Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Movie Cast, Plot and Everything to Know

Key Facts

• Director J.J. Abrams, screenwriter Chris Terrio, and Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy went through every Star Wars film to come up with a storyline for The Rise of Skywalker that served as a grand finale but also its own individual film (Star Wars Celebration, 4/12/19).
• The crew includes Dan Mindel (Director of Photography), Rick Carter and Kevin Jenkins (Co-Production Designers), Michael Kaplan (Costume Designer), Neal Scanlan (Creature and Droid FX), Maryann Brandon and Stefan Grube (Editors), Roger Guyett (VFX Supervisor), Tommy Gormley (1st AD), and Victoria Mahoney (2nd Unit Director) (7/27/18).
• Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return with a brand-new score for Episode IX (7/27/18).
• “We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” said director J.J. Abrams. “Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII (7/27/18)."
• Leia Organa, played by Carrie Fisher, will return in Star Wars: Episode IX using previously unreleased footage from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (7/27/18).
• Writer-director Colin Trevorrow (at 2015's D23 Expo) states, “This is not a job or an assignment. It is a seat at a campfire, surrounded by an extraordinary group of storytellers, filmmakers, artists and craftspeople. We’ve been charged with telling new stories for a younger generation because they deserve what we all had -- a mythology to call their own. We will do this by channeling something George Lucas instilled in all of us: boundless creativity, pure invention and hope.”
• Said to focus on a new generation of heroes and could feature appearances by Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher in older incarnations of their beloved characters from the original Star Wars trilogy.