The following highlights and recap comes from the Episode IX panel filmed in Chicago during Star Wars Celebration 2019. The panel was shown at 11 AM CT, and revealed the long awaited Episode IX title and first teaser clip for the last installment of the Skywalker saga.

Update: The 90-minute panel is now available to watch by clicking here.

If you don’t have time to read the whole thing, here are some major highlights about Episode IX:

-The title of Episode IX is, “The Rise of Skywalker.”

-JJ says they’re still editing and doing special effects. They did filming in England and Jordan. The crew prepped the Jordan location for months and they filmed there for three weeks.

-JJ: “This movie is about what they inherited, the light and the dark, as they face the greatest evil, are they prepared, are they ready?”

-JJ never wanted to include a CGI Leia. They wrote around her scenes from The Force Awakens and he feels that her “magic” is still in it.

-JJ says that the Resistance is on an adventure together, not split up like they were in The Last Jedi. He’s most excited about the cast dynamic.

-Anthony hints that C-3PO is ready to step up and be part of the action. “The droid fights back.”

-Naomi Ackie’s character’s name is Jannah. She meets up with the rest of the cast and seems to go on the adventure with them. She laughs off a question about whether or not she is Lando’s daughter.

-John Boyega confirms that Finn is now officially a part of the Resistance and his costume reflects his new identity.

-Captain Phasma confirmed to be gone. No mention of Supreme Leader Snoke or General Hux.

-There are lots of jokes about a Finn-Rose-Rey love triangle or a Rey-Kylo relationship. Daisy says there are no shots of a semi-naked Kylo Ren in this film.

-Oscar Isaac says that Poe’s ability to find humanity in the darkest of situations and his humor is an element of the Force.

-Daisy says that Rey “might” have read the books she took from Ahch-To but mentions that Luke’s lightsaber “lives.”

-When Stephen asks about new Force powers, Daisy directs the question to JJ, but nothing specific is mentioned.

-Stephen asks Kelly Marie Tran if Rose is also included on this adventure that everyone goes on. It’s not directly answered, but JJ says that he’s most grateful to Rian Johnson for casting Kelly Marie Tran.

-Joonas says the costume has stayed the same since 1977 and that his character wouldn’t be memorable without Peter Mayhew.

-JJ thought they weren’t able to top the alien costumes that they produced for The Force Awakens, but the creature team managed to pull together and outdo themselves. There’s a “fun” alien creature named Klad. He’s mentioned to be a friend of the Resistance that Chewie brought in, and a shot of him with Snap Wexley on a jungle planet is shown.

-They show a robotic version of a new droid, D-O (pronounced Dio). He has a shriller beep than BB-8 and is much narrower and smaller. He has three slits on the top of his head and a green “nose.” His head looks like a backwards megaphone.

-The teaser trailer was shown, with Ian McDermid appearing on stage at the end to say, in his iconic Palpatine voice, “Roll it again.”

 

Full recap:

(A/N: Some of the quotes may have words and hesitations omitted, although not intentionally. I was typing as fast as I could!)

-Opened with a blooper reel from the original Star Wars films

-Behind the scenes footage of Episode IX shown

-Clip of George saying that he had originally planned for nine films

-Stephen Colbert announced to be the moderator of the panel – “We know Star Wars isn’t just a film or a TV show or a holiday special.” [audience cheers]

-Stephen jokes about being Force projected from New York, audience is cheering

-Stephen: JJ understands the joy of science fiction

-Stephen says he visited the Episode IX set. He went inside “the thing” and saw who “they” were. He says it’ll be more exciting when he can use nouns.

-Kathleen Kennedy comes out onto the stage along with JJ, audience stands and cheers

-Stephen asks KK what the moment is like, right before you “open the present”

-KK – “The thing I think about all the time is the responsibility we have. It’s something that we talk about every minute that we’re involved with making these movies. The little film you saw in the beginning said this is the third act…it is. That’s exactly what it is and we immersed ourselves in everything George created, talked about it endlessly, and are so excited because I think what you’ll end up seeing, you’ll be so happy with. We are incredibly excited to show it. And this guy sitting next to me [JJ], he cares more than anybody I know.”

