Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Final Trailer Breakdown - 14 Things Fans Need To See

What does Rey have in her hand?!

by Ewan Paterson
Star Wars Rise of Skywalker Rey Kylo
Lucasfilm

When Episode IX crashes into theatres in December, it won't just be closing Star Wars' sequel trilogy, but the franchise as fans have come to know it. The Skywalker saga is at an end, and that means Rise of Skywalker has a lot to resolve; structurally, emotionally - you name it. It's a daunting task.

It's proven to be an agonising wait counting down the months until the next entry in the saga lands, but one that's been alleviated ever so slightly by the few trailers released so far. The final one aired this week, and while it has its ups and downs, it was also potentially the most revealing look we've been given at the finale to date.

The latest Rise of Skywalker trailer brought with it a whole host of new details, including the long anticipated return of Ian McDermid's Emperor Palpatine, the conflict between Rey and Kylo Ren, closer looks at certain planets and even a few blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter eggs for die hard Star Wars aficionados to get into in the weeks to come.

There's still plenty that we don't know of course (the Knights of Ren's involvement continues to be kept under wraps - and that's a good thing!), but seeing as how this is our last big look at Episode IX, it makes sense to dive in and get to grips with all the secrets and details the trailer revealed. Punch it!

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.