Following initial reports thatThe Last Jedi directorRian Johnson would write the script forEpisode IX, in August 2015,Colin Trevorrow was hired to direct and to writea script with his collaboratorDerek Connolly; both ultimately retain story credit with Abrams andChris Terrio. In September 2017, Trevorrow left the project following creative differences with producerKathleen Kennedy, and Abrams returned as director.John Williams, composer for the previous episodic films, returned to compose the score—his final score for the franchise.[6]Principal photography began in August 2018 atPinewood Studios in England and wrapped in February 2019, with post-production completed in November 2019. With a budget of $416 million, it isthe third most expensive film ever made.
One year after the Battle ofCrait,[c] the resurrectedEmperor Palpatine sends a message of revenge to the galaxy. Hunting him down,Kylo Ren obtains aSith wayfinder that leads him to the hidden planetExegol, in the unknown regions of the galaxy. There, he finds Palpatine, who reveals himself as the power behindSnoke and theFirst Order. Palpatine unveils a Sith armada ofStar Destroyers and offers it to Kylo if he finds and killsRey, who is continuing herJedi training underResistance leaderLeia Organa.Poe Dameron andFinn deliver intelligence from a spy in the First Order that Palpatine is on Exegol; Rey reads inLuke Skywalker's notes that a Sith wayfinder can lead them there. Rey, Finn, Poe,Chewbacca,BB-8, andC-3PO depart in theMillennium Falcon to the desert planetPasaana, where a clue to a wayfinder is hidden.
Kylo initiates aForce bond with Rey to discover her location. He travels to Pasaana with his warrior subordinates, the Knights of Ren. WithLando Calrissian's help, Rey and her friends find the clue—a dagger inscribed with Sith text, whichC-3PO's programming forbids him from interpreting—and the remains of a Sith assassin named Ochi and his ship, which Rey recognizes. Rey senses Kylo nearby and faces him while the First Order captures theFalcon, Chewbacca, and the dagger. Attempting to save Chewbacca, Rey accidentally destroys a First Order transport withForce lightning. Believing Chewbacca is dead, the group escapes on Ochi's ship.
They travel toKijimi, where the droidsmithBabu Frik extracts the Sith text fromC-3PO's memory, revealing the wayfinder's coordinates. Rey senses Chewbacca is alive aboard a First Order Star Destroyer, so the group stages a rescue with the smugglerZorii's help. Rey recovers the dagger and experiences repressed memories of her parents. She duels Kylo, who reveals that Palpatine is her paternal grandfather. Foreseeing her power, Palpatine had ordered Ochi to find the young Rey, but her parents hid her onJakku, prompting Ochi to kill them with the dagger. To spite Kylo,General Hux saves Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca from execution, revealing himself as the spy. Rey and her friends escape, while Hux is executed byAllegiant General Pryde. The group flies theFalcon to the wayfinder's coordinates ona moon in theEndor system.
There, they find renegadestormtroopers led byJannah, whom they recruit to the Resistance. Rey retrieves the wayfinder from the wreckage of thesecond Death Star, but she is met by Kylo, who destroys the wayfinder and duels her. In a dying act, Leia distracts Kylo through the Force, and Rey impales him. Sensing Leia's death and overcome by guilt, Rey heals Kylo and takes hisTIE fighter to exile herself onAhch-To. Meanwhile, Kylo converses with a memory of his father,Han Solo. He discards hislightsaber and reclaims his identity as Ben Solo. Palpatine deploys the Sith fleet to draw Rey out and sends a Sith Star Destroyer to destroy Kijimi. On Ahch-To, Luke'sForce spirit encourages Rey to face Palpatine and gives her Leia's lightsaber. Rey leaves for Exegol in Luke'sX-wing fighter, using the wayfinder from Ben's ship.
Rey transmits her coordinates toR2-D2, allowing the Resistance, now led by Poe and Finn, to follow her to Exegol. There, she confronts Palpatine. Debilitated, he demands that she kill him in anger so his spirit can possess her body. The Resistance attacks the Sith fleet, while Ben overpowers the Knights of Ren and joins Rey. Palpatine senses their power as "adyad in the Force" and drains it to rejuvenate his body. Lando arrives with reinforcements from across the galaxy, including Babu and Zorii. Palpatine incapacitates Ben and attacks the Resistance fleet with Force lightning. Weakened, Rey hears the voices of past Jedi, who give her strength. Palpatine attacks her with lightning, but Rey deflects it using Luke and Leia's lightsabers, destroying him before dying herself. Ben uses the Force to revive Rey, sacrificing himself, and they kiss before he dies. The Resistance destroys the remaining Sith forces, while people across the galaxy rise up against the First Order.
