By now, you’ve probably heard that the official title of J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Sequel Trilogy finale is Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, in which case, you may be racking your brain wondering just who the aforementioned “Skywalker” might be. Is Luke’s nephew Kylo Ren going to redeem himself and embrace his Jedi ancestry? Is Abrams about to retcon Rey’s parents, like some fans have speculated? Could the title be referring to an old character? A new character? No character in particular?
Fans will have plenty of time to speculate and debate over the matter, but while the reveal is still fresh, Twitter has yielded a variety of first impressions from people in the midst processing the news:
Rise of Skywalker… uh idk how I feel about this title
— nic (@lourdfisher) April 12, 2019
Star Wars is the good stuff. Even the title, The Rise of Skywalker, leads to plenty of thoughts. And that's exactly the thing I wanted out of this. #EpisodeIX #StarWars
— Kevin Lever (@kevinlever) April 12, 2019
Way too early prediction: Skywalker doesn't refer to this character or that one, but the new order of force-using galactic protectors going forward. It fits with the 3rd movie title sequence that way:
Revenge of the Sith
Return of the Jedi
Rise of the Skywalker— Brent Blackwell (@brentblackwell) April 12, 2019
The Rise of Skywalker title just gave me chills. Can't freaking wait.
— WillPowers™ dies Twice (@WillJPowers) April 12, 2019
Rise of the skywalker is an ugly title, and I really hope they dont redeem kylo, but the smell of redemption is in the air…
— Sarah ?? (@damainwayne) April 12, 2019
Star Wars theory: assuming JJ does keep the spirit of TLJ, The Rise of Skywalker title is going to refer to Rey building a new order with the memories/teachings/whatever of Luke, and no one is going to actually be blood related cool send tweet
— Fructose Friend (@WinterOstritch) April 12, 2019
#StarWarsIX The Rise of Skywalker!!! I was beginning to like the idea of star wars drifting off a skywalker story line but who am I kidding that teaser trailer and title has me excited !!!
— Allan ReyesLeguizamo (@reyesleguizamo) April 12, 2019
The trailer looks cool.. LANDO! THE EMPEROR!? DEATH STAR WRECKAGE?? but that title?? Rise of Skywalker? So she’s Luke’s daughter now? I dunno man. #STARWARSIX https://t.co/4khvVHdbw1
— JP (@Jack_Piercy) April 12, 2019
The Rise of Skywalker is a good title IMHO.
— Bearcat ? (@BearcatOnBeer) April 12, 2019
"The Rise of Skywalker" is…. maybe the least immediately logical title to follow Last Jedi with. Can't really be judged until we know how the film contextualises it but considering how well that film moved everything along, plz stay off your bullshit JJ
— Hugo (@Hugo__OS) April 12, 2019
The title was announced earlier today at a Star Wars Celebration panel, which also saw the premiere of The Rise of Skywalker’s first trailer. While the footage didn’t reveal too much in the way of plot, it did tease the return of a whole load of Sequel Trilogy regulars. On top of that, the preview offered some glimpses of a few new characters, such as BB-8’s droid companion, and even gave us a little footage of Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian.
However, the moment that’s likely to get the internet talking the most comes right before the trailer’s title reveal, when the unmistakable sound of Emperor Palpatine’s laughter is heard. Could the saga’s oldest villain be about to make a comeback? Quite possibly, but fans still have several more months to form their theories before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, stay tuned for more news from this weekend’s Star Wars Celebration.
