Star Wars at D23 2019: everything we learned
By Danny Pham
A special look at The Rise of Skywalker
The Walt Disney Studios panel was held on Saturday to showcase the upcoming projects from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. Kennedy and director J.J. Abrams introduced Star Wars fans to the cast of The Rise of Skywalker, which included Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Billy Dee Wiliams, Anthony Daniels, Keri Russell, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Naomi Ackie.
The team spoke briefly about the film. Russell said her character, seen in the preview donning a red suit and a helmet, was a criminal and shared a past with Poe (Oscar Isaac). In a possible reference to Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), Abrams revealed the characters would face against “the greatest evil” in the film. Since the official trailer was not ready, the director introduced a two-minute sizzle reel.
The reel starts off with shots of the most prominent characters from the last eight Skywalker saga films before focusing on The Rise of Skywalker. There were many highlights, notably Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo (Adam Driver) fighting on a damaged ship in the middle of a wavy ocean.
However, the biggest tease was saved for the end: Rey wearing dark-robes and igniting a hinged double-bladed lightsaber with red blades. The shocking image certainly raised more questions for fans as they await the film’s release on December 20, 2019.