A year after the events of The Last Jedi, the surviving remnants of the Resistance face the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. Meanwhile, the ancient evil of Emperor Palpatine returns from the dead, threatening to destroy the galaxy with a secret fleet. Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron must lead a desperate mission to locate the Sith wayfinder, while Rey confronts her destiny and the dark warrior Kylo Ren in a climactic battle that will determine the fate of the Force forever.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
December 20, 2019 |
Running time |
142 minutes |
Genre |
Sci-Fi
Adventure Action |
Budget |
$275,000,000 |
Box Office |
$1,077,022,372 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
J.J. Abrams |
Produced by |
Kathleen Kennedy J.J. Abrams Michelle Rejwan |
Written by |
Chris Terrio J.J. Abrams |
Music by |
John Williams |
Cinematography |
Dan Mindel |
Edited by |
Maryann Brandon Stefan Grube |
Production Co. |
Lucasfilm Ltd. Bad Robot |
Distributed by |
Walt Disney Studios |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #12 in Star Wars Collection
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The Plot
The Signal from the Dead
One year following the demise of Supreme Leader Snoke and the Battle of Crait, a chilling broadcast echoes across the galaxy using the voice of the late Emperor Palpatine, threatening a catastrophic revenge. In response, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren launches a brutal assault on Alazmec colonists inhabiting the healing surface of Mustafar. Accompanied by his stormtroopers, Ren slaughters the cultists to retrieve a Sith wayfinder that once belonged to his grandfather, Darth Vader. Seeking the source of the mysterious broadcast which he views as a threat to his absolute power, Ren plugs the device into his TIE whisper. The wayfinder guides him through a crimson nebula to the legendary hidden world of the Sith: Exegol.
Upon landing at the base of a colossal floating citadel, Ren ignites his cross-guard lightsaber and descends into the depths. He traverses a vast chamber lined with ancient statues of Sith legends until he reaches a dark laboratory. Here, the voice of Palpatine taunts him, claiming that "Snoke trained you well." When Ren retorts that he killed Snoke, the voice reveals a horrifying truth: Palpatine "made" Snoke. As lightning crackles around the young Supreme Leader, the voice shifts morphing from Palpatine to Snoke, and finally to Vader, chillingly declaring, "I have been every voice... you have ever heard... inside your head."
Ren discovers vats containing cloned bodies of Snoke before confronting the source of the voice: the emaciated, blind, and decaying figure of Darth Sidious, mechanically supported by a massive Ommin harness. Sidious reveals he has conquered death through the "unnatural" abilities of the dark side. Unimpressed, Ren threatens the Sith Lord, but Sidious offers him something greater: a new Empire. The ice of Exegol cracks open to reveal the Final Order—a massive fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers capable of destroying planets. Sidious promises Ren command of this fleet and the title of new Emperor, on the condition that he kills Rey, the last Jedi, warning him that "she is not who you think she is."
The Spy and the Falcon
Meanwhile, aboard the Millennium Falcon, Finn and Poe Dameron engage in a high-stakes game of dejarik with Chewbacca. When the humans joke about Chewbacca's agonizingly slow move, implying he might be cheating, the Wookiee's temper flares, forcing them to concede. The lighthearted moment is cut short when the Falcon arrives at the Sinta Glacier Colony to meet a Resistance informant, the Ovissian named Boolio. He hands over a data encoder containing vital intelligence from a mole within the First Order.
The mission is compromised as TIE fighters ambush them. Finn rushes to the gunner turret while Poe pilots the Falcon through a chaotic escape, destroying pursuers and eventually jumping to hyperspace through an ice wall. To shake off the relentless First Order tracking, Poe engages in "lightspeed skipping," rapidly jumping between dangerous systems like the Mirror-Spires of Ivexia and the Megafauna Chasm. The reckless maneuver heavily damages the Falcon but successfully evades the enemy, allowing them to limp back to base.
The Jedi's Struggle
On the jungle moon of Ajan Kloss, Rey meditates, floating amidst levitating rocks as she attempts to commune with the Jedi of the past. She pleads, "Be with me," but hears only silence. Frustrated and feeling disconnected, she lowers herself, confessing her failure to General Leia Organa. Leia, serving as her master, encourages her not to give up. Reinvigorated, Rey runs a rigorous training course, leaping through jungles and deflecting bolts from a remote droid. However, her training is interrupted by a sudden Force connection with Kylo Ren.
Through the bond, she is assaulted by terrifying visions: the Final Order fleet, Han Solo's dying face, Luke Skywalker's despair, and her own parents departing Jakku. Overwhelmed, she strikes down the training remote, accidentally damaging BB-8. Shaken, she admits to Leia that she feels unworthy of wielding Luke's lightsaber. When the Falcon returns, flaming and battered, Rey and Poe bicker over the ship's condition, with Poe asserting that Rey should be fighting alongside them rather than training. Their argument is cut short by the gravity of the intel Finn and Poe have returned with.
Dark Tidings and a New Quest
In the Resistance briefing room, Poe delivers the harrowing news: "Somehow, Palpatine returned." The intel confirms that in sixteen hours, the Sith fleet on Exegol will launch to subjugate the galaxy. While the Resistance debates the impossibility of this resurrection—citing dark science and cloning—Rey realizes she must finish what Luke Skywalker started. She reveals to Leia that Luke had been hunting for a Sith wayfinder to locate Exegol. Discovering notes in the ancient Jedi texts, Rey vows to find the wayfinder, starting her search in the Forbidden Desert of Pasaana.
Although she intends to go alone, her friends refuse to let her. Poe, Finn, Chewbacca, and C-3PO insist on accompanying her. Leia grants her blessing, handing Rey the Skywalker lightsaber and whispering, "Tell me when you get back." As the team prepares to depart, C-3PO emotionally tells R2-D2 that he is the best friend he ever had, anticipating the dangers ahead.
The Supreme Council
Aboard the Star Destroyer Steadfast, Kylo Ren has his helmet reforged by a Sith alchemist, the red cracks symbolizing his fractured psyche. He convenes the Supreme Council, slamming Boolio’s severed head onto the table to announce the presence of a spy. General Hux and Allegiant General Enric Pryde look on as Ren declares that the traitor will not stop the First Order's ascension. When General Quinn questions the wisdom of allying with Sith "conjurers," Ren chokes him to death with the Force and hurls him to the ceiling, asserting his dominance before ordering the hunt for Rey to begin.
The Festival of the Ancestors
The Resistance team arrives on Pasaana amidst the colorful Aki-Aki Festival of the Ancestors. While trying to keep a low profile, Rey is approached by a local child who gives her a necklace. Moments later, Kylo Ren forces a connection through their bond, taunting Rey about her parents and her loneliness. He snatches the necklace from her neck through the Force, using it to analyze the material and pinpoint her exact location. Realizing they are found, Rey warns her friends to flee.
Before they can escape, a stormtrooper spots them, but the trooper is shot by a masked stranger. The figure reveals himself to be Lando Calrissian, the legendary Rebel General. Lando explains that he and Luke had tracked a Sith loyalist named Ochi of Bestoon to Pasaana years ago, believing Ochi held a clue to the wayfinder. They found only Ochi's abandoned ship. Lando points the young heroes toward the ship's last known location in the desert, though he declines to join the fight, citing his days as a soldier are over.
They Fly Now
Speeding across the desert on stolen skiffs, the group is pursued by First Order treadspeeders launching jet troopers into the air. "They fly now!" C-3PO exclaims in horror, a sentiment echoed in disbelief by Finn and Poe. A high-speed chase ensues; Rey and BB-8 disable a treadspeeder with smoke and blaster fire, while Poe and Chewbacca handle the aerial threats. However, the chase ends disastrously when they are thrown from their skiffs into the Sinking Fields. Caught in the quicksand, Finn screams to Rey that he "never told her" something important, but they are swallowed by the sand before he can finish.
They fall into a subterranean tunnel network, unharmed but surrounded by bones. They discover the remains of Ochi and a mysterious dagger inscribed with Sith runes. C-3PO identifies the language but refuses to translate it, citing a programming restriction forbidding the translation of Sith output. Their exploration is interrupted by a giant, serpentine Vexis. Rather than attacking, Rey notices the creature is wounded. She uses the Force to heal its injury, calming the beast. In gratitude, the serpent slithers away, revealing an exit.
