Amazon has released a new behind-the-scenes featurette for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Well, maybe released isn’t the right word, as you have to hunt for it. If you visit Amazon.com, online or on an app, and type #TheRiseofSkywalker in the search bar, you’ll come across the video that features fresh footage we haven’t seen before.
There are five moments, in particular, that you’ll want to pay attention to. We briefly see Finn and new character Jannah in the midst of battle, C-3PO and R2-D2 conversing by Poe’s parked X-Wing and a couple of shots from two different fights between Rey and Kylo Ren. Most significantly, however, there’s also a glimpse at Leia handing the traditional Skywalker family lightsaber onto Daisy Ridley’s heroine, which you can see in the gallery down below.
Prior to Episode IX‘s arrival, there’s been a lot of speculation that Leia will take on the role of Rey’s new mentor in the ways of the Force. Though Carrie Fisher passed away before production started, unused footage has been re-tooled to make further use of the character, and it’s likely this is how the Resistance general will fit into the narrative. Leia showing some Jedi skill has been on fans’ wishlist for decades, too, so this is a fitting way to say goodbye to the princess.
It’s also only right that the Skywalker lightsaber should have a key role in Rise seeing as it’s essentially the connective tissue between all the trilogies. Passed down from Anakin to Luke (via Obi-Wan Kenobi) and then from Luke to Rey (via Maz Kanata), it’s belonged to all three Chosen Ones. It was destroyed in The Last Jedi, but we know to expect it to be mended in TROS.
We’re now just days away from setting our eyeballs loose on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which arrives in cinemas from December 20th. And at this point, we really can’t wait to find out what Lucasfilm has in store for us.
