• It has been reiterated to me that we will indeed be getting young Luke and Leia flashbacks in TROS. One in particular appears to be the very opening of the movie. We begin the action by seeing one of, if not the final training lesson between Luke and Leia. It appears Leia is giving up her Jedi training due to the fact that she's pregnant with a son. My source on this mentioned a fight, so I believe that we may be getting Leia and Luke in a lightsaber duel right at or toward the beginning of the film.
• Some details about the scene: After the opening crawl we pan from space. The camera moves towards a planet that is covered in trees. We see two lightsabers, one green and one blue, in the respective hands of these two warriors. The two combatants are clearly dueling one another. These two Jedi are donning helmets with visors that covers their faces. The two Jedi break from their duel and remove their helmets to reveal Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Skywalker Solo. It might be the final training lesson between Luke and Leia. Luke Skywalker realizes something has changed with his sister. He questions her and she confides in Luke that's she's going to be a mother. This is the moment Luke Skywalker realizes that Ben Solo is coming and the galaxy will never be the same again.
• We then hear a voice-over shouting "Master Leia!" causing Rey to end Leia's flashback and we are thrust into the post-The Last Jedi era, far from General Leia's training with her brother all those years ago. Now, we are with Leia and Rey on the same planet. Rey trains to become the Jedi that will face-off against the new supreme leader that was once the child Leia carried during her training with Luke. It appears that Leia has taken up the mantel of Jedi mentor to Rey in the wake of Luke's passing. This will likely coincide with the scene from the D23 First Look where Rey throws her lightsaber at a training remote, cutting down a tree.
• The slug Klaud is brought into the Resistance by Chewbacca, and he helps the Resistance, but what he does to help them is unknown.
• We also catch up with Maz Kanata.
• Early on in the film, we catch up with Kylo Ren's story where he is slaughtering people with the purpose of tracking down one of the film's "MacGuffins", a plot device known as the "Wayfinder". I'm told that the clip of Kylo Ren body slamming someone into the ground of a forest with his red lightsaber from the film’s teaser is this scene. I'm also told that this planet is called Exogol.
• Kylo Ren obtains the location of the "Wayfinder" from a creature known as "The Oracle", or it simply gives the device to him right there.
• Kylo Ren finds it to contain coordinates to a point in the Unknown Regions/Wild Space.
• The "Wayfinder" that Kylo Ren is given once belonged to his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. It may be a Sith holocron.
• Using the coordinates found within the "Wayfinder" device, Kylo Ren arrives in the Unknown Regions/Wild Space.
• Here, Kylo Ren encounters Emperor Palpatine. How Emperor Palpatine is still alive and how he ended up in the Unknown Regions/Wild Space is still a mystery to me that I hope to learn more about in the next few months Note: Daisy Ridley recently said in an interview that it's explained in the film, but my source on this tells me that this is indeed Emperor Palpatine in the flesh.
• Kylo Ren and Emperor Palpatine's conversation apparently centers around ordering Kylo Ren to find Rey and bring her to him with the goal of turning her to the dark side. Note: It's not lost on me that this part of the story feels very Return of the Jedi inspired, but we'll just wait and see how this all pans out.
• My source specifically mentioned that Emperor Palpatine is very old and decrepit at this point, possibly on the verge of death. A little bit of Googling reveals that Palpatine is thought to have been born around 84 BBY making him in the neighborhood of 113 years old by the events of The Rise of Skywalker.
• Emperor Palpatine’s goal in luring Kylo Ren to him and converting Rey to darkness is more or less to have Rey and Kylo Ren inherit his "new Galactic Empire" and for them to rule it together.
• In order to facilitate bringing about this "new Galactic Empire", Emperor Palpatine has spent his thirty years of Post Original Trilogy creating a fleet of "Death Star Destroyers." Note: I don't know if this is their actual name or not. Personally, I hope not, as it is bit on the nose.
• The starships appear to be exactly what they sound like, Star Destroyers with Death Star tech mounted onto them, giving them the capability to destroy a planet. Note: Apparently once this particular technology was unleashed 30 some odd years ago, that Pandora's box can't be shut again.
• According to my source, these Star Destroyers make up the "Sith Fleet" that house the new red Sith Stormtroopers that were showcased at San Diego Comic-Con in July. Note: I wrote this prior to the First Look being shown and the Sith fleet has since been confirmed. It's comprised of Imperial Star Destroyers hiding in the Unknown Regions/Wild Space and we see what appears to be their planet destroying capabilities during the D23 footage.
• Going back to the rest of the Resistance, we catch up with Finn and Poe returning to the jungle planet depicted in some of the behind the scenes images shown at Celebration Chicago. The duo has been in contact with an informant from within The First Order. The mole has told Finn and Poe about Kylo coming into possession of the "Wayfinder" device. Note: It's unclear to me if anyone in the Resistance understands what the "Wayfinder" is or where it leads. They just want to find it.
• Poe and Finn tell General Leia about this and she sends Rey, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and BB-8 to accompany them on the mission. In order to get them going on their quest, General Leia puts them in contact with someone on the planet Pasaana.
• It's at this point in the story where the Resistance team makes their way to Pasaana seen in the teaser and the D23 footage. It's revealed that General Leia's contact is Lando Calrissian. Lando points them toward another one of the MacGuffins, a "Sith artifact" that apparently turns out to be a dagger. This dagger has some sort of writing on it that C-3PO can’t decipher. Note: My source understands this to be a "Sith language" of ancient origin. That description is pretty vague for me, but the key point is sound. Heroes acquire this dagger, and said dagger has writing on it that C-3PO can't read.
• It’s during our heroes’ time on Pasaana that Kylo Ren initiates a Force mind link between himself and Rey. Through their connection Kylo Ren discovers where Rey and the Resistance team are and leaves to pursue them.