The Resistance celebrates their victory. Rey visits Luke's abandoned homestead onTatooine and buries Luke and Leia's lightsabers. A passerby asks her name; seeing Luke and Leia's Force spirits nearby, she responds, "Rey Skywalker".
In October 2012,Star Wars creatorGeorge Lucas sold his production companyLucasfilm tothe Walt Disney Company.[41] Disney subsequently announced theStar Wars sequel trilogy.[42] The next month,Lawrence Kasdan andSimon Kinberg entered negotiations to write and produce eitherEpisode VIII orEpisode IX.[43][44] Kinberg, Kasdan, andMichael Arndt worked in a writers room to discuss and map out the trilogy.[45] However, these plans did not come to fruition and instead Kasdan co-wroteEpisode VII -Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with Kinberg serving as a creative consultant.[46] In June 2014, it was announced thatRian Johnson, writer and director ofStar Wars: The Last Jedi, would write a story treatment forEpisode IX.[47] However in April 2017, Johnson later denied involvement in writing the film, claiming the information was outdated.[48]
In August 2015,Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of the film;[49] he was to write the script with frequent collaboratorDerek Connolly.[49][50] Trevorrow and Connolly's script, titledStar Wars: Duel of the Fates afterthe theme of the same name fromStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, included elements which were utilized to some extent in the final film, such as Kylo finding a Sith holocron in Darth Vader's castle onMustafar, the transference of Force energy,[51][52] the concept of a superlaser-equipped Star Destroyer, Lando leading a galaxy-wide fleet of spaceships to save the day, and Chewbacca receiving a medal.[53] An original idea of Trevorrow and his design team, the First Order TIE Echelon, survived in theStar Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme park, whose ship was supposed to appear in its original film.[54]
In January 2016, Trevorrow revealed he was considering shooting onfilm and that he had wanted to shoot "on location" inouter space withIMAX cameras.[55] Trevorrow and cinematographerJohn Schwartzman had planned to shoot the project entirely on65mm film, using a new processing facilityKodak had developed in the UK.[56] Trevorrow collaborated closely with Johnson whilst developing his script and even requested a scene featuring Rey and Poe be shot forEpisode VIII -The Last Jedi.[57][58][59] After the success ofThe Force Awakens, which became thehighest-grossing film of 2015,Episode IX was put into production in February 2016, which Disney chief executive officerBob Iger vaguely reported.[60][61]
In late April 2017, Disney announced that the film would be released on May 24, 2019.[62] A month later, filming was expected to begin in January 2018.[63] In August 2017, it was announced thatJack Thorne would rewrite the script.[64] On September 5, 2017, Lucasfilm stated that Trevorrow had left the production following creative differences.[65] Trevorrow's place as director was supposedly on ice since June 2017.[66]The Hollywood Reporter reported that his working relationship withKathleen Kennedy had become unmanageable after failing to deliver a satisfactory script, despite writing several drafts, nor were either happy with Thorne's revisions.[67][68] Johnson was rumored as the top choice to replace Trevorrow as director,[69] but stated "it was never in the plan for me to directEpisode IX."[70]David Fincher had discussions with the studio but would ultimately decline from directing the film.[71][72]
On September 12, it was announced thatJ.J. Abrams, the director ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens, would return to direct the film,[73] and that the film's release date would be moved to December 20, 2019.[62] The story team met with George Lucas before writing the new script to help find a way to conclude the saga.[74] Abramsco-wrote the script with Chris Terrio,[75] though Trevorrow and Connolly retain story credits.[76][77] The story was rewritten to some extent before filming was completed.[78] Terrio had written off working on larger-scale films at the time and did not socially know Abrams prior to agreeing to co-write the film with him.[79][80]
The film was produced by Abrams' companyBad Robot, Kathleen Kennedy, andMichelle Rejwan.[75] According to Terrio, the film's script had to include certainnarrative beats provided by Kennedy and Rejwan, including the redemption of the character Kylo Ren.[81] Abrams had also consulted with Johnson on making a film that both stood on its own but built upon previously established ideas and story elements.[82][83]
Before filming,Episode IX was initially given theworking titleBlack Diamond, which was then changed toTrIXie in 2018,[84] so that the roman numeral "IX" would be included in the working title.[85] The film's title,The Rise of Skywalker, was announced at April 2019'sStar Wars Celebration in Chicago.[86] Until its official reveal, only Abrams knew the title of the film.[87]
