Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (also known as Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker) is an upcoming American epic space opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. It will be the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017), and the final episode of the nine-part "Skywalker saga". The film is being produced by Lucasfilm and Bad Robot Productions, and will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Its ensemble cast includes Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams.

Release date
December 20, 2019 (United States)

Premise

A year after the events of The Last Jedi, the remnants of the Resistance face the First Order once again—while reckoning with the past and their own inner turmoil. Meanwhile, the ancient conflict between the Jedi and the Sith reaches its climax, altogether bringing the Skywalker saga to a definitive end.

As has become the norm with Lucasfilm, this first Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer tells us precious little about the plot – in fact, more than half of its two-minute running time is devoted to one scene featuring Rey, armed only with a lightsaber, facing off against some kind of modified TIE Fighter. While we have already seen our fair share of desert planets in Star Wars (Tatooine, Jakku or Jedha to name a few), the planet seen here is actually a previously unseen world called Pasaana, whose residents are known as the Aki-Aki. (The scenes were filmed in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan.)

The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer also gives us sightings of the older Lando Calrissian, played by Billy Dee Williams, back in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. There's also a brief shot of one of the medals Han Solo and Luke Skywalker (but shamefully not Chewbacca) received at the end of A New Hope, and the wreckage of what looks like a Death Star...