-JJ – Thanks the audience for coming. “At this stage, we’ve been so in that focused cave of the editing room and working so hard with a small group of people and you’re aware of what Star Wars means outside of those rooms but to come here and be physically reminded of what it means, like Kathy said, we can’t wait for you to see it.”

-Stephen asks about their production schedule. JJ says they’re editing and doing physical effects. [Shows clip of Daisy, Oscar, and Finn hugging that JJ posted to Instagram last month]

-Stephen asks what it’s like to have one story lasting this period of time, stretched across nine films. Three three act plays. KK says it’s amazing that it’s over 40 years so the context is over 40 years and it’s hard to keep it meaningful to the characters, and it has to feel like it’s of it’s time. She says they internalized what inspired George and JJ’s inspiration gave the film more depth.

-JJ – This movie also needs to work as its own movie besides being the Skywalker saga close, and this movie is about what they inherited, the light and the dark, as they face the greatest evil, are they prepared, are they ready?

-Stephen – “The greatest evil? Who is? Any hint?” JJ: Kathy? [audience laughs]

-Stephen – I was lucky enough to interview Carrie Fisher a few times, how did you approach filling the void? JJ: We all talked about how to move on. She was the best, she was glorious, amazing. I knew her many years as well before Episode 7. She was the greatest. You can’t have her suddenly disappear and the weird miracle about having unused scenes from The Force Awakens made me realize there was a way to continue her story.

-JJ never even wanted to try to have a CGI Leia. They were writing scenes around her and emotionally, he says that it hits him that she’s not there but they’re still working with her skill, and she feels alive in scenes and that in itself doesn’t seem so crazy.

-Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher’s daughter, is confirmed to be in the movie by JJ, although she is not present at the panel.

-Stephen – Last time we saw the cast they were split up. Are they back together? Does it pick up where we left off? How far has the story progressed? [audience gasps] JJ: What I will say is it doesn’t pick up right away and you can tell by the picture it’s the beginning of it. [Photo of Rey, Chewbacca, Finn, Poe, and C-3PO in a jungle]

-JJ confirms they are in the film together, they are going on an adventure together and he loves the dynamic of the characters. He’s most excited about the cast dynamic.

-Stephen asks about practical effects. JJ says that they did everything they could to build sets and go to locations as opposed to CGI. Confirms filming in Jordan and England. Says he wanted to mimic the feeling he had as a kid of being in a real place. [shows background photo of filming in Jordan]

-Stephen asks KK about the last day of filming. KK says it was emotional and won’t give any details. She does confirm there was “a few” people on set in response to Stephen’s question.

-Stephen: “I get it. You asked me to come to Chicago to ask questions, not get answers.”

-Stephen announces C-3PO, Anthony Daniels, and R2-D2. Crowd stands and cheers.

-Stephen says Anthony is in every film, C-3PO is the bind of the films and he’s the physical embodiment of the Force.

-Anthony says that on tweets, people were saying, “I wish I could be here” so Anthony wants to wave to everyone watching at home, they’re here in spirit.

-Anthony: C-3PO says you’re in danger, you should get out there, and in 9 films, all they say is, “Shut up” I’m here to say, [stands up] “ENOUGH! The droid fights back! [sits down] ….sorry.”

-Stephen asks if he worries about fitting in the costume. Anthony says it’s a bit of a squeeze at first but he heads back to the gym and goes on a diet. Jokes about how his hair used to be as black as JJ’s. “Be warned, JJ.”

-Stephen: If C-3PO was real… Anthony: Excuse me? [audience laughs]

-Stephen asks if he would want a C-3PO unit. Anthony says that Siri and Alexa terrify him. He says C-3PO is his best friend and he would want a best friend that cared for him as much as C-3PO.

