Ben’s connection to Rey sparked a desire inside; a craving to split from the First Order, and to kill the past that was dragging him down, and rule over the galaxy with Rey by his side. He sensed immense power in her; a force Snoke did not deserve to wield. She sensed hidden warmth within him; a force that could return harmony to a chaotic existence. They came close to an understanding, but by The Last Jedi‘s climax, an even larger divide cracked between them.
“But this is your fight,” Luke continues. Rey can do for Kylo Ren what Luke did for his father. She can stand. She can resist. In that will, a Skywalker can rise. Ben Solo can rise. Episode IX will need that hard stare.
On a desert planet, our new core heroes of Rey (Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac) stumble forth from the Millennium Falcon with Chewie (Jason Suotamo) and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) in tow. The landscape is similar to what we saw in the first teaser when Rey drew her laser sword against Kylo Ren’s Tie Silencer. Rey has her staff in hand, and what appears to be a repaired Luke lightsaber on her belt.
Over the hill, they encounter a raucous celebration. Word out of Star Wars Celebration revealed the desert planet to be Pasaana and not Tatooine or Jakku. The species we see partying below are the Aki-Aki, a race who celebrate the joys and color of life. More parties should incorporate kites, I say.
Carrie Fisher continues her journey as General Leia Organa in The Rise of Skywalker thanks to unused footage from The Force Awakens. It’s easy to speculate that the jungle planet seen here is either Yavin 4 or Endor, but considering Abrams went to long lengths to use familiar landscapes under new names with Jakku and Pasaana, it is just as likely that this is a new locale as well.
Despite its apparent dissolution at the end of The Last Jedi, the Resistance lives to fight another day in The Rise of Skywalker. Jumping out of hyperspace, a squadron of X-Wings, Y-Wings, A-Wings, and B-Wings (my favorite!) appear ready for war. In addition to the small fighters, we also get the classic CR90 Rebel Corvette that kickstarted this whole shebang in opening moments of A New Hope.
