J.J. Abrams changed the ending of The Rise of Skywalker during filming

Sometimes things don’t always go according to plan. Actress Daisy Ridley (Rey) says the ending to the final installment of the Skywalker saga was changed mid-production.

Creating a film from start to finish isn’t as much of a linear process as you might expect. It’s not uncommon for a movie to change significantly from script to screen, especially when filming wraps and the raw footage hits the editing room.

Writing and shooting a movie are also very different mediums, and a lot can happen between a first draft and the final product presented to audiences on opening night. As a director watches the film’s story start to form in front of them for the first time, sometimes they may come up with a better ending than what was initially planned.

It sounds like this is what’s happening to J.J. Abrams as he works on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, set to release this December.

Actress Daisy Ridley (Rey) says she has known about the ending of the movie since before filming began. So a slight change to the project’s conclusion wasn’t lost on her.

“The ending was always pretty similar,” she told reporter Jake Hamilton. “And then I was told there was sort of a new—I guess a slightly different beat added.”

Ridley also noted that being kept in the loop as things were changing made for a worthwhile experience both on and off the camera.

“It’s nice to be told the thing and then you can like experience it with the filmmaker,” she said.

If Ridley was told what was happening as it happened, it’s likely the rest of the main cast was in on it too. It’s getting harder and harder for the actors to keep secrets, but little hints like these do help to hold eager fans in check until the film hits theaters.

Since filming has been completed but production is still ongoing, it’s possible various parts of the film, including the ending, could shift.

While it’s not likely that major plot points are going to change at this point — some major characters still aren’t going to survive, one side is probably going to win over the other, Palpatine returns with a vengeance (unless he never really left) — dialogue can always be switched out. Music, sound, effects, and other methods can completely change the look and feel of a scene.

“A slightly different beat” sounds like a shift in tone, which could mean a happy ending was slightly dimmed, or an almost too dark ending will look and feel a little brighter. It’s the literal end of an era, after all. Audiences need to be left with something satisfactory. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before.

Chances are, whatever ending we’ll see in December is the one the director believes will wrap up the Skywalker saga in the most meaningful (and probably emotional) way possible. Whether that meets fans’ expectations or not really isn’t up to them. (But honestly, if anything happens to the Millennium Falcon, we’ll riot.)

Abrams and the rest of the production team ultimately have to decide the best way to tell the story with the footage and tools they have. They’ve come a long way so far, though, since plans of telling a Leia-centric story for the final film had to be reworked after the sudden passing of Carrie Fisher in 2016.

Based on the trailer that premiered last week, though, many fans are confident that what they’re getting will be an ending worth waiting for.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the conclusion of the Skywalker story, premieres December 20.