Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. News

The Rise of Skywalker is the next Star Wars movie, watch the first teaser here

By

The annual Star Wars Celebration fan event kicked off in Chicago over the weekend, with Friday’s highly anticipated panel for Star Wars: Episode IX revealing the first trailer for the film and its official title.

Every generation has a legend. Watch the brand-new teaser for Star Wars: #EpisodeIX. pic.twitter.com/fWMS13ekdZ

— Star Wars (@starwars) April 12, 2019

Along with delivering the first footage from the film, the title was revealed to be Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.

Recommended Videos

The highly trailer concludes with the sound of a cackle that should be familiar to Star Wars fans — the voice of Emperor Palpatine, the villain whose presence spanned nearly every film prior to Episode VII – The Force Awakens. Presumed dead at the end of Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Palpatine will apparently return in The Rise of Skywalker, as confirmed by a surprise appearance by actor Ian McDiarmid on the event’s stage after the trailer debuted.

Related

The extent of Palpatine’s involvement in The Rise of Skywalker remains unknown, of course, but the revelation of his return caused no small amount of buzz in Star Wars fandom.

More Star Wars News

The Rise of Skywalker panel was hosted by late-night talk-show host Stephen Colbert — a well-documented fan of the sci-fi saga — and was attended by Star Wars cast and creative teams past and present. As usual with Star Wars events, details beyond what was revealed in the footage were hard to come by, despite near-constant needling from Colbert.

One thing that was confirmed early on, however, is that The Rise of Skywalker does not pick up immediately after the events of Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, and unfolds an unspecified period of time after the climactic events of the prior film. The panel also hosted a variety of first looks at some of the characters appearing in the film, including new addition Jannah, portrayed by Naomi Ackie.

Among the guests in attendance at the panel who helped to introduce the trailer were director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, as well as original franchise veterans Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) and Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian). Modern trilogy stars Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe), and Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca) were also present, along with Rise of Skywalker newcomer Ackie.

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker will hit theaters December 20.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Rick Marshall
Rick Marshall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
10 surprising facts about Star Wars you didn’t know
Han Solo points at himself in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Thanks to its status as one of the most popular franchises in the history of movies, Star Wars has a hoard of fans that rivals any out there.

It's also got plenty of trivia that has accumulated for decades, and if you're someone who digs deep on everything from Star Wars shows to even the Star Wars movies that don't happen, then you might be interested in some of the facts we've assembled here. Here are 10 facts about the mega-franchise that may surprise even some major fans.
Obi-Wan was supposed to survive

Read more
The Holdovers is the next great Christmas movie classic. Here’s why you should watch it
Three people sit at a table in The Holdovers.

THE HOLDOVERS - Official Trailer [HD] - In Select Theaters October 27, Everywhere November 10

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that is perfect to watch for that particular time. In 2021, that movie was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which brought everyone back to theaters after a too-long pandemic. Last year, audiences slowly discovered The Menu, a dark satire that strongly advocated for the elimination of the 1% to cure society's ills. This year, it's ...Wonka, the Timothée Chalamet musical?!? I kid; the 2023 movie that should be watched right now is The Holdovers, a shaggy underdog story with just the right balance of sentiment and cynicism.

Read more
5 sci-fi and action movies like Rebel Moon you should watch
A woman poses as dusk approaches in Rebel Moon.

Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon has hit Netflix this week, and people are already making comparisons between it and other works of cinema. Like many other iconic films, this epic space opera draws a lot from director Akira Kurosawa's groundbreaking film, Seven Samurai. This tale follows a village of farmers who seek the help of the titular warriors to stop a swarm of bandits from stealing their crops. Snyder's movie takes this plot and places it within a cosmic setting, depicting a young woman who assembles fighters from across the galaxy to defend her home from the invading Motherworld.

Since Seven Samurai has inspired many of cinema's greatest filmmakers, it's easy to find similarities between Rebel Moon and many other classic pictures in both the action and sci-fi genres. For better or worse, Rebel Moon has left audiences wanting more, and they can remedy this by watching these five movies.
Star Wars (1977)

Read more