“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is almost here. It’ll hit theaters everywhere on Friday.
Anticipation continues to build for the new film. The trailers have offered few details about what to expect from the plot.
We know that Rey (Daisy Ridley) will battle with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) over ... something ... with lightsabers. Twice, by the looks of it.
We know Rey, Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) go ... somewhere. General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher) is around. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) will be a Force ghost. Emperor Palpatine is doing something, something dark side. The Millennium Falcon will fly. Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) will shout happily. There will be red stormtroopers.
So yeah, we don’t know a lot about what’s going to happen.
Of course, some fans know exactly what’s going to happen in “The Rise of Skywalker.” There have reportedly been some leaks on the internet about the plot. Unconfirmed reports on the plot have slammed the film, saying it’s one of the worst of the new trilogy of “Star Wars” films. Still, director J.J. Abrams said there hasn’t been any test screenings — which could be a good or a bad thing.
There is so much hype around this film. It represents the end of an era of the Skywalker Saga. It represents the final moment for several of these epic “Star Wars” characters. Another generation’s story will come to an end.
It’s only fitting that we outline our nine biggest predictions for the film, since this is the ninth episode in the Skywalker Saga.
I haven’t seen “The Rise of Skywalker” — and I won’t see it until Dec. 19, which is well after the media screenings happen.
So, with that, I will unveil my nine, spoiler-free predictions for “The Rise of Skywalker.” As a warning, these predictions could end up being true if I have some luck on my side, so, be wary. If you want to avoid any possibility of a spoiler, move on to another article.
Without further ado, here are my predictions. And yes, I leaned toward the more outrageous side since it’s never fun to play it safe.
Emperor Palpatine isn’t back.
All signs point toward Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) returning to the “Star Wars” universe. He was unveiled at the Star Wars Celebration 2019 event. Emperor Palpatine’s cackle can be heard in several trailers. Phrases such as “Long have I waited” and “Your coming together will be your undoing” linger throughout promotional television spots and teasers for the new movie.
And yet ... we haven’t seen any glimpse of Palpatine yet. Maybe they’re waiting to unveil him in the film, deciding it will be a big reveal for the movie. But there’s a lingering suspicion from that me that Emperor Palpatine won’t be back in his true form.
For one, it’ll be incredibly hard to explain how Palpatine — who was literally thrown down a shaft at the top of the Second Death Star — would come back to life. Did he have clones? Was his DNA used on someone else? Are there just audio recordings?
There’s no question Palpatine will play a role in the film. There’s been too much marketing with his voice and face for there not to be a reference to him. My prediction is that Palpatine will have saved voice recordings of the future that will be heard in the film. We won’t see a physical Palpatine. We’ll hear him and feel his influence. But he won’t actually return.
Snoke will play a role
One of the more interesting questions that “Rise of Skywalker” will need to deal with is — why does Snoke matter?
Supreme Leader Snoke was an epic character from his introduction in “The Force Awakens.” His legend fizzled out though with his death in “The Last Jedi.” Maybe he was never meant to be a major villain. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to be as powerful as the emperor. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said plans always existed to make Emperor Palpatine the bad guy of the film.
So ... what does that mean for Snoke.
Snoke will play a role in this film. We’ll learn more about how he came to power and, more importantly, why he was in power. We’ll learn what purpose he served, why he was given control of the First Order and what his death means for Palpatine’s plan.
Rey is a clone. Dark Rey is a clone.
Clones, clones, clones. “Star Wars” is rooted in the idea of clones influencing the story. “A New Hope” mentions the Clone Wars from the beginning. An entire movie — “Attack of the Clones” — and television show — “The Clone Wars” — are dedicated to the clone idea.
So who’s to say that Rey won’t be influenced by clones? We don’t know her parents. Kylo Ren said in “The Last Jedi” that her parents were nobodies, after all. Her origins seem unknown. Hints from directors and people within the film suggest that we’ll get a satisfying answer to who her parents are.
But maybe there’s a meeting in the middle. Maybe her parents were nobody — but she was cloned. Maybe she was a clone who was adopted by drunken gamblers who traded her for fuel. Maybe she was a nobody ... but she is still somebody.
