Dark Rey Sits on Palaptine's Throne in New Behind-the-Scenes Image from STAR WARS: RISE OF THE SKYWALKER
A couple of new photos from the set of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker have surfaced, and they show a smiling Daisy Ridley all decked out as Dark Rey sitting on Emperor Palpatine’s throne. She is being directed by J.J. Abrams, who is also shown in the images.
So, there was a scene shot with Dark Rey on the throne that didn't end up making its way into the finished cut of the film. It looks like Rey's vision of being evil may have initially been longer than what ended up in the film.
I’ve heard a lot of fans say they would have liked to see more of Dark Rey in the film. In the end, it was probably just included so they could put that shot in the trailer to get fans flipping out, because it worked.