-KK asks if this [interview with Anthony] is a more satisfying interview. Stephen says everything is exciting to him.

-Stephen says Anthony has a book coming out tomorrow that title won’t be released yet but Stephen asks for a back-up title. Anthony says he came up with a cute title and the publisher said, “no, one word.” His original title was, “Telling the odds.” [audience goes wild] The book comes out at 11:30 tomorrow and he does like their title too.

-Stephen announces next cast member, Lando Calrissian, Billy Dee Williams.

-Billy says he’s surprised by how many people that are there, but that they’re all so sweet. “Love back to ya.” He says he’s lucky and didn’t expect to be in “this little venture” but he got lucky and he ended up working with somebody that he had a tremendous amount of regard for, JJ. “He’s a beautiful young man, he’s extraordinary, and uh, I’ve been doing this for a long time, I think 60 years I’ve been doing this and I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some pretty extraordinary people in my lifetime but this is probably a real highlight for me, a true genuine highlight in my life.”

-Stephen asks what it was like coming back to the character of Lando after so many years. “How did you find Lando again?” “Lando never left me.” [shows photo of Lando smiling in the Millennium Falcon, audience goes wild] “A shade older but he’s still there.”

-Stephen asks KK what it was like when Billy came back. She says Billy didn’t realize how awestruck they were. JJ says the room went silent and it was an emotional thing. KK says JJ turned to her and said, “OMG can you believe this is happening???”

-Billy says it’s nice to have all of these accolades and admiration. [laughs] But really enjoys being able to work with so many extraordinary people. That’s what he enjoys more than making money. “But don’t get me wrong, I love making my money.” But says he enjoys hanging out and playing with ideas with people like “Monsieur JJ.”

-Stephen, “Speaking of money, Lando’s not a good or bad guy. He’s a loveable scoundrel. Is he the same guy?” Billy: It’s a thing called expediency. When you’re up against someone like Darth Vader and you own “Las Vegas”…

-Billy says he gets sick and tired of being accused of betraying Han Solo. “I’m talking about ME instead of Lando” but Lando was against Darth Vader, he had to figure something out and points out that, under Lando’s plan, nobody died

-Stephen says Lando played it right, he rolled the dice and he won. Stephen jokes that Lando was the real hero of all 9 films.

-Stephen announces the next generation cast, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Naomi Ackie, and BB-8.

-Stephen jokes about how long the audience cheers for.

-Stephen says that Naomi is the newest member and welcomes her to her first Celebration. She says she’s very ready to celebrate.

-Stephen asks what it’s like to get the call that she’s going to be in the next Star Wars film. She says she was in bed and got the call at 7 AM. Her best friend was sleeping downstairs, her dad was in the house and she yelled. Her dad sat at the end of the bed and had his hands on his mouth and she sobbed, but she couldn’t tell anyone, so she made a cup of tea and tried to act normal. She says it’s “mindblowing.” Her dad told her to shush, that she was talking too loud on the phone, so he knew from the beginning.

-Stephen asks for the character’s name. She says her name is Jannah. [shows photo of her on screen with background of a field. She looks like she’s wearing the costume in the leaked poster] She says they go on an epic adventure together and for people to see where they meet up with the rest of the cast.

-Stephen asks if she’s Lando’s daughter. She says that Lando’s a charming man and can have children all over the universe.

-Stephen points out that she played Lady Macbeth and asked if Shakespeare prepared her for space opera. She says no.

-Stephen welcomes John Boyega back. He says that John can reveal what happened to Finn or try to explain Brexit to these people. John decides to talk about Finn.

-John says that it’s good to be back. [Photo of Finn in “Han Solo” outfit” on a foresty planet] John says Finn found his footing and identity within the Resistance. He couldn’t decide where he belonged but now he IS a Resistance fighter. John always felt that his identity was not through his costume and JJ said, “You’re gonna love this one” and John saw the pants and he said, “I’m in Star Wars now.”

