By Creative Media Times

Lucasfilm Ltd.

Director J.J. Abrams has released the very first trailer “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” during Star Wars Celebration in event in Chicago on Friday, April 12, giving fans the first look of the highly anticipated final entry in the epic saga.

Abrams, who also directed the first installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy The Force Awakens (2015) were in attendance for the announcement, along with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and some of the film’s cast Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, and Naomi Ackie.

The trailer shows Daisy Ridley’s character Rey, standing alone in an unknown desert planet, wielding her light saber at an incoming starcraft.

“We’ve passed on all we know,” Luke Skywalker says in the background. “A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight.”

We then see shots of characters new and old including Finn, Poe, Lando Calrissian, C-3PO, BB-8, Kylo Ren, Chewbacca, and of Princess Leia, played by the late Carrie Fisher. We also see a poignant shot of what looks like the Medal of Bravery which Leia gave to Luke and Han Solo at the end of “Star Wars: A New Hope.”

Towards the end of the trailer, we see Rey and company, then we hear Luke once again. “We’ll always be with you. No one’s ever really gone,” Luke said. Then, the big surprise at the end, we hear a familiar creepy laugh of Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor Palpatine while the title appears.

In many ways, the trailer is perfect. It offers enough nostalgia, with minimal details but enough glimpses of the characters to whet our appetite until the next trailer arrives.

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is scheduled for release on December 20, 2019.