Showdown in the Desert
Emerging near Ochi's ship, Rey senses Kylo Ren's arrival. She sends the others to the ship and confronts Ren's TIE whisper as it roars across the desert sands. In a feat of acrobatics and power, Rey leaps over the interceptor, severing its wing with her lightsaber and causing it to crash. Meanwhile, the Knights of Ren and stormtroopers ambush the rest of the team, capturing Chewbacca and loading him onto a transport.
Finn alerts Rey, who frantically uses the Force to pull the departing transport back to the ground. Kylo Ren, emerging from his wreckage, exerts his own will to push the transport away. The strain triggers a burst of dark Force lightning from Rey’s fingertips, obliterating the transport instantly. Horrified by her own power and believing she has killed Chewbacca, Rey flees with her friends in Ochi’s ship, leaving Ren to watch the Millennium Falcon—now captured by the First Order—being taken away.
The Forbidden Translation
Aboard Ochi’s ship, the group mourns Chewbacca. They realize the Sith dagger was lost with him, but C-3PO reveals the translation is stored in his memory—locked behind the prohibition. Poe suggests a desperate plan: visit a black market droidsmith on Kijimi to bypass the block, a process that will wipe C-3PO’s memory. On Kijimi, they encounter Zorii Bliss, a spice runner from Poe’s past, who nearly turns them in before agreeing to help.
The tiny droidsmith Babu Frik prepares for the procedure. C-3PO, accepting his fate, takes "one last look" at his friends before the wipe. The hack works: the droid recites the coordinates to the Emperor's wayfinder, located in the wreckage of the second Death Star on the moon of Kef Bir. As the First Order arrives to occupy Kijimi, Rey senses that Chewbacca is still alive on Ren’s Star Destroyer. Zorii gives Poe a Captain’s Medallion to help them board the ship, urging them to save their friend.
Rescue on the Steadfast
Using the medallion, the team lands inside the Steadfast. Finn and Poe rush to the detention block to rescue Chewbacca, while Rey is drawn by the Force to Kylo Ren’s quarters. There, she finds the dagger and the charred helmet of Darth Vader. As she touches the dagger, she and Ren are connected again. Ren, physically on Kijimi but projecting to her, reveals the truth about her parents: they were not "filthy junk traders" who sold her for drinking money, but loving parents who assumed the identity of "nobodies" to hide her from Palpatine. Ochi killed them because they refused to give her up.
Rey and Ren engage in a duel through the Force bond, their lightsabers clashing across the distance between the ship and the planet surface. Ren shatters the pedestal holding Vader's helmet, revealing Rey's location. He returns to the ship immediately. Meanwhile, Finn and Poe free Chewbacca but are captured by Stormtroopers. They are lined up for execution, but General Hux intervenes, shooting the troopers. Hux reveals himself as the spy, not out of altruism, but out of a spiteful desire to see Kylo Ren lose. He allows the heroes to escape in the Falcon.
The Dyad and the Granddaughter
Kylo Ren confronts Rey in the hangar of the Steadfast. He drops the final revelation: Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter. They are a dyad in the Force, two halves of a whole. He urges her to join him so they can kill the Emperor and rule together. Rey rejects him, escaping onto the Falcon as it blasts out of the hangar. Following the escape, Allegiant General Pryde deduces Hux’s treason and executes him with a blaster shot to the chest, taking full command of the military.
The Wreckage of the Death Star
The Falcon travels to Kef Bir, where the team meets Jannah and a tribe of former stormtroopers who mutinied against the First Order. They agree to help repair the Falcon. Rey, driven by urgency, takes a skimmer across the turbulent ocean to the massive ruins of the Death Star. In the Emperor's throne room, she finds the wayfinder. Touching it triggers a vision of a dark version of herself—"Empress Palpatine"—wielding a double-bladed red lightsaber. The vision attacks her, leaving Rey shaken.
Kylo Ren tracks her to the wreckage, demanding the wayfinder. He destroys it in his hand, claiming the only way to Exegol is with him. Enraged, Rey attacks him. They duel fiercely amidst the crashing waves on the slick metal remains of the battle station. Ren gains the upper hand, preparing to strike a final blow. At that precise moment, a dying Leia Organa reaches out through the Force, whispering "Ben." Distracted by his mother's voice, Ren drops his guard. Rey catches his weapon and impales him.