Carrie Fisher, who playedGeneral Leia Organa, died on December 27, 2016.[88]Variety andReuters reported that she had been planned for a key role inEpisode IX.[89] In January 2017, Lucasfilm stated that there were no plans to digitally generate Fisher's performance as they had forRogue One (2016).[90] The following April, Fisher's brother Todd revealed that Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, had granted Disney the rights to use recent footage of Fisher.[91] However, a week later, Kathleen Kennedy stated that Fisher would not appear in the film.[92][93] In July 2018, J. J. Abrams announced that unused footage of Fisher fromThe Force Awakens would be used to help complete the story.[8][9][94][f] In flashback scenes, digitalde-aging was used for the appearance of Luke and Leia through the use of facial shots of both characters from theEmpire Strikes Back, andReturn of the Jedi respectively.[95] In November 2019, prior to the release of the film, Carrie Fisher's brotherTodd Fisher, who planned before her death for her character to appear in the film, revealed that "she was going to be the big payoff in the final film" and "she was going to be the last Jedi, so to speak."[96]
In July 2018,Keri Russell was in talks to play a part with some "action-heavy fight scenes",[98] and it was confirmed thatBilly Dee Williams would return as Lando Calrissian,[99] onscreen for the first time since 1983'sReturn of the Jedi — marking one of the longest intervals between portrayals of a character by the same actor in American film history.[97][g] At the end of July, Russell was confirmed to have been cast,[100] and there was an announcement of returning and additional new cast members.[5] In late August,Deadline Hollywood announced thatDominic Monaghan andMatt Smith had been cast in unspecified roles;[101][102] in 2019, Smith denied his involvement,[103][h] but he later clarified that he had been in talks for an unrealized "transformative" part.[106] Early rumors fromMaking Star Wars claimed Smith was set to portray a "dark side acolyte" who gets possessed by Palpatine.[107][108]Greg Grunberg reprises his role as Temmin "Snap" Wexley.[31]
AtStar Wars Celebration in April 2019, it was revealed via the film's teaser trailer thatIan McDiarmid would return to portray Palpatine.[24] Since the event was held after principal photography wrapped, Abrams was thrilled that news of McDiarmid on the set never leaked.[24] Kathleen Kennedy said they decided to reveal Palpatine's return ahead of the film's release because of the characters playing a larger role in the story, having them differentiated fromGrogu, the character fromThe Mandalorian.[109] Abrams had initially considered Palpatine returning while developingThe Force Awakens.[110][111]
Principal photography began on August 1, 2018, atPinewood Studios inBuckinghamshire, England.[5] Filming also took place inWadi Rum, Jordan.[112] Oscar Isaac stated that Abrams was allowing more improvised acting than in the previous two films.[113] Due to the tight schedule, some editing took place on set.[114] The crew onThe Rise of Skywalker had three fewer months than they had to work onThe Force Awakens leading toMaryann Brandon being sent in to cut on set a third of the way through production.[115] Scenes detailing Palpatine's return were altered and changed during production as they were felt to "go off topic".[116] The kiss between Rey and Ben was initially going to be excluded from the film, until Abrams decided against it at the last minute.[117] Principal photography wrapped on February 15, 2019.[118] Footage from the film was shown at The Walt Disney Company's annual shareholders meeting on March 7, 2019.[119] Two weeks of reshoots took place at Pinewood involving Hamill, Ridley, and Isaac in July 2019.[120] Another round of reshoots took place at Bad Robot between late September and mid-October.[121] Abrams stated that the film had fewer reshoots and story adjustments thanEpisode VII.[122]
The visual effects were created byIndustrial Light & Magic and supervised byRoger Guyett.[123] Last minuteADR was recorded withAdam Driver, in which he recorded his lines in a closet.[124] The film finished post-production on November 25, 2019. AfterJohn Boyega accidentally left a copy of the script in his hotel room, it was listed oneBay for around £65. A Disney employee identified the script as authentic and purchased it from the seller for an undisclosed sum.[125][126][127]
In January 2018, it was confirmed that John Williams would return to compose and conductThe Rise of Skywalker.[128][129] The next month, Williams announced that it would be the lastStar Wars film for which he would compose the score[6] (though he would later return to compose the theme music for theDisney+ miniseriesObi-Wan Kenobi). In August 2019, it was revealed that Williams had written about 35 of an expected 135 minutes of music for the film, which according to Williams' brother Don, would incorporate all of the majorthemes of the Skywalker saga.[130] Scoring began in July 2019 with Williams andWilliam Ross conducting and orchestrating the sessions over the course of six months.[131] The official soundtrack album was released byWalt Disney Records on December 20, 2019.[132]
