in his hands and closes his eyes. He heals it. It’s pure white. He places it back inside the weapon and turns it on. The vents on the hilt explode off the sides as the bright white blade is ignited. Ben picks up a black case and places in front of him on the table. He opens it and gazes down at Darth Vader’s burned mask, speaking once more to the grandfather he never knew.
BEN: I understand you now. Your weakness. Your pain. Your love.
Ben floats the Dark Lord’s mask up and watches as his laser sword slowly melts it away.
EXT. BONADAN NIGHTMARKET - SUNSET
Rey spots the KNIGHTS OF REN, through the separating crowd.
INT. LEIA’S QUARTERS - DAY
Ben senses Rey is in danger. He says her name aloud.
BEN: Rey.
EXT. BONADAN NIGHTMARKET - SUNSET
REY: Ben.
Rey rises, backing away from the oncoming Knights.
She reaches for her lightsaber...
Rey eyes the children and peasants in the market. She can’t take more casualties.
Rey clenches her fist and FORCE PUSHES EVERYTHING AROUND HER-- a powerful concussion blast that knocks everything away.
Rey jumps onto the dock, and unhooks a RAZORSAIL, powered by a Dyson-like air cannon.
Rey channels the Force and FILLS THE SAIL with a gust of wind that launches her into the bay.
EXT. BONADAN BAY - SUNSET
Rey speeds across the bay toward the landing array. This boat is VERY FAST.
Something fires from above, exploding the water all around. Rey looks up.
Knife 9 SPEEDS OVER THE WATER TOWARD THEM.
Rey has no way to fire back at them and drive too. Suddenly something…someone activates the laser harpoon mounted on the front. It’s Ben…from Korilev…across the galaxy! They were together again just like in the hut on Ahch-To!
Ben BLASTS AWAY at Knife 9 while Rey steers them toward the Falcon’s docking array.
INT. KNIFE 9
Talon pilots with cold precision. Ap'lek, Kuruk, Ushar, Cardo, and Vicrul sit in surrounding cockpit chairs. TALON motions to the others and points down at the boat.
TALON: KYLO!
The Knights could actually see Ben!
EXT. BONADAN BAY - SUNSET
The Razorsail now takes fire from all sides. Ben thinks fast, turns the harpoon and SHOOTS THE SAIL CORD.
He reaches out to Rey.
BEN: Hold on!
Rey joins him and holds on tight.
The disconnected sail lifts them up like parasailers onto the first revolving landing pad of the docking array.
The Razorsail hits the shore and EXPLODES.
Knife 9 banks away from the explosion, but turns right around. They’re not done yet.
EXT. LANDING PLATFORM - SUNSET
Chewbacca is waiting by the ship.
An adjacent landing pad lowers into view.
Knife 9 rests on it. The six Knights of Ren stand ominously out front with weapons of beskar, their platform rising even with the Falcon’s. Talon ignites a lightsaber!
Rey and Ben activate their lightsabers.
They leap onto their landing pad and take them on, spinning and striking fast, outmatched but relentless much like their fight against the Praetorian Guards in Snoke’s throne room.
Chewbacca unloads his blaster at Kuruk, who deflects with skill while firing a pistol with one free hand.
Ben fights Talon and Vicrul.
TALON: You are no longer worthy of the Ren’s power Kylo! Kill him!
Vicrul lunges forward, but is force-pushed back into Talon. Talon’s mask is knocked off…we see a WOMAN beneath…a RED twi'lek! Talon performs some quick acrobatics and she’s on Ben! They wrestle until they both — fall off the edge of the landing array fifty feet to the next pad below. Rey screams and twirls her blade at the Knights in front of her.
Ap'lek and Ushar stay on Rey, moving in coordination, an unseen hive communication keeping their deadly attacks in sync.
Chewie can’t get a shot in on Cardo — his arm cannon fires FAST, fully-automatic.
Chewie is GRAZED, he’s in pain.
ON REY AND THE KNIGHTS
It brings Rey RAGE. She kicks Ap'lek away, buying a moment of one-on-one with Ushar.
She slices through him, dropping him cold. Then she spins on Ushar, reaches out...
...and FORCE PULLS HIM INTO HER LIGHTSABER, impaling him. A ghostly screech as Talon RETURNS, swinging wildly.
Rey disconnects her double saber and BLOCKS HER STRIKE--one saber blade still impaled in Ushar’s chest, the other clenched with Talon.
BENEATH THE FALCON
Chewbacca peppers Cardo with bowcaster fire. Cardo struggles to deflect the shots while Chewbacca advances.
He reaches Cardo, grabs him by the neck and HURLS him off the landing pad.
Then he lifts his bowcaster and FIRES, hitting Cardo in midair like a clay pigeon.
