After years of being in the dark, when the title for Star Wars Episode IX was finally revealed as Rise of Skywalker, it posed many questions. Which Skywalker? Is Luke arising from the dead? Will Kylo Ren embrace the light side? Or does Rey have more ties to the Skywalker lineage then The Last Jedi let on? If your brain isn’t verging on explosion already, there’s also another title from Japan to linger on. Check it out:
Dawn of Skywalker – this variation of the title has a nice ring to it. Now, the differences between the two titles are minor but there is a bit of a different connotation that “dawn” gives as opposed to “rise”. A dawn usually marks the start of something new, while rise is more broad term of ascension. If we’re really looking into this, the Japanese title points less to Luke rising from the dead, and more toward him passing on the lightsaber to a new generation.
The trailer for Episode IX leaned heavily to this theme of “generations” too, as Luke’s voiceover said “a thousand generations live in you now” while Rey was shown on screen. There’s bound to be tons of translations around the world that shift up the meaning a bit though. For example, Poland’s version is Star Wars: Skywalker Resurrection which sounds much more blatantly tied to the dead coming back to life.
The big reveal of Rise of Skywalker thus far was Palpatine’s recognizable cackle closing out the teaser, so “resurrection” is certainly in play here as well. Since this movie will close out nine films, across over 40 years of the Skywalker Saga, ties to the prequels, originals and new trilogy seem necessary.
Mark Hamill recently may have ruled out the resurrection of Luke when he recently said he’d be coming back as a Force Ghost, but who knows? Perhaps, Kylo Ren or Rey will take the lead in this “rise of skywalker” or “dawn”... or “resurrection”! A recent theory has tied Rey to Luke’s Jedi School as one of his pupils, while another claims Rey’s father is none other than Han Solo.
Rise of Skywalker already has a lot going on, with the return of Rey, Finn, Poe, Rose Tico, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, BB8 and Maz Kanata from the resistance and Kylo Ren and General Hux from the First Order. Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa will also make an appearance, along with Billy Dee Williams’ Lando and the addition of new characters played by Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, Dominic Monaghan and Naomi Ackie.
There’s certainly surprises in store for Star Wars fans when the Skywalker Saga closes out on December 20. What do you think the title means? Let us know in the comments below!