Despite staying silent about many details of the film, Abrams expressed his hopes that fans and general audiences would be "satisfied".[133] He headed a panel dedicated to the film on April 12, 2019, duringStar Wars Celebration in Chicago,[134] where the film's title was revealed.[86]
Additionally, the story events of theDisneyland themed areaStar Wars: Galaxy's Edge precede the film, including theMillennium Falcon: Smugglers Run motion simulator, which features Chewbacca.[135] On August 24, a new poster and "sizzle reel" was released atD23;[23] the latter was released to the public two days later. The footage includes a montage of the Skywalker saga so far, as well as several new shots from the film.[136]
A publishing campaign titled "Journey toStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" was announced on May 4, 2019. It includes the novelResistance Reborn, set betweenThe Last Jedi andThe Rise of Skywalker, theyoung-adult novelForce Collector, the Middle Grade novelSpark of the Resistance, and various other titles.[137] From December 18, 2019, to March 11, 2020, a prequel graphic novel titledThe Rise of Kylo Ren, telling the story of how Ben Solo became Kylo Ren and elaborating upon the character's backstory, was published byMarvel Comics, written byCharles Soule and illustrated byWill Sliney.[138]
The official novelization ofThe Rise of Skywalker is byRae Carson; hardcover and audiobook versions were released on March 19, 2020. The novel details Palpatine's return in more depth: He transferred his consciousness into aclone body following his death inReturn of the Jedi, and his "son", Rey's father, was a failed clone of Palpatine.[139][140] The junior novel and corresponding audiobook are by Michael Kogge and was released on April 21, 2020. A five-issue Marvel Comics adaptation written byJody Houser and illustrated by Will Sliney was planned to debut in mid-2020,[141][142] but this was later cancelled, making the film the first in the franchise not to receive a serialized comic adaptation.[143] However, the comic has finally been scheduled for release in February 2025.[144] A separate graphic novel adaptation was released byIDW Publishing in 2021.[145]
A story arc of 2020'sDarth Vader comic ties intoThe Rise of Skywalker, utilizing a creature cut from the film as well as Ochi.[146] Further, a novel titledShadow of the Sith, released mid-2022, explores the backstory of Luke and Lando as they investigate the dead world of Exegol.[147]
The video gameStar Wars Battlefront II (2017) released a free level set onAjan Kloss.[148] In December 2019, the video gameFortnite Battle Royale released several cosmetics featuring character outfits for Rey, Finn, a Sith Trooper, Kylo Ren, and Zorii Bliss along with aTIE Fighter glider, aMillennium Falcon glider (which was given to players for free from the Winterfest Event), fouremotes, and two free banners.[149] On December 14,Fortnite's publisherEpic Games released a preview of the film on an in-game theater screen as a live event.[150] At the end of the event, a message from Palpatine (the one mentioned in the film's opening crawl) was heard.[151] To coincide with the release of the film, a trailer for the forthcoming video game,Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was released on the same day.[152]
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was originally planned to be released in the United States on May 24, 2019,[62] before being pushed back to December 20 swapping release dates withAladdin[153] It had its world premiere at theDolby Theatre inHollywood, Los Angeles, on December 16.[154] Unlike most studio films, Disney reportedly did not holdtest screenings forThe Rise of Skywalker, instead only showing it to Abrams' friends and family, as well as a terminally-ill fan.[155][156] Before the film's release, Disney issued a warning that the scenes with strobe-like flashing lights may triggerphotosensitivemigraines andseizures.[157]
The Rise of Skywalker grossed $515.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $561.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.077 billion,[3] making it theseventh highest-grossing film of 2019.[162]Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $300million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[7]
Pre-sale tickets went on sale on October 21, 2019, and the film sold more tickets in their first hour of availability onAtom Tickets than the previous record-holder for ticket sales,Avengers: Endgame (2019). It became Atom Tickets' second-best first-day seller of all time behindEndgame, selling more than twice the number of tickets asThe Last Jedi sold in that same timeframe, whileFandango reported it outsold all previousStar Wars films.[163][164] Box office tracking hadThe Rise of Skywalker grossing around $205 million in its opening weekend, though some firms predicted a debut closer to $175 million.[165] The film made $89.6 million on its first day, including $40 million from Thursday night previews, the sixth-highest opening day of all time.[166][167] It went on to debut to $177.4 million, which was the third-highest opening ever for a December release and the 12th-best of all time, and it was also noted that Saturday (which saw a 47% drop from Friday's gross) was the busiest shopping day of the year, likely affecting ticket sales.