Okay, yeah, I see what you’re getting at. I suppose it would be interesting to see any alternative than the story ending at practically the same place it started, in terms of Rey in TROS ending in basically the same place Luke ended in ROTJ. Rey doesn’t end the film with any newfound knowledge that sets her apart from the past Jedi, like Trevorrow’s Duel of the Fates script at least attempted to do. Since the film’s climax has Palpatine and Rey both reiterate their identities as Sith and Jedi, there is some interesting finality in the fact that they both destroy each other, essentially ending a feud the lasted millennium.

With Ben/Kylo, you have a character who renounced both the Jedi and the Sith, and although he is no longer Supreme Leader, he didn’t totally flip 180 and become good again either. Maybe more along the lines of a Byronic hero or anti-hero at this point, because at the very least, he may ensure that future generations don’t make the same mistakes that the Jedi, the Sith, and himself made.

If an edit cut Palpatine from the film, I think keeping Rey and Kylo alive would make sense. But since yours keeps Palpatine for reasons I agree with (primarily because it is difficult to keep a 2-hour runtime, which I also agree is essential to a Star Wars film), I think having Rey die could allow the film to end in a less predictable way.

Do you have any ideas for how you’ll have Kylo be on Tatooine at the end of the film?