Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker disappointed a myriad of fans, who criticized both the repetitive storyline and plot holes the Millennium Falcon itself could fly through. One of the many elements that didn’t add up was Emperor Palpatine’s secret Sith Fleet, which was built underneath the planet Exegol and featured prominently in the film’s final battle. The so-called Final Order doesn't actually make that much sense when considering the sheer difficulty of amassing such an army. However, one theorist on Reddit believes they've found a clear explanation that major plot hole.
In a post on /r/FanTheories, Reddit user jimmy4250 argues the massive fleet cultivated by Emperor Palpatine may have been an illusion. The theorizer claims it’s entirely possible to believe that Palpatine only had a handful of ships, but made it look like he had thousands of Star Destroyers through the use of Force projection. In the theorizer’s opinion, this explains why Emperor Palpatine’s massive fleet was “useless in the final battle for the most part.” To the theorizer’s credit, Force projection is a powerful ability that does exist, having even been used in Star Wars: The Last Jedi by Luke Skywalker.
Despite the supporting evidence for the fan theory, other Reddit users weren’t buying it. One Redditor claimed that, if Emperor Palpatine’s ships were merely a Force projection, then they would have disappeared immediately following his demise. They also remarked that any ship that crashed into or hit Emperor Palpatine's fleet would have gone through, resulting in the ruse being exposed pretty quickly. The Redditor also argued the theory doesn’t align with Emperor Palpatine’s previous actions throughout the Star Wars franchise. Emperor Palpatine isn’t only interested in pure intimidation, but always had strong firepower to back up his threats.
While it’s certainly an interesting theory, the idea Emperor Palpatine’s fleet was entirely a Force projection is also undercut by The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary from Lucasfilm Story Group’s Pablo Hidalgo. The visual dictionary confirms Palpatine was able to return to wreak havoc on the galaxy with the help of a shadowy cult called the Sith Eternal. In addition to being able to revive Palpatine through a merging of “technology and occult,” the enigmatic group spent "decades" building the Emperor’s new fleet on Exegol.
The visual dictionary of The Rise of Skywalker also explains the Star Destroyers on Exegol were not leftover from the days of the Empire decades ago, but instead are part of a new class that was forged on the legendary planet. Made up of several influential people across the galaxy, the Sith Eternal was able to provide raw materials for the massive fleet by smuggling parts from the Sienar-Jaemus and Kuat-Entralla shipyards. Hidalgo also explains that the crew members on the Star Destroyers were the children of the Sith Eternal and raised to be Dark Side fanatics.
The limited runtime of the concluding chapter in the Skywalker Saga ultimately left hanging many mysteries surrounding Emperor Palpatine’s return and the enigmatic Sith Eternal. While the visual dictionary of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was able to clear a few things up, this is definitely not the only plot hole fans have found with the film, and any sort of explanation in the movie itself would have certainly helped to alleviate the confusion so many felt.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong' o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant.