?is still four?months away, but with a trailer,?magazine spreads, and a big showing at the D23 expo in August, the film?is feeling much closer to release. And the story and characters are starting to come into focus. From early publicity for the film and the new revelations at D23 – WHAT is Rey doing with that red double-bladed lightsaber!? – we already know a decent amount aboutThe Rise of Skywalker, which will conclude the trilogy that began with J.J. Abrams’?The Force Awakens?in 2015. So let’s take a look at what we know and what it could potentially mean for the finished film. After all, the title itself offers a strange mystery: which Skywalker will rise after all this time?Star Wars: The Rise of SkywalkerVanity Fair

Up until,Star Warssequels traditionally took place 2-3 years after the preceding film (took place 10 years after).TLJeschewed the tradition by setting itself shortly after. As a result, the usual off-screen character building did not occur. This time around, Lucasfilm is making it clearTLJandThe Rise of Skywalkertake place further apart from each other; about a year or so. In that time, the Resistance has regrouped with Poe Dameron () getting accustomed to a leadership role, Finn () dedicating himself to the cause, and Rey () continuing her training in the Jedi arts.Star Wars:The Last JediStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the ClonesStar Wars: Episode I — The Phantom MenaceStar Wars: The Force AwakensOscar IsaacJohn BoyegaDaisy Ridley

And yeah, that last one certainly sounds surprising, doesn’t it?

To an extent, all three characters will have a newfound confidence as they’ve come to understand their place in the universe and what it means to fight the First Order. Since this is the final episode of not only the thirdStar Warstrilogy, but of the nine-film cycle first teased by creatorin the early 1980s, we’re going to presume they succeed in crushing the First Order and whatever Imperial remnant keeping it reinforced. At the same time, the characters face a greater challenge in helping to found some sort of galactic government which will last more than 20 years before a group aligned with the Dark Side can topple it. How directorcould make that element interesting is anyone’s guess.George LucasJ.J. Abrams

Although theStar WarsSequel Trilogy was meant to showcase three different directors as they resolved the Skywalker Saga,The Rise of Skywalkerwent through a troubled pre-production phase.’swas originally signed to pick up the story after’sThe Last Jedi, but shortly before he was set to begin fully developing the film, Lucasfilm fired him. As always, “creative differences” were to blame. The search began anew for someone who could wrap the series up and do it to Lucasfilm’s specifications. And once again, they turned to Abrams, who infamously turned down the opportunity to directThe Force Awakenswhen it was first given to him.Jurassic WorldColin TrevorrowRian Johnson

This time around, though, Abrams said he felt a certain freedom to expand beyondStar Warsstorytelling grammar into something new. His comments suggest he listened to critics who mentionedThe Force Awakensfelt a little too much like the originalStar Wars. Presumably, this means the series will not end with a rag-tag group of fighter aces launching an attack against a Death Star the size of a solar system. Which isn’t to say the Death Star will be absent from the film. The trailer offered fans a glimpse of wreckage from one of the destroyed Original Trilogy battle stations peacefully resting on an unknown planet.

That shot, and Abrams’ comments, suggests he picked up some ofTLJ’s “let’s blow upStar Wars!” attitude, even if the film includes the series’?thirddesert planet.

Instead of Tatooine or Jakku, the desert world seen in the first trailer is called Pasanna, which now suggests desert planets are fairly common in theStar Warsgalaxy. Another environment to be featured is a planet of ice and snow called Kijimi, where viewers will meet’s scoundrel character Zorri Bliss.?At the D23 Walt Disney Studio presentation in August, Russell teased Zorri as “cool and shady,” before adding she is “an old friend of Poe’s.” Make your own guesses about what that means.Keri Russel

Other new characters include a new droid called D-0,as First Order Allegiant General Pryde,as Jannah — a character still shrouded in secrecy despite Ackie’s appearance at Star Wars Celebration — and the Aki-Aki, inhabitants of Pasanna.Richard E. GrantNamoi Ackie

The film will also feature the long-delayed debut of the Knights of Ren. Despite getting a big tease inThe Force Awakens, the group did very little besides stand in the rain during Rey’s lightsaber flashback. Or was it a flash-forward? Either way, they will be part of her present situation inThe Rise of Skywalker. Curiously, though, it is unclear if they will be taking orders from Kylo Ren () or working to dethrone him as Supreme Leader of the First Order. And considering their absence from the story so far, were they ever really his disciples – as suggested inThe Force AwakensandStar Wars: The Last Jedi– or do they serve a older, darker evil. The trailer released during Star Wars Celebration featured the distinctive laugh of Sheev Palpatine (), which leaves us wondering if they are part of his latest phantom menace?Adam DriverIan McDiarmid

Taking another look at the environments revealed so far – a desert world and a winter world – you might make the fair assumptionThe Rise of Skywalkermight go to a forest world and complete a tour of classicStar Warsenvironments. One shot in the trailer even sees Kylo facing off against foes in a patch of dead trees. Some believe the story will take the characters back to the forest moon of Endor, where Palaptine’s first master plan was undone by a Jedi with incomplete training. Considering the film’s position as the grand finale, it seems reasonable to take things back to that first ending. But we’d also like the spirit of new ideas to prevail and see the final conflict take place in a new, as-yet-unrevealed setting.

