Unanswered Questions & Mysteries from The 'Star Wars' Sequel Trilogy

What Are Yours?

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • 6 min read

Like with any major franchise, the Star Wars films are not without their own unanswered questions and mysteries. Often times, these holes and gaps inevitably get filled in later. However, until they get filled in officially, fans can only discuss and speculate potential answers to them. Here is a chronological list of some unanswered questions and mysteries from the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

1. Luke's Lightsaber (The Force Awakens)

The most vexing unanswered question/mystery from the Star Wars sequel trilogy has to be the discovery of Luke's (Anakin's) lightsaber that he lost on Bespin, along with his right hand, during his duel with Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. When Maz is asked about where she got it, she dismissively says that it's "a story for another time," implying that we would get an answer about it at some point in the future. Unfortunately, that particular story never gets told by Maz nor anybody else. I have heard rumors that this may be getting addressed in the comics at some point, but as of right now it remains a mystery. It is not necessarily pivotal to the story, which is probably why they did not really spend too much time on it, but most detail-oriented fans would still like to know. Of course, in Legends, Luke's lightsaber has a whole other storied journey, but so far as Canon is concerned, we simply have not gotten the entire story yet.

2. Luke's Lightsaber, Part 2 (The Force Awakens)

In addition to not knowing how Maz came to be in possession of Luke's lost lightsaber, we are not given an explanation for how or why Rey touching Luke's lightsaber caused her to experience all of those specific visions. Some Jedi, such as Quinlan Vos, had a special Force ability, Psychometry, that allowed them to connect with inanimate objects. I initially wondered if they were setting Rey up to possess that particular ability, although after The Force Awakens it was never explored nor mentioned again.

3. Luke's Death (The Last Jedi)

While Luke's amazing use of the Force to project himself across the universe, distracting the First Order, and subsequent passing into the Force is a poignant and fitting end for such a beloved character, I must confess that I have never completely understood why what he did resulted in his death. In Legends, he famously uses this power (or a similar one) to fool Han and Leia into leaving Byss during the Dark Empire storyline. However, it obviously did not result in his death there. I can only surmise that that particular Force ability requires a lot of energy and that it completely drained Luke of his life.

5. Ochi of Bestoon's Fate (The Rise of Skywalker)

Our heroes go to the desert planet of Pasanna to pick up the trail of Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon, who they hoped would lead them to Exegol. Unfortunately, the trail went cold as Ochi disappeared beneath the sinking sands near his craft. Rey and the rest of the group found his remains in the tunnel below, along with his dagger, which provides a vital clue to locating the Sith Wayfinder. The character of Ochi has recently become a more prominent character in Star Wars comics, and the aforementioned journeys of Luke and Lando to find Exegol will soon be fleshed out in an upcoming novel. However, how and why Ochi ended up dead currently remains a mystery. It can be surmised that he fell into the sinking sand near his craft, but it is less clear who, or what, killed him. The snake-like creature that Rey heals in the cavern? Hopefully, we will get some more answers in upcoming content.

6. Leia's Death (The Rise of Skywalker)

While we knew the real-life reason that Leia's death would have to be dealt with somehow in the final film, the way that it was handled was not explained very well. We get one scene of her appearing ill, then Maz says that she was going to use her last bit of strength to try to reach her son, Ben. We see her lie down with Han's medal and, as she reaches out to Ben during his duel with Rey, she dies. However, she does not fade away until the end of the film, when the same thing happens to Ben when he dies. Like with Luke, her death is fine, albeit somewhat hard to understand in terms of the mechanics.

7. Who is Jannah's Father (The Rise of Skywalker)

At the conclusion of the film, the newly introduced character of Jannah asks Lando where he is from, leading to him asking the same question of her in response. She responds that she does not know, and he suggests that they find out together. However, being that that is near the end of the film, the matter is left open and unresolved. The scene seems to sort of imply that there is the possibility that Lando might be her father, which the people just watching the film might not catch. If you happen to have read The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, you will learn that Lando had a daughter that was abducted by the First Order years before, making the possibility that Jannah, an ex-First Order stormtrooper, is his daughter even more likely.

8. Where is Ben's Force Ghost (The Rise of Skywalker)

Ben Solo tragically dies at the conclusion of The Rise of Skywalker after bringing Rey back (seemingly) from the dead, fading into the Force in the same manner as we have previously seen with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Luke, and Leia. At the finale of the film, Rey sees visions of Luke and Leia in the distance, which inspires her to claim the Skywalker mantle for herself, however, inexplicably, Ben does not appear as a Force Ghost. To date, there are no clear explanations for his absence in this scene.

Thank you for reading our article today. If you want to keep up to date with our latest stories, please consider becoming a pledge or, alternatively, please consider leaving a tip. This will help us continue to keep bringing new and interesting content. You can also check out our video content on the following YouTube channels, where you can subscribe to keep up to date: Star Wars Culture, Eye On Canon, The Star Wars Underworld, Chatter Squadron, The Roll Out, Meg in the Morning.