PLOT

Following a threat of revenge by the revived Emperor Palpatine, Kylo Ren obtains a Sith Wayfinder, leading him to the uncharted planet Exegol. There, he finds Palpatine, who reveals that he created Snoke as a puppet to control the First Order and lure Kylo to the dark side. Palpatine unveils the Final Order—a secret armada of Star Destroyers—and tells Kylo to find and kill Rey, who is continuing her Jedi training under Resistance leader Leia Organa. Finn and Poe Dameron deliver intelligence from a spy that Palpatine is on Exegol; Rey has learned from 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 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 the help of Lando Calrissian, 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 Jedi hunter named Ochi and his ship. Rey senses Kylo nearby, and faces him. 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 Chewbacca to be dead, the group escapes on Ochi's ship.

The group travels to Kijimi, where a droidsmith extracts the Sith text from C-3PO's memory, revealing coordinates to a Wayfinder. Rey senses Chewbacca is alive, and the group mounts a rescue mission to Kylo's Star Destroyer. Rey recovers the dagger and has visions of Ochi killing her parents with it. Kylo informs her that she is Palpatine's granddaughter; the Sith Lord had ordered Ochi to recover Rey as a child, but her parents hid her on Jakku to protect her. General Hux saves Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca from execution, revealing himself as the spy. He permits the group to escape on the Falcon, but is discovered and killed by Allegiant General Pryde. The group flies the Falcon to the Wayfinder's coordinates on a moon in the Endor system.

Rey retrieves the Wayfinder from the remains of the second Death Star, but she is met by Kylo, who destroys the Wayfinder and duels her. In a dying act, Leia calls to Kylo through the Force, distracting him as Rey impales him. Sensing Leia's death, Rey heals Kylo and takes his ship to exile herself on Ahch-To. There, 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 Kylo's ship. Meanwhile, Kylo converses with a memory of his father, Han Solo; he throws away his lightsaber and reclaims his identity as Ben Solo. Sensing Leia's death and Ben's redemption, Palpatine sends one of his superlaser-equipped Star Destroyers to destroy Kijimi as a show of force.

The Resistance, led by Poe and Finn, prepare to attack Palpatine's armada. Rey transmits her coordinates to R2-D2, allowing the Resistance to follow her to Exegol. There, she confronts Palpatine; he demands that she kill him for his spirit to pass into her. Lando brings reinforcements from across the galaxy to join the battle. Ben overpowers the Knights of Ren and joins Rey, but Palpatine drains their power to rejuvenate himself. He incapacitates Ben and attacks the Resistance fleet with Force lightning. Weakened, Rey hears the voices of past Jedi, who lend her their strength. Palpatine attacks her with lightning, but Rey deflects it using Luke and Leia's lightsabers,[c] killing Palpatine before dying herself. Ben uses the Force to revive her at the cost of his own life; Rey kisses Ben before he dies. The Resistance defeats Palpatine's armada, while people across the galaxy rise up against the First Order. The Resistance returns to their base to celebrate.

After the celebration, Rey visits Luke's abandoned childhood home on Tatooine and buries his and Leia's lightsabers, having built her own. A passerby asks her name; as the spirits of Luke and Leia watch, she replies, "Rey Skywalker".

CAST

Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa,

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker

Adam Driver as Ben Solo / Kylo Ren

Daisy Ridley as Rey

Cailey Fleming and Josefine Irrera Jackson as Young Rey

John Boyega as Finn

Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron

Anthony Daniels as C-3PO

Naomi Ackie as Jannah

Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux

Richard E. Grant as Allegiant General Pryde,

Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata

Keri Russell as Zorii Bliss

Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca

Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico

Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine

Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian

Billie Lourd, Greg Grunberg, and Harrison Ford reprise their roles as Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix, Temmin "Snap" Wexley, and Han Solo, respectively; Ford was uncredited for his role. Additionally, Dominic Monaghan portrays Resistance trooper Beaumont Kin, and Shirley Henderson voices Babu Frik in multiple languages. Hassan Taj and Lee Towersey perform the role of R2-D2 ,Dave Chapman and Brian Herring return as the puppeteers of BB-8. Director J. J. Abrams also provides the voice for D-O. Nick Kellington returns as the creature performance of Klaud. Martin Wilde, Anton Simpson-Tidy, Lukaz Leong, Tom Rodgers, Joe Kennard, and Ashley Beck appear as the Knights of Ren. Amanda Lawrence reprises her role as Commander Larma D’Acy, while Vinette Robinson plays her wife, Pilot Wrobie Tyce.

Jodie Comer and Billy Howle briefly appear as Rey's mother and father, respectively. Mike Quinn and Kipsang Rotich return as the performer and voice of Nien Nunb, respectively. Denis Lawson and Warwick Davis briefly reprise their roles as Wedge Antilles, a veteran of the Rebel Alliance; and Wicket W. Warrick, the leader of the Ewoks, respectively. Tom Wilton and screenwriter Chris Terrio briefly appear as the performer and voice for Aftab Ackbar, the son of Admiral Ackbar, respectively. Composer John Williams cameos as Oma Tres, a Kijimi bartender, Kevin Smith cameos as a Kijimi inhabitant, and Abrams' frequent composer collaborator Michael Giacchino cameos as a Sith Trooper, while Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeff Garlin both cameo as human and alien Resistance troopers, respectively. Actors making reprisal vocal cameos include: James Earl Jones as Darth Vader, Andy Serkis as Snoke, and the voices of several past Jedi, including Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi (the latter via digitally altered archive audio), Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Freddie Prinze Jr. as Kanan Jarrus, Olivia d'Abo as Luminara Unduli, Frank Oz as Yoda, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, Jennifer Hale as Aayla Secura, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, and Angelique Perrin as Adi Gallia. Ed Sheeran, Karl Urban, Dhani Harrison, Nigel Godrich, J. D. Dillard, and Dave Hearn all cameo as stormtroopers.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

also known as Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

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"