Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (also known as Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker) is a 2019 American epic space opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. Produced by Lucasfilm and Abrams' production company Bad Robot, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is 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".[a] Its ensemble cast includes Carrie Fisher,[b] 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, with Ian McDiarmid and Billy Dee Williams. Set one year after The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker follows Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron as they lead the Resistance's final stand against Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and the First Order, who are aided by the Sith Lord, Emperor Palpatine.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
- Chris Terrio
- J. J. Abrams
- Derek Connolly
- Colin Trevorrow
- J. J. Abrams
- Chris Terrio
- Kathleen Kennedy
- J. J. Abrams
- Michelle Rejwan
- Maryann Brandon
- Stefan Grube
- December 16, 2019 (Dolby Theatre)
- December 20, 2019 (United States)
142 minutes[1]
United States
English
$416 million[2]
$1.077 billion[3]
Following initial reports that The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson would write the script for Episode IX, in August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was hired to direct and to write a script with his collaborator Derek Connolly; both ultimately retain story credit with Abrams and Chris Terrio. In September 2017, Trevorrow left the project following creative differences with producer Kathleen 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 at Pinewood Studios in England and wrapped in February 2019, with post-production completed in November 2019. With a budget of $416 million, it is the third most expensive film ever made.
The Rise of Skywalker premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on December 16, 2019, and was released in the United States on December 20. It received mixed reviews from critics, but would gross over $1.077 billion worldwide, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2019, but the lowest-grossing of the trilogy.[7] It received three nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards (Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Editing) as well as three at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards (also Best Special Visual Effects, Best Original Music, and Best Sound). It won five awards at the 46th Saturn Awards, including Best Science Fiction Film.
Plot[edit]
Kylo Ren obtains a Sith wayfinder that leads to the planet Exegol. There, he finds a resurrected Emperor Palpatine, who reveals himself as the power behind Snoke and the First Order. Palpatine unveils the Final Order—a massive armada of Sith Star Destroyers—and orders Kylo to find and kill Rey, who is continuing her Jedi training under Resistance leader Leia Organa. Poe Dameron and Finn deliver intelligence from a spy in the First Order that Palpatine is on Exegol; Rey reads in Luke Skywalker's notes that a Sith wayfinder can lead them there. Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, BB-8, and C-3PO depart in the Millennium Falcon to the desert planet Pasaana, where a clue to a wayfinder is hidden.
Kylo initiates a Force bond with Rey to discover her location. He travels to Pasaana with his warrior subordinates, the Knights of Ren. With Lando Calrissian's help, Rey and her friends find the clue—a dagger inscribed with Sith text, which C-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 capture the Falcon, Chewbacca, and the dagger. Attempting to save Chewbacca, Rey accidentally destroys a First Order transport with Force lightning. Believing Chewbacca is dead, the group escape on Ochi's ship.
They travel to Kijimi, where the droidsmith Babu Frik extracts the Sith text from C-3PO's memory, revealing the wayfinder's coordinates. Rey senses Chewbacca is alive aboard a First Order Star Destroyer, so the group stage a rescue with the smuggler Zorii's help. Rey recovers the dagger and experiences repressed memories of her parents. She duels Kylo, who reveals that she is Palpatine's paternal granddaughter. Foreseeing her power, Palpatine had ordered Ochi to find the young Rey, but her parents hid her on Jakku, 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 by Allegiant General Pryde. The group fly the Falcon to the wayfinder's coordinates on a moon in the Endor system.
There, they find renegade stormtroopers led by Jannah, whom they recruit to the Resistance. Rey retrieves the wayfinder from the wreckage of the second 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 his TIE fighter to exile herself on Ahch-To. Meanwhile, Kylo converses with a memory of his father, Han Solo. He discards his lightsaber and reclaims his identity as Ben Solo. To draw Rey out, Palpatine deploys the Sith fleet and sends a Star Destroyer to destroy Kijimi. On Ahch-To, Luke's Force spirit encourages Rey to face Palpatine and gives her Leia's lightsaber. Rey leaves for Exegol in Luke's X-wing fighter, using the wayfinder from Kylo's ship.
Rey transmits her coordinates to R2-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 attack the Sith fleet, while Ben overpowers the Knights of Ren and joins Rey. Palpatine senses their power as "a dyad 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 destroy the remaining Sith forces, while people across the galaxy rise up against the First Order.
