Photo Credit: LucasfilmOne of the trends of Abrams’ bigger films that are based off pre-existing works is that he tends to include a bit of fan service and give call backs to the previous movies, which I don’t necessarily view as a bad thing.
For example, The Force Awakens featured a lot of call backs to the original trilogy, such as the plot revolved around finding a droid carrying around a digital file the bad guys wanted, the First Order’s big weapon being Starkiller Base, a super weapon capable of destroying entire planet like the Death Star, a super weapon capable of destroying entire planets, and Han Solo returning to say “I’ve got a bad feeling about this”.
For any Star Trek fans, Abrams also provided a lot of fan service in his two films in the franchise’s reboot, including bringing back Leonard Nimoy to play Spock Prime, featuring Kirk cheating on the Kobiashi Maru test, and most famously, including the character of Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness, which was a move that angered many fans of the original series, although I still found the movie enjoyable.
Regardless, I have a feeling that we can expect a good amount of fan service in this film’s as well.
It has already been confirmed that the characters of Luke and Leia will be returning in Episode IX, and Bily Dee Williams will also be returning in the upcoming film, reprising the role of Lando Calrissian.
Beyond that, there has been a lot of speculation that Star Wars: Episode IX will retcon some of the plot points from The Last Jedi which were received poorly by fans, such as the identity of Rey’s parents and the lack of revelation regarding Supreme Leader Snoke’s identity.
Regardless of what direction Abrams decides to take the film in, it’s a safe bet that there will be a decent amount of fan service in the movie. Despite him stating that he was on a time constraint to get the film done, I have been a fan of most of what he has made over the years, and am optimistic he can provide a satisfying ending to this new trilogy of films.
Star Wars: Episode IX is set to be released on December 20th, 2019.