Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Crew Promises Mind-Melting Final Shot
We got a glimpse at Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s new Sith Trooper at Comic-Con, but that was hardly the only news from a galaxy far, far away coming out of San Diego. One tidbit that deserves extra scrutiny comes from writer/director Kevin Smith, who was at the Con to show off his upcoming film Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
Smith is not only a filmmaker, but he’s a beloved lover of all things sci-fi and comic book. Smith’s knowledge of pop culture is such that his film Mallrats, was even famously called out in Captain Marvel. It happened during the late, great Stan Lee’s cameo in the film. Lee can be seen reading a script for Mallrats while Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) moves past him on a train. Then last year, Smith suffered a heart attack. This got him to take his health seriously, and he began losing weight and eating healthier. During this period, he was also given a promise from J.J. Abrams—Smith would be given a glimpse of The Rise of Skywalker via a set visit.
Abrams had Smith visit him on the set of Pinewood Studios in England. While Smith was able to see a lot of stuff that he’s absolutely sworn to secrecy on, he actually decided to purposely not visit a certain set. The reason? It was the setting where the final shot of The Rise of Skywalker takes place. What’s more, as Smith shared this tidbit about his set visit with IGN:
“There was scuttlebutt about the set there at Pinewood. They’re like, ‘You have to see this. When you see it, it will melt your mind.’ So I ask J.J., ‘They keep telling me I should see the set.’ He’s like, ‘Don’t. It’s the last shot of the movie. You don’t want this spoiled. You want to be in a theater when this happens. Trust me.’”
While we’ve got a ton of stuff we’re curious about—the return of Emperor Palpatine, the reveal of Rey’s parents—the final shot of a Star Wars film is usually valedictory (unless it’s the middle film in the trilogy, in which case it can be foreboding.) But something that “will melt your mind” is very intriguing. It also, of course, raises a ton of questions.
With Abrams’ The Rise of Skywalker being the 9th and final film in the epic Skywalker saga, one could spend hours speculating on what this final shot could be. The literal rise of a new Skywalker? A visit to Rey from Force ghosts Luke, Leia, and Han? Some kind of tease for where the future of the Star Wars franchise is headed? The introduction of purple milk? We could go on and on and on…
We’ll find out on December 20, 2019, when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters.
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. Courtesy Lucasfilm/Walt Disney Studios
