New Dark Rey concept art from The Rise of Skywalker channels a classic moment from The Empire Strikes Back. Dark Rey was a small part of the final installment in the Skywalker Saga, though it looks like her scene could have been a bit longer and more detailed. Since the movie hit theaters, we’ve seen a lot of concept art focused on the Dark Side of Rey. Fans were stunned by Dark Rey in the early trailers for the movie and were more than a little intrigued.
From the start, hardcore Star Wars fans were sure that the vision of Dark Rey in The Rise of Skywalker trailer was going to be a callback to The Empire Strikes Back. Luke’s Dagobah vision was what instantly came to mind and that’s what the Dark Rey scene really was, though it was a bit different. The scene centers on Luke fighting Darth Vader only to discover that it was himself through a cracked version of Vader’s iconic helmet. In the latest concept art from The Rise of Skywalker, we can see that they almost did the same thing with Rey.
In the concept art, we see Rey wearing a cracked version of Kylo Ren’s helmet. It’s a striking image which would have been something fans may have loved. However, it might have also been criticized for being too similar to The Empire Strikes Back at the same time. Regardless, Dark Rey was an element that many Star Wars fans wish there was more of. There was a lot going on in the final cut of the movie, but surely the Dark Rey element could have been longer and more pronounced.
After that moment and her battle with Kylo Ren, who she eventually saves, Rey heads to Ahch-To. She was going to give up on everything until Luke Skywalker’s Force Ghost convinced her to return. Rey’s struggle with the Dark Side was real and could have been fleshed out some more, like Ben Solo’s struggle. With that being said, J.J. Abrams had a lot of story to cover and still found time to introduce new characters, which ate up some of the final installment’s runtime. There simply was not enough time for Rey to explore her darkness.
The Rise of Skywalker ended up being almost as divisive has The Last Jedi amongst hardcore fans. While many saw it as a course correction after what Rian Johnson did, others saw it in a different light. This was always going to be the case since it’s impossible to please everybody. However, the scenes with Dark Rey still seem to raise a lot of questions, especially after seeing new concept art that teases a classic moment from the first trilogy. You can check out the latest concept art from The Rise of Skywalker below, thanks to Adam Brockbank’s Instagram account.
