Oscar Isaac teases an intense chess match between the Jedi and Sith in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The actor is returning for a third time to reprise his role as Resistance star pilot Poe Dameron who debuted in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens alongside the new crop of characters in the franchise. Poe, alongside Daisy Ridley's Rey and Joh Boyega's Finn will be face of the Resistance and the light side of the Force in the film that is tipped to end the Skywalker Saga.

Plot details for The Rise of Skywalker have been tightly under wraps with Disney and Lucasfilm running a measured marketing campaign. Certain specifics, however, have been confirmed including the fact that it'll pick up after a year from the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and it will feature the return of Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine. How and why remain to be seen, but based on the trailers, it appears like everything taking place in the universe is somehow part of his elaborate plan.

With Darth Sidious seemingly in control, Rey, who's technically the last remaining proper Jedi will have to find a way to finally take him down. But while the budding battle appears to come to a head via the massive clash between the First Order and the Resistance, Isaac tells Total Film (via The Playlist) that the fight goes way back with both the Jedi and Sith playing this "very long game."

“What’s amazing about the story and the script is that you learn that both the Sith and the Jedi have been playing a very long game. From the get-go, there’s been this chess match. All these pieces have been played. And now we get to see who gets checkmate.”

Assuming that this is the case, it makes sense that The Rise of Skywalker all goes back to the Sith vs Jedi conflict considering this film wraps up the overall storyline for all nine episodic movies. However, while fans know that Emperor Palpatine and essentially Kylo Ren working on the side of the Sith, it's curious what's the Jedi's participation in all this. The Star Wars 9 trailer previewed Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) voice over speaking with Rey, but it also worth noting that both Jedi Master Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi's voices were heard in The Force Awakens. Does this mean that they're somehow also involved in all this? If the Jedi and the Sith have been playing this game for a long time, it's safe to assume that those legendary Jedi have a hand in all of this.

With an elaborate ploy on both sides to outwit each other, it's curious of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will also resolve the ongoing conflict between the Sith and Jedi. It can be a precautionary measure stop this cyclical process, which works well with the core concept of the J.J. Abrams-directed movie. If this indeed is the case, it will also be a great way to set-up a possible prequel film that tackles how this squabble began in this first place.

Star Wars 9 / Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) release date: Dec 20, 2019