Excitement for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is building ahead of the movie’s release this December, with Disney beginning to slam their foot firmly on the marketing accelerator. Toys, books and various other merchandise has hit stores and information about the movie is only going to increase as we enter the final few weeks of waiting.
Much intrigue surrounds many of the good guys from the saga, such as Daisy Ridley’s Rey, John Boyega’s Finn and Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker. Here are 10 questions about the heroes we hope the blockbuster can answer when it comes out this winter.
Who Is Rey?
We’re two chapters into the sequel trilogy and yet we still don’t really know who Rey is. Sure, we know that she was raised on Jakku after being dumped there and that she possesses powers that put even some of the strongest Jedi Knights to shame. But we still don’t know who her parents were and why they abandoned her many years ago.
Kylo Ren said in The Last Jedi that they were ‘nobody’, just ‘drunkards who sold her for drinking money.’ Yet with director JJ Abrams teasing more twists to come we’re anticipating some big revelations regarding the hero of the franchise and her lineage.
Why Is Rey So Powerful?
Rey’s past isn’t the only question we want to be answered regarding Daisy Ridley’s character. As mentioned above her powers are, quite frankly, amazingly big. So far she’s defeated Kylo Ren, outmaneuvered Luke Skywalker in a tense confrontation and even held her own against Supreme Leader Snoke.
And we want to know how all of this is possible. It could be that she’s just particularly strong with the force. Or it could be that she has inherited her abilities genetically, perhaps from Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa or even the evil Sheev Palpatine.
What Will Luke Skywalker Do?
Luke Skywalker was a grumpy old hermit during The Last Jedi, spending much of the movie refusing to train Rey and failing to aid his old friends in the fight against the First Order. He did, however, redeem himself by allowing himself to die so the remaining members of the Resistance, including sister Leia Organa, could escape the planet of Crait just as they looked set to be captured.
Luke is back for The Rise of Skywalker as a Force ghost and there’s been plenty of chatter about what that could mean. Some have claimed he will act as a mentor to Rey while others have suggested he will use his incredible powers to save our heroes in their fight against Palpatine. Given force ghosts can now fully interact with the real world (Yoda burnt a tree using lightning in the last movie) the possibilities are endless.
Who Is Finn?
Rey isn’t the only character whose backstory we’re still in the dark about. Little is known about Finn besides the fact that he was once a Stormtrooper and the obvious line of thought is that he was one of the many, many children captured by the First Order to form part of their formidable army.
We don’t know this for sure, however, and it’d be great to get some clarification. Another rumor has suggested he’ll end up being the son of Lando Calrissian, whose child would have been taken as an act of revenge given his role in the destruction of the Empire. Whatever happens, we just hope we leave the movie theatre with the answers about Finn’s backstory we crave.
Who Does Finn Really Want?
Romance has always been a theme in Star Wars, dating way back to the original trilogy. Then, we had the Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo love triangle (before we knew Luke and Leia were related of course) and then in the prequels, much of the attention was on the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala.
And, so far in the sequel trilogy, Finn has been in the romantic spotlight. He seems to like Rey a lot but then struck up a close bond with Rose Tico in The Last Jedi, with the Resistance member kissing him after his unsuccessful suicide mission on Crait. Who will he choose? And will he end up getting what he wants?
Does Poe Want Finn And Will He Be The First Gay Character?
Rose Tico and Rey aren’t the only people who have been romantically linked to Finn. There’s also been plenty of talk about the former Stormtrooper settling down with fellow Resistance member Poe Dameron, who he helped escape from Starkiller Base during the early members of The Force Awakens.
That chatter hasn’t been helped by Oscar Isaac himself, with the actor repeatedly admitting that he’d love to play the first gay character within Star Wars. Disney’s other big franchise, the MCU, is poised to introduce us to more members of the LGBT community. And that means it’s a possibility that Star Wars will follow suit.
How Strong Is Leia?
For a brief moment in The Last Jedi, it looked as if we’d seen the last of Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa. The character is blasted into outer space when the First Order attacks the Resistance ship the general is on but, in a stunning twist, she uses the force to steer herself back to safety. Given how we’d never seen her use the force in that way before, it was certainly one of the blockbuster’s most surprising moments.
And that begs the question: if Leia can survive coming so close to death what else can she do? There are rumors that she trained in lightsaber combat before falling pregnant with Ben Solo and we’d love to see more of her character doing extraordinary things.
How Did Maz Kanata Get Luke’s Lightsaber?
Maz Kanata is another character who generates much intrigue and speculation. She claims that she oversaw the rise of the old Republic, it’s consequent fall and the Galactic Empire’s ascent to power. And she’s also proven herself to be quite an acquirer, coming in possession of Luke Skywalker’s old lightsaber - the same one he lost after his fight with Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back.
We still don’t know how, however, with Maz previously saying she would answer the question another time. And with just one movie of the saga to go, that time has to be now.
Is C3PO Going To Make A Sacrifice?
One of the standout moments from the D23 footage was C3PO with red eyes, leading to countless theories about what that could mean not just for the droid himself but the rest of the good guys. Some have speculated that he’ll switch sides but leakers have suggested he will instead allow his memory to be wiped so the Resistance can take a giant step towards defeating the First Order.
That would be some sacrifice and would definitely rank as one of the more emotional moments in the movie. We hope it’s not true given how much we love the protocol droid but it would be a fittingly heroic end for one of Star Wars’ most iconic characters.
What Will R2D2 Do?
So far, R2D2 has been a cruel victim of Disney trying to push its own, new characters to the forefront of the saga. The droid was prominent in both the original and prequel trilogies but has found himself on the fringes of the action during The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi so far - with showing the map to Luke Skywalker his only big moment of note.
With C3PO likely to sacrifice himself, what will his long-term friend do? We’re hoping R2D2 gets a piece of the action this time around and a similar act of heroism would again be befitting for the character who first appeared in A New Hope over 40 years ago.
