Here we go again! At Star Wars Celebration Chicago, the cast of “Star Wars” debuted the first teaser trailer for the now-titled “Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.” The two-minute reveal gave us the first look at the final chapter for this most recent trilogy and what Disney has confirmed will be the last installment in the broader “Skywalker saga.”
Beginning with George Lucas’ first three “Star Wars” films centered around Luke Skywalker, and then the prequels with a focus on Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into the corrupted Darth Vader, this final trilogy has continued the Skywalker story but through the lens of new characters seemingly detached from the familial drama. The question that has loomed large over the story of Rey since “Episode VII: The Force Awakens” is her heritage and level of connection to the Skywalker clan. Below is the teaser for “Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker” and some analysis.
The lightsaber lives!
“We’ve passed on all we know. A thousand generations live in you now — but this your fight,” says the voice of Luke Skywalker as Rey stands alone in the desert. “Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” saw the destruction of the famous Skywalker lightsaber, split in two in a struggle between Kylo Ren and Rey.
The blade once belonged to Anakin Skywalker, then Luke Skywalker, and was lost in “The Empire Strikes Back” when Darth Vader severed his son’s hand in battle. The weapon fell into a pit and presumably into the clouds of Bespin. The lightsaber reappeared in “The Force Awakens” when Maz Kanata revealed she had it locked away — but how, we do not know. “A story for another time,” Maz said to Finn as the First Order laid siege to her fortress.
The voice of Luke is referring not only to the lightsaber, which carries a certain power and connection to the Force, but also to the knowledge Rey carries within her. Rey grabbed the ancient Jedi texts from the tree on Acho-To before it was burned down by a Yoda-induced lightning strike in “The Last Jedi.” This was easy to miss in the film, but Rey had them aboard the Millennium Falcon, unknown to Luke Skywalker, who thought the texts had burned — and all the ancient knowledge was gone.
As Luke, Han, and Leia are moving on, enter: Lando Calrissian.
Lando Calrissian is back, just in time to leave the final imprint of the original trilogy on this new “Star Wars” film. Actor Billy Dee Williams is quite old and a little out of it, based on his public appearance at Star Wars Celebration, but that will no doubt bring gravitas to his famed pirate and entrepreneur character.
We don’t know how Calrissian will enter the story, but there is no doubt the film will need his brevity and old school swagger to anchor things down as “Star Wars” fully passes on to the next generation. This generational hand-off at play with the old and new cast, and the Skywalker lightsaber, is what “Star Wars” is all about, really.
Kylo Ren has descended fully into darkness.
There was a moment in “The Last Jedi” where you could be forgiven for thinking Kylo Ren (aka Ben Solo) was going to flee the First Order and return to the light. He has been pulled back to home since his first appearance and admission of this struggle in “The Force Awakens.”
After murdering his own father, Han Solo, Ren wrestled with his identity violently. This ended in his smashing his mask, an ode to his grandfather, Darth Vader. By the end of “The Last Jedi,” after being rejected by Rey and shown up by Luke Skywalker in a duel of sorts, what was left of Ben Solo seemed to fade away completely. The new teaser for “The Rise of Skywalker” shows his mask being reassembled and him cutting down Resistance fighters and pursuing Rey in a TIE Fighter. He has fully committed to the dark.
“No one is ever really gone.”
This seminal line from Luke Skywalker in “The Last Jedi” gives fans the warm and fuzzies. When Luke Skywalker convened with Leia Organa through the Force on Crait, it is the last time we should expect to see the Skywalker siblings together on screen (though I’m betting on a Force ghost scene at the conclusion to expand on the ending of “Return of the Jedi”). As previously stated, this is what “Star Wars” is all about: heritage, passing the torch, sharing wisdom, and the power of family. There is also a dark side to this fact, that no one is ever really gone.
The teaser concludes with the iconic and wicked laughter of Emperor Palpatine, the archvillain of both previous “Star Wars” trilogies. No is ever really gone, and that is just as true when it comes to the lasting threat of evildoers like Palpatine. The emperor (also known privately as Darth Sidious), who brought down the Republic, transformed it into the Empire, and obliterated entire worlds with the Death Star, perished aboard the Death Star when Darth Vader turned against him. In the final shot of the teaser, we see what appears to be the remains of the Death Star that once hovered above the planet Endor.
In case you were wondering…
First, if you thought the Death Star left no remains at the end of “Return of the Jedi,” think again. “Star Wars” video games and novels have confirmed the planetary space station rained hellfire down onto Endor and nearby planets.
Second, the potential return of Emperor Palpatine is entirely plausible and is more than just another attempt by Disney to pump the new films full of nostalgia. Dark Side ghosts have a long history in ‘Star Wars” lore, from books to comics to video games. Most recently, the animated series “Star Wars Rebels” featured an appearance by the late Emperor Palpatine, who appeared in a place infested with Dark Side energy. The resting place of the emperor and the Death Star is no doubt a haunted tomb of sorts for the famed Sith, and it seems likely our new heroes will be venturing there.
“Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker” is coming in December 2019! There will be much more to analyze and break down in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Stephen Kent (@Stephen_Kent89) is the spokesman for Young Voices and host of Beltway Banthas, a “Star Wars” and politics podcast in D.C.
