20 facts you might not know about 'The Rise of Skywalker'

Originally, the three Star Wars movies making up the new trilogy were going to have different directors. J.J. Abrams took on The Force Awakens, Rian Johnson handled The Last Jedi, and Colin Trevorrow was going to finish things off. He and his writing partner, Derek Connolly, on a scrip they called “Duel of the Fates.” However, they were never able to deliver a satisfactory script. In 2017, Trevorrow left the project due to “creative differences.”

The day after Trevorrow left the project, it was announced that Abrams would take on the role of directing Episode IX. He was joined by screenwriter Chris Terrio, who won an Oscar for Argo and two DC movies. Abrams and Terrio have the screenwriting credit, while they shared the "story by" credit with Trevorrow and Connolly.

Carrie Fisher died in December 2016, a few months after preproduction had begun. This really threw the production into a mess. Fisher’s iconic Leia Organa was supposed to be a key role in The Rise of Skywalker. They went back and forth on if she would even be in the film. Ultimately, they made use of unused footage from the filming of The Force Awakens.

Williams makes his return to the Star Wars universe in The Force Awakens as Lando Calrissian. It was his first time appearing in a Star Wars project since 1983’s Return of the Jedi. This is one of the longest gaps before an actor returned to a role in movie history.

It was reported that Matt Smith, the former star of Doctor Who, had been cast in an unspecified role. That didn’t end up happening, though. Smith would clarify that he had not been cast but was in talks to take on a role that didn’t end up being in the movie.

Some people were surprised that Keri Russell played the character of Zorii Bliss because it’s not a big role, and she’s mostly wearing a full face mask. Then again, maybe it makes perfect sense. Abrams created Felicity, the show that turned Russell into a star, and she had a small role in his film Mission: Impossible III as well.

Denis Lawson, who played Wedge Antilles in the original trilogy, had been asked to appear in The Force Awakens. However, he declined, saying it would be “boring.” Apparently he changed his mind. Lawson appears as Wedge in The Rise of Skywalker.

As we said, Lawson has a cameo as Wedge Antilles. Additionally, several actors who played Jedi in the past provided their voices or, in the case of somebody like Alec Guinness, had their voice used. One of them was Ewan McGregor, who played the young Obi-Wan in the prequel trilogy. His uncle? That would be Lawson.

People love Star Wars. People also love cameoing in Star Wars movies if given a chance. A few of the cameos include composer John Williams, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Jeff Garlin. Also, Ed Sheeran plays a stormtrooper.

Lourd, Fisher’s daughter, first appeared in The Force Awakens as Lieutenant Connix. She appears in The Rise of Skywalker, too, and her costume may strike a chord of familiarity. Lourd is done up in the attire and hairstyle that Leia wore in Return of the Jedi.

Abrams and Terrio had to revamp a script and get to filming. The time frame was so compressed that editing was happening on set. Abrams must have not been wed to his script, as Oscar Isaac said The Rise of Skywalker had more improvisation than the previous two movies in the new trilogy.

John Williams is one of the most successful film composers ever. He has created some of the most iconic scores of all time. That includes providing the score for every single Star Wars movie. However, Williams has said that The Rise of Skywalker would be the last score he would do for a Star Wars film. Apparently, TV doesn’t count because Williams did some score work on Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The voice of the character Boolio is provided by an actor credited as “Patrick Williams.” In fact, the voice was done by Hamill. Hamill used “Patrick Williams” as a pseudonym sometimes. It is a combination of his brothers’ names.

The puppet for Babu Frik was only nine inches tall. Nevertheless, he was quite the complicated puppet. In fact, it took a whopping seven puppeteers to operate Babu.

How do you make quicksand as a practical effect? If you are J.J. Abrams, you go to the world of legumes. The production had 30 tons of black beans shipped to Jordan to serve as the sinking sand. Presumably the beans weren’t cooked. Maybe they ended up in a burrito or two after the filming was done.

You know how in the opening crawl, they mention a message from the presumed-dead Emperor Palpatine? You never hear it in the movie. It was released, though. In the video game Fortnite, a trailer was released in the game. After that, a message from Palpatine was heard. Yes, to hear Palpatine’s message you had to play Fortnite.

The Rise of Skywalker cost a pretty penny. The film cost a reported $275 million to make. That’s the seventh-most of all time, unadjusted for inflation. If you adjust for inflation, it’s still the 18th-most-expensive film ever produced.

The film made $515.2 million in the United States and Canada and $1.074 billion worldwide. That’s a lot of money, but not as much money as it used to be. In fact, The Rise of Skywalker was only the seventh-highest-grossing movie of 2019.

The Last Jedi was polarizing. The Rise of Skywalker was less polarizing…because a lot of people didn’t like it. The film only has a 52 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This leaves it tied with The Phantom Menace for the lowest-rated live-action Star Wars movie.

The Academy bestowed three nominations on The Rise of Skywalker. Williams was nominated for Best Original Score once again, and it was also nominated for Best Sound Editing and Best Video Effects. It didn’t win any of them. However, it did win Best Science Fiction Film at the Saturn Awards.