Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Title & Teaser Revealed
And there it is, folks. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the official title for the 9th and final film in the Skywalker Saga. What’s more—we’ve got our first look at J.J. Abrams’ Skywalker capper with a compelling, crackerjack teaser. The title and teaser were revealed during the Episode IX panel at the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago. The Rise of Skywalker is, needless to say, a very interesting title considering this is supposed to be the end of the Skywalker saga.
First, let’s take a look at the teaser. It opens with our hero, Rey (Daisy Ridley) and these words from Luke (Mark Hamill): “We’ve passed on all we know. A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight.” Rey stands in a desert on a planet that looks very much like Tatooine, her lightsaber at the ready. What happens next is a sequence you to see without any prompting. It’s. Epic.
“We’ll always be with you. No one’s ever really gone,” Luke says at the end of the teaser. Chills. A grown man getting nothing but chills watching this. The title The Rise of Skywalker begs the question, is there another Skywalker? Is it Rey? Have J.J. Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio given her a more noble parentage than what was revealed in Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi? Does the heartbreaking moment where we see Rey hugging General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher) mean something more than simple relief? Remember that at the end of The Last Jedi, the two were scrambling out of a cave on the distant planet of Crait. Are they embracing because they’ve just survived The First Order’s onslaught? Or is something more going on between them? So many questions!
This is the latest we’ve ever learned of a new title. We found out that J.J. Abrams‘ kickoff film for the new trilogy was going to be called The Force Awakens more than a year ahead of its release. The title to Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi was revealed 11 months prior. The Rise of Skywalker is due in theaters in a mere eight months—and now we’ll be spending much of that time debating the possibilities the title raises and the teaser hints at. This is what Lucasfilm and Disney and J.J. Abrams want. The title is an intriguing inverse to The Last Jedi, which had us believing that the old order of the Jedi was finished. Then the film went ahead and revealed that Rey’s parents were nobodies. Was Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) lying to her?
We’re going to need to think on all of this for a bit. And rewatch the trailer a few dozen times. The Rise of Skywalker has a gangbusters cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver are joined by newcomersKeri Russell, Matt Smith, Richard E. Grant, Dominic Monaghan, and Naomi Ackie. The great Billy Dee Williams is back as Lando Calrissian, while the late, great Carrie Fisher will return as Leia Organa through archival and unreleased footage.
Also, is that the destroyed shell of the second Death Star on a watery planet? And is that Emperor Palpatine laughing at the very end?
What. Is. Going. On?
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20, 2019.
UPDATE: Here is a batch of new images, including the tiny little droid D-O!
Featured image: Left to right: Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), BB-8, D-O, Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX
