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, , and directed by J. J. Abrams. Produced by Lucasfilm and Bad Robot, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the final 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". Its cast includes Carrie Fisher, 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, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams. The film follows Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron as they lead the remnants of the Resistance in a final stand against Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and the First Order, who are now allied by the resurrected Sith Lord, Emperor Palpatine, Rey's paternal grandfather.
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 returned to compose what would be his final film score for the franchise. 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 net budget of approximately $490.2 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. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $1.077 billion, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2019, but also the lowest-grossing of the sequel trilogy. 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
A year after the Battle of Crait, the resurrected Emperor Palpatine sends a message of revenge to the galaxy. Kylo Ren obtains a Sith wayfinder that leads him to the hidden planet Exegol, where Palpatine reveals himself as the power behind Snoke and the First Order. Palpatine unveils an armada of Star Destroyers and offers it to Ren if he finds and kills Rey, who is continuing her Jedi training under Resistance leader Leia Organa. Poe Dameron, Finn and Chewbacca deliver intelligence from a First Order spy that Palpatine is on Exegol. Rey, Poe, Finn, Chewbacca, , and depart in the Millennium Falcon to the planet Pasaana, where a clue to a wayfinder is hidden.
After initiating a Force bond with Rey to discover her location, Ren 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 programming forbids him from translating—and the remains of a Sith assassin named Ochi and his ship. Rey senses Ren nearby and confronts him while the First Order captures the Falcon, Chewbacca, and the dagger. Attempting to save Chewbacca, Rey accidentally destroys a First Order transport with Force lightning. Believing that Chewbacca is dead, the group departs on Ochi's ship.
The group travels to Kijimi, where the droidsmith Babu Frik extracts the wayfinder's coordinates from memory. Rey senses Chewbacca is in fact alive and aboard Ren's Star Destroyer, so the group stages a rescue with the help of the smuggler Zorii Bliss. Rey recovers the dagger and experiences repressed memories of her parents' deaths. Rey duels with Ren, who reveals that Palpatine is her grandfather. Foreseeing her power, Palpatine had ordered Ochi to find the young Rey, but her parents hid her on Jakku, prompting Ochi to kill them. Meanwhile, the First Order's General Hux saves Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca from execution, revealing himself as the spy. Rey and her friends escape, while Hux is killed by Allegiant General Pryde.
The group follows the wayfinder's coordinates to a moon in the Endor system, where Rey locates the wayfinder in the wreckage of the second Death Star. She is confronted by Ren, who destroys the wayfinder and duels with her. In a dying act, Leia distracts Ren through the Force, and Rey impales him. Sensing Leia's death and overcome by guilt, Rey heals Ren and takes his TIE fighter to exile herself on Ahch-To. Meanwhile, Ren converses with a memory of his father, Han Solo, which motivates him to discard his lightsaber and reclaim his identity as Ben Solo. Palpatine deploys his fleet to draw Rey out and sends a Sith 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 Ben's ship.
Rey transmits her coordinates to R2-D2, allowing the Resistance—now led by Poe and Finn—to follow her to Exegol. She confronts a debilitated Palpatine, who demands that she kill him so his spirit can possess her body. The Resistance attacks Palpatine's forces, 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. Palpatine wounds Ben and attacks the Resistance fleet with Force lightning. The spirits of deceased Jedi Knights reach out to Rey and place their power within her. Using both Luke and Leia's lightsabers, Rey deflects Palpatine's lightning onto him and he is destroyed, but the confrontation exhausts Rey. Ben uses his remaining Force power to revive her, and the two share a kiss before Ben dies. Meanwhile, Lando arrives with reinforcements from across the galaxy and Palpatine's remaining forces are destroyed.
As the Resistance celebrates the fall of the First Order, 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."
Cast
Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, the Force-sensitive leading general of the Resistance. She is Ben Solo's mother, Luke Skywalker's twin sister, and the daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. Fisher, who died in December 2016, appears through the use of repurposed unreleased footage from The Force Awakens. Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi Master, who became one with the Force at the end of The Last Jedi. Adam Driver as Ben Solo / Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader of the First Order, who shares a powerful Force connection with Rey. He is the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo, nephew of Luke Skywalker and grandson of Anakin Skywalker. Daisy Ridley as Rey, a former scavenger from Jakku, Luke and Leia's Jedi apprentice, and the paternal granddaughter of Palpatine. Cailey Fleming and Josefine Irrera Jackson as young Rey. Fleming appears through the use of archive footage from The Force Awakens. John Boyega as Finn, a member of the Resistance and a former stormtrooper (FN-2187) who defected from the First Order. Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, a high-ranking X-wing fighter pilot and commander of the Resistance who later inherits the rank of General from Leia. Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, a humanoid protocol droid in the service of Leia. Naomi Ackie as Jannah, a former stormtrooper of the First Order (TZ-1719) living on the planet Kef Bir, who aids the Resistance. Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, the First Order's third in-command. Richard E. Grant as Allegiant General Pryde, a high-ranking general and second-in-command of the First Order and later commanding officer of a Sith armada, the Final Order, who previously served in the Galactic Empire. Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata, a former space pirate and ally of the Resistance. Keri Russell as Zorii Bliss, an old acquaintance of Poe's from Kijimi. Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, a Wookiee and first mate of the Millennium Falcon. Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, a mechanic in the Resistance and love interest of Finn. Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine, the resurrected Dark Lord of the Sith, shadow leader of the First Order, creator of Snoke, and Rey's paternal grandfather. He serves as the main antagonist of the Skywalker Saga and was previously thought to be conclusively dead after the Battle of Endor depicted in Return of the Jedi (1983). Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, a veteran of the Rebel Alliance, a former owner of the Millennium Falcon, and an old friend of Chewbacca, Leia, Luke, and Han.
Billie Lourd, Greg Grunberg, and Harrison Ford reprise their roles as Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix, Temmin "Snap" Wexley, and Han Solo, respectively. Additionally, Dominic Monaghan portrays Resistance trooper Beaumont Kin, Shirley Henderson voices Babu Frik, and Nick Kellington portrays Klaud via capture performance. Hassan Taj and Lee Towersey perform the role of R2-D2, while Dave Chapman and Brian Herring return as the puppeteers of BB-8, and director J. J. Abrams also provides the voice for D-O. Martin Wilde, Anton Simpson-Tidy, Lukaz Leong, Tom Rodgers, Joe Kennard, and Ashley Beck appear as the Knights of Ren. Amanda Lawrence reprises her role as Commander Larma D'Acy, while Vinette Robinson plays her wife, Pilot Wrobie Tyce.
Billy Howle and Jodie Comer briefly appear as Rey's parents, Dathan and Miramir, while Liam Cook appears as Ochi, the Sith assassin who is responsible for killing Rey's parents to reclaim his ship and for hiding her on Jakku. Tom Wilton and screenwriter Chris Terrio briefly appear as the performer and voice for Aftab Ackbar, the son of Admiral Ackbar, respectively; and Mike Quinn and Kipsang Rotich return as the performer and voice of Nien Nunb, respectively. 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. 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. Actors making reprisal vocal cameos including from other Star Wars media include: Hayden Christensen and James Earl Jones as Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader, Andy Serkis as Snoke, 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. Ed Sheeran, Karl Urban, Dhani Harrison, Nigel Godrich, J. D. Dillard, and Dave Hearn all cameo as stormtroopers.
The Rise of Skywalker marks the final film acting role for voice actor Tom Kane, who was among those providing additional voices, due to his forced retirement following a stroke in November 2020 and his death in May 2026.
Production Development