The Rise of Skywalker D23 Expo footage which was shown on Saturday has now been posted online in high definition. The video is 2 minutes and 11 seconds long and begins with the Binary Sunset, following a montage of the events of A New Hope set to Yoda’s theme. Subsequently, it then shifts gears to Empire, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and finally Revenge of the Sith. It then briefly shows clips from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. This lasts 1:14, over half of the video; we only get 57 seconds of footage from The Rise of Skywalker, but it’s riveting. We see Poe, Finn, Rey, 3P0, and Chewbacca on a desert planet to start out. The footage then quickly shifts to a beautiful image of Carrie Fisher.
We then see Resistance fighters and First Order Star Destroyers, in the hundreds, coming out of hyperspace. Next, Finn and one of the new characters are on the Falcon, and 3P0 seemingly has red eyes. A beam, remeniscant of the death ray from Starkiller Base strikes the surface of a planet. Rey then hurls Anakin’s lightsaber, destroying several trees, showing off her sheer power. Palpatine then says, in a voiceover, “You’re journey nears its end” in a familiar tone. Who he is referring to is a mystery. Ben Solo is then seen traversing the new water planet, weapon in hand, and the Lightsaber duel between him and Rey from the teaser poster ensues. Then, the moment of truth finally arrives.
Rey, cloaked in black (but without yellow eyes, which may be significant), with a double-edged red lightsaber appears, emotionless, in a location we have never seen before. Whether this is a vision or she actually turns to the Darkside of the Force, we do not know. She may be possessed in some way, shape, or form. She’s wearing a ring, eerily similar to the one that Snoke wears in The Last Jedi.
The footage was short but sweet. Regardless of how fans felt about The Last Jedi, one cannot help but get hyped for the final installment in the Skywalker Saga.