So much has happened in the Star Wars universe since Disney took over the franchise in 2012. Not only have some characters received movies with backstories and had their characters fleshed out, but brand new stories continuing the saga of the Skywalkers have kept fans engaged since Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit theaters in 2015. Disney followed that film with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a movie that was beloved by critics and audiences, but loathed by a vocal segment of fans.
The new movies are centered around a Rey, a girl who discovers that she can tap into the Force, essentially making her a Jedi. Her adventures led her to some of the most iconic characters in Star Wars history, including Luke Skywalker, who ends up training her. The story also features the dark side, too, in the form of Kylo Ren, who is the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo.
Now it’s time to look forward to the next film in the saga, Star Wars: Episode IX, the movie that will wrap the Skywalker story arc that began chronologically with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. So much has happened throughout eight films, that it’s anyone’s guess what might happen in the ninth. There are plenty of fan theories about specific plot points in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, as well as rumors about what path the ninth movie will take.
Here are 10 Star Wars 9 Rumors That Are Confirmed True (And 10 That Aren’t).
Confirmed: Leia will not be recast
The passing of Carrie Fisher not only saddened fans, but also made them wonder about the future of her Star Wars character, Leia Organa.
Leia played an essential part in the resistance in The Last Jedi, and it seemed she was going to play an even more critical role in Episode 9. Thus began rumors that Disney would recast her role and bring another actress in as Leia, much to the chagrin of fans. Fortunately, it does not seem like that’s the plan at all.
After Fisher’s passing, Disney decided to rewrite Episode 9 and has since stated that it hopes to use existing cut footage of Fisher from The Last Jedi to bring Leia into the final film in the new trilogy.
Not: Rey’s mother is Qi’ra from Solo
After The Force Awakens, fans began to speculate about who Rey’s parents were. Some think she’s a Skywalker, while others think she’s a Kenobi. Others believe that her mother and father are someone else entirely.
In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren tells Rey that he found out that her parents were nobodies, people that didn’t matter. That didn’t appease many fans, though, who believe that Kylo lied to Rey and that her birth parents are still someone important from the Star Wars universe.
The latest rumor is that Qi’ra from Solo: A Star Wars movie is Rey’s mother, though the timeline for that doesn’t make sense.
Yes, it is possible that Kylo lied, but at the same time, Qi’ra being Rey’s mother is still highly unlikely.
Confirmed: Billy Dee Williams will return as Lando
When The Force Awakens premiered in 2015, many Star Wars fans wanted to know one thing: where is Lando Calrissian?
Lando spent time with Han Solo back in the day, and their friendship goes back to before Han ever met Leia. Although the new trilogy brought back many of the older actors from its franchise, Lando’s actor, Billy Dee Williams, has still not appeared in the new movies.
Rumors about him turning up in Episode 9 began popping up after Williams mentioned getting in shape for a role. He also later canceled a convention appearance due to a filming schedule. Those fans were in luck: the rumors were true: Williams will reprise his role as Lando in Episode 9.
Not: Episode 9 will be two movies
There is a weird trend in Hollywood to make the final story arc of a trilogy into two movies, rather than one– something fans saw with both The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games.
Most fans would agree that this usually makes the story drag.
Fans started to speculate that Star Wars Episode 9 would get similar treatment: that it would take place over the course of two movies, rather than one. Yes, there are a lot of storylines to wrap up in that final episode, and yes, the film could have a long running time, but the truth is that Episode 9 will likely only be one movie.
Confirmed: Mark Hamill is listed as part of the Star Wars 9 cast
In The Last Jedi, it appeared that Luke Skywalker passed on, becoming one with the Force after helping the Resistance escape a battle with the First Order. One might think that would mean that actor Mark Hamill, as Luke, wouldn’t appear in any Star Wars movie after that.
R umors suggest that he could still turn up as a Force ghost, perhaps guiding Rey on her journey to help the resistance defeat its enemy. A
lthough there is no confirmation as to how Hamill will turn up in the movie, he is officially named in the cast list for Episode 9. It seems that Luke’s story is not yet entirely over, after all. That should make some fans very happy.
Not: Snoke’s other apprentice(s) will appear
There are some things about Star Wars that fans don’t know until a novel, comic book, or other media mentions it. Nonetheless, this is still canon information.
