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Star Wars Retcons A Rise Of Skywalker Villain Into A Key Original Trilogy Moment-TGN

Summary

  • A new Star Wars book reveals that the Final Order villain from The Rise of Skywalker was present during the Battle of Endor, where the Empire was ultimately defeated by the Rebellion.

  • The book focuses on Allegiant General Pryde and explores his realization of the Empire’s loss at Endor, shedding light on his character and his role in the Final Order.

  • Pryde’s presence on Endor hints at his potential discovery of Darth Vader’s helmet, which may play a crucial role in Kylo Ren’s storyline in The Rise of Skywalker.

A new Star Wars book has retconned Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s Final Order villain into the Battle of Endor. Though not the official end of the Empire, the Battle of Endor turned the tide of the Galactic Civil War in the Rebellion’s favor, paving the way for the New Republic to assume control. The government would survive only 30 years before its destruction by Starkiller Base, a move secretly supported by Palpatine and his minions from the age of the Empire.

The Star Wars Books Twitter account revealed one of the 40 stories in From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi will focus on Allegiant General Pryde. This marks the first appearance of Pryde since Richard E. Grant portrayed the character in The Rise of Skywalker. The following excerpt from “The Steadfast Soldier” by Adam Christopher depicts the moment Pryde realized the Empire had lost at Endor.

This was not glory. And it most certainly was not victory.

They had… lost.

Pryde felt his heart kick into high gear as he remembered, the shock suddenly bringing him out of his daze, as effectively as a jab from a bantha prod.

They had lost, and the lights in the sky, visible despite the dawn, were not fireworks or meteor storm. They were the last burning remnants of the greatest fleet the Empire had ever assembled, the blasted debris raining down across the entire Endor system.

For a character to certain of victory in The Rise of Skywalker, Pryde seemed not to have learned his lesson from Endor. Both battles were the perfect trap for their enemies, almost assuredly going to snuff out the fire of rebellion… and were thwarted in the unlikeliest of ways. Pryde did survive Endor, though, and he went on to be a key instrument for the Final Order as one of Palpatine’s fanatics.

Allegiant General Pryde’s Endor Presence Sets Up The Sequels

Though Allegiant General Pryde served as General Hux’s competent replacement in The Rise of Skywalker, his history as an Imperial officer brings significant pull among the First Order’s leadership. Alongside Captain Cannady in The Last Jedi, the First Order’s former Imperials are among the most capable – though Pryde serves a higher purpose than Supreme Leader Kylo Ren’s crusade. In “The Steadfast Soldier,” Pryde’s origin as a devout follower of Palpatine will seemingly be explored… as well as the potential reclamation of a Sith relic.

The book’s editor teased a discovery Pryde will be making on Endor’s surface. While the reasoning for the Imperial’s presence on the moon remains to be seen, there’s an obvious answer to what he’ll find: Darth Vader’s helmet. Pryde’s discovery of Vader’s funeral pyre could set the stage for Kylo Ren’s eventually retrieval of the object, one of the sequel trilogy’s many unanswered questions. Such a contribution would land Pryde in Ren’s good graces, making him a valuable asset for the Supreme Leader in The Rise of Skywalker.