JJ Abrams And Other Crew Members Discuss Bringing Back Leia For 'The Rise Of Skywalker'

By: Dominic Jones

One of the most discussed aspects of the film going into Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was how the film handled the character of Leia Organa, since her actress, Carrie Fisher, died almost three years before the film's release.  Now that the film has been in theaters for a few weeks, and audiences have been able to see how the filmmakers created the character's role using footage shot for The Force Awakens, some of the key crew members for The Rise of Skywalker took part in a group interview with Vanity Fair's Anthony Breznican about how they created Leia's final performance.

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Josh Gad And Other Celebrities Try To Get Daisy Ridley To Answers Their 'The Rise of Skywalker' Questions

By: Dominic Jones

Back during the run up to The Last Jedi, Daisy Ridley and her Murder on the Orient Express co-star Josh Gad released a series of videos from the set of that film where Gad attempted to get answers from Ridley to his questions about the next Star Wars film.  The videos caught more and more elaborate as they went, with the duo eventually enlisting their co-star Judi Dench, as well as several other celebrities (including JJ Abrams and then-Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow), all of which culminated in Gad hosting the The Last Jedi preview panel at Celebration Orlando in 2017.

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New Scene From 'The Rise of Skywalker' To Debut In "Fortnite" Next Weekend

By: Dominic Jones

So far we've seen several trailers, countless TV spots, a couple of featurettes and one actual clip from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which hits theaters in two weeks.  And all of them have been released in relatively traditional ways (on TV, online, etc.), but Lucasfilm is trying something new as a way to release a new clip from the film.  It was announced today that a scene from The Rise of Skywalker would debut in the video game Fortnite, on December 14th at 2pm ET.

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JJ Abrams Discusses Bringing Back Lando For 'The Rise of Skywalker'

By: Dominic Jones

Ever since the cast of The Force Awakens was revealed back in 2014 (before the film even had a title), fans have been wondering why Billy Dee Williams wasn't a part of the sequel trilogy. Lando fans were dealt a further blow when it was revealed that Williams wouldn't be back for The Last Jedi either.  Lando wound up being the only major character from the original trilogy to be not be played by their original actor in their first appearance in Disney era of Star Wars, with Donald Glover playing the part in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

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JJ Abrams Talks New Force Powers In 'The Rise of Skywalker'

By: Dominic Jones

Just about every film in the Skywalker Saga has introduced new Force powers, and its finale, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, will be no different.  Director and co-writer JJ Abrams spoke with Vanity Fair this week about introducing new Force powers in the film.  Abrams emphasized the importance of bringing something new to each Star Wars film, even when dealing iconic moments in the films like lightsaber duels and chase scenes.

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'The Rise of Skywalker' Press Conference Recap

Image via: @JediTink (Twitter)

By: Dominic Jones

The cast and principle crew members of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker gathered in Los Angeles to hold a press conference promoting the film's released later this month.  The conference was moderated by Selma and A Wrinkle In Time director Ava DuVarney, and featured director JJ Abrams, co-writer Chris Terio, and producer and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, as well as cast members Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Keri Russel, Billy Dee Williams, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Kelly Marie Tran, and Anthony Daniels.

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New 'The Rise of Skywalker' Cast & Crew Interviews

By: Dominic Jones

The final installment in the sequel trilogy, and the Skywalker Saga as a whole, hits theaters next month and the cast and crew want to make sure you know about it.  Many members of the cast and crew have been out and about lately and answering questions about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.  We've compiled some highlights from their interviews, including talk shows and fan Q&As, and featured them below,

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Video: "The Evolution of the Stormtrooper"

By: Dominic Jones

At both San Diego Comic Con and the D23 Expo this summer, a big portion of the Lucasfilm presence was the "Evolution of the Stormtrooper" exhibit.  The exhibit featured costumes of several variations of the stormtrooper from the original trilogy all the way through The Rise of Skywalker with the Sith Trooper (at Comic-Con) and the First Order Jet Trooper (D23).  Today, Lucasfilm has released the video that went along with the costume display on the official Star Wars YouTube.

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JJ Abrams Talks About How 'The Last Jedi' Impacted 'The Rise Of Skywalker'

By: Dominic Jones

A lot has been made about how the decisions Rian Johnson made while making The Last Jedi differed from what JJ Abrams had in mind for Episode VIII and how they might have impacted the story Abrams created for The Rise of Skywalker.  Abrams discussed this in a recent interview with Empire Magazine, where he described Johnson's choices as being "weirdly beneficial" to him when writing the new film.

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JJ Abrams Reveals The First Word Spoken In 'The Rise of Skywalker' Is "At"

By: Dominic Jones

JJ Abrams made an appearance on The Late Show last night, where he spoke with host Stephen Colbert about The Rise Of Skywalker.  After confirming that the movie was finished, the director revealed that the first word spoken in the film is "at" (followed by "six or seven other words).  He also spoke about how they were able to incorporate Leia in the film, despite the fact that Carrie Fisher passed away three years ago, and about also reacts to some joke "theories" about the film.

