Listen to the Message Referenced in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Opening Crawl
The following post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The dead speak! (About spoilers.)
One of the more surprising elements of the new Star Wars is the fact that instead of treating the return of Emperor Palpatine like a grand mystery or a massive plot element, it’s tossed off like an afterthought. Before the story begins — in the famous Star Wars opening crawl — Palpatine is already back. Well, that was easy!
The crawl also mentions a “mysterious broadcast” that includes “a threat of REVENGE” that Palpatine sent throughout the entire galaxy to herald his rebirth. But that is never actually heard in the film itself. What was it? What exactly did it say? As it turns out this message was broadcast ... in the game Fortnite.
Yes, the only way to hear this crucial plot element of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was in a special Fortnite event last weekend. Or, you could just listen to it below
According to Polygon, “director J.J. Abrams had Ian McDiarmid record the lines for this message, then realized he had no easy way to present them without interrupting the story, or making a wasted, expository scene for them.” When Disney partnered with Fortnite’s parent company, Epic Games, on a special Star Wars event, they gave the discarded dialogue to the game as an extra bonus.
So that’s it: Just 30 words from the Emperor. Five short sentences! Palpatine knows the importance of brevity, you have to give him that. And this all-important message never appears onscreen. Just in a video game. It’s an interesting counterpoint with what Disney did to the new Star Tours ride, if nothing else. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in theaters now.
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