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 Disney showed fans attending the "Star Wars Celebration"
convention in Chicago the first footage from the movie, which
will be released in theaters in December and will conclude the
story that began in 1977.
A villainous cackle was heard at the end of the trailer, and the
actor who played Palpatine in previous films, Ian McDiarmid,
walked onstage to loud applause from an audience of roughly
10,000 fans, many waving colorful lightsabers.
As of Friday afternoon, the "Rise of Skywalker" trailer had been
viewed online about 11 million times.
Director J.J. Abrams, speaking alongside a handful of cast
members, said the movie takes place some time after the events
of the 2017 film "The Last Jedi."
The footage showed a hug between Princess Leia, played by the
late Carrie Fisher, and Rey (Daisy Ridley). Fisher died in 2016,
but Abrams said that in a "weird miracle," he was able to piece
together unused footage from "Last Jedi" to continue the beloved
character's story.
"Princess Leia lives in this film in a way that's mind-blowing
for me," he said.
The director disclosed little about the plot, however.
"This movie is about this new generation, what they've
inherited, the light and the dark, and are they ready?" he told
the crowd.
In an interview, Abrams told Reuters that writers met with "Star
Wars" creator George Lucas before they started to script the
final chapter in one of the world's most-celebrated movie
franchises.
The goal was "to create something that gives a sense of surprise
and thrill and heartbreak, and shock and awe, but also feeling
like an inevitability," he said.
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The circumstances surrounding Palpatine's return remain a mystery.
The character appeared to die in 1983's "Return of the Jedi." In the
trailer released on Friday, the voice of Luke (Mark Hamill) says to
Rey that "no one's ever really gone."
Luke also tells Rey that "we have passed on all the knowledge," and
that the fight against evil is now hers.
Ridley, John Boyega, who plays Resistance fighter Finn and Oscar
Isaac, who portrays pilot Poe Dameron, all attended the event.
But the largest ovations came for Kelly Marie Tran, who plays
mechanic Rose Tico, and Billy Dee Williams, who returns to the
series as con artist Lando Calrissian after last playing the
character in 1983.
"Lando never really left me," Williams said.
Naomi Ackie, who joined as a new character named Jannah, said she
could not confirm or deny speculation that Jannah was Calrissian's
daughter.
A new droid, D-O, also rolled onto the stage, joining BB-8 and
R2-D2.
Fans were delighted.
"I got chills. I was pretty emotional from the panel leading into it
and then when the trailer kicked off I was just so thrilled. I just
can't wait," said Jon Barnes.
(Reporting by Bob Chiarito and Rollo Ross in Chicago; additional
reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; editing by David
Gregorio, Nick Zieminski and G Crosse)
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