And, because of this, Rey will be confronted with Dark Rey, who was briefly seen in trailers with a double-bladed red lightsaber. So maybe Rey doesn’t turn to the dark side. Maybe she’s just facing another version of herself.
Ben Solo became Kylo Ren to stop the dark side at the request of Anakin Skywalker
This isn’t a unique prediction or theory. But I’m going to dive right in and accept it as one of my predictions for the new movie.
Kylo Ren seems conflicted throughout “The Force Awakens” and “The Last Jedi.” He seems oddly dead set on going after Rey and trying to stop her. He wants to be the ultimate Force user in the galaxy and doesn’t need someone like Rey trying to stop him.
I predict we will learn that Ben Solo was told by Anakin Skywalker that evil would rise again through Rey — which is nuanced since, as you read above, I predict Rey will turn out to be a clone. So, he committed to the dark side to destroy the dark side of the Force from within. He accepted the darkness to take it down. He could be the final Sith, and thus end it all, just as his grandfather would have wanted.
Kylo Ren did say he would finish what his father started, after all.
We will never learn Rey’s parents
This plays off an earlier prediction that I made in this piece. Let’s assume that Rey ends up being a clone. Her DNA is made up of some mega Force user — Skywalker? Kenobi? Palpatine — but she was adopted by nobodies. She lived with randoms until she was dropped off on Jakku.
We won’t ever learn who those parents were. We’ll learn whose DNA is used for cloning. But we won’t ever figure out who raised her and who helped her grow up. Those characters won’t matter.
Letting things play out in this way will allow for canon in “The Last Jedi” to exist while also giving a satisfying answer to her parentage and lineage.
Captain Phasma is alive
We saw Captain Phasma pushed down a shaft and fall into the abyss. But there’s no way she’s done with the trilogy. She’s definitely coming back.
Phasma was hyped up as one of the more epic characters of the sequel trilogy. She was believed to be one of the major villains for “The Force Awakens.” She had plenty of merchandise. Her own book. She was featured prominently almost everywhere.
She went out a little too easily, though. Killed in her prime? Killed before she did anything important? There’s no way her arc with Finn ends like that. She will return in a big, twist kind of way that we won’t see coming.
We will visit Tatooine
There’s no way we don’t revisit the planet that started it all. The trailers suggest we’ll be hitting a desert planet early in the film. But it’s unclear if that planet is Tatooine or something different.
But it’d be surprising if “The Rise of Skywalker” didn’t take us back to the origin planet, which has appeared in each of the three trilogies (and “The Mandalorian”). It is the birth spot of Anakin Skywalker. It’s where Luke Skywalker was raised from a young age. So many meaningful moments in the “Star Wars” franchise — specifically the Skywalker Saga — happened there.
We may not spend too much time there. But each of the previous two “Star Wars” trilogies had Tatooine in their third film. It’s only right that we go back for one last ride.
It will be better than “The Force Awakens” but worse than “The Last Jedi”
Reviews will be interesting to watch with “The Rise of Skywalker.” There are a lot of questions about whether or not director Abrams will land the ending since he has a mixed history of answering questions in his stories and telling a good ending.
“Rise of Skywalker” will rank ahead of “The Force Awakens” — a film that won’t age well since many will see it as “A New Hope” redux. But it will rank slightly under “The Last Jedi,” which has received mixed reviews as well.
Years from now, fans won’t hate on “Rise of Skywalker.” They’ll enjoy it. But will it be the franchise-altering, epic film that put an amazing stamp on the “Star Wars” franchise? Nope.
Luke Skywalker will appear with Anakin Skywalker
We learned earlier this year that Luke Skywalker will appear in “The Rise of Skywalker” as a Force Ghost. That’s at least according to Mark Hamill, who is known for his sly ways and trickery. But let’s assume that we will see Luke as a Force Ghost. Let’s assume he’ll appear covered in a blue hue.
There’s a good chance that he will stand alongside his father, Anakin Skywalker, who became a Force Ghost at the end of “Return of the Jedi.” It’d be a fitting way to close the book on the series — show Anakin and Luke together as Force Ghosts.
Heck, even if it’s not at the end of the movie, think about how epic it would be to have Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) chat with his son Luke about the dark side and the Force? Woof. We need that scene.