-Finn’s enemy across the past two films was Captain Phasma. It seems like she died, does Finn get any closure? John says, “Sure, I don’t think about her at night” but there are bigger things that he is thinking about, like, “What is love, what is friendship?”

-John: Phasma? She dead.

-Stephen asks if Finn could take Brienne of Tarth [Game of Thrones.] John says he would just shoot her from a distance, he wouldn’t even have to get close.

-Stephen asks about the love triangle between Finn, Rey, and Rose. John says you need to add Oscar. “Finn is single and willing to mingle.”

-Stephen says it’s great to see Oscar again and asks who’s the better pilot, Poe or Han Solo? Oscar: “There was so much good will a second ago and you just burned it in front of my eyes. No one can pilot the Millennium Falcon like Han. HOWEVER. Poe can literally fly anything. I’m saying Poe is the better Uber driver.” [shot of Poe in a desert/rocky planet. A lot of people in the background with faces covered, looks like aliens.]

-Stephen points out that he was born in Guatemala and raised in Miami. He asks what it’s like being able to speak in Spanish about the films. Oscar says, “It’s just like this, but in Spanish. Very similar.” Stephen asks what Star Wars is in Spanish. He says it literally translates to “War of the Galaxy” and teaches Stephen the Spanish name for BB-8 and R2-D2.

-Stephen says that Poe always cracks a joke at the darkest moments and asks if everything is a joke to him. [Shows Finn and Poe laughing in a ship] Oscar jokes he takes his love for Finn very seriously but that Poe is able to find his humanity in the darkest of situations, and that humor is an element of the Force.

-Poe was born into war, on Yavin IV, and his parents both fought the Empire. He asks what Poe would do after the war was over. “Uber seems like a good place to go. Space Uber. Space Lyft. He seeks adrenaline so he’ll have to find it somewhere.” [looks pointedly at John, audience goes nuts]

-Stephen introduces Daisy. Her birthday was April 10th, so the audience starts singing happy birthday to her. She says she never thought that would happen, ever.

-Stephen asks if Daisy read the books she took from Yoda. She says she may have. She asks if they’ve said how long it’s been. Daisy confirms it’s been a while. [She is carrying a stick in a jungle planet in her new costume. It’s not the same staff as from The Force Awakens, it’s just a long, narrow stick that looks like a tree branch.]

-Stephen points out that Daisy has crazy strong Force powers but a broken lightsaber. Daisy looks nervous to answer. She says that the lightsaber she inherited from Luke “lives.”

-Stephen asks if she has new Force powers that appear, like with Force projection. “Can she Force flow through time?” Daisy says that that’s a question for JJ.

-Stephen says that’s a yes. JJ says he “used to love Daisy.” [audience laughs] JJ says the character does extraordinary things, that Daisy did extraordinary things. [shows picture of Daisy shooting a blaster from a shuttle in a black and white photo]

-Stephen asks what’s up with Rey and Kylo Ren. [Shot of Kylo Ren without a helmet, he might be in a cockpit of some kind] Daisy says we’ll have to “wait and see.” She asks John about Rose and Finn. John says the middle of war, “is a distracting place to fall in love.” Stephen asks if she has any more dreams of Kylo Ren semi-naked.

-Daisy confirms no more semi-naked shots. Oscar jokes full-naked, gotta step it up a notch.

-Stephen asks if Adam waxes. “He’s a big man, not one hair on his chest.” Daisy says it was a surprise to the crew, to everyone. “He’s a big man.” [audience laughs] Stephen, jokingly: “Tell me about his lightsaber.”

-Stephen moves on to Kelly Marie Tran. Loudest applause of all, people start chanting her name. She says it’s really overwhelming.

-Stephen talks about narrating the backstory for the Cobalt Squadron audiobook and if knowing the background helped her understand Rose better. KMT says she learned recording is a really long process and confirmed it did help.

-Stephen asks what Rose thinks of the Falcon. KMT: “It’s really cool.”

