Although it’s important for a script to be finished by the time a movie starts shooting, that doesn’t mean certain elements of the story won’t change during filming. In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s case, its ending went through various changes in the creative process, including as the cameras were rolling on the final installment of the Skywalker Saga. As Daisy Ridley recalled when asked how she found out about The Rise of Skywalker’s ending:
J.J. had told me and then I read the script, and then it was sort of shifting. The ending was always pretty similar, and then I was told there was a new, I guess, a slightly different beat added that I was told, which was awesome. Because it's nice to be told a thing, and then you can experience it with the filmmaker. But also, we don't always know how it's going to turn out. We did the thing on this side of the camera, but we don't know how it's going to turn out. So I'm as excited to see it as everyone else.
So going off what Daisy Ridley told Fox 32 anchor and ReelBlend cohost Jake Hamilton, while the overall scope of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s ending sounds like it will be the same as what J.J. Abrams told the actress who knows when, there were some minor adjustments made during the course of production. Even then, given that there’s still a lot of postproduction work to finish, plus any time that might be set aside for reshoots, maybe even more changes will be implemented.
Of course, given how secretive Disney and Lucasfilm are when it comes to upcoming Star Wars movies, even in comparison to other major film franchises, we probably won’t get any inkling of what Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s ending holds in store through advertising and marketing. Ideally after the movie has come out, Daisy Ridley, J.J. Abrams or someone else on the cast and crew will be forthcoming about how the final ending differed from what was originally put on paper.
Taking place approximately a year after the events of The Last Jedi, no specific plot details for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker have been revealed yet. That said, the trailer did reveal some interesting tidbits, like how the protagonists will be visiting a site containing some Death Star wreckage and that Emperor Palpatine will somehow fit into the proceedings.
Daisy Ridley’s Rey is joined by other familiar faces from the Star Wars movies, like John Boyega’s Finn, Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron, Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren, Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker and Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian, while unused footage of Carrie Fisher from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi will allow Leia Organa to be included. As for new characters, Naomi Ackie’s Jannah will be along for the ride, as will Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant and Dominic Monaghan’s still-to-be-identified players.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters on December 20. If you’re interested in learning what else the Star Wars franchise has coming up, look through our handy guide, or browse through our 2019 release schedule to find out what movies not taking place in a galaxy far, far away are coming out this year.
