Following the final trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker dropping last night, 15 official images have been released which take the form of high-quality screenshots from the thrilling, emotional teaser for Episode IX.
The photos, as per the preview, capture all our heroes uniting for this final installment of the Skywalker Saga. That’d be Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), Chewie (Joonas Suotamo), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), R2-D2 (Jimmy Vee) and BB-8. And don’t forget the much-anticipated return of Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams). Meanwhile, on the dark side, we have Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and a possible glimpse at the resurrected Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
The confrontation between the dark and the light appears to culminate on the wreckage of the Death Star, which we can infer is where Darth Sidious has been recuperating all these years. Perhaps as a result of being manipulated by the big bad, Rey and Kylo will have a tense lightsaber battle that looks to be an epic confrontation.
And then there’s a heartstring-tugging scene where Threepio appears to be making the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good. As depicted in still form above, the trailer sees him taking a moment to look at his friends before something happens to him. The image of the droid patting his old pal Artoo affectionately on the head is guaranteed to bring on the waterworks.
A trio of new characters are seen in these stills, too. There’s Zorii Bliss (Keri Russell) with the Resistance gang in the shot where they’re gathered around Threepio, while teeny droid D-O can be glimpsed next to BB-8 in the same image. Babu Frik, meanwhile, is the little critter – a genius at droid repair, apparently – working away on his cranium.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th.