[168][169][170] However,Deadline Hollywood did write that "we can't ignore the less than platinum B+" audience exit scores, which could affect the film's legs (box office longevity) moving forward.[168] The film made $32 million onChristmas Day, the second-best total ever for the holiday afterThe Force Awakens' $49.3 million in 2015.[171] It went on to have a five-day total of $138.8 million, including $76 million for the weekend.[172] In its third weekend the film made $34.5 million, remaining in first,[173][174] before being dethroned in its fourth weekend by newcomer1917 (2019).[175] On January 14, 2020, the film crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office, becoming Disney's seventh film of 2019 to do so.[176] At the end of its box office run, it wasthird highest-grossing film of 2019 in this region behindAvengers: Endgame andThe Lion King.[177]
Worldwide the film was projected to gross around $450 million in its opening weekend, including $250 million from 52 international territories.[178] It made $59.1 million from its first day of international release in 46 countries. The biggest markets were the United Kingdom ($8.3 million), Germany ($7.2 million), France ($5.3 million), and Australia ($4.3 million).[179] In China, the film made $1.6 million (RMB11.6 million) through its first day.[180] It went on to open to $198 million from overseas countries and $373.5 million worldwide, coming in below projections and 47% lower thanThe Last Jedi's total. Its biggest opening totals remained the UK ($26.8 million), Germany ($21.8 million), France ($15.2 million), Japan ($14.6 million), Australia ($12.6 million), and China ($12.1 million).[179]
Thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 51% with an average score of 6.1/10, based on 522 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Rise of Skywalker suffers from a frustrating lack of imagination, but concludes this beloved saga with fan-focused devotion."[181]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100 based on 61 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[182] As such,The Rise of Skywalker holds the lowest approval rating among the nine main movies of the threeStar Wars trilogies, both on Metacritic and on Rotten Tomatoes.
Richard Roeper, reviewing for theChicago Sun-Times, gave the film three stars out of four, writing that it "rarely comes close to touching greatness, but it's a solid, visually dazzling and warmhearted victory [for] quality filmmaking."[183]The A.V. Club's A. A. Dowd gave the film a C+, stating that the film "is so freighted with obligation that it almost groans under the weight, flashing a weak smile as it vaguely approximates the appearance of a zippy good time."[184]Michael Phillips forChicago Tribune wrote that the film "does the job. It wraps up the trio of trilogies begun in 1977 in a confident, soothingly predictable way, doing all that is cinematically possible to avoid [upsetting the] tradition-minded quadrants of theStar Wars fan base."[185]
Mick LaSalle of theSan Francisco Chronicle described the film as "a disappointment" and wrote, "For all the movie's faults, it's likely that most people will considerThe Rise of Skywalker and accept the trade: Sit through a so-so 110 minutes to get to a strong half hour."[186]Owen Gleiberman ofVariety called the film "the most elegant, emotionally rounded, and gratifyingStar Wars adventure since the glory days ofStar Wars (1977) andThe Empire Strikes Back (1980) ... but given the last eight films, the bar isn't that high."[187] TheBBC's Nicholas Barber praised the film's acting and wrote, "The Rise of Skywalker has been lovingly crafted by a host of talented people, and yet the best they can do is pay tribute to everything [George Lucas] did several decades ago."[188]
Scott Mendelson forForbes described the film as "possibly worse" compared to the previous Skywalker saga films while ending the main saga and "denying this new trilogy its artistic reason for existence". He also criticized the film forretconningThe Last Jedi and for its conventional plot twists, writing that the film is full of "patronizing reversals in the name of mollifying the fans who merely want to be reminded of the first three movies."[189]Justin Chang of theLos Angeles Times described the film as "aLast Jedi corrective", which is "the more accurate way to describe it" and represents "an epic failure of nerve". He further wrote it "feels more like a retreat, a return to a zone of emotional and thematic safety from a filmmaker with a gift for packaging nostalgia as subversion."[190] Writing forThe New Yorker,Richard Brody wrote that the film's faults "are those of the franchise over all", as the film's director "J. J. Abrams is mainly a distiller and a magnifier and brings virtually no originality to it". Brody said that it would have been better if a "boldly imaginative vulgarian such asMichael Bay" had instead created a "derisive wreckage" of Star Wars.[191] Brian Tallerico ofRogerEbert.com criticized the film, giving it 2.5/4 stars, faulting it for "Terrible dialogue, disinterested performances, and an unconvincing, phony CGI aesthetic", and criticizing it for its "misdirection" and calling it "A movie that so desperately wants to please a fractured fanbase that it doesn't bother with an identity of its own", though he praised it for its "[r]emarkable set pieces".[192]