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JJ Abrams Reveals Runtime For 'The Rise of Skywalker', Talks About How The Script Wound Up On eBay

By: Dominic Jones

With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hitting theaters in less than a month, the promotion for the film is in full swing.  Director JJ Abrams has been out and about talking about the film, and has confirmed that the film is now finished.  In two new interviews today, Abrams revealed the official runtime for the film, and told the story about how a copy of the script wound up on eBay.  The interviews were conducted by EWLive on SiriusXM 109 and Good Morning America.

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Entertainment Weekly Reveals 'Star Wars' Saga Covers And New 'The Rise Of Skywalker' Photos

By: Dominic Jones

With just a month until the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in theaters, we can expect lots of exciting new looks at the film in the coming weeks.  One place we can find new previews is in the next issue of Entertainment Weekly, which will have a cover story about the film within its pages.  Today, EW released that entire cover story on their website, complete with new quotes from JJ Abrams, Daisy Ridley, and others, along with three new pictures from the film and three variant covers celebrating the entire saga (one for each trilogy).

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JJ Abrams, Daisy Ridley, And More Tease 'The Rise of Skywalker' In New Interviews

By: Dominic Jones

We're just a couple of weeks away from the release of the final installment in the Skywalker Saga hitting theaters, and naturally the promotion for the film is starting to ramp up (although its nothing compared to what we'll likely see in December).  Director JJ Abrams, and stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Naomi Ackie, and Kelly Marie Tran have all done interviews in the past few days promoting the film.  We've compiled some of the most intriguing quotes about the film, and analyzed them below.

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Report: Colin Trevorrow And Derek Connolly To Receive "Story By" Credits On 'The Rise of Skywalker'

Trevorrow & Connolly on the set of Safety Not Guaranteed in 2012

By: Dominic Jones

Like many recent Star Wars productions, the final film in the sequel trilogy had some difficulties that resulted in a change in the creative team.  Episode IX was originally supposed to be directed by Colin Trevorrow (Jurrasic World), with a script written by Trevorrow and his frequent collaborator Derek Connolly.  The duo were eventually removed from the film, and replaced by JJ Abrams (The Force Awakens) and Chris Terrio (Argo) as writers and Abrams as director. 

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JJ Abrams Reveals What He Talked About With George Lucas For 'The Rise Of Skywalker'

By: Dominic Jones

With the Skywalker saga coming to a close next month with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, naturally there is huge pressure on director JJ Abrams to deliver.  Luckily, he had somebody who knows more about Star Wars than anyone else that he can consult: George Lucas.  Abrams spoke with Total Film recently about the conversations he had with the Star Wars creator as he was writing the scrip for The Rise of Skywalker.

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JJ Abrams Talks About The Challenges Of Creating The Ending For 'The Rise Of Skywalker'

Abrams at Star Wars Celebration Chicago in April 2019.

By: Dominic Jones

When Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters in December it will not only bring to an end the sequel trilogy, but also the entire Skywalker saga.  The man responsible for crafting that ending is director and co-writer JJ Abrams.  Abrams, who kicked of the sequel trilogy with The Force Awakens in 2015, spoke about the challenges of creating the ending in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly.

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New Photo Of The Knights Of Ren In 'The Rise Of Skywalker' Revealed

By: Benjamin Hart

Few elements in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy have inspired more intrigue and speculation than the Knights Of Ren. We were briefly introduced to these mysterious characters during the "Force back" scene in The Force Awakens, and aside from learning that Kylo Ren is their "master" we know next to nothing about them. And after they didn't even garner a mention in The Last Jedi, writer/director J.J. Abrams has made them relevant again by including them in The Rise Of Skywalker.

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The Cast Of 'The Rise Of Skywalker' Discuss The New Footage, Rey And Kylo's Relationship, And More

By: Dominic Jones

With the reveal of the new footage from Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker at D23 Expo, there are  many questions that need to be asked.  Fortunately many of the people with the answers were on hand and doing interviews, unfortunately (as expected) their answers offered only more questions.  Director JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, as well as cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, Keri Russel, and Anthony Daniels took part in several interviews covering what was revealed and what's still to come when the film hits theaters this December.

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Kevin Smith Says He Was Told The Final Shot Of 'The Rise Of Skywalker' Will "Melt Your Mind"

By: Dominic Jones

Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot director JJ Abrams was everywhere during San Diego Comic Con last weekend, talking about all his favourite things.  This, of course, included Star Wars.  During an interview with IGN, he spoke about his visit to the set of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker last year.  He revealed that during his visit, members of the crew told him to ask director JJ Abrams to let him visit a very specific set for a very specific scene.  Smith then recalled that Abrams told him that the set in question was for the very final shot of the film and that he would regret having the experience of seeing it in a movie theater spoiled if he saw the set.

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Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg & Others Tour 'Galaxy's Edge'

By: Benjamin Hart

Hype for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is building as we draw closer the theme park's opening days at Disneyland and Walt Disney World! Later this month the Disneyland edition will be revealed to everyone who was lucky enough to get a reservation. And for a select few VIPs, the park is already open.

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