Skip to main content

You’ll believe stormtroopers can fly in new Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker clip

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Film Clip

Everyone’s talking about The Mandalorian these days, so it’s easy to forget that a new Star Wars movie will be in theaters in just under a month. Disney has provided a nice reminder of that fact, though, in the form of a new clip from Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.

Recommended Videos

The 30-second clip features a combination of new Star Wars stars and veteran characters, with Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), and BB-8 fleeing across the desert with Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels). They soon find themselves pursued by First Order stormtroopers, and make a startling discovery: These stormtroopers have incorporated jetpacks into their armor and can take the chase to the air.

Directed by Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens filmmaker J.J. Abrams, The Rise of Skywalker promises to bring the modern sequel trilogy to a close and conclude the chapter of the sci-fi saga that began with The Force Awakens in 2015. Abrams co-wrote the script for the film with Academy Award winner Chris Terrio (Argo, Justice League).

As with past installments of the Star Wars franchise, little is known about the plot of The Rise of Skywalker at this point, but there are plenty of rumors about what the ninth episodic chapter of the series could have in store for key characters — including a potential revelation about Rey’s bloodline in the film. Disney has made it clear that the studio intends to take a hiatus from releasing new Star Wars films for several years following the release of The Rise of Skywalker, with the company pivoting to television and its Disney+ streaming service with The Mandalorian and an upcoming series focusing on iconic Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, with Ewan McGregor reprising his role from the Star Wars prequel trilogy and spinoff projects.

The final, full-length trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premiered October 21 during a broadcast of the NFL’s Monday Night Football. Tickets for the film went on sale just before the trailer’s debut.

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker is scheduled to hit theaters December 20.

Rick Marshall
Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew gets Disney+ release date and new images
Jude Law smirks and stares on Skeleton Crew.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew officially has a release date, arriving just before the year ends.

The upcoming Star Wars TV series streams on Disney+ on December 3, 2024. In addition to the release date, the first images from Skeleton Crew were released on X (formerly Twitter), which you can view below.

Read more
The Acolyte can’t escape Star Wars’ biggest Jedi problem
Sol stands between Jecki and Yord in The Acolyte.

Across its first three episodes, The Acolyte has gotten off to a propulsive, if imperfect, start. The series, created by Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland, is one of the only truly original (i.e., not a spinoff) pieces of Star Wars media that Disney has produced in the 12 years since it acquired Lucasfilm. As depressing as that is in and of itself, it's also helped The Acolyte. The show, for all of its flaws, feels fresh. It isn't weighed down or suffocatingly constricted by the events of any other Star Wars movie or TV show and, therefore, has the freedom to explore its characters and plot exactly how it wants.

That doesn't mean The Acolyte has been able to completely avoid making the same mistakes as all of the Star Wars titles that have come before it. On the contrary, the series, which focuses on the reemergence of the Sith near the end of the High Republic era, has struggled in its depiction of the Jedi Order. The Acolyte has, consequently, revived an issue that has plagued its franchise ever since 1999's Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.
Are the Jedi cool samurai or boo-worthy space cops?

Read more
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is better and worse than you remember
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan duel Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

This month marks the 25th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. The film, the opening installment in George Lucas' Prequel Trilogy, was the first Star Wars movie in 16 years when it was released. Shortly after it hit theaters in May 1999, though, it became the target of a lot of vitriol and criticism. Star Wars fans went into it expecting a prequel that felt of a piece with the franchise's Original Trilogy. Instead, what they got was a CGI-heavy, polished, and unexpectedly stiff epic about, among other things, child slavery, trade laws, and senatorial politics. In a lot of ways, the film couldn't have been more different from 1977's swashbuckling, fairy tale-like Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.

Over the past few years, a lot of Star Wars fans have adopted a much kinder tone when discussing The Phantom Menace and its fellow prequels. That's been due, in no small part, to the lackluster quality of Disney's Sequel Trilogy. For many of the viewers who were introduced at a young age to Star Wars through the prequels, the films also hold a special, nostalgic place in their hearts. With that in mind and, in honor of its forthcoming anniversary, it's worth asking: Is The Phantom Menace really as bad as so many fans remember? Or is it as good as some of its younger supporters believe?

Read more