Whereas Asian-American actress Kelly Marie Tran had around ten minutes of screen time inThe Last Jedi, she appears for about a minute inThe Rise of Skywalker. The reduced role was interpreted by some critics as a concession to fans who disliked her character;[193] Tran had been a target ofracist,fatphobic andmisogynistic online harassment following the release ofThe Last Jedi. Multiple cast members involved on the previous film defended her, such as Boyega.[194] Critics said she was "sidelined" into a minor character, and commented on how she was written out "without any explanation" and her minor role was considered by one critic to be "one of the film's biggest disappointments".[195][196] With regard to the criticism towards the character's reduced screen-time, screenwriter Chris Terrio said it was due to the difficulty of including the deceased Carrie Fisher archive footage in scenes planned to feature both characters.[197]
Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest among the live-action films in the franchise.[168][198] OnPostTrak, audiences gave the film an average of four stars out of five, with 70% of respondents rating it as a "definite recommend".[168][199] Of the demographics polled by PostTrak, parents gave it 5 stars and children under 12 years old gave it 4.5 stars, with 80% of males and 84% of females rating it positively. RelishMix, which tracks social media posts and online presence, "noticed a divided reaction toSkywalker online, though it leaned slightly positive".[168]
Months prior to the film's trailer release, the "Want to See" percentage wasreview bombed on Rotten Tomatoes, dropping the score as low as 5% within a day.[200] Negative comments reflected a "lingering negativity" towardThe Last Jedi according toScreen Rant.[200] After a similar bombing campaign occurred with the 2019 filmCaptain Marvel, Rotten Tomatoes temporarily changed the "Want to See" feature to a number and eventually removed the feature altogether.[200]
Some fans reacted negatively to the manner in which Darth Sidious was written back into the series, particularly due to perceived lack of explanation. Subsequently, the details regarding Palpatine's apparent survival of the Battle of Endor have in some measure been explored in some of the spin-off TV series released since the film. The line, "Somehow, Palpatine returned," has since become aninternet meme, and has been called "the Star Wars meme to end all memes." Liz Declan ofScreen Rant stated that the line seemed like a "bit of a slap in the face" to fans of the series. She assessed: "The phrasing of that line alone suggestedStar Wars knew this plotline didn't really make sense, and the movie didn't seem all that concerned with whether audiences believed it or not."Ian McDiarmid commented in 2025: "I don’t read that stuff and I’m not online. So it’ll only reach me if someone mentions it. I thought there might be a bit of a fuss about bringing him back. But as I said, mine and Palpatine’s logic was entirely reasonable. This man who was horribly maimed thought maybe one day it might happen to him, and we’ve got to have a plan B. I loved the whole idea that he should come back and be even more powerful than he was before. Though this time, he had to be utterly destroyed. So I think he’s dead."[201][202]
In a November 2021 interview byEmpire, Kathleen Kennedy indicated that the Lucasfilm team had been having conversations regarding the future of the sequel trilogy's characters.[219] AtStar Wars Celebration Europe in 2023, a new film directed bySharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was announced that will follow Rey as she attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order following the events ofThe Rise of Skywalker. Ridley is set to reprise her role as Rey.[220] Kennedy also hinted at the possibility of other sequel trilogy characters coming back.[221]
^Unseen footage of Fisher fromThe Last Jedi was considered but not used.[12][13]
^According to Todd Fisher, "There's a lot of minutes of footage. I don't mean just outtakes. This is unused, new content that could be woven into the storyline. ... It's going to look like it was meant to be. Like it was shot yesterday."[9]
^Also tying this record is Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles, though he only makes acameo appearance inThe Rise of Skywalker.
^In April 2019, Disney's British website listed Smith as being in the film,[104] but removed his and Monaghan's name the following month.[105]
^abCouch, Aaron (July 27, 2018)."Carrie Fisher to Appear in 'Star Wars: Episode IX'".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. RetrievedJuly 27, 2018.We desperately loved Carrie Fisher," Abrams said in a statement. "Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie [Lourd], we have found a way to honor Carrie's legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.
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