What to know before seeing ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’

Warning: Heavy spoilers from Star Wars (excluding TROS) throughout.

Are you behind on cinema’s biggest franchise ever? We’re here to help. 

The release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, due in theaters Dec. 20, will mark the last chapter in one of the greatest stories ever told. After 42 years of twists and turns, fans will finally have closure on the saga George Lucas started in 1977 — a battle between the forces of good and evil that spanned galaxies. TL;DR You don’t want to miss out on what should be an epic finale.

Prioritizing efficiency over thoroughness, here is a beginner’s guide to the sequel trilogy, ideal for getting Star Wars newbies up to speed before TROS. Feel free to skim, scan, and CTRL+F to your heart’s content. May the Force (and this cheat sheet) be with you, always.

What to watch 

There’s no better way to prep for a Star Wars movie than watching other Star Wars films. Luckily, you won’t have to have seen all eight of the existing parts in the Skywalker story to enjoy the new release. Feel free to skip the prequels, The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005) — they’re spotty on quality and don’t directly influence the sequels.

As for the original trilogy, A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983), you’ll probably appreciate TROS more if you’ve seen them. They provide a ton of backstory on why the current conflict is so important, as well as lore explaining various characters and their motivations. 

That said, you should be able to understand the plot of TROS by watching just the other two films in the sequel trilogy: The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017). The Force Awakens (2015) is now streaming on Disney+. The Last Jedi (2017) is currently streaming on Netflix, but is set to move to Disney+ shortly after TROS hits theaters; exact dates here have been a little iffy so check both services until January. 

All told, the two films require 287 minutes of viewing, so roughly five hours when you account for bathroom and snack breaks. Don’t have time for any pre-screening viewing? Then read on! 

Vocab

Here’s the Star Wars terminology you’ll need to know.

The Force: An energy field that runs through all living beings. The power of the Force can be used by warriors sensitive to it, giving these fighters various abilities including telekinesis, mind suggestion, and healing, as well as increased speed, stealth, and defense. 

The Force has both a “Light Side” and a “Dark Side,” meaning it can be used for good as well as evil. You’ve almost definitely seen this referenced on a graphic tee and/or bumper sticker.

Jedi: Force-sensitive warriors intent on using the Force’s power for good. Notable Jedi include Luke Skywalker, Princess/General Leia Organa, Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Fashion-forward robes, lightsabers, and spiritualism abound.

Sith Lords: Force-sensitive warriors intent on using the Force’s power for evil, collectively forming the Galactic Empire in the original trilogy. Formally defeated in Return of the Jedi (1983), but those loyal to their philosophy remain in the sequels. Big fans of masks and uh… death.

The New Republic: The democratic body (aka good guys) governing the galaxy at the start of The Force Awakens. Centers around the Galactic Senate, comprised of leaders from across planets.

The First Order: A military movement introduced in The Force Awakens, intent on restoring the Galactic Empire as it existed under Sith Lord Darth Vader. Over the course of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, we see the Order’s leadership commit multiple genocides and eventually come to full power over the galaxy — eradicating The New Republic.

Stormtroopers: Elite soldiers supporting The First Order.

The Knights of Ren: Working in cooperation with The First Order and the Stromtroopers are the Knights of Ren, a group of Force-sensitive warlords.

The Resistance: Under the guidance of General Leia Organa, this group leads what remains of the rebellion against The First Order. They aim to reinstate democratic rule in the galaxy; generally awesome.

Who to know: The Light Side

We’re going to assume you’re familiar with cultural icons Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Princess/General Leia Organa, R2-D2, C-3PO, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda; they’re the heroes, always have been. Here are the folks you might be less familiar with, as introduced in the sequel trilogy. 

Rey 

A Jedi trained under Luke Skywalker, Rey (Daisy Ridley) is a talented pilot, mechanic, and Resistance fighter. Abandoned by her parents at a young age, Rey first appears in The Force Awakens as a scavenger living on the planet Jakku. We soon learn Rey is naturally sensitive to the Force. 

In The Last Jedi, it is revealed that Rey has a powerful connection (aka “Force-bond”) with Kylo Ren that allows the two to communicate pseudo-telepathically — although the nature of that connection is not entirely clear.

