FINAL DESTINATION
AFTER 42 YEARS IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY, THE SKYWALKER SAGA IS COMING TO AN END. JORDAN FARLEY WITNESSED THE RISE OF SKYWALKER AT STAR WARS CELEBRATION 2019
THIS MOVIE, IT’S ABOUT THIS new generation: what they’ve inherited, the light, and the dark. and asking the question as they face the greatest evil: ‘are they prepared? are they ready?’” JJ abrams dropped this tantalising info nugget in the first five minutes of the Episode IX panel at star wars Celebration in Chicago. little did the 2,000 people in attendance know that 90 minutes later, the galaxy’s ‘greatest evil’ would be on everyone’s lips.
For emperor palpatine is back in Episode IX. or, as everyone discovered mere moments after a familiar cackle sent shivers down collective spines, he’s back in The Rise Of Skywalker. The how and why is still a mystery (though we have some theories which you can read on p38), but palpatine’s return is revealing. where The Last
Jedi director Rian Johnson seemed to share the philosophy of this new trilogy’s antagonist Kylo Ren – to “let the past die. Kill it, if you have to” – abrams can’t resist embracing Star Wars history wholeheartedly.
if the ecstatic reception the film’s first trailer received from the Galaxy stage audience is anything to go by, it would seem that fans are yearning to feel those comfortingly familiar original trilogy warm and fuzzies too. as impressive and vitally forward-looking as The
Last Jedi was, luke moping round an island and supping on sea-cow milk didn’t inspire the same nostalgic glow as the sight of han solo and Chewie stepping onto the millennium Falcon for the first time in 30 years. when it comes to Star Wars, abrams knows how to give the lifelong die hards what they want. luke will still be present in The Rise Of
Skywalker; he provides enigmatic narration for the film’s trailer, so it’s a safe bet he’ll appear in Force ghost form (unless his full-colour Force projection powers extend to the spectral realm). miraculously, Carrie Fisher will appear too. instead of an all-CG leia, which was never an option, abrams is creating new scenes by writing around deleted footage shot for The
Force Awakens. and lando Calrissian (Billy dee williams) is making his sequel trilogy debut, happy to be back in the cockpit of
the Falcon for the trailer. if rumours are to be believed, lando may have a paternal relationship to naomi ackie’s new addition, Jannah. “lando is a very charming man,” ackie teased. “so he could have children all over the universe, that’s all i’m saying!” she has a point.
But with most major original trilogy characters now out of the picture, The Rise Of Skywalker has to be primarily about the new generation. with abrams famously fond of keeping the lid of the mystery box shut, solid plot details were unsurprisingly thin on the ground. But we do know that there will be a more traditional time jump before the action picks up again, and that The Rise Of Skywalker “is an adventure that the group goes on together.” abrams teased that we’ll see Rey do “some extraordinary things” in the film, which may include new Force powers. John Boyega revealed that Finn “has found his footing and his identity within the Resistance”. poe is getting a fetching new scarf, and BB-8 has a brand new droid pal, d-0, who looks like a cross between a duck and a megaphone.
Kelly marie Tran’s Rose Tico will also return. Tran was hounded off social media by so-called fans in the wake of The Last Jedi’s release, but in a heart-warming show of support got the biggest cheer of the panel. until the trailer, that is…
UNCLEAR, THE FUTURE IS
Running at 134 seconds, The Rise Of Skywalker teaser gives us plenty of hints about what to expect from the final entry in the skywalker saga. and again, abrams seems to be taking a step back from some of Johnson’s bolder decision in The Last Jedi – literally piecing Kylo Ren’s shattered mask back together and (somehow) putting luke’s obliterated lightsaber back in Rey’s hands. But the best is saved for last, as Rey, Finn, poe, Threepio and BB-8 (but not R2, hmm) approach the remains of the death star. when the teaser ended, revealing the film’s title for the first time, palpatine actor ian mcdiarmid appeared on stage to growl “roll it again”. Talk about a mic drop.
The return of the emperor – whatever form that might take – is no cynical attempt to appeal to fans. as explained by lucasfilm overlord Kathleen Kennedy, The Rise Of Skywalker isn’t just the final chapter in this current sequel trilogy, but “the third act of a three-act structure,” and that abrams and writer Chris Terrio have “immersed themselves in everything George [lucas] created.” what better way to bring the skywalker saga to a close than going back to where it all began?