Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set to be the end of the Skywalker Saga, and the culmination of a legendary franchise naturally leads to many questions for its final movie.
One of the things that will be remembered from the new Star Wars trilogy is the secrecy that came with the release of each installment. Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm and Disney have done a good job of not revealing too much from these movies.
The secrecy behind the plot and characters has only increased the fan speculation on what moments in trailers, TV spots and promotional material matter and are important to the overall narrative the new trilogy has been telling for the past few years.
The Rise of Skywalker is no exception, especially with this movie set to end the Skywalker saga, which spans almost 40 years’ worth of storytelling. The final trailer for The Rise of Skywalker did reveal several new scenes, but there is still no clear indication as to what events will transpire for any of the characters.
All fans can do is speculate on what’s going to happen. And we will do the same, as we ask these 10 questions about The Rise of Skywalker.
10. How much of Lando Calrissian will we see?
Many fans of the original trilogy rejoiced at the sight of Billy Dee Williams in the first The Rise of Skywalker trailer. His appearance confirms that Lando Calrissian will be making his return to Star Wars for the first time since Return of the Jedi.
Where has Lando been all this time? According to the man himself, in an interview with Esquire:
"Between Jedi and the events of the new trilogy, Williams says, “I always imagined Lando being like Steve Wynn, running Las Vegas. Because he’s a gambler. But he was a bit of a showman, a bit of an entrepreneur. That’s how I see Lando. I never necessarily saw him as a general running around shooting things.”"
It sounds like Lando will play a role in The Rise of Skywalker similar to the one he played in Return of the Jedi. He might just play an ancillary role within the Resistance, piloting the Millenium Falcon, this time with Chewbacca.
However, is that really it though? The character deserves some type of send-off. This doesn’t mean that he should be killed, but what does Chewbacca do after the trilogy? His good friend Han Solo was tragically killed, so does that mean he goes to hang out with Lando?
Billy Dee Williams has been a part of press junkets helping promote the movie. This is most likely for fans to ask him questions and meet him since he was not in the past two movies. However, what if he has a bigger role that J.J. Abrams has yet to reveal?
It just doesn’t seem right to have Lando merely show up in a small, cameo appearance. There just has to be more to his involvement.
9. Who are the Knights of Ren?
The Knights of Ren made their first appearance in The Force Awakens alongside their leader, Kylo Ren, but who are they exactly?
Their appearance in The Force Awakens trailer brought excitement to see more potential force users added to the Star Wars universe. They appeared in a vision Rey had in Maz Kanata’s castle following Ben Solo’s turn to Kylo Ren and the deaths of Luke Skywalker’s students.
Since then, the Knights of Ren have not had many references, especially in The Last Jedi. According to the film’s director, Rian Johnson, this was due to them not fitting into the story. This begs the question: where is their fit in Star Wars, and how strong is their connection with Kylo Ren?
All we have seen from them so far is a behind-the-scenes feature on Vanity Fair where they are described as bringing chaos to the war between the Resistance and the First Order. They certainly look cool, but will their fate be similar to Supreme Leader Snoke’s?
Snoke appeared to be another Emperor Palpatine, one that would pull all the strings in the new trilogy. That is what made his death at the hands of Kylo Ren so shocking to the point that some fans were outraged.
Are the Knights of Ren destined to have a dramatic entrance only to be taken out with ease? Only J.J. Abrams has the answers.
8. What is Luke Skywalker’s role in the movie?
Luke Skywalker’s character arc in The Last Jedi was one of the most divisive elements of the movie. Fans waited two years for the cliffhanger from The Force Awakens to be resolved and got an unexpected version of Luke Skywalker.
There was a purpose, though. Luke had lost hope in the Jedi Order after the fall of his nephew, Ben Solo, to the dark side. However, he saw something in Rey that brought hope back into him, allowing the Resistance to regain the hope they had lost after the many casualties they had suffered at the hands of the First Order.
Luke gave his all to buy time for Leia and the Resistance to escape. Luke died in his mock battle against Kylo Ren, so is that it for Luke Skywalker?
The Rise of Skywalker trailer does feature voiceover from Luke where he is talking to Rey about how the history of the Jedi lives within her. He says, “we”, in his line, so does he still continue Rey’s training?
If Luke returns as a Force ghost to continue Rey’s training, does Yoda join him? What about Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Anakin Skywalker? Does Rey get a crash course from them before her final battle against Kylo Ren, the First Order and Palpatine?
Luke Skywalker will be in The Rise of Skywalker, but that capacity is still unknown thus far.