In the official Star Wars Insider Magazine’s special souvenir Star Wars: The Last Jedi issue, Lucasfilm announced that Snoke had at least one other apprentice in addition to Kylo Ren.
In The Last Jedi, Kylo eliminates Snoke, meaning that some believe that the apprentice will turn up in Episode 9, either to take over Kylo or to join him. Perhaps the magazine let something slip that got cut from the movie, but now that the information is out there, is it important?
Confirmed: Star Wars 9 will not retcon The Last Jedi
Though some fans who take issue with The Last Jedi think that their opinions will convince Disney to change some things in Episode 9, that probably won’t happen. When asked about how those complaints might affect Episode 9, Abrams said: “Not in the least. There’s a lot that I would like to say about it, but I feel like it’s a little early to be having the Episode [9] conversation.”
Those fans who want to retcon Leia floating in space or the end of Luke Skywalker are simply out of luck.
What happened in The Last Jedi will remain canon– until the next revival or reboot, at least.
Not: There will be a time jump
Rumors are circulating that Episode 9 will see a huge time jump in the story, taking the characters farther into their futures than in previous films. Boyega helped fuel some of those rumors with comments by mentioning that he had to grow out his hair for filming. He said: “I can’t wait to start shooting the next and final leg of the franchise. The first step is growing out my hair, so you can wait for the trailer to see why.”
That does suggest that some time will pass between The Last Jedi and Episode 9, but it doesn’t specify how much time or if it involves a considerable time jump into the future.
Confirmed: Poe and Finn go on a mission with Chewbacca
Not only were Finn and Rey separated for most of The Last Jedi, but Finn and Poe spent a lot of time apart, too. The two haven’t had many scenes together, but they still have an incredible bond that fans love to see onscreen.
Rumors began to circulate that the two men will finally get to go on at least one adventure together in Episode 9.
Leaked photos from the filming of Episode 9 confirm this: the two men team up with Chewbacca for some kind of mission. These photos don’t really give much information about what’s going on, but it seems like Chewbacca has finally found his place with the Resistance sans Han Solo and Leia.
Not: Obi-Wan Kenobi will appear in Star Wars 9
One character that fans want to see again in the Star Wars franchise is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan played an important part in both the prequels and original trilogy, so it makes sense that perhaps he could appear in Episode 9.
Although the character perished in A New Hope, he continues to appear to Luke later as a Force ghost. That means that his Force ghost, in the form of actor Ewan McGregor, could easily appear to someone like Rey to encourage her to continue fighting the First Order.
Rey heard his voice in The Force Awakens during a Force vision, so it’s not a stretch to believe fans will get to see him one final time in Episode 9.
Confirmed: Rey and Finn will be together again
Although Rey and Finn spent a lot of time together in The Force Awakens, they were separated in The Last Jedi, where each was on their own journey to fulfill their story. That plot led to speculation that the two might come together once more in Episode 9. The good news is that it seems that those rumors are true.
At the 2018 Awesome Con, John Boyega, the actor behind Finn, spoke a little about Episode 9 and what fans can expect. One thing he mentioned there is that Daisy Ridley, the actress behind Rey, sent him a text after reading the script that said: “OMG we’re together again.”
The two actors have such good chemistry together that this should please their fans.
Not: Rey has a secret child
Star Wars fans will go to great lengths to formulate theories and create rumors about movies based on things as simple as casting leaks.
One leak suggested that the production hired a four-year-old for a specific role in Episode 9.
That led fans to believe that this indicates that Rey has a child in the movie and that this young actor will portray that role. It led others to believe that she and Kylo Ren had the child together. Some of the rumors even suggest that Rey became pregnant when she and Kylo touched fingers on Snoke’s ship.
It’s pretty far-fetched, and it’s likely that this child actor is portraying someone else entirely. We can only hope…
Confirmed: Richard E. Grant is not Grand Admiral Thrawn
The expanded universe, now known as Star Wars Legends, has a lot of characters that fans would love to see on film. One such character is Grand Admiral Thrawn, who first appeared in the Timothy Zahn novel Heir to the Empire. In that book, he was the Imperial military commander in control of the Empire’s military forces several years after the events of Return of the Jedi.
When Disney announced that actor Richard E. Grant would join Episode 9, many fans began suggesting that he is Thrawn. Those rumors are untrue, though. When asked about it, Grant said that he was not playing that character. At this time, no one knows who he is supposed to portray in Episode 9.