Finn (aka FN-2187)

A former Stormtrooper newly aligned with The Resistance, Finn (John Boyega) is a skilled soldier. Trained from a young age to fight for The First Order, Finn did not know life outside the Stormtrooper Corps until he defected at the start of The Force Awakens. 

Escaping with Poe Dameron, a pilot for The Resistance held captive aboard a First Order ship, Finn planned to run away from the conflict between The First Order and Resistance without ever choosing a side, until he was persuaded to aid in The Resistance’s cause by his new friends.

Finn has provided critical insight into The First Order’s resources and military tactics due to his extensive knowledge of the Stormtrooper Corps. He is romantically linked to Rose Tico. 

Poe Dameron

A pilot for The Resistance, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is a key player under Leia Organa’s guidance. Impassioned and foolhardy, Poe is lovingly referred to as a “trigger-happy flyboy.”

In The Last Jedi, Poe attempted to mutiny Resistance leader Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern) out of fear that the decisions she was making put their movement at risk — solidifying his role as the sequel trilogy’s rogue hero. His attempted uprising failed. 

At the start of TROS, he is once again in good standing with The Resistance.

Rose Tico 

An engineer for The Resistance, Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) aided Finn on a mission in The Last Jedi and proved to be one of the movement’s most dedicated and heroic followers.

Rose’s planet was taken over by The First Order when she was young. She later joined the Resistance, fighting in the biggest battle of The Last Jedi. She is romantically linked to Finn. 

BB-8 

A BB-series astromech droid, BB-8 (Dave Chapman) belongs to Poe Dameron. 

In The Force Awakens, BB-8 is introduced as a crucial supporter of The Resistance — aiding in finding the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker who had gone missing years prior. BB-8 is particularly fond of Rey, having been saved by her multiple times. 

Maz Kanata 

A Force-sensitive alien from the planet Takodana, Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong’o) acts as an important ally to The Resistance. 

Introduced in The Force Awakens as an old friend of Han Solo, Maz occasionally assists with Resistance efforts and, given her thousands of years of living experience, provides needed advice to our heroes. She is jokingly(?), romantically linked to Chewbacca. 

Who to know: The Dark Side 

With a new generation of good guys, comes a new generation of bad guys. Here are the sequel trilogy villains carrying on the legacy of Darth Vader. 

Kylo Ren (aka Ben Solo) 

The son of General Leia Organa and Han Solo, Ben Solo (Adam Driver) is a Force-sensitive warrior who trained under his Jedi uncle Luke Skywalker until he turned to the Dark Side, assuming the name of Kylo Ren and becoming master of the Knights of Ren. 

He aspires to be as powerful and as evil as his grandfather Darth Vader, although Rey — with whom Kylo is mysteriously connected — senses there is still Light within him. At the end of The Last Jedi, Kylo became Supreme Leader of The First Order.

General Armitage Hux 

An official of The First Order, General Armitage Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) served under Supreme Leader Snoke in both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. He is responsible for the destruction of multiple planets, using a high-powered superweapon (aka Starkiller Base), and killing millions. Entering TROS, Hux’s relationship with Supreme Leader Kylo Ren is strained.

Snoke

Snoke (Andy Serkis) was a Force-sensitive alien who trained Kylo Ren and acted as the Supreme Leader of The First Order during The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Kylo murdered Snoke in the end of The Last Jedi, and assumed his role as Supreme Leader.

Captain Phasma 

Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) was a Stormtrooper captain for The First Order in both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. She was killed by ex-Stormtrooper Finn in The Last Jedi. 

DJ

Appearing only in The Last Jedi, DJ (Benecio del Toro) is a master hacker capable of thwarting even the most sophisticated of technologies. He is neither allied with The First Order, nor The Resistance — instead focusing on self-preservation. DJ double-crossed Finn and Rose in his final scene of The Last Jedi. Although he is believed to be alive, it is unclear if DJ will appear in TROS.

What to know from The Force Awakens (2015) 

At the start of The Force Awakens, The New Republic reigns. They are threatened by the growing power of The First Order, a paramilitary organization eager to reinstate imperial rule under Supreme Leader Snoke. 

In order to better defend The New Republic from Snoke, The Resistance seeks to bring Jedi Luke Skywalker back into the fold.

In order to better defend The New Republic from Snoke, The Resistance seeks to bring Jedi Luke Skywalker, who disappeared years prior, back into the fold. Poe Dameron and BB-8, a Resistance fighter and his droid, begin the movie searching for Luke, before Poe is captured by The First Order.