7. Is this the end for C-3PO?
One of the most emotional moments from the final Rise of Skywalker trailer came from an unexpected character, C-3PO. It specifically came from a line where C-3PO said he wanted to take one last look at his friends.
C-3PO has long been a vanilla-type character that can sometimes get on his friends’ nerves, but they still love him. Will this side character be getting one of the most emotional moments in The Rise of Skywalker and possibly the most emotional moment in Star Wars history?
This moment comes after a teaser from D23 showed him with red eyes. Does the protocol droid have a “kill-mode” that not many people know about? Is there more to the seemingly harmless droid than we know?
And what does this mean for R2-D2? The droid may have a close relationship with Luke Skywalker, but he is arguably most synonymous with C-3PO. It was the two of them who were trusted by Leia to find Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope.
One would think Artoo would be the one hit hardest by the death of Threepio. This is assuming that he is the one making the ultimate sacrifice.
In Revenge of the Sith, C-3PO had his memory wiped. Perhaps there is a piece of information that the Resistance needs and only C-3PO can provide that information. However, in order to do so, he may need to have his memory wiped again making him forget his new friends.
C-3PO’s line in the final trailer cannot be a little thing. It can potentially have huge ramifications for The Rise of Skywalker and the Star Wars universe.
6. How does Leia Organa’s story end?
Carrie Fisher tragically passed away in 2016 after filming The Last Jedi. Surprisingly, her character, Leia Organa, will still be in The Rise of Skywalker. According to J.J. Abrams, there is enough deleted footage from The Force Awakens that still fits into the story of The Rise of Skywalker.
Daisy Ridley recently talked about the difficulties and challenges of her side of filming scenes opposite Fisher. Leia’s scenes have been shown in teasers and trailers, which have been mostly Rey and Leia sharing an emotional embrace.
Each movie from the new trilogy has focused on one of the original characters. The Force Awakens followed Han Solo’s return with him guiding Rey and Finn on their journey against Kylo Ren. The Last Jedi focused on Luke Skywalker’s return to the Force and his confrontation with his dark past with Kylo Ren. Both characters’ arcs ended with their deaths.
It would be in poor taste for Abrams, Disney and Lucasfilm to have Leia die in The Rise of Skywalker, but what will her story be? In The Last Jedi, Leia seemed to have lost hope that her son, Ben Solo, could be returned to the light.
Will her story be of forgiveness? Leia and Kylo have yet to have a face-to-face encounter like Han and Luke have had. Has this scene been filmed yet?
It will be nice to see Leia in The Rise of Skywalker, but her role and her story arc in the movie is still unknown and could go in many different directions.
5. Where do Poe and Finn go from here?
The bromance between Poe Dameron and Finn has been a joy to watch in the new trilogy. It’s also nice to see that Rey will be joining the team on a few adventures in The Rise of Skywalker after spending The Last Jedi separated from the group.
While Rey has a defined arc, where will The Rise of Skywalker take Poe and Finn?
For Poe, perhaps he will grow into a leadership role in whatever the Resistance becomes after their war with the First Order. Poe learned humility in The Last Jedi and that his reckless style does more harm than good.
Finn is still living a new life after spending most of it as a Stormtrooper. His experience on Canto Bight affirmed his position in the Resistance. Before this, his priority was Rey and her safety but, after his run-in with DJ, he learned that being neutral is just as worse as being on the wrong side.
Finn was willing to take his own life to protect the Resistance, but Rose Tico jumped in to save him. They perplexingly shared a kiss after that, so will their romance be explored in The Rise of Skywalker? That may not be the case, as Finn has been seen with a new character, Jannah, in many of the trailers.
Whether or not Poe and Finn’s stories will see more development will be of interest. Will J.J. Abrams continue their character development or just have them along for the ride?
4. How does Emperor Palpatine return?
One of the most shocking moments from the teaser trailer was the suggested return of Emperor Palpatine after hearing his iconic laugh. Some things never go away, and Palpatine seemingly did not go away after his assumed death in Return of the Jedi.
Other trailers show Rey and Kylo Ren face off in what looks like the throne room from the second Death Star, and Rey appears to be in a giant throne room, as well. Will Ian McDiarmid only be lending his voice in The Rise of Skywalker, or will we actually see Palpatine? And will he show up in physical form or as a Force ghost?
The idea of Sith turning into Force ghosts has been ambiguous in Star Wars and has been even more confusing with the new canon.
