Just as he did with The Force Awakens all those years ago, director J.J. Abrams has announced the first word from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
It is *drumroll*… “at.” Which is to say that ‘at’ will be the first spoken word of Episode IX (as opposed to the opening of the famous crawl).
Abrams made the revelation while appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he spoke at length about The Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm, and the lasting legacy of Carrie Fisher. It’s a must-watch for any Star Wars fan, particularly now that the new movie is so close – four weeks and counting!
As for the opening dialogue (or monologue!), Abrams confirmed that the film begins with the word ‘at,’ and “there are, like, six or seven words that follow.” So take from that what you will.
Cast your mind back to The Force Awakens and you’ll no doubt remember that Abrams kicked things off with a Stormtrooper raid on the remote planet of Jakku, where we were introduced to Poe Dameron, BB-8 and the mercurial Kylo Ren. Exactly what J.J. Abrams and his team have planned for The Rise of Skywalker is anyone’s guess, really, but it’s still fun to speculate on the words that follow ‘at.’
Who’s speaking in this scene? And to whom? Is it Emperor Palpatine? Or will we begin by checking in on the remnants of the Resistance, who have been pushed close to the brink of extinction by the First Order? All will be revealed on December 20th.
After eight mainline movies across 42 years, Lucasfilm’s current Star Wars saga draws to a close with the aptly titled Rise of Skywalker. It’s officially 141 minutes in length, after Abrams and his team arrived at a final cut earlier this week.