TALON STRIKES AT REY
Brutal swings, sparking when it hits the concrete. She grazes her. Rey drops her lightsaber and falls back. Unarmed.
Talon stands over her. Raises her weapon for the kill.
REY: Where’s Ben?!
The twi’lek responds with a evil grin.
TALON: I killed him!
This stirs a deep, vengeful ANGER in Rey.
Talon brings her blade down...but Rey extends her good hand, teeth clenched, eyes burning.
Ben climbs back up to the landing platform. He sees Talon standing over Rey.
FORCE LIGHTNING flows from Rey’s fingertips.
Talon’s skull flashes as the electricity destroys her.
The body falls, smoking.
Rey rises. Chewbacca is watching her, disturbed. Ben runs to her side.
REY: I- I had no choice.
BEN: It’s okay…
REY: It’s not the Jedi way.
Ben begins to fade from Bonadan.
BEN: I’m losing our connection. We can go to Mortis together. Wait for me…
Chewbacca HOWLS.
BB-8 looks up at Rey, ever faithful. She’s purposefully cold.
REY: Go!
BB-8 BEEPS mournfully and follows Chewbacca onboard.
Rey watches as the Falcon’s ramp RISES, obscuring Chewbacca from her sight.
The Falcon rises into the sky, Rey’s sari robes whipping in the wind.
INT. KNIFE 9 - SUNSET
Rey enters the cockpit. Places Nomi’s hand-drawn map on the console. Rests her lightsaber on top of it.
Her left hand is cut and bleeding. She wraps it with the sash from her sari, then removes the civilian robes to reveal the black warrior’s clothing beneath.
She catches her reflection in the mirror. She didn’t even recognize herself anymore. Her reflection speaks to her.
REY: Don’t be afraid of who you are!
EXT. RESISTANCE BASE - SPACECRAFT HANGAR - DAY
Buzzing energy as the Resistance evacuates the base.
BOOOOOMMMM! A massive blast shakes the mountain. Dust crumbles, alarms blare. Massive blips on radar screens.
RESISTANCE TECH: Resurgent Class Star Destroyer detected, we’re taking fire!
INT. LEIA’S QUARTERS - DAY
Ben is back on Korilev.
BOOOOOM!! The entire place shakes. The First Order was here. He rushes to find his mother.
INT. RESISTANCE BASE - SPACECRAFT HANGAR - DAY
Alarm lights FLASH. Pilots run for their ships.
COMMAND INTERCOM (VO): Emergency evac. All personnel and craft to Rendezvous Point Crimson.
Ben locates Leia. She is surrounded by RESISTANCE GUARDS.
LEIA: Route all unarmored transports to the Eclipse, it’s our only way out.
Leia locks eyes with Ben.
BEN: I’ve got to find Mortis! Rey needs me.
LEIA: Get to your ship and Ben…may the FORCE be with you!
Ben gives a familiar Solo nod.
INT. TIE-SILENCER - DAY
The Silencer rises out of the deep sinkhole to the surface, where the jungle is ON FIRE. Laser blasts pound the mountain base from above, relentless.
Just inside the shield barrier, transports and fighters fly into the open docking bays of the Eclipse Destroyer, like bees into a hive, safe inside.
INT. ECLIPSE DESTROYER - BRIDGE - DAY
Leia takes her command position on the bridge, now fully manned by Resistance personnel.
She takes one last look at Korilev. Another home taken from her.
INT. TIE-SILENCER - SPACE
LUKE(VO): Never thought I’d be in one of these. Good to have you back kid.
BEN: Good to be back.
Ben focuses on Rey. She was looking at the map.
BEN: I see it. A mountain in winter. No, fall.
He punches some buttons on the nav computer as he feels the heat of the explosion all around him. Light bends ahead and he ESCAPES INTO HYPERSPACE.
INT. ECLIPSE DESTROYER - BRIDGE - DAY
Leia closes her eyes, feeling the loss of the men and women left behind as the Eclipse MAKES THE JUMP TO LIGHTSPEED.
EXT. KORILEV - DAY
The Eclipse VANISHES in an instant.
The Finalizer’s superlaser finally cracks the shields. The base ERUPTS.
The entire planet EXPLODES IN HELLFIRE.
EXT. DEEP SPACE - DAY
Rey drops out of lightspeed to find herself in swirling clouds, half red, half blue. An ominous and violent atmosphere surrounding a black circle.
The Galactic Void.
Suddenly the navigational equipment blinks out. The ship rattles. Alarms sound.
Rey braces herself, re-calculates for lightspeed and MAKES THE JUMP INTO THE VOID.
The stars streak into infinite straight lines ahead, then TWIST AND BEND as she passes through the black hole.
Rey’s face becomes a echo of itself, in fifteen places at once, like the mirrorcave on Ahch-To.
