Following the dwindling of the re-ignition of the Star Wars franchise at the hands of Disney, it's been announced that clearly-killed-off-several-movies-ago character Emperor Palpatine will return in the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
But what other unexpected/shocking/desperate character reappearances will there be? We here at custard towers can exclusively reveal the details.
Lobot and the Ugnaughts
With the return of Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian, Abrams has confirmed that "as much as possible" of what related to the character first time around will also be included. This includes a brief scene featuring Lobot and around fifty Ugnaughts "just in case". The dining table and chairs from the scene in Empire where Darth Vader captures Han and Leia will also make a brief appearance.
Original planets
Leaked concept art released this week teases the return of several popular locations from the original trilogy, including Tatooine, Hoth, Dagobah, other parts of Tatooine, and Endor. Some debris from Alderaan will also feature.
Other lightsabers
Following the intrigue surrounding the surprise reappearance of Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber in The Force Awakens, fans will be excited to hear that Ben Kenobi's lightsaber will also make an appearance in the new film. Darth Vader's lightsaber will also briefly feature. Also Luke's second lightsaber. A spin off television series chronicling the various journeys of these lightsabers is planned for Fall 2021.
Minor characters
To keep fans happy, JJ Abrams has also promised that a roster of other minor characters from the original trilogy will be making an appearance. This includes Wedge Antilles, Ponda Baba, Dak Ralter, Max Rebo, Dengar, 4-LOM, Zuckuss, Malakili, Biggs Darklighter, Jan Dodonna, Pagetti Rook, General Veers, Admiral Ozzel, and the stormtrooper who holds up the bit of metal and says "Look sir, droids!".
Spaceships
As well as the beloved Millennium Falcon, fans can also look forward to sequences featuring X-wings, A-wings, B-wings and Y-wings, as well as TIE fighters, TIE interceptors, TIE bombers, Darth Vader's TIE advanced, AT-AT and AT-ST walkers, and speeder bikes from the original trilogy. Fans are also promised an exciting chase sequence featuring Jawa sandcrawlers and snowspeeders.
Creatures
Creatures from the original trilogy will also get a nod. Confirmed sources this week confirmed that the film will feature Dewbacks, Womp rats, Banthas, Mynocks, Rancors, Tauntauns, the Sarlacc, Ewoks (for exactly fourteen seconds), that thing from the trash compactor, and nerfs.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be in cinemas December 20th, with a running time of twelve hours. A rumoured director's cut is planned for the summer, including two extra hours of footage.
Well that was surprising
I wrote the above as a joke in a rush a day before I published it and I've just now (January 2020) seen the actual Rise of Skywalker movie. Turns out I wasn't being as funny as I thought. Here's some things from my article that were actually in the film as prophesised jokingly...
- the locations of Tatooine and Endor
- not Luke's second lightsaber, but another somewhat significant lightsaber (okay, I was a little off on that one)
- Wedge Antilles (and probably some of the other characters I suggested, it was a very visually noisy film and I've only seen it once)
- an original X-wing, A-wing, B-wing, Y-wing (I think I spotted one), TIE fighter and something that could have been an AT-AT in the distance, maybe
- a Jawa Sandcrawler!
- a speeder bike/skiff chase, not exactly as described but close
- Ewoks (but I think for less than fourteen seconds, sorry)
Nice to know someone's reading my material.