If you’re like me, you probably felt a great power in the Force on Friday. It was as if millions of Star Wars fans suddenly cried out in joy and was suddenly stunned into silence by the one and only Ian McDiarmid aka Emperor Palpatine.
Of course there’s a good reason for all of that joy: both the long awaited title and teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode IX, now known as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker debuted at Star Wars Celebration, held in Chicago.
The teaser and title debuted at the end of a panel on the new film. Appropriately so, comedian Stephen Colbert was chosen as the host of the panel. Colbert has been a Star Wars fan for “three weeks longer than” the rest of us. He, some friends and a friend’s mom saw the original film three weeks before it opened worldwide and he’s been hooked ever since.
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Rise of Skywalker writer/director J.J. Abrams were the first two panelists to join Colbert on the stage. Though they gave few details of the film, both Kennedy and Abrams say they hope fans will be satisfied, in part because The Rise of Skywalker will be the definitive end of the Skywalker Saga, which comprises the 9-episodic films of Star Wars.
“We cannot wait for you to see what we’re cooking up,” Abrams said to the audience.
Colbert, Kennedy and Abrams were soon joined on stage by a large chunk of the film’s cast: Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian!), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca) and newcomer Naomi Ackie (playing Jannah).
As the film is designed to be shrouded in mystery until its release later this year, details of the plot were largely kept thin, though the teaser certainly opened up a lot of questions (more on that in a moment), but several of the cast members got to dish their thoughts on their characters:
“I get sick and tired of being accused of betraying Han Solo,” joked Williams about his character’s choice back in The Empire Strikes Back. “He was up against Darth Vader!”
“On this adventure, I think Finn has found his footing and his role within the Resistance,” Boyega said, hinting at a much more grounded and dedicated Finn than the character we saw in the first two films.
A surprising reveal: Anakin, Luke and Rey’s lightsaber, which by this film has been around for about 50 years, will appear in this film.
“The lightsaber that Rey inherited from Luke lives,” Ridley said to thunderous cheers. This was confirmed in the teaser, where Rey is seen wielding the infamous blue lightsaber.
In addition to the ensemble cast members on stage, a new droid also debuted. He is called Dio and is a smaller droid than we’re used to seeing (even smaller than BB-8). Dio is said to be a friend of BB-8’s who joins the group’s adventure.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, we were treated with the teaser. Abrams wasted no time in just teasing the audience with it and instead cleared the stage with everyone else for it to begin.
The teaser opens with Rey breathing deeply on an unknown planet. Suddenly, she pulls out her lightsaber, ignites it, turns around and runs as a unique TIE-looking ship approaches her. Presumably this is Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) attempting to attack her.
This opening montage is accompanied by narration from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) himself, likely speaking to Rey about her holding all of the knowledge of the Jedi.
Moving along, we see little snippets of the movie’s action. There’s Kylo killing a man, Fin and Poe running from some enemies, Lando flying the Falcon with Chewie and laughing happily and more as John Williams’ infamous scores blare across the footage.
Easily the most surprising part of the teaser (other than the title) came in the final moments where the heroes seem to stumble upon the remnants of one of two familiar battle stations. This scene is superimposed with an iconic laugh that should send shivers down the spines of anyone who hears, except for Star Wars fans who were probably internally screaming with joy. The laugh sounded suspiciously like good old Emperor Palpatine.
As the teaser ended and we finally saw the title, attendees and viewers at home were treated with another surprise: Ian McDiarmid himself appearing on the Celebration Stage to a thunderous applause (see what I did there?) and saying in his best Palpatine voice, “Roll it again!” This seemingly confirmed the return of the Emperor.
Abrams confirmed to James Dyer of Empire.com the return of the Emperor. It’s not clear how this most powerful Dark Lord of the Sith returns from the dead; it’s quite possible he somehow managed to survive his apparent death on the second Death Star. Only time will tell. Though a quote from Luke seemed to give us a little hint: “No one’s ever really gone.”
In case there’s any lingering ambiguity from the trailer (and McDiarmid’s appearance at the panel!), I can 100% confirm that Palpatine is back in The Rise Of Skywalker as I just asked JJ. He’s thrilled – and slightly incredulous- that McDiarmid’s presence on set didn’t leak. pic.twitter.com/qDzPQagXSW
— James Dyer (@jamescdyer) April 12, 2019
Perhaps the most emotional part of the teaser was seeing our Princess and General appearing using unused footage from the previous two films. Those she only appears for a few seconds, Leia warmly gives Rey a hug, and that small moment is enough for those of us who loved Carrie Fisher to smile and shed a tear as we remember our beloved Space Mom.
“She was the best, she was glorious,” Abrams said. “We all just loved her … the weird miracle of having a number of scenes from ‘Force Awakens’ that were unused.”
But for now, the Force has reawakened with the debut of all of this new footage and a long-awaited title for the final installment in the Skywalker saga.
It's not #EpisodeIXFromHisNap or even my suggestion: #EpisodeIXABunchMoreStuffHappens– It'#EpisodeIXTheRiseOfSkywalker! It's time for the 8 months of speculation to begin. Is that Skywalker KYLO? LEIA? ANAKIN? LUKE? A previously unknown SKYWALKER? Is REY a Skywalker? #CoolTitle👍 https://t.co/avfffLvC1z
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) April 12, 2019
The Rise of Skywalker, ladies and gentlemen. Raawrrrgh! https://t.co/0g7v1L7PwM
— Joonas Suotamo (@JoonasSuotamo) April 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/JohnBoyega/status/1116878537842098177
Lando's back! Billy Dee Williams returns in Star Wars: Episode IX https://t.co/hmaJzBTWNR
— Billy Dee Williams (@realbdw) April 13, 2019
Check out the full Episode IX panel below!
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker debuts Dec. 20.
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