THE END IS NIGH
Every saga has an ending… The Rise Of Skywalker is the conclusion of not just the new trilogy, but the entire nine-episode Star Wars saga. Total Film talks to J.J. Abrams and his cast about endings, emotions, and the return of the Emperor…
‘THIS HAS TO BE THE WAR TO END ALL WARS. THIS HAS TO BE THE ULTIMATE BATTLE’
TF talks to the stars and director of the final entry in Star Wars’ epic Skywalker saga.
Your journey nears its end..” The familiar, haunting voice of Emperor Palpatine echoes around the D23 convention centre as the teaser for
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, the final instalment in the Skywalker saga, debuts before an elated crowd. The thunderous applause, though, starts a few seconds later – as Rey’s doublesided red lightsaber alights. Fans jump to their feet. Twitter goes ballistic. Has the saviour of a galaxy far, far away turned to the dark side?
“It’s fucking awesome,” Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, teases of the answer, decidedly not getting any more specific. Total Film meets the British actress at a Beverly Hills Hotel the day after Darth Rey’s public unveiling in August 2019, and Ridley’s giddy with excitement, finally able to speak about a moment that’s been kept top secret. “I already had an amazing emotional story,” she continues. “But, when [Darth Rey] was pitched, I was like, ‘That sounds amazing.’ It’s fun to do something a bit different.”
Will people be shocked by Rey’s arc in TROS? “The whole of Star Wars is about good and evil,” she replies. “With every character, you see some struggle. So, in a way, no. Because it’s the most human thing to see someone struggle with two things within them that are pulling them both ways. If you understand why someone is going on the journey, you will be on the journey regardless. So, hopefully, you’re shocked in a fun way, but you’re also emotionally with her.”
Ridley is, as you would expect from a trained Jedi Knight, right. Ever since the Star Wars saga began back in 1977, when the world first saw Obi-Wan Kenobi sit a young Luke Skywalker down to explain the ways of the Force, the ongoing story has been about one thing: balance – the eternal fight between good and evil coming to an end. The Force Awakens continued that theme, the opening scene featuring Max Von Sydow’s mysterious Lor San Tekka gifting Poe Dameron a map leading to Luke. “This will begin to make things
right,” he says. “Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the Force.”
“We very intentionally started Episode VII with that quote,” says J.J. Abrams, who speaks in the kind of riddles you’d expect from a director known for his ‘mystery box’ approach. “The hope was that movie would set in motion a story, ultimately, about these characters dealing with the unresolved story that Episodes I through VI began. Hopefully, Episode IX fulfils that promise.”
A bit more revealing is Oscar Isaac – aka the new trilogy’s Poe Dameron. “What’s amazing about the story and the script is that you learn that both the Sith and the Jedi have been playing a very long game,” he says, slouching back into an armchair, his quiffed hair standing firmly upright. “From the get-go, there’s been this chess match. All these pieces have been played. And now we get to see who gets checkmate.”
We’ve been nearing this finale for quite some time – Episode VIII’s title, after all, tantalisingly teased an end to the ancient order of Jedi. That movie is the only instalment in the sequel trilogy not directed by Abrams. Rian Johnson stepped forward to helm
The Last Jedi, which, upon release two years ago, proved hugely divisive because of the big swings it took with the Skywalker legacy. Some have also speculated that Johnson’s story may have changed the direction of Episode IX, yet Abrams assures that there was always a “loose plan” for the three films, adding: “Nothing Rian was doing was undoing anything that I was thinking would happen.” Abrams also points out that he was never expected, nor supposed, to direct TROS. Colin Trevorrow, of Jurassic World fame, was initially expected to land the Death Star-sized saga-capper. However, after some creative differences with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, Trevorrow was out, leaving an empty pilot’s chair behind him. There were few people who could be trusted with such a gargantuan task – the question was, would Abrams want to return?
“It was too tempting – to conclude not just this trilogy, but the three trilogies,” he says. “Coming back, essentially it was a clean slate. Because I wasn’t brand new to the world of it, Kathy knew that there had been a sense of where this thing would go. In a way, it’s like getting a second chance, to go back to something that you really thought you had put behind you.”
An ending of this scale comes with mind-boggling challenges, though. “The ending of this trilogy of trilogies is a tricky thing,” he continues, speaking plainly. “This movie has to work on its own. It’s got to have its own beginning, middle and end. It can’t make the mistake of a lot of
“From the get-go, there’s been this chess match. And now we get to see who gets checkmate” Oscar Isaac
sequels, where you just assume a character is beloved, where the movie suffers because the character is suddenly lacking. We can’t assume anyone cares.”
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
After wiping the board clean (and pushing the release date back from May to December), TROS finally began to take shape. Abrams approached the story like a “living, breathing thing”, exploring ideas to see where Episode IX naturally went. “This has to be the war to end all wars,” he says. “This has to be the ultimate battle. Not just externally, but internally, for the characters. In Episode VII these characters are just meeting, and they were almost separate the entire movie. This is the first time you get to see this group of people, this group of friends, together on an adventure – their most challenging yet, against something that is the biggest threat. Can these new, young characters handle it? That, to me, defines the feeling of Star Wars.”
It’s no surprise to learn that Abrams is looking backward to move the story forward. Making a successful standalone movie is hard enough, let alone one that concludes over 40 years of storytelling. There was, though, one person who could help bring everything together – the key to all of this: George Lucas. Abrams had a crucial meeting with him during prep.
“He had a lot of things to say about the nature of the Force, the themes that he was dealing with when he was writing the movies,” Abrams reveals. “Yes, there were some conversations about Midi-chlorians
– he loves his Midi-chlorians. But it was a very helpful thing. Sitting with him is a treat, just to hear him talk, because it’s fucking George Lucas talking about Star Wars. I always feel it’s gift to hear him talk about that stuff. Because the effect that he had on me at 10 years old is utterly profound.”
Abrams steers clear of revealing whether any of Lucas’s vision has made its way into TROS. However, someone who may know is C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels, the only person to have appeared in every Star Wars movie to date (even Solo, but as human character Tak). Did Lucas ever share his plans? “Absolutely not,” Daniels says staunchly. “I’m not on that sort of radar list.”
While he may be unable to discuss plans that never were, Daniels talks more freely about C-3PO’s mysterious red eyes, as seen in the D23 trailer. “It was a shock when I put the [helmet] on, because it wasn’t like C-3PO,” he says. “That’s what I found quite scary, how much the colour change made him look totally different. It was totally uncanny, and slightly uncomfortable.”
Daniels also hints that the beloved droid will play a much bigger role in TROS than in either TFA or TLJ. “In Episode VII, J.J. had so many things to recreate that C-3PO’s main thing was a red arm – which we didn’t like. And we told him on a daily basis, we didn’t like it,” he says, presumably referring to himself and C-3PO in a Gollum/ Smeagol fashion. “Then in The Last Jedi, C-3PO, again, was rather like a bit of decoration at the side somewhere. So I was kind of ready to be an extra again. For C-3PO as a character that I love – if he were to go to the movies and watch himself in this last movie, I think he’d be very pleased. I’ll leave it at that.”