The last time we saw our Star Wars heroes, they were boarding the Millennium Falcon. How much time will have elapsed between that fateful battle on Crait and the early events of Episode IX?
It’s interesting to consider how little in-universe time passed between Star Wars:The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi when compared to its predecessors. The original and prequel trilogies started their sequels in the midst of a new adventure. However, between the latest two installments of the Skywalker saga, virtually no time had elapsed, hence the necessity for a time jump before Episode IX.
The weakened rebellion
The Battle of Crait crippled the Resistance to its weakest we’ve seen it so far; the entirety of its forces were hardly strapped for space in the armory on Crait.
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Meanwhile the First Order is as powerful as we’ve ever seen it. Despite losses to key players such as Emperor Snoke and Phasma, its man-power is still apparently as strong as it’s ever been. Not to mention Kylo Ren looks poised to take full reign of those forces.
It’s hard to imagine the Rebellion will depart from Crait in the Falcon prepared to levy another assault on the First Order. Man-power aside, the Falcon seems to be one of the Rebellion’s last ships and it’s not clear whether they even have a headquarters.
The Rebellion needs a reset. They need to go into hiding, rally potential allies (cough Lando Calrissian) and wait until they’re stronger.
Photo Credit: LucasfilmThe logistic reasons
The unfortunate passing of Carrie Fisher is certainly something that’s been problematic for the producers of Episode IX. Not only was Leia among the three most important characters in Star Wars, but Episode IX looked to be her movie, like TFA was Han’s and TLJ Luke’s.
While recent news has said Leia will return for the sequel via unused footage from TLJ, there isn’t bound to be enough footage to give her much of an arc. Her appearance will be much more like a cameo, perhaps as a Force ghost.
A funeral for Leia does feel like a somewhat natural jumping off point for Episode IX. If not immediately, somewhere in the first act could serve as a rallying cry for the Rebellion. And if the producers do go that route, it could also stand to benefit from a time jump. It would provide space for context for her death, since no traditional sendoff scene has been shot.
Episode IX looks like it might distance itself from its predecessors via a time jump, and that should be welcomed.
Star Wars Episode IX is scheduled to hit theaters in December 2019.