Star Wars: 9 questions we have for Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Last Jedi..Rey (Daisy Ridley)..Photo: David James..©2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Even though Star Wars: Episode IX is still about seven months away, we have many burning questions. Here are nine we would like answered come December.

Warning: There may be spoilers ahead, though we tried to keep this spoiler-free as much as possible. Keep that in mind moving forward.

With the culmination of the Skywalker Saga coming in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, we have a number of questions that we would like answered in the film. Hopefully with the time that’s left, we will get some of those answers.

Some of the questions have lingering since the first movie of the current trilogy with The Force Awakens. Others popped up in The Last Jedi — and still some questions came afterward with new characters announced for the movie.

J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm have a lot they need to pack into Episode IX, — and we hope there’s enough time — and here are our nine most burning questions.

Question 1: Who are Rey’s parents?

While Kylo Ren told Rey in The Last Jedi her parents were nobodies who sold her for drinking money, that didn’t sit well for many Star Wars fans. There was just too much put into her heritage and where she came from in The Force Awakens and to just scrap that idea seems like a wasted opportunity.

She could come from nothing. Anakin Skywalker actually did.

But it seems as though there is still so much more to Rey than we realize. Was saying that Rey came from nobodies a play on words somehow? Did Kylo Ren lie to her as a way to manipulate Rey to come to his side?

Despite getting an answer to the question we had since The Force Awakens, it wasn’t a satisfying answer and one many Star Wars fans have a hard time believing is true.

So, we still wonder — Who are Rey’s parents?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi..Kylo Ren (Adam Driver)..Photo: Film Frames Industrial Light & Magic/Lucasfilm..©2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Question 2: Will Kylo Ren be redeemed?

Kylo Ren has been the “bad guy” in the sequel trilogy. But he is a little more complicated than that.

While Darth Vader forged a path of destruction, we never saw him truly waver until he had to choose if his son would live or die. He chose his son.

Kylo Ren has been living on the edge of light and dark, mostly in the dark. He chooses the evil option nearly every time, and when it seems he is picking the light side, it is marred with the wrong intentions.

While I’m firmly in the camp that he can’t be redeemed, it’s not my story to tell.

Given recent rumors, it seems Kylo Ren may be redeemed in a way. While not diving into the rumor (we’re going for a spoiler-free zone), how could Kylo Ren be redeemed after everything he has done?

His on-screen body count is not impressive, but Kylo Ren has gone for quality over quantity. He killed Han Solo, his father and a beloved Star Wars character, in The Force Awakens.

Yet, even that didn’t solidify his conscious in choosing evil. We saw that manifest in a couple of ways. First, he explicitly said it. Then when he had the chance to kill his mother Leia, he chose not to. Their bond is especially strong if that was the one thing he couldn’t do.

Then he killed Snoke and, with Rey, killed the Praetorian Guards. However, it felt he did that in the name of ruling the First Order and less about bringing peace to the galaxy.

The bigger question becomes is Kylo Ren even worth redeeming?

Rey (Daisy Ridley) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX. Photo credit: LucasFilm

Question 3: What does The Rise of Skywalker mean?

This question only popped up once we knew the title, not at the end of The Last Jedi when we had so many others swirling in our head.

But the title of the movie is important because recently director J.J. Abrams said it’s the right title for the movie but the only way to know that is until we see the movie. So what exactly does it mean?

We have some guesses, but no clue if any of them are legit. We speculate just as much as anyone else.

There are few things that we do know.

1. The name Skywalker. It belongs to just three characters in Star Wars lore in Shmi, Anakin and Luke.
2. The Jedi don’t really exist anymore. Rey has the Jedi text, but she wasn’t trained as a Jedi.
3. Skywalker has been used differently once before in the current Disney canon.

It’s not a lot to go on, but one theory does consider that Skywalker could mean a new religion. That it could mean the Jedi and Sith are done once and for all, and what we have left are the Skywalker.

It would be interesting to call these group of new Force users Skywalker because when you consider Anakin and Luke, neither one of them had the traditional training. Anakin started later than normal and many on the Jedi Council were against his admission into the Jedi order. Then, Luke only came into his powers and started his training as an adult.

Perhaps the Skywalker order won’t as discriminating as the Jedi.

C3PO (Anthony Daniels), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX.

Question 4: Who makes it out alive?

It’s Star Wars — stress the war part.

Even though in the original trilogy our heroes made it out alive, they may not be so lucky this time around. The stakes seem awfully high and sentiments change after 40 years.

When going through this type of story, there will likely be death and some that might really hurt.

Considering the first two movies of the sequels, it’s fair to say no one is safe especially any original characters — at least on the side of the Rebellion.

When it comes to the First Order, anyone is fair game. It seems Captain Phasma was killed in The Last Jedi (waste of what could have been a great character) and dozens if not hundreds of stormtroopers. Planets were obliterated too.

So death is astronomical. But of the main cast members, I feel like Rey and Poe make it but I’m a little concerned about Finn and Kylo Ren.

Kylo Ren has to die and whether he is resurrected or the “dark side” of him dies, there has to be a loss or a sacrifice in order for this story to work.

The only reason I’m a bit concerned about Finn is John Boyega’s comment about not reprising his role as Finn again.

Maybe he feels so confident that he won’t because of the character’s ending.

Photo credit: Lucasfilm/Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Question 5: Will ReyLo actually be a thing?

The Last Jedi brought a lot of things, but especially tension between Kylo Ren and Rey. They found a bond that ran deeper than their force bond.