BB-8, having evaded The First Order, wanders in search of help on the planet Jakku. There, he meets and befriends Rey, a scavenger eager to aid The Resistance. 

Captive aboard a First Order ship, Poe meets Finn, a Stormtrooper who wants to defect from the Stormtrooper Corps. Together, the two commandeer a starfighter and escape, but not before Kylo Ren, a powerful First Order leader, tortures Poe and learns that BB-8 contains a map to Luke Skywalker’s location. 

A race to reach BB-8 ensues. Soon, Finn meets with Rey and BB-8, having crash landed on Jakku, believing his ally Poe to be dead. Finn, Rey, and BB-8 then steal a ship — coincidentally, the iconic Millennium Falcon once owned by Han Solo — and flee.

The group proves to be a good team, avoiding First Order capture; although, they are later stopped by a large ship piloted by Han Solo and Chewbacca, who are eager to regain control of the Millenium Falcon. There is a brief altercation, but Han and Chewie soon agree to help the group.

Meanwhile, the power of The First Order grows as Starkiller Base, a superweapon under the control of General Hux, begins destroying enemy planets. It is also revealed that Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and General Leia Organa.

It is revealed that Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and General Leia Organa.

On the Falcon, Han discovers that BB-8’s map of Luke’s location is incomplete. The group soon seeks the help of Maz Kanata, an alien with connections to smuggling networks that could get BB-8 safely in the hands of The Resistance as they sort out how to complete the map.

While with Maz on the planet of Takodana, Rey is drawn by The Force to the lightsaber of Luke Skywalker currently in Maz’s possession. When Rey touches the weapon, she is overwhelmed with disturbing visions and vows to never touch it again — but Maz entrusts Finn to keep it for Rey.

The First Order, looking for BB-8, attacks Takodana. Poe, who in fact survived the crash landing on Jakku, rescues much of the crew and reunites Han and Leia. Rey is captured by The First Order and Kylo Ren. 

While in Stormtrooper custody at Starkiller Base, Rey discovers she can use the Force to resist Kylo’s interrogation and escape. She begins wandering the halls looking for an exit.

At the same time, Han, Chewie, and Finn arrive looking to free Rey and sabotage Starkiller Base. 

After begging his son to come back to the Light, Han is murdered by Kylo.

The group is reunited, but soon run into Kylo. After begging his son to come back to the Light, Han is murdered by Kylo. Seeking revenge, Rey and Finn battle Kylo, with Rey wielding the Skywalker lightsaber at last. Neither side prevails before Chewie rescues Rey and Finn. 

Poe successfully sabotages Starkiller Base and it soon implodes. Although they are without their superweapon, The First Order has done enough to regain control of the galaxy and The New Republic falls.

R2-D2, safe at what remains of Resistance territory on the planet D’Qar, reveals the rest of the map showing Luke Skywalker’s location. Rey and Chewie board the Falcon for the planet Ahch-To where they find Luke has exiled himself, believing he has failed the Jedi Order. 

Rey hands Luke his lightsaber.

What to know from The Last Jedi (2017) 

At the start of The Last Jedi, The Resistance base on D’Qar is under attack by The First Order. As General Leia Organa attempts to evacuate the area, Poe leads an unauthorized counterattack against The First Order fleet, and is subsequently demoted for disobeying orders. 

The ships are now dangerously low on fuel and could soon be caught by The First Order.

Although Poe’s Resistance fighters managed to do some damage, The First Order begins tracking The Resistance fleet and pursues them through hyperspace. Under the order of Kylo Ren, they attack again — killing many and injuring Leia in the process.

While Leia recovers in the medical wing, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo leads the fleet, noting that the ships are now dangerously low on fuel and could soon be caught by The First Order. Poe, again ignoring orders, directs Finn and Rose Tico, a Resistance mechanic, to find a codebreaker capable of disabling The First Order’s tracking device.

After seeking advice from Maz Kanata, Finn and Rose take BB-8 to the town of Canto Bright on the planet Catonica, where they meet a hacker named DJ. DJ agrees to help disable the tracker on The First Order flagship, and the group nearly succeeds before being captured by Captain Phasma.

