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Credit: LucasfilmFive years ago, The Walt Disney Company closed out its Star Wars sequel trilogy not with a bang but with a fizzle. The culmination of four years of movies came with J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker (2019), which, for all intents and purposes, left most fans rolling their eyes and scratching their heads.
Half a decade later, Star Wars has confirmed it will remake The Rise of Skywalker and include never-before-scenes.
Lucasfilm’s The Rise of Skywalker began a movie drought for the studio that has yet to be broken, and it won’t be until 2026 when Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu hits the big screen on May 22.
Favreau’s movie came as a surprise when it was announced in January this year, especially because it was not one of the three new films revealed by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy at 2023’s Star Wars Celebration.
At the event, Kennedy shared that James Mangold, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Dave Filoni would be helming new stories in the Star Wars franchise. Mangold would delve into the origins of the Force in a “Dawn of the Jedi” movie, while Obaid-Chinoy would bring Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker back into the fold with a post-sequel “New Jedi Order” movie.
As for Lucasfilm’s Chief Creative Officer, Filoni has been tasked with presumably wrapping up the Mando-Verse and New Republic eras with a huge crossover movie.
Apart from news of production woes regarding the Rey Skywalker movie and Ridley herself saying Rey would be taking on the Luke Skywalker role in the galaxy far, far away, nothing concrete has been shared about any of these projects, leaving some fans to wonder whether they will ever see the light of day. Lucasfilm has, after all, not got a great track record with following through on developing projects.
In fact, there are now questions surrounding Obaid-Chinoy’s film following the news that Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) has been tapped to produce a new Star Wars trilogy, which some believe will be Episodes X through VII.
This seems to clash with the expectation that the Rey movie would be Episode X and continue on from the sequel trilogy. Could this mean that Rey will get pulled from the “New Jedi Order” movie into Kinberg’s future trilogy? A source close to the Star Wars studio recently claimed that Ridley’s Rey was the most important cinematic asset the franchise has…
Ridley, a newcomer at the time, received international recognition when she began her Star Wars journey in Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII–The Force Awakens (2015) alongside John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren/Ben Solo). She went on to star in both Star Wars: Episode VIII–The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker.
While at first presumed to be plucked from obscurity into a galactic war, Rey was revealed to be a Palpatine in the final moments of The Rise of Skywalker.
The return of Emperor Sheev Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) was a hugely contentious point of Episode IX, as was the reveal of Rey’s identity, the throwaway use of the Knights of Ren, Kylo Ren and Rey’s kiss (and the former’s sacrifice), the addition of Exegol and the Sith Eternal–the list goes on.
Over the years since The Rise of Skywalker‘s debut, Star Wars has continually expanded on the unexplained plot points in the film through other canon shows and tie-in media like novels, graphic novels, and companion books.
Notably, Marc Sumerak’s “Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith” (2021) confirmed how and why Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) was created, while Dave Filoni’s The Bad Batch cemented Palpatine’s Force-sensitive cloning efforts in canon history.
That said, a newly remade version of The Rise of Skywalker has been confirmed, which will seemingly offer fans a more well-rounded experience that many felt was lacking five years ago.
“Written by Jody Houser and drawn by artist Will Sliney, the previously-announced five-issue limited series brings 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker film to the page at last,” Marvel.com wrote earlier this month. “In addition to retelling the Resistance’s desperate last stand, the shocking return of Emperor Palpatine, and more, the series will include all new scenes not in the final film.”
This five-issue adaptation of The Rise of Skywalker will launch in February 2025, around the same time that Charles Soule will bring Kylo Ren back into the limelight with “Star Wars: The Legacy of Vader.” Soule’s book charts Kylo Ren’s obsession with his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, and is set in between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.
There is a chance that the comic book remake of The Rise of Skywalker will not differ too much from the new information shared in Rae Carson’s 2020 novelization of the movie, but as stated earlier, Star Wars loves to pack more context into every new chapter of the franchise.
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation #1” will be released on February 26, 2025.
Looking ahead, the Star Wars franchise will wrap up a rather turbulent year with Jon Watts and Christopher Ford’s Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which will act as the next chapter in the ever-expanding New Republic era. Skeleton Crew‘s December 2 release (and its big screen debut) come after Lucasfilm canceled its summer show, The Acolyte.
The Acolyte ignited fiery discourse, with “toxic fans” criticizing Disney and Lucasfilm for its “woke” show starring people of color. The backlash grew to a fever pitch during the show’s run, and following its cancelation, many of the cast members–from Amandla Stenberg (Osha/Mae Aniseya) to Jodie Turner-Smith (Mother Aniseya) and Lee Jung-jae (Jedi Master Sol)–spoke out about the blow.
As for the big screen, the door is wide open for Star Wars to make its much-awaited return.
How do you feel about this remake of The Rise of Skywalker? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!