The Resistance celebrate their victory. Rey visits Luke's abandoned homestead on Tatooine and buries Luke and Leia's lightsabers. A passerby asks her name; seeing Luke and Leia's Force spirits nearby, she responds, "Rey Skywalker".
Billie Lourd,[c] Greg Grunberg, and Harrison Ford reprise their roles as Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix, Temmin "Snap" Wexley, and Han Solo, respectively.[28][29][30] Additionally, Dominic Monaghan portrays Resistance trooper Beaumont Kin, Shirley Henderson voices Babu Frik, and Nick Kellington portrays Klaud via capture performance.[18] Hassan Taj and Lee Towersey perform the role of R2-D2, while Dave Chapman and Brian Herring return as the puppeteers of BB-8,[18] and director J. J. Abrams also provides the voice for D-O.[31] Martin Wilde, Anton Simpson-Tidy, Lukaz Leong, Tom Rodgers, Joe Kennard, and Ashley Beck appear as the Knights of Ren.[18] Amanda Lawrence reprises her role as Commander Larma D'Acy, while Vinette Robinson plays her wife, Pilot Wrobie Tyce.[32]
Jodie Comer and Billy Howle briefly appear as Rey's parents, Dathan and Miramir,[31][33] while Tom Wilton and screenwriter Chris Terrio briefly appear as the performer and voice for Aftab Ackbar, the son of Admiral Ackbar, respectively;[34][35] and Mike Quinn and Kipsang Rotich return as the performer and voice of Nien Nunb, respectively.[18] Denis Lawson and Warwick Davis briefly reprise their roles as Wedge Antilles, a veteran of the Rebel Alliance; and Wicket W. Warrick, now the leader of the Ewoks, respectively.[35][31] Composer John Williams cameos as Oma Tres, a Kijimi bartender, Kevin Smith cameos as a Kijimi inhabitant, and Abrams' frequent composer collaborator Michael Giacchino cameos as a Sith Trooper, while Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeff Garlin both cameo as human and alien Resistance troopers, respectively.[31][36][37] Actors making reprisal vocal cameos include: Hayden Christensen and James Earl Jones as Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader, Andy Serkis as Snoke, and the voices of several past Jedi, including Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi (the latter via digitally altered archive audio), Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Freddie Prinze Jr. as Kanan Jarrus, Olivia d'Abo as Luminara Unduli, Frank Oz as Yoda, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, Jennifer Hale as Aayla Secura, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, and Angelique Perrin as Adi Gallia.[35] Ed Sheeran, Karl Urban, Dhani Harrison, Nigel Godrich, J. D. Dillard, and Dave Hearn all cameo as stormtroopers.[35][38]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
In October 2012, Star Wars creator George Lucas sold his production company Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Company.[39] Disney subsequently announced the Star Wars sequel trilogy.[40] The next month, Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg entered negotiations to write and produce either Episode VIII or Episode IX.[41][42] Kinberg, Kasdan, and Michael Arndt worked in a writers room to discuss and map out the trilogy.[43] However, these plans did not come to fruition and instead Kasdan co-wrote Star Wars: The Force Awakens with Kinberg serving as a creative consultant.[44] In June 2014, it was announced that Rian Johnson, writer and director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, would write a story treatment for Episode IX.[45] However in April 2017, Johnson later denied involvement in writing the film, claiming the information was outdated.[46] In August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of the film;[47] he was to write the script with frequent collaborator Derek Connolly.[47][48] Trevorrow and Connolly's script, titled Star Wars: Duel of the Fates after the theme of the same name from Star 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 on Mustafar, the transference of Force energy,[49][50] 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.[51] An original idea of Trevorrow and his design team, the First Order TIE Echelon, survived in the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme park, whose ship was supposed to appear in its original film.[52]
Marketing[edit]
Promotion[edit]
Despite staying silent about many details of the film, Abrams expressed his hopes that fans and general audiences would be "satisfied".[130] He headed a panel dedicated to the film on April 12, 2019, during Star Wars Celebration in Chicago,[131] where the film's title was revealed.[86]
Additionally, the story events of the Disneyland themed area Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge precede the film, including the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run motion simulator, which features Chewbacca.[132] On August 24, a new poster and "sizzle reel" was released at D23;[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.[133]
Tie-in literature and merchandise[edit]
A publishing campaign titled "Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" was announced on May 4, 2019. It includes the novel Resistance Reborn, set between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, the young-adult novel Force Collector, the Middle Grade novel Spark of the Resistance, and various other titles.[134] From December 18, 2019, to March 11, 2020, a prequel graphic novel titled The Rise of Kylo Ren, telling the story of how Ben Solo became Kylo Ren and elaborating upon the character's backstory, was published by Marvel Comics, written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Will Sliney.[135]
