The Star Wars franchise is something that most of us have grown up with, whether you’re a fan or not, it’s hard to deny its place in pop culture over the past few decades. With the first film, Episode IV – A New Hope being released in 1977, there’s a sense of sadness surrounding the release of new film Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker as it marks the end of the “Skywalker saga”.
The film series has focused on a trilogy of trilogies, with the original three being the middle part and the subsequent releases being prequel and sequel trilogies respectively. Each of the trilogies focuses on a member of the Skywalker family, hence the “Skywalker saga”. The original trilogy introduced us to Luke Skywalker, with the prequel trilogy focused on his father Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and the newest instalment centres on Kylo Ren who is Anakin’s grandson and Luke’s nephew.
Star Wars has introduced us to so many beloved characters, the actors/actresses that played them and some storylines that will never be forgotten, with “No, I am your Father” still being one of the most unexpected cinematic plot twists ever. With the release of The Rise of Skywalker, audiences will get to say goodbye the franchise as they know it.
Very little has been released regarding the plot of the actual film, however it is confirmed that the central cast of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac will be returning to play their characters Rey, Finn and Poe. Carrie Fisher who played fan favourite Princess Leia, passed away just after filming Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, but it was announced in July 2018 that Fisher would appear posthumously in the last film via unreleased footage from the two previous films.
Chairman of the Walt Disney Company Bob Iger, told fans in an interview with Bloomberg that “There will be other Star Wars movies, but again… there will be a bit of a hiatus.” However these new movies are planned to introduce an abundance of new characters, not being focused on the current ones. For fans who can’t wait that long, the studio’s new streaming service Disney + is offering new Star Wars material in the shape of two new live action shows.
The first being The Mandalorian, with Writer and Producer Jon Favreau teasing the shows synopsis, “The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic . . . . ”. The second is a Rogue One prequel spin off series which is set to see Diego Luna reprise his role of Cassian Andor.
For the time being, fans will have to wait until the highly anticipated release of The Rise of Skywalker, in cinemas from December 20.
Sub-edited by Natacha Andueza
Featured image by Lucasfilm Ltd. under Wikimedia Commons
Image by Sam Howzit under the Creative Commons License