Not: Star Wars 9 will not use CGI for Leia
In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, digital artists recreated a young Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia for short scene at the end of that movie. With the passing of Fisher, rumors began circulating that digital artists might do the same for Episode 9 so that Leia could still retain her part within that movie’s story.
Although the CGI sort of worked for Rogue One, it wouldn’t work for Episode 9.
Fortunately, Lucasfilm has confirmed that there are no current plans to digitally recreate Fisher, although her role in Episode 9 was initially a larger one. Instead, the studio has plans on using cut footage of the actress from The Last Jedi.
Confirmed: Star Wars 9 ends the Skywalker saga
The Skywalker saga encompasses a total of eight movies, so it’s no surprise that rumors suggest that Episode 9 will wrap up that series of storylines. Fans have already lost some of the most significant characters in that story arc, including Luke Skywalker, and the new movies have put more focus on its new characters, such as Rey, Finn, and Poe.
In a press release, Lucasfilm referred to Episode 9 as “the final installment of the Skywalker saga.” That seems pretty clear about where Star Wars will go in moving forward beyond Episode 9.
That final installment will give fans a chance to say goodbye to the old characters and welcome the new ones for future adventures.
Not: All-out war between the Resistance and First Order
In The Last Jedi, one of the final scenes involved a massive battle between the First Order and the Resistance. Rumors suggest that the final film will be more about that war and feature much more fighting.
At Awesome Con, Boyega said: “Next for me filming wise is Star Wars: Episode IX in July and they’ve officially given us a note to start training soon. I’m going to take a holiday before that, because I think Episode IX you know, regardless of where the story goes, and I haven’t read it, by the way, is going to be all-out war so I know that I’m going to have to do all I can and train for that.”
At that point, though, he had not seen the script, so this is not confirmed.
Confirmed: John Williams will retire after Star Wars 9
What would Star Wars be without its incredible musical score? Every fan can hum the tune to the opening theme song, as well as the “Imperial March” and the various themes that play for individual characters. That’s all due to the fantastic John Williams, who composed the music for the films.
However, many believed that Williams had planned on retiring from his work after Episode 9. It made sense: he has had a long career and is of retirement age.
Those rumors proved correct: Williams announced that Episode 9 would be the last film that he does. It’s the end of an era, in more ways than one, so fans will have to say goodbye to yet another Star Wars icon.
Not: Yoda will share a scene with Rey
One of the most exciting and surprising scenes in The Last Jedi is when Yoda’s Force ghost shows up to tease and advise Luke Skywalker. It was a thrilling moment for fans of the original movies and prequels. But that just wasn’t enough of Yoda to appease them, so many believe that Yoda will appear once more in Episode 9.
The New York Daily News cited that they had a source that confirmed that Yoda would appear in a scene with Rey in the final film, although no one has officially confirmed that as of yet.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense because Rey probably doesn’t even know who Yoda is, but fans would probably still love to see it anyway.
Confirmed: J.J. Abrams will return to direct Star Wars 9
Star Wars Episode 9 has seen a lot of rumors in the directing department. Although Abrams denied that he would return to directing duties, in the end, Disney confirmed that he finally agreed to take up the reigns for the final film in the new trilogy.
Abrams decided that he wanted to be the one in charge of telling that last story in the Skywalker saga, bringing it to its ultimate conclusion in Episode 9.
In the meantime, The Last Jedi‘s director Rian Johnson is hard at working developing his own spinoff trilogy of films set in the Star Wars universe.
Not: Mara Jade will appear in Star Wars 9
Star Wars fans really want to see the expanded universe (now known as Star Wars Legends) make its way into the new movies, although Disney had previously stated that none of what happened in the previous novels, comic books, and video games is even canon now.
One character fans want to see the most is Mara Jade, who eventually became Luke Skywalker’s wife.
When Episode 9 cast Keri Russell, the rumors began circulating that she was, in fact, Mara Jade. Many believe that she is also Rey’s mother, believing that Luke had a secret wife in the new trilogy that no one knew about and that the two made baby Rey together. This goes entirely against what fans learned about Rey’s parents as nobodies in The Last Jedi, though.
—
What rumors do you believe about Star Wars Episode 9? Let us know in the comments!
