A ‘mind-melting’ ending to the Skywalker saga means some Star Wars fans will be disappointed

J.J. Abrams told Kevin Smith that the final shot of The Rise of Skywalker will “melt your mind.” This is an extremely vague promise, as it should be.

The Rise of Skywalker officially wrapped filming earlier this year, and while we know next to nothing about the film, one thing’s for sure: The ending will leave audiences speechless. After visiting the film set, Kevin Smith was told the final shot of the movie would “melt your mind.”

What this means exactly is, in true Disney and Star Wars fashion, completely unclear. And as most of us already know, with ambiguity comes great speculation — which brings about plenty of potential for misinterpretation and disappointment.

So far, Star Wars movies have given us some stunning final shots. Revenge of the Sith ended with Obi-Wan Kenobi heading off into the Tatooine sunset (a callback to the iconic scene from the original 1977 film). The Empire Strikes Back‘s final shot featured all but one of its main characters facing away from the camera — standing together, looking at what lay beyond.

The Force Awaken’s left Rey and Luke Skywalker standing silently facing one another, a decades-old lightsaber between them.

But what will the final shot of The Rise of Skywalker entail? That depends on what Abrams wants to accomplish with it. This isn’t just the wrap-up of a single film or even a film trilogy. This is the end of a story that began all the way back in 1977, when no one had any idea what Star Wars would one day become.

Will it call back to the original film and end with a sunset? Will it end with a ship flying off into the distance (every Star Wars film typically begins with a ship flying into frame)? Will there be Force Ghosts? The possibilities span galaxies.

Unfortunately, being unable to predict exactly how this film will end means there are going to be many pleasantly surprised Star Wars fans … and also many who will leave their respective theaters deeply disappointed.

Every creator’s least favorite mantra holds true: You can’t please everyone. Abrams played it safe with The Force Awakens, and fans complained it was too similar to A New Hope. Rian Johnson produced his own interpretation of the framework of Abrams’ sequel trilogy story and fans complained it wasn’t “real” Star Wars.

In the end — because this is, for real, the end, at least of the story we’ve been following for over 40 years — we’re going to get what we’re going to get, and there’s no changing it. Give audiences too much fan service, and they’ll roll their eyes. Take things completely off the rails, and they’ll say Star Wars is “dead.”

What matters when those final credits roll is that Star Wars fans have been given the chance to reflect on every aspect of the story that has been told. Every fan favors different parts of the timeline. Some prefer to stick with the original trilogy. Others grew up with the prequel trilogy. Younger fans likely feel more connected to characters from the newest rollout of films.

It’s time, now, for all three trilogies to come together and produce an ending that is satisfactory at its worst — and “mind-melting” at its absolute best. What that means is a matter of opinion from person to person. Overall, fans will likely want a little bit of everything: some fan service, some new horizons. But most of all, they want Luke Skywalker to Force-haunt Kylo Ren’s nightmares for all eternity.

The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters December 20. How do you think it will end?