6 Ways The Rise of Skywalker Honors The Last Jedi

There have been a lot of complaints about all the “course corrections” director J.J. Abrams made in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to please all The Last Jedi haters out there, but there are just as many ways he honored the choices director Rian Johnson made in the last movie. Check out the gallery below to see all the ways the threads of The Last Jedi are continued and built upon in Rise of Skywalker!

Returning cast members for The Rise of Skywalker include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast are Naomi Ackie (Doctor Who), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings), and Keri Russell (The Americans), who will also be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian. The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In addition to directing, J.J. Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio (Argo, Justice League). Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, and Abrams will produce, with Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin executive producing. Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return to a galaxy far, far away with Rise of Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now playing everywhere!

6 Ways The Rise of Skywalker Honors The Last Jedi

Luke's X-Wing

Rian Johnson made sure to show that Luke had landed his X-Wing Red 5 in the water along the shore of Ahch To island. J.J. Abrams used this to his advantage by Having Rey use it to fly away from there after attempting exile. It's a great callback and a powerful storytelling tool, not to mention nostalgia bait.

Also in this same scene... PORGS!!!
Poe's Ascent to Leadership

In Force Awakens Poe Dameron was merely a hotshot pilot and squad leader, but in Last Jedi it was strongly underlined that he was being groomed as General Leia's next-in-line. In this film, upon Leia's death, he finally takes up the mantle of leading the Resistance against Palpatine's fleet.
Han Solo is Always With Ben

At the end of Last Jedi Luke tells Kylo that he will always be with him, just like his father. This movie revisits that line by having Han Solo cameo as a memory, albeit one seen in a new light of good so that Kylo can relinquish the Dark Side.
Sacred Jedi Texts

At the end of Last Jedi Rey is the keeper of the Sacred Jedi Texts, and in this film she uses them as study as well as a clue to take her to the Wayfinder Device.
Rey Drawn to the Dark Side

On Ahch To island Rey is naturally drawn to the Dark Side, as Luke pointed out to her. Hence, it makes more sense that she is Palpatine's granddaughter and that she would have that evil legacy within her, despite her ultimately never succumbing to it.
Forceback Revisited

J.J. Abrams not only utilized the Forceback technique of communication between force users, but enhanced it. In this film Rey and Kylo are able to make physical contact with each other and pull objects across distances.
Bonus: Did Luke Skywalker Inspire the Galaxy?

Forces from all over the galaxy coming to the aid of the resistance at the end of Rise of Skywalker is never said outright to have been inspired by Luke Skywalker's one-man standoff with The First Order in Last Jedi. In fact, Poe gives credit to Lando for the galvanizing seen at the end of the film. We would like to think, though, that this WAS the galaxy being inspired by Luke, and it is in fact a continuation of the last film's message.