By all quantifiable metrics, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was something of a disappointing end to the Sequel Trilogy. But for all the film’s faults – and boy were there many – at least it’ll be forever remembered for one thing: The Ben Solo Challenge.
So what exactly is the Ben Solo Challenge? Well it comes from a scene towards the end of Rise of Skywalker where a now-redeemed Ben Solo fights a bunch of lackeys who were his loyal soldiers during his Kylo Ren days.
After getting beaten up, we see Ben dramatically draw a lightsaber from behind his back before shrugging into battle in a manner that’ll make the late Han Solo proud.
For reference, here’s Han Solo’s own little shrug:
It doesn’t say much about the Rise of Skywalker, it’s quality, and its longevity that the only thing people remember from its two-and-a-half hour runtime is Babu Frik and a one-second shoulder shrug moment by the man formerly known as Kylo Ren. To be fair though, the film was, well, underwhelming on both the narrative and character (except Ben Solo) fronts so this isn’t all that unexpected.
Anyway, Star Wars fans were captivated by Ben Solo’s shoulder shrug and decided to recreate the moment because, well, why the hell not? It’s a fun little challenge, it looks cool, it’s easy to recreate, and it undoubtedly helped many swallow the disappointment after watching Rise of Skywalker.
Extra internet brownie points to this chap who did the Ben Solo Challenge with Thor’s hammer instead of a lightsaber.
This is probably not the legacy anyone was expecting from the Star Wars film that was supposed to be the grand conclusion to everything but here we are.
And hey, at least Rise of Skywalker will be remembered for a goofy little internet challenge that kept every one entertained for a hot minute. It’s far better than Attack of the Clones‘ infamous “I don’t like sand” line or Jar Jar Binks.
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