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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Poster Gives Clear Look At Palpatine’s Star Destroye
A new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker poster gives fans a clear look at Emperor Palpatine's Star Destroyers. With just a month remaining until the film hits theaters, Disney and Lucasfilm are ramping up their marketing efforts. On the heels of the final trailer's debut last month, viewers have been treated to a new batch of still images, TV spots, and much more. And while all of these materials are working to generate hype for The Rise of Skywalker's release, they have one thing in common. Even more so than before, the promotional campaign is extremely spoiler-averse, keeping key story details under wraps.
One thing that is for confirmed for certain is that Palpatine is set to return. While the circumstances of Darth Sidious's return from what appeared to be certain death in Return of the Jedi has remained unanswered, the evil Emperor is a certified source of chaos and will remain so in Star Wars 9 regardless of how he returns. One of the more intriguing rumors concerning Palpatine is that he has a secret fleet hiding in the Unknown Regions, waiting to strike. These ships were spotlighted in the D23 trailer that came out in August, and now a new poster depicts them.
The official Star Wars Twitter account shared Dolby Cinema's exclusive Rise of Skywalker poster, which you can see in the space below. The artwork shows Poe Dameron's trademark X-Wing fighter flying straight towards a mass of Star Destroyers. This is the first time fans have gotten a good look at the Star Destroyers in marketing; viewers will notice they have red stripes down the sides:
With less than a month to go until the premiere, there are still a lot of unanswered questions that remain on the table. Fans immediately assumed Poe Dameron was the pilot in the X-Wing fighter, the David facing Emperor Palpatine's Goliath of Star Destroyers. While Poe has been successful in the past against First Order's fleet, taking down a Dreadnought with his X-Wing fighter, it will be interesting to see if his skill and luck can work again (assuming the pilot is Poe and not someone else.) He's proven to be a capable pilot but also doesn't always follow his superior's orders. That sense of rebelliousness could pay off in the final film with a climactic showdown, or lead to Poe meeting his demise at the hands of the First Order. And even if this isn't an actual scene from the film, it's still a great illustration of the Resistance's challenges ahead.
The Rise of Skywalker itself could be likened to the lone X-Wing fighter facing off against the fleet of eight films (or ten, if you count the two spinoffs) preceding its plot. The final movie in the Skywalker saga not only has to deal with the insurmountable task of wrapping up the decades-spanning story, but also satisfying fans with a concrete conclusion before the franchise embarks on a new era. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said recently the next Star Wars film has yet to be decided, so hopefully The Rise of Skywalker ends things on a high note and leaves fans feeling pleased as the movies go on hiatus.
Star Wars 9 / Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) release date: Dec 20, 2019