They were able to connect because they each felt alone in their respective parts of the galaxy, seeking in each other what they were missing from their lives. Rey sought family and saw in Kylo everything she ever wanted with Han Solo and General Leia as parents. Kylo wanted someone who understood his pain and torture.

They had each other.

Despite the age difference — they’re about eight years apart in real life — there seemed to be a growing intimacy between the two. I mean, that elevator ride into the throne room said it all.

Kylo also killed his mentor to save Rey who he thought would pick him.

Even though there is an impending battle between the two coming in Episode IX, there is also the chance they wind up together — which some fans want to see. There aren’t social media accounts dedicated to ReyLo for nothing.

But if it happens, it’s also important in how it happens. Kylo tortured Rey in The Force Awakens. That’s a lot to come back from, but it seemed Rey was forgiving in The Last Jedi given how they fought back-to-back.

General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) in STAR WARS: Episode IX. Photo credit: Lucasfilm

Question 6: How will Carrie Fisher be used?

It breaks our hearts all over again every time we see Carrie Fisher on screen. Our princess and general died in 2016 and it was heartbreaking for her family, friends and devoted fans.

Yet, she still appeared in The Last Jedi since she filmed that before her death. But the question has become, how will she appear in The Rise of Skywalker.

J.J. Abrams said they had unused footage and scenes from when they filmed The Force Awakens. It wasn’t throw away footage, but good stuff that could be used in Episode IX. 

There was not going to be a digital stand-in for Fisher either. Abrams was certain about that.

And Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd approved as well and will appear in Episode IX as Lieutenant Connix. According to Abrams in Vanity Fair, the two even share scenes together.

Abrams told Vanity Fair:

"“There are moments in this movie where Carrie is there, and I really do feel there is an element of the uncanny, spiritual, you know, classic Carrie, that it would have happened this way, because somehow it worked. And I never thought it would.”"

There is some digital work at play to get the pieces to fit perfectly, but no one is playing Leia other than Carrie Fisher.

Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX

Question 7: What will we get out of the Knights of Ren?

One of the most exciting aspects of The Rise of Skywalker is the inclusion of the Knights of Ren. These band of misfits had been hyped since before The Force Awakens — and all we got was a glimpse of them during Rey’s force vision.

However, the Knights of Ren are legit. There are at least six of them with mismatched armor and crazy weapons. They certainly look like a group that would wreak havoc no matter where they showed up.

In reality, we don’t know anything about them and, hopefully, The Rise of Skywalker changes all of that.

According to Vanity Fair — with this close up shot of the Knights of Ren — they are definitely back, and we may even find out a little more about them. The thought is that they are part of the reason Kylo had left Luke and his makeshift Jedi Academy, after Luke thought about killing Kylo since the dark side was strong with him.

But we don’t actually know what the Knights of Ren will bring. However, just their name alone makes it seem they do Kylo’s bidding. Perhaps, they’re the group that goes in quietly to take care of business without the noise and destruction of stormtroopers.

They are probably better shots too.

While we don’t have specifics on the Knights of Ren, we at least know they’re are back.

(Left to right( Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), BB-8, D-O, Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX

Question 8: What will become of the Resistance and the Jedi?

This is a really tough one to answer and it is an important question. While it certainly seems the Jedi are all but done (especially considering the last movie was named The Last Jedi), it’s important to lay out what’s going to happen because even without Jedi or Sith, the Force is still there.

It’s always there.

There will be Force-sensitive people and some who need guidance.

Rey has the Jedi text and the future of the order is in her hands.

When it comes to the Resistance, they spent the past 18 months or so between films building up their numbers again. Depending on how the battle between Kylo and Rey go, there may not be a need for a Resistance.

The sad part is that all of it is cyclical. Even when the Empire was defeated, even if the First Order losses, even when the Resistance is clobbered, there is always a seed that lives on that eventually grows in the fringes until it makes its way into the mainstream.

Conceivably, Star Wars can continue for decades with the same fight over and over, different winners every time. One side that will rise and wreck the other, only to do it all over again.

So while Jedi, Sith, the Resistance and the First Order may no longer exist after The Rise of Skywalker, the likelihood is that they just live under a different name.

LAS VEGAS – MAY 29: Actor Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor Palpatine character from the Star Wars series of films is shown on screen while musicians perform during “Star Wars: In Concert” at the Orleans Arena May 29, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The traveling production features a full symphony orchestra and choir playing music from all six of John Williams’ Star Wars scores synchronized with footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, HD LED screen. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Question 9: How is the Emperor making a comeback?

The most recent question on everyone’s mind is how does Emperor Palpatine play a role in Star Wars: Episode IX. Not many considered him to play a role in the final film of the Skywalker Saga because the last time we saw him seemed pretty dead.

However, when that voice cackled and actor Ian McDiarmid came out at Star Wars Celebration, the collective minds of Star Wars fans had blown.

It kind of makes sense to bring Palpatine back. He orchestrated the downfall of the Republic and rise of the Empire. He helped Anakin on his path to the dark side, and was the catalyst in Luke being able to turn his father.

But the story is not over. The Skywalker Saga continues for one more movie.

There are theories as to how the Emperor is back and why is a factor in Episode IX. One prevailing theory says Palpatine learned how to imbue his soul into inanimate objects as we have seen other characters do, most recently with Darth Momin in the Marvel comics.

Some even think Palpatine may have been possessed by Snoke and his soul went back to the Death Star when Snoke was killed.

We don’t know the true answer, but we are going to have fun guessing for the next several months.

All in all, Star Wars: Episode IX will conclude a 40-plus-year journey. One that will be filled with loads of questions, answers and perhaps twists we haven’t even thought of yet.

Star Wars: Episode IX premieres December 20 worldwide.