And while the film has to create new locales and characters, it also has to wrap up some longstanding plot threads. Reportedly, the origin of the First Order will be revealed. For those who remember the Thrawn Trilogy of novels or the 1990sDark Empirecomic book series, Palpatine’s involvement in those events seems almost assured. And inStar Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, he told Anakin () he was looking for a way to cheat death. Maybe he found it.Hayden Christensen

Meanwhile, the connection Rey seemingly severed with Kylo at the end ofThe Last Jediwill reportedly turn out to be deeper than that film suggested. Fans of theStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicgames already noted the similarity between the characters’ connection and the idea of Force Bonds introduced in those games. Is it possible their bond will yet redeem Kylo and end the misery Palpatine inflicted on the galaxy? Considering the film promises to be the end of the conflict between the Jedi and the Sith going back millennia, we’re willing to bet on it.

Then again, new material shown at D23 suggests something else. Quick cuts teased a resupplied and reinforced Resistance, a red-eyed C-3PO and, perhaps most disturbingly, Rey brandishing a double-sided red lightsaber. Considering she trained with a staff back on Jakku, the lightsaber variation makes sense. But the red blades suggests the Sith may finally win. Or, perhaps, she will have to fall in order for the Skywalker to rise.

Or, it was just an excellent fake-out for the D23 audience. Either way, the final chapter in the Skywalker Saga will not be a simple retelling ofReturn of the Jedi.

The film will see the return of,, andin their roles as General Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Lando Calrissian. Despite Fisher’s tragic death on December 27, 2016, Lucasfilm resolved to maintain Leia’s existence in the ninth film even before Abrams signed on to direct. Once he did, he recalled scenes cut fromThe Force Awakenshe could use to feature the character inThe Rise of Skywalker. At Star Wars Celebration, he said editing her material into a new context felt like working with her again.?And at D23, Abrams called Leia “the heart of the story.”Carrie FisherMark HamillBilly Dee Williams

Lando, meanwhile, returns to pilot theMillennium Falcononce again after he flew the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy to defeat the Empire in. It is unclearwhyhe’s back, but we’re happy to see him no matter the reason.Return of the Jedi

And then there’s Luke. Though the character was seen dying inThe Last Jedi, it is important to note the special Force ability allowing certain Jedi to remain conscious entities after the termination of the body. As Yoda put it in, Force-sensitives are “luminous beings” and not the “crude matter” of a physical form. And as revealed in, Qui-Gon Jinn () was the first Jedi to return using this technique. That Luke would return in this manner to train Rey or advise Leia is hardly a surprise. What may be more surprising is the single photo of him released so far: seemingly corporeal, he stands next to R2-D2 amid a field in flames.The Empire Strikes BackRevenge of the SithLiam Neeson

The notion of a Jedi returning bodily to face the ultimate evil is not the craziest idea ever suggested in aStar Warsstory. Early drafts ofReturn of the Jedifeatured Anakin Skywalker returning to his human form to face Darth Vader and the Emperor. This, of course, predates the decision to make Anakin and Vader the same person, but the idea persisted for some time. It never came to pass forJedi, but perhaps Abrams finally employed the idea for this final Skywalker Saga film.

Offering the film one more sense of finality, composer John Williams stated in 2018 that?it would feature his lastStar Warsfilm score. If he truly decides to step down – Williams subsequently agreed to compose a music loop for the Disney Parks’ Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge environments – it will mark the end of an incredible era. Williams’ themes are as indelible as classic lines like “I have a bad feeling about this,” lightsabers, and the jump to hyperspace. Though composers like Kevin Kiner (ofand) and Michael Giacchino (of) maintained the musical grammar developed by Williams, every subsequent film from 2019 onward will be different. And should the film truly bring the Skywalker saga to a close, it is all the more fitting that Episode IX be the composer’s final bow.Star Wars: The Clone WarsStar Wars RebelsRogue One: A Star Wars Story

Unless, of course, he’s still with us when Disney breaks down and begins developing of Episode X.

opens everywhere on December 20, 2019.Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

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