'Star Wars Episode IX' Trailer Gives Fans First Look at 'The Rise of Skywalker'

The first teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode IX just dropped and there was a whole panel about it that revealed the title of the film along with a synopsis as to what fans will expect in the film.

It was a heck of a way to launch the Star Wars celebration in Chicago, with tons of fans eager to learn more about the movie.

But most of all, everyone in attendance was eager to see one thing:

The video begins with a shot of Rey (Daisy Ridley) standing in the desert, the text, "Every generation has a legend" appears on screen. Longtime fans of the series might recall this same verbage from the original trailer for The Phantom Menace.

Soon audiences are presented with an inkling that Rey could still be talking with Luke Skywalker, somehow. If you watched The Last Jedi (SPOILER ALERT) you may find this a bit odd, seeing as Luke kinda went and disintegrated, becoming one with the force.

"We have passed on all we know, a thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight," Luke says in the trailer. Then we cut to a scene of Rey gripping a blue lightsaber, and jumping onto what appears to be Kylo Ren's TIE ship. We don't get to see whether or not he's in the pilot's seat, however.

Then we're shown an image of Kylo Ren fixing his helmet, a shot of Lando Calrissian (older now) laughing with Chewbecca on the Millennium Falcon, followed by a scene of Finn and Po bro-ing it up in the desert, BB-8 hanging with Dio, a new droid in the series, and Rey giving a hug to Leia in the ruins of what looks like a Death Star station.

The end of the trailer is what got a lot of fans talking, however. "No one's really gone," we hear Skywalker say. Then, that's followed by a familiar sinister laugh, Emperor Palpatine's croak reverberates to close out the trailer, suggesting Darth Sidious isn't really dead after all.

And it's more than a suggestion, Ian McDiarmid took the stage of the panel. Looks like he's back in the movie, ladies and gentlemen.

This bit of information has got the internet already buzzing about possible plot points and the meaning behind the film's title. In The Last Jedi, we learned that Luke Skywalker himself was the Skywalker in question (or maybe the jury's still out on that one?). Could the Skywalker that's "rising" be Rey? Could it be Kylo Ren? Or maybe it's that broom boy from Rose Tico's side mission from the previous film?

While Director J.J. Abrams didn't hop up on stage and deliver a "Snape Kills Dumbledore" spoiler moment, he did highlight the overall theme of the movie: "This movie, it's about this new generation, and what they've inherited, the light and the dark."

Which seemingly answers a very, very important question people have been having for the upcoming film:

If it's about a "new generation" and "what they've inherited" then it probably is setting up an entire new chapter of adventures for these heroes in the years to come. The original Star Wars trilogy was just that, a trilogy. And while The Phantom Menace kicked off another trilogy of prequels, it does seem like there's a lot of incentive to keep the Star Wars machine going with these new character. 

J.J. Abrams' comments certainly suggest that this will be the case.

Abrams went on to say that the movie's not going to take place directly after the end of The Last Jedi and that some time has passed from the events of that film and The Rise of Skywalker.

Rumor has it that Jannah, played by Naomi Ackie, is Lando's daughter, to which the actress quipped that Lando's charm means he probably has kids all over the galaxy. Could she be the result of one of Lando's many wonderful evenings? We'll have to watch the film when it hits theaters on December 20th, 2019 to find out.

Until then, watch the teaser trailer below to get yourself properly amped.