Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (also known as Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker) is an upcoming American epic space-opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. It is scheduled to be released on December 20, 2019 in the US. The film will be the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following The Force Awakens (2015)—which Abrams also directed—and The Last Jedi (2017). It will be the ninth and final episode of the Skywalker saga.

The film is being produced by Lucasfilm and Abrams' production company Bad Robot Productions and will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film's ensemble cast includes Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams and Ian McDiarmid; the latter two return to the franchise onscreen for the first time since 1983's Return of the Jedi and 2005's Revenge of the Sith, respectively. Principal photography began in August 2018 at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England and wrapped in February 2019.

Premise
The remnants of the Resistance face the First Order once again—while reckoning with the past and their own inner turmoil. Meanwhile, the millennia-long struggle between the Jedi (of which Rey is the last known member) and the Sith reaches its climax —altogether bringing the Skywalker saga to a definitive end.

Cast

 * Daisy Ridley as Rey : An orphaned woman from Jakku who is the last Jedi apprentice of Luke Skywalker
 * Adam Driver as Kylo Ren: The Supreme Leader of the First Order, Master of the Knights of Ren, the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo, nephew of Luke Skywalker, and the grandson of Darth Vader
 * John Boyega as Finn : A stormtrooper of the First Order who has defected to the Resistance
 * Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron : A high-ranking X-wing fighter pilot and commander of the Resistance
 * Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata: A former space pirate and ally of the Resistance
 * Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux: The First Order's second-in-command and former commander of Starkiller Base
 * Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico: A mechanic in the Resistance
 * Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca: A Wookiee and first mate of the Millennium Falcon
 * Billie Lourd as Lieutenant Connix: An officer in the Resistance
 * Naomi Ackie as Jannah
 * Richard E. Grant as Allegiant General Pryde: A high-ranking general in the First Order
 * Keri Russell as Zorri Bliss
 * Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker: The last Jedi Master, who vanished in The Last Jedi
 * Anthony Daniels as C-3PO: A humanoid protocol droid in the service of General Leia Organa
 * Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian : A veteran of the Rebel Alliance and old friend of Han Solo
 * Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa : The Force-sensitive leading general of the Resistance and Luke's sister
 * Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine / Darth Sidious: The former emperor of the galaxy and Dark Lord of the Sith who seemingly died in Return of the Jedi
 * Dominic Monaghan

Additionally, Brian Herring returns as the puppeteer of BB-8, and Jimmy Vee and Greg Grunberg reprise their roles as R2-D2 and Temmin "Snap" Wexley, respectively.

Development
In October 2012, Star Wars creator George Lucas sold his production company Lucasfilm, and with it the Star Wars franchise, to The Walt Disney Company. Disney subsequently announced the Star Wars sequel trilogy. In June 2014, it was announced that Rian Johnson, writer and director of The Last Jedi, would write a story treatment for Episode IX. In August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of the film; he was to write the script with frequent collaborator Derek Connolly. In April 2017, Johnson stated that he was not involved in writing the film. In February 2016, Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger confirmed that pre-production on Episode IX had begun. In late April 2017, Disney announced that the film would be released on May 24, 2019. A month later, filming was expected to begin in January 2018, but this was later pushed back to August.

In August 2017, it was announced that Jack Thorne would rewrite the script. On September 5, 2017, Lucasfilm stated that Trevorrow had left the production following creative differences. The Hollywood Reporter reported that his working relationship with Kathleen Kennedy had become unmanageable after failing to deliver a satisfactory script, despite writing several drafts. Johnson was rumored as the top choice to replace Trevorrow as director, but stated "it was never in the plan for me to direct Episode IX." The next day, it was announced that J. J. Abrams, the director of The Force Awakens, would return to direct the film, and that the film's release date would be moved to December 20, 2019. The story team met with George Lucas before writing the new script, which Abrams co-wrote with Chris Terrio. The film is being produced by Abrams' company Bad Robot Productions, Kathleen Kennedy, and Michelle Rejwan.

Before filming, Episode IX was initially given the working title Black Diamond, which was then changed to Trixie. The title, The Rise of Skywalker, was announced at April 2019's Star Wars Celebration in Chicago.

Casting
Carrie Fisher, who played Leia Organa, died in 2016. Variety and Reuters reported that she had been planned for a key role in The Rise of Skywalker. In January 2017, Lucasfilm stated that there were no plans to digitally generate Fisher's performance as they had for Rogue One. 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. However, a week later, Kathleen Kennedy stated that Fisher would not appear in the film. In July 2018, J. J. Abrams announced that unused footage of Fisher from The Force Awakens would be used to help complete the story. A week later, it was revealed that unseen footage from The Last Jedi would also be used. 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."

In July 2018, Keri Russell was in talks to play a part for some "action-heavy fight scenes", along with the long-awaited confirmation that Billy Dee Williams will return as Lando Calrissian. At the end of the month, Russell was confirmed to have been cast, along with the announcement of returning and additional new cast members. In late August, Deadline Hollywood announced that Dominic Monaghan and Matt Smith had been cast in unspecified roles, but Smith later denied his involvement. Jimmy Vee and Greg Grunberg reprise their roles as R2-D2 and Temmin "Snap" Wexley, respectively. Brian Herring returns to puppeteer BB-8.

At Star Wars Celebration in April 2019, it was revealed that Ian McDiarmid will return to portray Palpatine. Since Celebration was held after principal photography wrapped, J. J. Abrams was thrilled that news of McDiarmid on the set never leaked.

Filming
Principal photography began on August 1, 2018, at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Filming was also done in Wadi Rum, Jordan. Oscar Isaac stated that Abrams was allowing more improvised acting than in the previous two films. On January 28, 2019, Anthony Daniels finished filming for his role as C-3PO in the film. Principal photography wrapped on February 15, 2019. Footage from the film was shown at The Walt Disney Company's annual shareholders meeting on March 7, 2019.

Visual effects
The visual effects will be provided by Industrial Light & Magic and supervised by Roger Guyett.

Music
In July 2013, Kennedy announced at Star Wars Celebration Europe that John Williams would return to score the Star Wars sequel trilogy. On January 10, 2018, it was reported that Williams would return to compose and conduct The Rise of Skywalker. The next month, Williams announced that it would be the last Star Wars film for which he would compose the score.

Marketing
Though Abrams has stayed silent about many details of the film, he has expressed his hopes that audiences will be "satisfied." He headed a panel dedicated to the film on April 12, 2019 during Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, Illinois, where the film's title was revealed via the first trailer, and new images were shown. The trailer was viewed 111 million times in the first 24 hours of its release, which was 20 million more views than the teaser for The Last Jedi and more than double that of The Force Awakens.

A publishing campaign titled "Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" was announced on May 4, 2019 (Star Wars Day). It will include the novel Resistance Reborn, set between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, and various other titles.

Release
The Rise of Skywalker will be released on December 20, 2019 in the United States. It was originally planned to be released on May 24 before being pushed back.