Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

About

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the eleventh film in the Star Wars saga and the third film in the sequel trilogy. Set for release on December 20th, 2019, the film will be directed by J.J. Abrams and stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo and Billie Lourd.

History

On October 30th, 2012, The Walt Disney Company announced in a press release^[1] that it had acquired the production company Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. Within the press release, the company promised to be releasing a new trilogy of Star Wars films, beginning with 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Colin Trevorrow

Three years later, on August 15th, 2015, Disney announced that Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) would be directing Episode IX.^[2] On September 5th, 2017, Trevorrow stepped down from directorial duties.^[3] In a statement from Disney, they wrote:

"Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon."

About one week later, it was announced that J.J. Abrams, the director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, would be directing the film. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy^[4] said, "With The Force Awakens, J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy."

In 2018, Trevorrow^[5] said of his relationship with Lucasfilm:

"I don’t want to talk too much about it because I don’t want to affect the way that fans get to see these films. When we were kids, these movies came to us from far away. They were a gift. And the more we talk about how they’re made, the more it reveals that they’re just movies. But they’re not just movies, they’re more than that. Beyond that, I got the opportunity to tell a story that is a celebration of everything I believe in, I got to tell it to George Lucas and I got to tell it to Luke Skywalker, and those are experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Princess Leia's Inclusion

On December 27th, 2016, Star Wars-star Carrie Fisher, who had played Princess Leia in five films and was cast to star in Episode IX, died. Following her death, several media outlets reported that the role would either be recast or the character would be recreated digitally.^[6] Several weeks later, Lucasfilm announced that they would not digitally recreate Leia.^[7]

On July 27th, 2018, Lucasfilm^[8] announced that Carrie Fisher would appear in the film as Princess Leia, using unused footage from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. J.J. Abrams said, "We desperately loved Carrie Fisher. 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, 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."

Two days later, Mark Hamill tweeted, ^[9] "It's bittersweet facing my final chapter without her-She is simply irreplaceable. I'm finding solace in the fact that she won't BE replaced & would love the worldwide outpouring of affection from those who loved her when they heard the news. #CarrieOnForever" The post (shown below) received more than 66,000 retweets and 311,000 likes in 24 hours.

Title Reveal

On April 12th, 2019, at Star Wars Celebration Weekend in Chicago, J.J. Abrams and the cast of Star Wars Episode IX announced that the title of the film is Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. In addition to the cast from the previous two Star Wars films, original trilogy star Billy Dee Williams was announced to be reprising the role of Lando Calrissian and Ian McDiarmid would reprise the role of Emperor Palpatine. A poster for the film was also released that day (shown below).

Reception

Trailer Release

On April 12th, 2019, at the Star Wars Celebration Weekend fan event, director J.J. Abrams revealed the first teaser trailer for the film (shown below). The trailer was simultaneously released on YouTube, where it received more than 400,000 views in less than one hour, and Twitter,^[10] where it received more than 69,000 retweets, 100,000 likes and 2 million views in less than one hour.

Following the trailer's release, fans of the series expressed their excitement for the film online. JoBlo.com editor Paul Shirey tweeted a video of the fan's response from the trailer's live premiere at Star Wars celebration. The post received more than 125 retweets and 300 likes in less than two hours (shown below).

Nothing like that audience reaction to a new Star Wars trailer at #StarWarsCelebration #TheRiseOfSkywalker pic.twitter.com/8EdTZdhSlw

— Paul Shirey (@arcticninjapaul) April 12, 2019

Others remarked on the surprise returns of the characters Princess Leia, Emperor Palpatine and Lando Calrissian (examples below).

That day, the trailer inspired conversation on several subreddits, including /r/movies,^[11] where it received more than 16,000 points (88% upvoted) and 5,200 comments less than one hour, and /r/StarWars,^[12] where it received more than 19,000 points (93% upvoted) and 6,400 comments in one hour.

Search Interest

External References