NEARLY-SUBLIMINAL FLASHBACKS:
--Finn taking her hand on Jakku.
--Han Solo handing her a blaster on Takodana.
--Leia smiling fondly on her return to D’Quar.
--Touching Kylo’s hand on Ahch-To.
--Feeling Luke pass into the Force on Crait.
...until it all STOPS.
Rey opens her eyes. There is a planet ahead. No stars visible around it, only deep black.
Heavy clouds swirl over one third. Another third is a rich green. Another orange and red.
Suddenly the power DROPS OUT. Lights on the dashboard go dark. The ship goes into free fall.
EXT. MORTIS - WESTERN WOODS - DAY
Knife 9 skims over treetops and CRASH LANDS in a riverbed. Tiny fish leap out of the water and run away.
Rey pries herself out of the wreckage and sloshes to land. She looks back at the smoking ship. No turning back.
She hikes into the leafy forest, SUMMER TURNING TO FALL at an accelerated pace around her.
The trees clear to a steep ledge. A towering mountain ahead. A TEMPLE barely visible at the summit. The valley below is alive with autumnal oranges, yellows and reds.
She journeys on.
EXT. MORTIS - EASTERN PLATEAU - DAY
Ben’s Silencer lands in a clearing of dead trees. No leaves on the branches, covered in snow.
He looks up at the mountain ahead. Visibility is low.
A NATURAL STONE BRIDGE over a deep precipice. Tall granite on either side, vaguely shaped into primitive faces.
It feels like a gate.
A WHISPER ON THE WIND swirls around him. The Force is strong here.
He journeys on.
EXT. MORTIS - WESTERN CLIFFS - DAY
Rey scales the icy peak, blasted by wind and sleet. She reaches a plateau, finds her footing.
There are statues of ROBED ANCIENTS here. Not Jedi.
A STORM OF SNOWDUST obscures her vision. Voices ECHO.
A temptation from the DARK. She is visited by the Mortis SON…Maul!
REY: Who are you?
MAUL: I am Son. I am your fate. Join me. Together we can change the balance of the universe. My friend.
EXT. MORTIS - EASTERN FOREST - DAY
Ben hikes through winter. Glimpses of the Temple break through the canopy above.
Suddenly the wind dies. There’s someone approaching.
BEN: Who are you?
AHSOKA: I am Daughter. You are Anakin’s grandson. You must find Rey quickly. My brother wants her.
EXT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - DAY
Ben Solo ascends the steps to a sealed stone door.
The Temple is cut into the mountaintop. Uninterpretable carvings, runes and statues allude to civilization and knowledge long lost.
He reaches out. The door bends to his will and OPENS. A millennium of dust spills from its cracks.
But he does not enter. He knows he’s not alone.
Ben turns to face DARK REY.
REY: The Force is strong in this place. Can you feel it?
BEN: Rey, I love you.
She FORCE-PUSHES HIM BACK. His feet slide back a few inches, but he withstands it, steadfast.
REY: Love is for fools! I finally feel the power that Darth Vader desired!
BEN: But you’re still afraid.
REY: Of what?
BEN: Of what you’ve become. Don’t push me away. Remember Ahch-To…you’re not ALONE!
REY: With the power of this place, we could rule the galaxy as the Ancients did. The Dark Side and the Light.
BEN: I don’t want power. I only want you. I offered you my hand once. You wanted to take it. Come with me. Let’s leave this place. We can help my mother defeat the First Order.
She circles him like a lion. She ignites her lightsaber. It burns RED!
EXT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - NIGHT
Rain pounds the grey stone, lit by flashes of white and red.
Lightsabers CLASH as Ben and Rey fight on the steps of the Temple. Ancient statues crumble--Ben stops them in midair, pushing them back. Ben allows Rey’s barrage to hammer him, taking careful, controlled counter strikes through her wild assaults, but she finally disarms him. His lightsaber falls to the stone. Rey kicks Ben and he falls backwards down the stone steps. Motionless. Unconscious.
REY: Goodbye, Ben.
Rey enters the Temple of Mortis, leaving Ben on the steps.
INT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - NIGHT
Rey’s long shadow precedes her into the cavern of stone.
Statues of the ANCIENTS look down into a deep void in the center.
LUKE (VO): I feared this would happen. You went straight to the DARK.
LUKE SKYWALKER steps into the light. A thin blue glow traces his form.
REY: Some teacher you turned out to be!
EXT. TEMPLE MOUNT - NIGHT
Ben lies motionless on the stone steps.
Then his hand MOVES. His eyes open.
BEN: Luke...
INT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - NIGHT
Luke’s expression changes, sensing him.
LUKE: Come back to us Rey.
REY: Us?
LUKE: You are not alone.
