Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will bring an end to the saga that’s transported audiences to a galaxy far, far away for over 40 years. We’ve been treated to three trailers for the new movie already, and while they have all been very exciting in their own way, they haven’t revealed a lot in regards to the film’s plot. That being said, there have been some clues sprinkled throughout all of them to give fans some ideas about what to expect.
Of course, the biggest question going into The Rise of Skywalker pertains to the return of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). He appears to be back from the dead, and that spells trouble for the entire galaxy. Rey (Daisy Ridley) seems likely to be tasked with putting a stop to the returning villain, but how will she go about overcoming the difficult odds? Well, the latest trailer may have given us the answer.
Toward the end of the trailer, we see Rey and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) teaming up in a white room that looks similar to Darth Vader’s old meditation chamber. They destroy what appears to be a shrine depicting Anakin Skywalker’s alter ego and in this moment, Rey holds in her left hand a dagger, which could be the key to her defeating Palpatine.
Now, this dagger could be any artifact that Rey has acquired during her travels. However, in Star Wars lore, there is one particular blade that’s powerful enough to defeat an all-powerful foe like Palpatine: the Dagger of Mortis.
The dagger was first introduced in The Clone Wars animated series. Essentially, it’s a mystical weapon that’s capable of killing Force-wielders. In the series, Anakin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padawan Ahsoka Tano encounter three immortal beings — Father, Daughter, and Son — on a metaphysical realm called Mortis, and the weapon comes into play in a big way.
The three beings in question represent each side of the Force, and their purpose is to keep the balance in order. The dagger is subsequently used to strip them of their power so that Anakin can destroy Son, the evil member of the trio. Theoretically, such a weapon could put an end to someone like the Emperor as well.
Of course, there’s a potential problem with that solution…
At the end of the story, the Dagger of Mortis was destroyed with the rest of the metaphysical realm. At least that’s what we were led to believe anyway. Still, its history with Anakin — coupled with Hollywood’s ability to come up with solutions to all kinds of problems — means that bringing the weapon back somehow isn’t an impossible notion.
Perhaps Anakin found a way to retrieve the dagger later on. Having witnessed its power firsthand earlier in his life, he undoubtedly had his reasons for wanting to obtain such a tool when he joined the Dark Side, became more corrupt, and was hungry for the power. If there was any possibility that the blade survived, Anakin is the most likely character to have relocated it.
Granted, maybe the blade in this trailer is something completely different that hasn’t been revealed to us is any of the countless Star Wars stories out there. The franchise is steeped in mythology, after all, so don’t be surprised if Rey’s blade is another ancient weapon that’s just as capable of getting the job done.
However, the Clone Wars is canon in the franchise’s mythology, so there’s no reason why the Dagger of Mortis can’t exist in The Rise of Skywalker should the filmmakers find a plausible way to bring it back. And if this franchise has taught us anything through the years, it’s that nothing ever really dies.