-Stephen asks if Rose kisses Finn. Rose says Finn is a “very eligible bachelor, much like John Boyega.” [shot of Rose in new uniform talking to Rey]

-Stephen asks if Rose is included on the adventure they all go on together. JJ hesitates and says you have to wait and see what happens but he was grateful to RJ for so many things that he did, the greatest being casting KMT.

-Stephen greets Joonas, who teaches the audience the Shyriiwook growl for Celebration. Stephen says it’s his fourth time playing Chewie and asks about any costume differences. He says that it’s “been this way since 1977” and asks for applause for Peter Mayhew. [shot of Rey “petting” Chewbacca from above him] He says Chewbacca wouldn’t be memorable without Peter Mayhew.

-Stephen asks what Chewie’s presence means. Joonas says that, for him, it’s a duty, because when he was watching the films for the first time, he was sure that in this world there’s a place for everyone, and he had to show everyone that no matter how big or small you are, there is a place for you in this world. [Shot of Chewbacca picking up a very young child, turns out that that’s Joonas’s son]

-Stephen asks what porgs taste like. Joonas: “They taste best fried.”

-Stephen asks what it was like filming in Jordan, compared to Tunisia. Anthony said that his wife pointed out that it was like a painting. It was “beyond a privilege.” “The desert put up with us.” He said it was an astounding place to be in and the Jordanian people and army were like “part of the family.”

-KK says that they had a crew prepping the area for months and they filmed there for 3 weeks.

-JJ said they had hundreds of people in “unbelievable costumes.” [Shot of aliens in costume]

-JJ mentions it was difficult because of food breaks, bathroom breaks, prayer breaks, etc. Oscar mentions sandstorm breaks. They’d see these big red clouds and go into tents and wait for the sandstorm to blow over.

-Stephen asks about the creature designs being shown. JJ says there’s a fun character that appears. His name is Klad. He’s a friend of the Resistance that Chewie brought in. [Shot of him on a jungle planet with Snap Wexley]

-JJ says he didn’t think he could top the creatures he did in The Force Awakens but the whole creature team managed to do it and the puppets and actors were amazing. Joonas talks about his son’s awe on set. [Photo of Daisy holding his baby in Rey costume]

-Stephen says Star Wars fans are the greatest fans in the world. He says he’s been a fan three weeks longer than anyone else and that you can look that up online. Stephen says in 1977, when he was 13, a radio station gave away tickets to Star Wars before anyone knew what it was. He and his friends were the 8th callers and won tickets and they went to pick up the tickets at the radio station and they asked to keep the tickets because they were big blue tickets and they had the Death Star and it said, “Star Wars” and as soon as the “A long time ago…” came up, they got chills because they saw a unique look at science fiction “the future through the past” and no one knew what was going on when the film started but everyone cheered and 2 hours later, they got home and it was a full moon and they thought it was a Death Star following them and they got to school and they couldn’t explain to anyone else why things were different.

-BB-8 has to say something. Oscar translates that BB-8 has a new friend and asks if people want to meet him. They show D-0 (pronounced Dio), a droid who looks like a megaphone on one giant wheel. He has a shriller beep than BB-8. He has three slits on the top of his head and a green “nose.” He seems half the size of BB-8, and much narrower.

-JJ explains they had a rig and puppeters for him on set. [They show a picture of all the different drafts] The droid shown was actually built for the audience for Star Wars Celebration.

-Stephen asks for applause for everyone for the panel and then asks JJ if there is anything anyone wants to see. JJ asks if anyone wants to see a teaser trailer and everyone goes nuts.

-Teaser trailer shown. Title of Episode IX is officially, “The Rise of Skywalker.”

-Ian McDermid comes out in Palpatine voice and says, “Roll it again.”

-Link to watch the teaser trailer is available on the Star Wars Youtube page, or by clicking here.

 

And that’s the end! I hope everyone enjoyed the Episode IX panel and subsequent trailer. If you have any direct quotes or if I missed anything from the recap you’d like to see added, leave a comment below so I can add it in later. And, as always, May the Force be with You!