A new rumor claims to know the opening scene ofThe Rise of Skywalker. And if this rings true, it won’t be like anything we’ve seen in the previous movies. The original opens with a space chase and the capture of Princess Leia. The crawl drops us into deep space, and that has become standard for the franchise. While perhaps we’ll get a crawl that slowly fades into this galaxy far, far away, it has supposedly been leaked that things will kick off with a lightsaber battle this time around.
We’re still a few weeks out from seeing the secondThe Rise of Skywalkertrailer, which follows the first teaser and a special video preview that dropped shortly after Disney’sD23 Expo. Many suspect the next trailer will arrive during the final stretch of the World Series. We’ll get a few more reveals this October 4, when Triple Force Friday brings newStar Warsmerchandise to store shelves around the world. Today, we’ll have to settle for this unconfirmed leak that involves digital de-aging two fan-favorite characters.
According to these unsubstantiated reports, we will get the iconic crawl against a star system. This will lead us to an opening scene that serves as a flashback, as Luke and Leia spar with lightsabers. As the camera moves through the trees of a forest landscape, fans will notice a familiar blue lightsaber striking against an iconic green blade. They are held by two as yet unidentified Jedi in training helmets.
The big reveal comes. It isMark Hamill and Carrie Fisherde-aged, as we’ve seen in previous movies, such asRogue Onebringing back Princess Leia andThe Last Jedigiving us Luke Skywalker flashbacks. The two actors are said to look identical to the way they did inReturn of the Jedi.
Leia is said to be pregnant with her first and only son (as far as we know) Kylo Ren. This opening flashback will be taking place sometime afterReturn of the Jedi, before the birth ofBen Soloand before Luke’s Jedi exile. Apparently, the younger Luke is teaching his sister how to be a Jedi. It has previously been reported that Leia will ditch her Jedi training to become a full-time mother to the future Supreme Leader.
It is further rumored that this training montage will cut to Rey, who is continuing her Jedi training alongside Leia. We knowRey will be doing further Jeditraining from the most recent footage, which shows Rey throwing her lightsaber through a forest. As the blade cuts through trees, eagle-eyed fans will notice it is chasing a Marksman-H combat remote, as seen inA New Hope, when Luke is training for the first time with Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Millennium Falcon. In the most recent footage, we also see Leia standing, looking on, appearing to be set against the same forest backdrop as Rey.
The fact that we may see a de-aged Leia in the opening moments ofThe Rise of Skywalkeris a little suspect, as we’ve been promised numerous times that we wouldn’t be seeing a fully-digital Leia in this final Skywalker saga sequel, with director J.J. Abrams using preexisting footage shot forThe Force AwakensandThe Last Jedi. To de-age Carrie Fisher in this way would mean bringing in a younger actor to fill the role.
There seems to be conflicting information. One side claims Carrie Fisher is not utilized in this sequel very much, while other sources say she is actually in the movie quite a bit. It is noted that Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd, who plays her own character in the saga, stepped into fill for her mother when needed.
The initial report claims that this opening scene could change, and be placed later in the movie. You can take a look at the two official images that coincide with this rumor. This news comes fromMaking Star Wars.
