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 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". 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, composer for the previous episodic films, returned to compose the score, making it his final 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 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 his armada of Star Destroyers and offers it to Kylo if he finds and kills 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. Rey senses Kylo 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 escapes on Ochi's ship.

They travel to Kijimi, where the droidsmith Babu Frik extracts the wayfinder's coordinates from C-3PO's memory. Rey senses Chewbacca is in fact alive and aboard Kylo's Star Destroyer, so the group stages a rescue with the smuggler Zorii Bliss' help. Rey recovers the dagger but experiences repressed memories of her parents' deaths. Rey duels Kylo, who reveals that Palpatine is her paternal 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. 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 flies the Falcon to the wayfinder's coordinates on a moon in the Endor system.

They encounter renegade stormtroopers led by Jannah, whom they recruit to the Resistance. Rey retrieves the wayfinder from the wreckage of the second Death Star, but is confronted 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. 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, where she confronts Palpatine. Debilitated, he demands that she kill him in anger 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. Lando arrives with reinforcements from across the galaxy, including Zorii. Palpatine fatally wounds Ben and attacks the Resistance fleet with Force lightning. Rey hears the voices of past Jedi, who give her strength. Using Luke and Leia's lightsabers, Rey deflects Palpatine's lightning and kills him before dying herself. Ben uses his remaining Force power to revive Rey and they kiss as he dies. The Resistance destroys Palpatine's remaining forces, while people across the galaxy rise up against the First Order.

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 with her full name, Rey Skywalker.