Hey, remember when we were all like "Who is 'The Last Jedi?'" Good times. Star Wars fans immediately returned to speculation mode after the title of Star Wars: Episode IX was revealed to be The Rise of Skywalker.
Which Skywalkers are rising? Who is a Skywalker?
You know who loves this? Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. No stranger to trolling, Hamill must be cackling as hard as Emperor Palpatine at all the furious scrambling for answers. He seems relieved to finally be able to address the "cool title" J.J. Abrams went with for the end of the Skywalker Saga. He also helpfully added names to the Skywalker speculation list, as if he doesn't already know exactly what the script reveals:
As usual, Star Wars fans responded with some great comments and suggestions. We all have our favorite and least favorite characters and storylines, whether they carried over from the original trilogy, the prequels, or the sequels. I'm fond of this debate over Kylo/Ben Solo (Adam Driver):
Yes to slow digestion for a thousand years. I'm not sure Ben would rise from the dark just to ask Rey out -- and Daisy Ridley did tell fans The Rise of Skywalker wouldn't have another shirtless Kylo/Rey ForceTime scene. But as the son of Leia, Ben Solo does have Skywalker blood. He, Luke and Leia are the known Skywalkers at this point. The Force Awakens hinted to Rey also possibly being a Skywalker, but The Last Jedi seemed to shut that down. Seemed to, anyway. Who knows what's ahead now.
Mark Hamill openly invited speculation on his own Twitter thread, so fans replied with their own predictions. Since both Luke and apparently Palpatine are returning, despite both appearing to have died in past Saga movies, some fans are hoping for major Force ghost action ahead.
Mark Hamill was ultimately re-seduced by The Dark Side of The Force and trolled fans with this Joker/Star Wars crossover, pretending he was the cackle at the end of the trailer instead of Palpatine:
Nice try, man.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the culmination of all three trilogies, so fans are looking back to the prequels and original trilogy for hints on what characters might be involved. Director J.J. Abrams said the title of this film "had a very weird responsibility" since it had to mark the end of nine movies.
Anything goes at this point, just one day after the first teaser was revealed at Star Wars Celebration 2019. And I do mean teaser. We should expect a full official trailer to arrive later in the year. So feel free to share your own theories and prepare to revise them in the months ahead before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters December 20. After that, there will be some kind of hiatus before the next Star Wars films rise.