On Ahch-To, Rey attempts to convince Luke Skywalker to join in The Resistance efforts. Although he initially refuses, Luke eventually takes Rey as a mentee and teaches her the ways of the Force. 

However, when it is revealed that Rey and Kylo have been communicating using the Force (in ways not even they understand), Rey learns that Kylo first turned to the Dark Side because of Luke. 

Luke explains that when Kylo was a young Jedi training under him, Luke sensed the darkness corrupting Kylo. Out of fear, Luke contemplated killing Kylo — but when Kylo found out, he proceeded to murder all the other young Jedi training under Luke and join Snoke for good.

Rey reacts angrily, and she and Luke fight. Believing there is still goodness in Kylo, Rey departs to pursue The First Order fleet and bring Kylo over to The Resistance. However, when Rey meet Kylo, she realizes she has been tricked and is brought before Snoke. 

Kylo then declares himself Supreme Leader of The First Order.

When Snoke demands Kylo kill Rey, Kylo defies Snoke and murders him using the Force. Side-by-side Kylo and Ren battle Snoke’s guards. 

Ren believes Kylo is coming towards the Light Side, but when they are victorious, Kylo asks Ren to join him in ruling over a new empire. Rey, repulsed by Kylo, battles him in an epic fight that ends with the Skywalker lightsaber breaking in half. 

Kylo then declares himself Supreme Leader of The First Order. General Hux seems to contemplate whether he should kill Kylo, before siding with him against The Resistance — and entering the film’s final battle. 

Aboard The Resistance flagship, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo orders an evacuation. Poe, disagreeing with her strategy, attempts to stage a mutiny but is stopped by Leia. Amilyn, recognizing someone will need to pilot The Resistance ship and distract The First Order fleet while the escape pods depart, stays aboard as Leia leads the evacuation to the nearby planet of Crait. 

Amilyn then crashes The Resistance flagship into The First Order flagship, sacrificing herself and giving Rey, Finn, Rose, and BB-8 an opportunity to escape. 

Having been double-crossed by DJ, Finn and Rose are about to be executed by Captain Phasma  on The First Order ship when the crash occurs. BB-8 helps the pair escape and Captain Phasma is killed by Finn. DJ’s betrayal — revealing The Resistance’s evacuation plan to The First Order — results in many of the escape pods being shot down. 

The distraction has allowed The Resistance to escape onto the Millennium Falcon.

The First Order pursues the surviving Resistance fighters to Crait where an epic battle ensues; Poe, Rose, Finn, Rey, Chewie, and the rest of The Resistance battle Kylo, Hux, and the rest of The First Order.

Suddenly, Kylo is confronted by Luke. Engaged in a lengthy fight and discussion of their shared past, Kylo eventually realizes Luke cannot be harmed, and that the figure in front of him is merely a projection of the Force. 

The distraction has allowed The Resistance to escape onto the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Rey, but results in Luke seemingly dying back on the planet of Ahch-To. Rey and Kylo communicate through the Force one last time, as Rey symbolically shuts the door on Kylo.

Rey then sits fearful aboard the Falcon, knowing Luke has died, but Leia reassures her, “We have everything we need.” The final scene shows young, aspiring Resistance fighters on Catonica.

What to expect from The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The Rise of Skywalker is sure to see Kylo and Rey face off once more as The Resistance and The First Order fight to the bitter end. We also know three new characters are joining the battle — Zorii Bliss played by Keri Russell, Jannah played Naomi Ackie, and droid D-O. Lando Calrissian, played by Billy Dee Williams, will also return to the Star Wars universe for the first time in 36 years. 

Although Carrie Fisher died in 2016, archival footage of Fisher as Leia will appear in TROS. 

Extra credit: 

If you’re feeling in the mood for more Star Wars, check out the other Skywalker saga films listed above — plus, the standalone films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Solo: A Star Wars Story. 

As you’ve probably heard, The Mandalorian, a Star Wars TV series releasing week-to-week on Disney+, is so far, so awesome and worth viewing in its own right. The Season 1 finale is set for Dec. 27, so catching up on all the Baby Yoda action will give you a ton talk about post-TROS. 

Finally, if you’re a gamer, try your hand at Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — available on Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Among our top ten favorite games of 2019, Fallen Order gave us the incomparable Cal Kestis and even more to love about this galaxy far, far away.