Star wars: episode ix
The space saga’s concluding chapter is here…
J.J.! Rey! Luke?! What to expect from the final instalment of the trilogy.
Director J.J. Abrams
Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega
“Too much too fast” is how Disney CEO Bob Iger described the Mouse House’s cinema-cramming Star Wars expansion at the tail-end of 2018. “You can expect some slowdown,” he added, and you can understand his decision to slightly scale back what has been a somewhat feverish development for the franchise. In the six years since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, we’ve had four Star Wars films, with many more mooted, and a number of live-action TV shows in the pipeline.
While Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Diego Luna’s Rogue One prequel series are a go, the proposed Boba Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi spin-off films now look uncertain. Happily, the sole big-screen Star Wars film Disney has on its slate is a huge one: the as-yet-untitled Episode IX, which will bring the new-age trilogy to a close four years after Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And once it’s completed that story, Iger and Lucasfilm exec Kathleen Kennedy should have a chance to redress the balance.
Still, Episode IX is nothing if not an enticing prospect. If previous instalment The Last Jedi took some fan-rankling risks, the trilogy’s final instalment is in safe hands. Case in point: J.J. Abrams is back directing, replacing original helmer Colin Trevorrow, who quietly departed production in September 2017 over “creative differences”. Other changes include the appointment of Blade Runner 2049 art director Paul Inglis and, plot-wise, a potential surprise regarding Rey’s parentage. “Anything’s still open,” teased Last Jedi director Rian Johnson.
So will Rey discover her folks were more than mere Jakku low-lifes? And can Kylo Ren redeem himself? The main things we do know: Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) will reunite. “That’s what I’m really excited about,” says Boyega. “Finn and Rey back together again.” Meanwhile, Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker is a player (Force ghost?), as is former Doctor Who star Matt Smith in an undisclosed role. There’ll also be a familiar face in the fold as Billy Dee Williams dons
‘I’m really excited to have Finn and Rey back together’ John Boyega
his Lando Calrissian cape for the first time since Return Of The Jedi in 1983.
And Williams won’t be the only big-name returnee. “We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” Abrams has said of the star, who passed away in December 2016. “Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. We have found a way to honour Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.”
As for what the lay of the land may be after Episode IX, that remains as murky as a rancor pit. “We’re talking about the next 10 years of Star Wars stories, and we’re looking at, narratively, where that might go,” Kennedy said in November 2017, admittedly before Iger’s decision to scale back Star Wars releases. “[We’re looking at] future stories beyond Episode IX with these new characters – Rey, Poe, Finn, BB-8.” Only time will tell if that is still the case after this final episode.
STAR WARS: EPISODE IX OPENS ON 19 DECEMBER 2019.