One interesting theory is that Palpatine’s essence is in the Vadar mask, and it has been Palpatine, not Snoke, who has manipulated Kylo Ren. This would bring his return full circle to the beginning of Star Wars with Palpatine corrupting Anakin Skywalker and his attempt to turn Luke Skywalker.
Could Palpatine have found a way to cheat death as he suggested in Revenge of the Sith? It’s always possible, and it’s up to J.J. Abrams to find a way to bring Palpatine back that makes sense.
3. Will Kylo Ren be redeemed?
One of Rey’s goals in The Last Jedi was to turn Kylo Ren back to the light. Luke and Leia have different opinions on Kylo Ren’s redemption, and perhaps Rey may be changing her tune in The Rise of Skywalker.
What is interesting to note from the teasers and trailers so far is the number of times Rey and Kylo have face-to-face encounters. Their destinies are intertwined, with the two thinking they saw the other turn in The Last Jedi.
One other question that should be asked is whether or not Kylo is worthy of redemption. Luke certainly saw his father worthy, with Darth Vader ultimately being redeemed and, while it was a retcon from Geroge Lucas, the return of Anakin Skywalker was realized through a Force ghost form.
If Leia’s arc is of redemption, then J.J. Abrams may have found a compelling reason for Kylo to be redeemed and turned back into Ben Solo. However, instead of mimicking Return of the Jedi and killing him, Ben Solo could assist Rey in reforming the Jedi Order.
They would make the perfect combination, with Rey embodying the spirit of the Jedi and Ben embodying the skills and training a Jedi needs.
Kylo is also seen with his mask back on after it has been rebuilt. What does this mean? Is this Kylo’s way of reaffirming his ties with the dark side?
Whether Kylo Ren goes down as one of the most powerful villains in Star Wars or as a compelling character corrupted by the dark only to find the light will most likely be at the forefront of The Rise of Skywalker.
2. What is Rey’s destiny?
What has been the most talked-about aspect of the new trilogy is Rey and her origins. The Last Jedi threw fans for a loop when it was revealed that Rey came from nothing and is not related to any of the previous characters from the Star Wars franchise.
This can easily be retconned, but the point is that Rey has the ability to forge her own destiny. The Force works in mysterious ways and doesn’t always need answers. What will need an answer is where Rey’s character journey goes to The Rise of Skywalker.
Who is “Dark Rey”? Do her questions about the Force and her role as a Force-user cause her mind to be easily corrupted? Is it a dream sequence, similar to that of The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke sees himself as Darth Vadar believing he could become as evil as him?
Also, assuming Rey lives at the end of the movie, what is her role after The Rise of Skywalker? A common theory is that she will lead a new group of Force-users, and the “rise of Skywalker” is the rise of a new breed of Force-users called “Skywalkers” in honor of Luke Skywalker.
Since Rey is one of the few characters that doesn’t have a surname, perhaps she takes the name Skywalker to honor Luke. She can then be a Skywalker while also not being a Skywalker by blood. How this will go with fans is entirely subjective very much like how Rey is to many viewers. Some love her and some hate her.
No one knows what is in store for Rey, except J.J. Abrams and Daisy Ridley, but Rey will be the center point for praise and criticism.
1. How does the Skywalker Saga end?
“This will be the final word in the history of Skywalker.” Those are the words of Emperor Palpatine in a TV spot titled “Duel” with the iconic “Duel of the Fates” score in the background, as Rey and Kylo Ren do battle.
Palpatine wants to be rid of the Skywalker clan once and for all. How that will play out is of the utmost importance to J.J. Abrams and company. 1977 kicked off one of the most iconic franchises in movie history. 2019 will mark the end for a family we have followed for decades. Is there a satisfying ending?
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Avengers: Endgame found a way to find a satisfying conclusion to the Infinity Saga, so there is hope. How many characters will die along the way? Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac have said that they have no plans on any future Disney Plus shows and highlight The Rise of Skywalker as the end.
As with many things, minds can change, and even Ridley said that she would be willing to return only if her other cast members would, as well. This shouldn’t be looked into too much, however, since the actors from the Original Trilogy have returned to their characters.
As mentioned with Rey and Kylo Ren, will they be mentoring the future Jedi who might be called Skywalkers in honor of Luke Skywalker and the Skywalker family?
Palpatine will now have been in every trilogy so, if he is finally killed off, what will that mean? Can the galaxy now exist in peace without one of the most powerful users of the dark side?
Abrams and his team have the thankless task of delivering an ending to an iconic saga about one of the most iconic families in a way that can satisfy everyone. If anything is certain, it’s this, the Force will be with us, always. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters on December 20.