While at a panel during Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, Lucasfilm dropped the first teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode IX. You can check out the full teaser trailer down below:
As you saw from the teaser, Episode IX will be titled The Rise of Skywalker. A mysterious title for sure as the only remaining Skywalkers are Leia and Kylo Ren. With Rian Johnson giving Episode IX director JJ Abrams his blessing to retcon Rey’s lineage from The Last Jedi, fans could look at this title as a possible hint that Abrams will reveal Rey to be a secret Skywalker. However, the title could also just be alluding to Kylo Ren’s meteoric rise to the head of the First Order. This is Star Wars though. There’s no way that people will look too much into this. Right?
A title reveal would have been great by itself but Lucasfilm did release a trailer as well. Just like JJ Abrams stated, it looks like some time has passed between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Rey, Poe, Finn, Kylo Ren, and BB-8 are all featured throughout with short appearances from General Leia and Lando Calrissian. Although it will always be awesome to see Billy Dee Williams and the late Carrie Fisher on the silver screen, the terrifying yet familiar laugh will be the main talking point among fans.
After Luke claims that “No one is ever really gone”, the laugh of Emperor Palpatine is heard as we get our title reveal. It’ll be interesting how JJ Abrams uses Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker. Is it a flashback or a hallucination of some sorts? Possibly. Could the Emperor return from the grave somehow? It’s Star Wars, one of the most popular pieces of sci-fi ever created. So, anything is possible there.
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker will hit theaters on December 20th, 2019.
UPDATE:
Along with the trailer and title announcements, Lucasfilm also revealed the official poster for Star Wars Episode IX:
Check out the brand-new poster for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. pic.twitter.com/EcKAKARIKM
— Star Wars (@starwars) April 12, 2019