Redemption and Exile
Sensing Leia’s death, Rey is overcome with guilt. She uses the Force to heal Kylo’s fatal wound, telling him, "I did want to take your hand. Ben's hand." She flees in Ren's TIE fighter. Alone on the wreckage, Ben Solo is visited by a memory of his father, Han Solo. In a poignant replay of their final moment, Han touches his son’s face. Ben tries to speak, saying "Dad...", to which Han replies, "I know." Casting away his crimson lightsaber into the sea, Ben Solo reclaims his identity, leaving Kylo Ren behind.
Rey exiles herself to Ahch-To, intent on burning the TIE fighter and throwing Luke’s lightsaber into the flames to end the Jedi path. The spirit of Luke Skywalker catches the weapon, admonishing her that "a Jedi's weapon deserves more respect." He reveals he and Leia knew of her lineage but trained her anyway, seeing her heart. He gives her Leia’s lightsaber and directs her to his old X-wing, submerged in the waters. Luke urges her to face Palpatine, stating, "Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi."
The Battle of Exegol
Using the wayfinder from Ren’s ship, Rey pilots the X-wing to Exegol, transmitting the coordinates to the Resistance. Finn and Poe, now leading the Resistance following Leia's passing, launch a desperate attack against the Sith fleet. They plan to destroy the navigation tower guiding the fleet out of the nebula. However, Pryde shifts the navigation signal to his command ship, the Steadfast. Finn and Jannah lead a ground assault on the hull of the Star Destroyer to disable the signal, while Poe and the pilots face overwhelming odds against thousands of Sith TIEs.
The Final Order
Rey enters the Sith Citadel and faces her grandfather. Palpatine demands she strike him down in anger, which would allow his spirit and all the Sith to pass into her, making her Empress. Rey refuses, but Palpatine opens the ceiling to reveal the Resistance fleet being decimated, tempting her to save her friends. Ben Solo arrives on Exegol, fighting his way through the Knights of Ren. Sensing him, Rey uses their bond to teleport a lightsaber to Ben. Together, they defeat the Knights and the Sovereign Protectors, standing united against the Emperor.
Palpatine laughs, realizing their bond is a "dyad in the Force" with power like life itself. He violently drains their life essence to rejuvenate his own decaying body, restoring himself to full power. He flings Ben into a chasm and unleashes a storm of Force lightning into the sky, short-circuiting the Resistance fleet. "Nothing will stop the return of the Sith!" he bellows.
I Am All The Jedi
Just as all hope seems lost, Lando Calrissian arrives with a massive armada of citizen ships from across the galaxy—thousands of people rising up against the darkness. "It’s not a navy, sir," an officer tells Pryde. "It’s just... people." The tide of the space battle turns as the citizens engage the Final Order.
On the ground, a weakened Rey stares at the stars, whispering, "Be with me." The voices of past Jedi answer her call: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Kanan Jarrus, Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, and others. They lend her their strength. Rey rises, igniting both Luke and Leia’s lightsabers. Palpatine unleashes his lightning, screaming, "I am all the Sith!" Rey crosses the blades, absorbing the energy and walking forward. "And I..." she exerts her final strength, "...am all the Jedi." She reflects the lightning back at Palpatine, disintegrating him and destroying the Sith throne. The release of energy collapses the citadel and wipes out the cultists.
Victory and the Skywalker Legacy
The strain of the effort kills Rey, and she collapses lifelessly. Ben Solo climbs from the chasm and finds her body. distraught, he embraces her and transfers his own life force into her. Rey gasps back to life. Overjoyed, they smile and share a kiss. However, the effort costs Ben his life; he smiles peacefully before collapsing and vanishing into the Force, just as his mother’s body disappears on Ajan Kloss. The Resistance succeeds in destroying the Steadfast and the Sith fleet. The galaxy celebrates as Star Destroyers fall from the skies over Bespin, Jakku, and Endor.
Sometime later, Rey travels to the Lars homestead on Tatooine. She buries the lightsabers of Luke and Leia wrapped in cloth deep within the sand. She ignites her own newly constructed weapon—a lightsaber with a golden-yellow blade. An elderly woman passing by asks her name. Rey looks to the horizon, seeing the smiling Force ghosts of Luke and Leia. turning back to the woman, she replies, "Rey Skywalker." She stands with BB-8, watching the twin suns set.
