It’s finally time! After over a year of anticipation and speculation since the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, we finally have some concrete information on what to expect from “the end of the Skywalker saga,” Star Wars: Episode IX, now officially titled, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. As reported earlier today, Disney CEO Bob Iger said this will be the final Star Wars movie before “a bit of hiatus,” and if the special presentation at Star Wars Celebration 2019 is any indication, they’re going to deliver big before pushing pause.  

Stephen Colbert took the stage in Chicago to open up the Episode 9 panel and introduce 10 guests: Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscars Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo and Naomi Ackie, as well as R2-D2, BB-8 and D0. Here’s everything we learned from the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker presentation at Star Wars Celebration 2019:

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Here’s the current status of the film: “We’re editing and we’re doing visual effects.” Abrams added, “We’re editing and things are going pretty well so far.”

What’s the movie about? Abrams told the audience, “This movie, in addition to being the end of three trilogies, it also needs to work as its own movie and that’s been part of the fun of it, part of the challenge of it. But this movie it’s about this new generation and what they’ve inherited - the light and the dark - and asking the question as they face the greatest evil, are they prepared? Are they ready?”

The Rise of Skywalker doesn’t pick up immediately after The Last Jedi. Abrams told the crowd, “Some time has gone by." He continued, “This is an adventure that the group goes on together,” and added, “One of the great things about the movie, getting to work on it, was the dynamic between the characters. They are just the most wonderful together and that’s the thing I’m sort of most excited for you all to see.”

The Rise of Skywalker embraces everything George Lucas created. Here’s how Kennedy put it; “We’ve immersed ourselves in everything George created, talked about it endlessly and we’re so excited because I think what you’re gonna end up seeing, you’re gonna be so happy with.” She continued, “I think that what’s also fascinating is it’s over forty years so the context that George was working within, it’s 40 years later and to keep this relevant and meaningful to the characters and to the people experiencing this story, it has to feel like it’s of its time and I think that what we’ve done is we’ve taken to heart everything that inspired George, and then I think the inspiration that JJ’s brought to this has given it even more depth.” She turned to Abrams and also noted, “And this guy sitting next to me, he cares more than anybody I know.”

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Image via Lucasfilm

There is absolutely no replacing Carrie Fisher. There was no filling the void left by Fisher. Abrams explained, “We all talked about how to move on.” He continued, “You don’t recast that part and you don’t suddenly have her disappear. And the weird miracle of having had a number of scenes from Force Awakens that had gone unused, looking at those scenes and starting to understand that there was actually a way to use those scenes to continue her story so that it would be her.” The idea of having a CG character was off the table and it became, “The idea of saying, what if we can actually write scenes around her, so it would be her performance, she’s in the movie. And the crazy thing is, and I say this emotionally - every day it hits me that she’s not here. But it’s so surreal because we’re working with her still, if that makes sense. She’s in scenes. She’s so alive in scenes and the craziest part is how not crazy it feels, because she is there in these scenes.” And some of those scenes will include both Fisher and her daughter, Billie Lourd.

Again, Abrams made an effort to get as much in-camera as possible, with practical effects.

Anthony Daniels views C-3PO as his best friend. Here’s what he said: “I regard 3PO as my best friend in many ways. I would genuinely want a best friend who cared for me as much as 3PO does.”

Billy Dee Williams had no problem stepping back into the role of Lando Calrissian He told the crowd, “Lando never let me.” When Colbert brought up Lando’s duplicitous behavior in The Empire Strikes Back, Williams explained, “I get sick and tired of being accused of betraying Han Solo.” He points out that Lando was up against Darth Vader and asks, “Did anybody die?” He laughs and told the crowd, “Nobody died! Right?”

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Meet Star Wars newcomer Naomi Ackie! They wouldn’t officially confirm if Ackie’s character Jannah is indeed Lando’s daughter, but she did share the story of finding out she scored the role in the film. “I got the call at like seven o’clock in the morning. My best friend was sleeping downstairs and my dad was in the house, and I yelped. My dad ran up the stairs and he just sat at the end of my bed and he just had his hands on his mouth. And I like, open-eye sobbed. I was sobbing. But then, my best friend was sleeping downstairs and I couldn’t tell nobody. I went down and made a cup of tea,” and she basically played it cool. Acted like everything was normal! But then Ackie admitted. “My dad was telling me to shush because I was talking too loud on the phone. So he was more telling me to be quiet so that my best friend wouldn’t hear. So he knew from the beginning. Sorry, JJ.”

Finn is a full-blown Resistance fighter now. Boyega explained, “On this adventure I think Finn has just found his identity within the Resistance. I think the last two movies Finn couldn’t decide where he belonged, and in this film he’s a full-fledged Resistance sexy young man.”

Is Poe still cracking jokes during darker moments? “He has no real special powers. Yes, he’s a great pilot but deep down he’s just a human and I think one of the most human things you can do is find the irony and the humanity in even the most crazy, darkest moments. I think that that is an element of The Force.”

Luke’s lightsaber is still in play. Ridley said, “My answer is not the end of the story because there are many more months to come and a film to come, but the the lightsaber that Rey inherited from Luke lives.”

Kelly Marie Tran got one of the biggest, most wholehearted rounds of applause from the Celebration crowd. After having experienced an upsetting and extremely disappointing amount of online harassment after the release of The Last Jedi, Tran opted to leave social media. It was an unfortunate loss for the online community as her Instagram feed in particular was a non-stop source of inspiration and encouragement to love oneself. So to be in the room and both hear and feel the love and support for Tran is a moment I’ll never forget. Abrams also said, “I was grateful to Rian Johnson for so many things that he did in 8. The greatest though for me was casting Kelly Marie.”

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Playing Chewbacca feels like a duty to Suotamo: Here’s how he put it: “Playing Chewbacca is sort of a duty at this point because when I was sitting in our living room carpet, wide-eyed watching the saga start and Luke drinking that blue milk and seeing Chewbacca for the first time, I was sure that in this world there’s a place for everyone, and that I have to show everyone that Chewbacca - and no matter how big or small you are, there’s a place for you in this world.”

Meet Klad! Abrams showed off some images of a brand new creature and told the crowd, “There’s a fun character who just appears who’s name is Klad with a “K,” and he is a friend of the resistance, and someone who actually, it turns out, Chewie brought in.”

Greg Grunberg is back! They showed an image of Grunberg as Snap Wexley standing beside Klad.

BB-8 has a new friend. D-O zoomed out on stage and zipped around a bit. And yes, I will need to buy everything and anything D-O related, similar to what happened when I first met BB-8.

WOW, that teaser trailer. I’d like to bet you’ve watched the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker teaser trailer quite a few times at this point, but I do have to tell you that being in the room when the first screening of the piece wrapped, the title was revealed and then watching the crowd absolutely erupt when Ian McDiarmid stepped out on stage and, in the Emperor’s voice, demanded, “Roll it again,” is an experience I’ll truly never forget.

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