EXT. TEMPLE MOUNT - NIGHT
Ben drags his shattered body up the Temple steps. His arm gives out. He collapses. The pain is too much.
LUKE (VO): We’re connected. All living things. The Force surrounds us. It penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. We are one. Bound by the Force.
INT. ECLIPSE DESTROYER - BRIDGE - SPACE
Leia looks beyond the battle, feeling Ben’s pain.
EXT. TEMPLE MOUNT - NIGHT
Ben into the rain. He feels the connection from across the galaxy. A surge of hope.
INT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - NIGHT
Luke gives his former student a faint smile.
LUKE: And we will not be broken.
EXT. TEMPLE MOUNT - NIGHT
With all his strength, Ben Solo rises.
INT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - NIGHT
Luke VANISHES.
Beyond him, BEN STANDS IN THE ARCHED DOORWAY.
BEN: The Jedi. The Sith. They’re wrong. I will not
deny my anger. And I will not reject my love.
His fallen lightsaber flies into his hands.
BEN: I am the darkness. And I am the light.
REY: You are a SKYWALKER and I’m over you!
She ignites the blades. They crackle. Rey CHARGES. Their blades meet and SIZZLE.
INT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - NIGHT
Ben counters Rey’s every move. They are evenly matched, two sides of a coin, flame and shadow.
A vicious swing and Ben’s lightsaber SHATTERS at the hilt. DESTROYED.
He looks at it with disbelief, stumbles back toward the Well of Mortis. Falls to one knee.
Rey stands over him. Anger flowing.
She points her blade to Ben’s chest.
Ben is stunned by the powerful being before him.
Rey clenches her teeth...eyes furious...
She reaches out her hand...
....and projects FORCE LIGHTNING at Ben.
He SCREAMS TO THE SKY.
She looks beyond Ben to the Well of Mortis.
BEN: Rey...
Ben is almost gone. He summons all his strength. Reaches out.
With the last of himself, he OFFERS HER HIS HAND.
BEN: Rey...please...
INT. ECLIPSE DESTROYER BRIDGE - SPACE
Leia feels the disturbance. It PAINS her. Into the vastness of space, she says Rey’s name.
LEIA: Rey...
INT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - NIGHT
Then Rey hears LEIA’S VOICE, carried by the Force.
LEIA (VO): Rey.
She STOPS. Hearing her. Feeling her close.
LEIA (VO): Come back. Come back to us.
Something HAPPENS to her! Han and Leia had been like the parents Rey never had.
INT. ECLIPSE DESTROYER BRIDGE - SPACE
Leia speaks to Rey through the Force.
LEIA: Ben loves you. Please don’t make the same mistake I made.
INT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - NIGHT
She looks at Ben’s outstretched hand...and TAKES IT.
Ben and Rey collapse into one another.
Rey is close to him now. Their foreheads touching.
REY: Ben!
Rey smiled and stared into his eyes. She reached for his face, let her fingers linger against his cheek, and kissed him.
Ben smiled at her. They both collapsed to the ground.
INT. TEMPLE OF MORTIS - NIGHT
Ben and Rey lie flat on the stone.
Silence.
Glimmers of energy flicker like fireflies in darkness.
One of the distant glimmers grow larger than the others. It moves toward them.
ANAKIN SKYWALKER.
BEN: Grandfather!
ANAKIN: I see why Leia named you after Obi-Wan! Ben. Rey. They want me to tell you…
REY: Who?
ANAKIN: The Whills. They want me to tell you that you succeeded where the Jedi and Sith failed. Their point of view was too narrow. You chose to embrace the Dark Side and the Light. To find balance within. They must co-exist in all of us. You’ve earned the right to stay here on Mortis, in serenity…peace, or go back to that galaxy in turmoil.
We hold on their faces as they consider their life TOGETHER.
BEN/REY: Thank you.
EXT. MODESTA - DAY
A serene, sun-dappled ranch surrounded by rolling green fields of tall grass. Smoke curls from the chimney. The children race about the pasture. BROOM BOY from Canto Bight is among them.
They race around a NERF FOAL, trying to hook a ring around its tiny horns. BB-8 races with them, beeping excitedly.
Leia steps onto the front porch. C-3PO and R2-D2 greet her. Poe, Finn, Rose, and Chewie are all here.
Two figures blur on the horizon. Familiar silhouettes. Dirty, ragged. Walking for a long time.
BB-8 rolls forward, beeps excitedly. The kids hear the droid, stop their game, look to the fields beyond.
The kids run toward them, joined by BB-8, who is faster. The two walk on toward the homestead.
ON THE HORIZON
Rey and Ben.
Here a new generation of SKYWALKERS will learn the ways of the FORCE with an understanding that only the balance within can lead to peace and justice in the galaxy.
THE END