Even before its release, Star Wars Episode 9 has already started making waves and a lot of the Star Wars franchise’s fans are eagerly anticipating the release of the ninth episode of the epic space opera film. One thing about this upcoming installment is that it is certain to feature loads of prominent movie stars just like the previous episodes.
Star Wars Episode 9 is expected to be the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. It is the third installment of the Star Wars trilogy including The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017). The film is also expected to be the last episode of the main Star Wars film franchise since its first episode was released in 1977.
Star Wars Episode 9 Title & Release Date
Star Wars Episode 9 was written by J. J. Abrams and Chris Terri, the former being the director of the film. Abrams also directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He was not the initial person given the job to direct Star Wars Episode 9 as he replaced director Colin Trevorrow who dropped the project in late 2017. Abrams is joined by Kathleen Kennedy and Michelle Rejwan in producing the film. The companies in charge of its production are Lucas Film Limited and Bad Robot Production while Walt Disney Studio Motion Pictures is in charge of its distribution. Walt Disney has announced that Star Wars Episode 9 will premiere on December 20, 2019, in the United States. The film is titled Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Star Wars Episode 9 Cast
Daisy Ridley (Rey)
Daisy Ridley plays the role of Rey once again. She took the role in the first installment of the Star Wars trilogy, The Force Awakens. Rey is a human who was left behind on planet Jakku when she was still a child. She grew up and became a scavenger and joins the Resistance. Daisy Ridley’s character can be described as brave, optimistic, stubborn and one who maintains a fierce loyalty to her friends.
Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley is an English actress born on April 10, 1992, in Westminster, London. She started her acting career in 2013 and has starred in Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and she also voiced a character in the animation film Peter Rabbit (2018).
Adam Driver (Kylo Ren)
Adam Driver reprises Kylo Ren as he has done in the previous two installments of the Star Wars franchise. His character is a defected Jedi Padawan who now works on the dark side as the supreme leader of the First Order. He aims at becoming as powerful as his grandfather, Darth Vader.
Adam Douglas Driver is an American actor born in San Diego, California, on November 19, 1983. Before going into acting, Driver served in the military for two years and eight months, from 2002 to 2005. He joined the United States Marine Corps shortly after the 9/11 attack. The driver broke his sternum while mountain biking and it made the military discharge him from service based on medical reasons. He left with the rank of a Lance Corporal. Driver graduated from Julliard College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2009. He has starred in films such as BlacKkKlansman, Lincoln, Girls, and The Report.
John Boyega ( Finn)
John Boyega plays the role of Finn, a former stormtrooper of the First Order who defected to the Resistance. Finn made his first Star Wars appearance in The Force Awakens. He started as a stormtrooper for the First Order but defected to join the Resistance after he witnessed the harsh and cruel way other stormtroopers handled their victims during his first combat mission. Boyega reprised his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and he is set to play the same role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
He was born as John Adebayo Adegboyega to British-Nigerian parents Abigail and Samson Adegboyega on March 17, 1992, in London, England. The actor first made a wave when he starred as Moses in the 2011 film Attack the Block. He has since starred in Half of a Yellow Sun (2013), Imperial Dreams (2014), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Circle (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018).
Oscar Isaac (Poe)
Oscar Isaac’s character Poe Dameron was first introduced in the first installment of the Star Wars trilogy, The Force Awakens. Poe is a high-ranking X-Wing fighter pilot and Commander of the Resistance. Just as the majority of the film’s cast, Isaac reprised his role from Star Wars: The Force Awakens to Star Wars: The Last Jedi and is now set to star in the third installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Oscar Isaac is a Guatemalan-born American actor. He began his acting career in 1998 and has starred in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Almost Violent Year (2014), Ex Machina(2015), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Annihilation (2017), and Life Itself (2018). Isaac is married to Elvira Lind, a Danish film director. The couple has a son named Eugene.
Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata)
Lupita plays the role of Maz Kanata, a former pirate, smuggler, and ally of the Resistance. She also first made her Star Wars appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and then reprised her role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Lupita is set to once again play Maz Kanata in the upcoming final episode of the Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan-Mexican actress born in Mexico City, on March 1, 1983. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampshire College and then got her MFA degree from Yale University. As an actress, she has starred in 12 Years a Slave (2013), Non-Stop (2014), Queen of Katwe (2016), and Black Panther (2018). She also starred as the lead character in the Kenyan TV series Shuga, from 2009 to 2012.
Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux)
Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson portrayed General Hux of the First Order. Gleeson’s character is the second-in-command of the First Order and is in a continuous power struggle with Kylo Ren over the leadership of the First Order. Just like the majority of the film’s cast, Gleeson starred in the previous two installments of the Star Wars trilogy. He will now reprise his role as General Hux in the final installment.
Domhnall Gleeson is an Irish actor and writer. He was born on May 12, 1983, in Dublin, Ireland. He is the son of Mary Weldon and actor Brandan Gleeson. He has a brother named Brian Gleeson who is an actor as well. Gleeson is a Dublin Institute of Technology graduate, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Arts. He starred in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2 as Bill Wesley, Ex Machina as Celeb Smith, Brooklyn as Jim Farrell, American Made as Monty Schafer, and The Little Stranger as Dr. Faraday.
Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico)
Kelly Marie Tran made her first Star Wars appearance when she was cast in Star Wars: The Last Jedi as Rose Tico, the younger sister of Paige Tico, who sacrificed herself for the Resistance fight against the First Order. With her character as Rose Tico in The Last Jedi, she became the first Asian-American woman to play a prominent role in a Star Wars film.
Kelly Marie Tran is an Asian-American actress best known for her works in Xoxo (2016), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and the TV series Sorry for Your Loss (2018). She was born on January 17, 1989, in San Diego, California. Her parents are Vietnam refugees who fled their country during the Vietnam War. Tran is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication. She started her acting career in 2011.
Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca)
Joonas Suotamo plays the role of Chewbacca, a Wookiee from the Planet Kashyyyk. He is also a co-pilot and first mate on Millennium Falcon. Joonas Suotamo’s first appearance as Chewbacca was in The Force Awakens, where he doubled with Peter Mayhew. In The Last Jedi, he played the character alone and he is set to reprise the role in The Rise of Skywalker.
Joonas Suotamo’s only film appearances have come in the Star Wars films, starring in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and will reprise his role as Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Suotamo is a Finnish actor and former professional basketball player. He was born in Espoo, Uusimaa, Finland, on October 3, 1986.
Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Commix)
The first time Billie Lourd portrayed the role of Lieutenant Commix was in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She went on to reprise the role in The Last Jedi and will once again Star as Lieutenant Commix in another Star Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker. Lieutenant Commix is an officer in the Resistance.
Billie Lourd is an American actress born on July 17, 1992, in Los Angeles, California. Billie is the daughter of Bryan Lourd and Carrie Fisher. Her mother is an actress and she starred alongside Billie in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Billie Lourd has starred in TV series such as Scream Queens, American Horror Story: Cult, and American Horror Story: Apocalypse.