The official novelization of The Rise of Skywalker is by Rae 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 a clone body following his death in Return of the Jedi, and his "son", Rey's father, was a failed clone of Palpatine.[136][137] The junior novel and corresponding audiobook are by Michael Kogge and was released on April 21, 2020. A five-issue Marvel Comics adaptation written by Jody Houser and illustrated by Will Sliney was planned to debut in mid-2020,[138][139] but this was later cancelled, making the film the first in the franchise not to receive a serialized comic adaptation.[140] A separate graphic novel adaptation was released by IDW Publishing in 2021.[141]
A story arc of 2020's Darth Vader comic ties into The Rise of Skywalker, utilizing a creature cut from the film as well as Ochi.[142] Further, a novel titled Shadow of the Sith, released mid-2022, explores the backstory of Luke and Lando as they investigate the dead world of Exegol.[143]
Video games[edit]
The video game Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) released a free level set on Ajan Kloss.[144] In December 2019, the video game Fortnite Battle Royale released several cosmetics featuring character outfits for Rey, Finn, a Sith Trooper, Kylo Ren, and Zorii Bliss along with a TIE Fighter glider, a Millennium Falcon glider (which was given to players for free from the Winterfest Event), four emotes, and two free banners.[145] On December 14, Fortnite's publisher Epic Games released a preview of the film on an in-game theater screen as a live event.[146] At the end of the event, a message from Palpatine (the one mentioned in the film's opening crawl) was heard.[147] 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.[148]
Release[edit]
Theatrical[edit]
The film was originally planned to be released in the United States on May 24, 2019,[61] before being pushed back to December 20 with Aladdin taking over its original May 2019 release date.[149] It had its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on December 16.[150] Unlike most studio films, Disney reportedly did not hold test screenings for The Rise of Skywalker, instead only showing it to Abrams' friends and family, as well as a terminally-ill fan.[151][152] Before the film's release, Disney issued a warning that the scenes with strobe-like flashing lights may trigger photosensitive migraines and seizures.[153]
Home media[edit]
The Rise of Skywalker was scheduled to be released on Digital HD on March 17, 2020, but was released four days early in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[154] Its DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD release followed on March 31 by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.[155] The 4K version of the film was also released in "The Skywalker Saga" Ultra HD Blu-ray box set that same date.[156] It was released on Disney+ on May 4, which is reportedly two months ahead of its previously scheduled release date.[157]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The Rise of Skywalker grossed $515.2 million in the U.S. and Canada, and $561.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.077 billion,[3] making it the seventh highest-grossing film of 2019.[158] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $300 million, 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 on Atom Tickets than the previous record-holder for ticket sales, Avengers: Endgame (2019). It became Atom Tickets' second-best first-day seller of all time behind Endgame, selling more than twice the number of tickets as The Last Jedi sold in that same timeframe, while Fandango reported it outsold all previous Star Wars films.[159][160] Box office tracking had The Rise of Skywalker grossing around $205 million in its opening weekend, though some firms predicted a debut closer to $175 million.[161] 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.[162][163] 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.[164][165][166] 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.[164] The film made $32 million on Christmas Day, the second-best total ever for the holiday after The Force Awakens' $49.3 million in 2015.[167] It went on to have a five-day total of $138.8 million, including $76 million for the weekend.[168] In its third weekend the film made $34.5 million, remaining in first,[169][170] before being dethroned in its fourth weekend by newcomer 1917 (2019).[171] 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.[172] At the end of its box office run, it was third highest-grossing film of 2019 in this region behind Avengers: Endgame and The Lion King.[173]
Worldwide the film was projected to gross around $450 million in its opening weekend, including $250 million from 52 international territories.[174] 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).[175] In China, the film made $1.6 million (RMB11.6 million) through its first day.[176] It went on to open to $198 million from overseas countries and $373.5 million worldwide, coming in below projections and 47% lower than The 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).[175]
Future[edit]
In a November 2021 interview by Empire, Kathleen Kennedy indicated that Lucasfilm team had been having conversations regarding the future of the sequel trilogy's characters.[214] At Star Wars Celebration Europe IV in 2023, a new film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was announced that will follow Rey as she attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order following the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Ridley is set to reprise her role as Rey.[215] Kennedy also hinted at the possibility of other sequel trilogy characters coming back.[216]