• There is a scene here on Pasaana where the heroes are attacked by a giant worm creature. Where my info differs in the worm scene from other reports is that I was told that instead of the heroes almost killing the worm, the worm basically has our heroes backed into a metaphorical corner and the healing is what allows them to survive and escape. The main story beat is the same, but some of the details panning out one way versus the other have slightly different implications for Rey’s character. It wasn’t done from a place of power and out of pity, but instead implies compassion in the face of danger.
• Eventually Kylo Ren and The Knights of Ren arrive and begin to attack our heroes. One thing leads to another and the Resistance crew gets outnumbered and they are forced to make their escape on an old ship, leaving the Millennium Falcon behind.
• Kylo Ren recovers the Millennium Falcon and takes it back to his personal Star Destroyer.
• As previously mentioned, C-3PO is confronted with a challenge that he is not equipped to handle. The strange artifact found on Pasaana contains an "unknown language" that C-3PO can’t translate without modifications. In order to modify C-3PO’s programming, Poe Dameron brings the team to the wintery planet seen in the teaser. It is called Kijimi.
• This is where C-3PO is modified to allow translation of the "Sith artifact." I'm told that the modification is done by a small alien. Note: This is possibly the one pictured in Image A of my post from six months ago. I'm not 100% sure on that, but confident enough in who told this to me that I'm willing to put it out there.
• Once translatable, the dagger supposedly reveals information regarding a second "Wayfinder", this one having belonged to Emperor Palpatine himself. This leads the team to journey to the forest moon of Endor. Note: My sources tell me that the scene from the D23 footage showing C-3PO with red eyes connects to this event. The Red eyes are part of the "hack" that allows him to translate the "Sith language."
• During the events leading to the modification of C-3PO on Kijimi, Kylo Ren initiates another Force connection between himself and Rey.
• Kylo Ren supposedly uses this second Force link as an opportunity to begin pushing Rey down the path of darkness. He does this by antagonizing Rey. Kylo Ren tells her that he knows about the dagger and what it was once used for. Kylo Ren apparently tells her that this dagger was used to murder her parents.
• Kylo Ren maintains that her parents are nobodies in the grand story.
• This angers Rey and she lashes out at Kylo Ren and a lightsaber duel ensues. Rey is on the planet Kijimi and Kylo Ren is on his Star Destroyer. According to my source no flashes of any additional locations are seen during this particular fight.
• Kylo Ren keeps the link alive long enough to learn Rey’s location and eventually peruses her in his Star Destroyer.
• Zori Bliss is introduced sometime during their time on this planet. Note: My sources told me that she has history with Poe prior to Keri Russell saying the same thing in an interview days ago. What this history may be is still a mystery to me right now.
• Once Kylo Ren arrives, our group of heroes decides to sneak aboard his Star Destroyer and attempt to recover the Millennium Falcon prior to leaving. The rescue plan goes awry and the whole group gets captured by The First Order.
It is at this point that two major things happen in the story:
1.) It is revealed that General Hux is a First Order mole that has been feeding the Resistance information. This information may be how General Leia and the Resistance learn about Kylo Ren and The Knights of Ren search for the "Wayfinder" device.
He allows the heroes to escape while Kylo Ren is distracted in his duel with Rey. The heroes recover the Millennium Falcon, Rey reconnects with them, and they are able to flee.
2.) During their lightsaber duel, Kylo Ren adds another wrinkle to Rey’s back story. He maintains that while her parents were nobodies, her grandparents, more specifically her grandfather, was not. KyloRen tells Rey that she is the granddaughter of Emperor Sheev Papatine. This explains his interest in bringing the random nobody from Jakku into the fight.
• Following her battle aboard the Star Destroyer and escape on the Millennium Falcon, Rey uses the newly gleaned information resulting from C-3PO’s modifications and the translation of the dagger to travel to the forest moon of Endor.
• At this time, it’s a little unclear to me exactly how Kylo Ren gets from Point A to Point B, but supposedly he is already waiting for Rey in Emperor Palpatine’s throne room aboard the wreckage of the second Death Star. Note: I assume he knows the location of the second "Wayfinder" due to his newfound connection to Emperor Palpatine, but that's just speculation on my part. I think it's important to note that Kylo Ren may have been on Endor before considering that he had the charred helmet of Darth Vader in The Force Awakens.
• Naturally, they duel again. The specifics of this lightsaber duel are unknown to me, but what I have been told about it is that it’s at this point when Rey begins to tap into some dark side, some anger and hatred to gain the upper hand and eventually defeats Kylo Ren. Note: Rey may possibly destroy his red lightsaber in the process, but that's more rumor than leak at the moment. Rey leaves Kylo Ren for dead on the wreckage of the second Death Star.
• Rey takes possession of Emperor Palpatine's "Wayfinder" and departs Endor.
• My sources tell me that the "Dark Rey" moment as seen in the D23 footage, is in fact a vision that was described as being thematically similar to Luke seeing himself in Darth Vader in the cave on Dagobah. This apparently is a short sequence that happens right after Rey picks up Emperor Palpatine's "Wayfinder" device.
• While lying in the wreckage of the second Death Star in a weakened state, Kylo Ren reportedly sees a vision of his father, Han Solo. Note: It is unclear to me if Solo appears as a bona fide Force ghost, or just through the magic of injury induced hallucination. But this interaction supposedly acts as Kylo Ren’s “come to Jesus” moment.
• Han Solo tells his son that it’s never too late to change. When he leaves Endor, he leaves not as Kylo Ren, but now as Ben Solo.
• This lightsaber duel is a critical tipping point for Rey as well. I’m told that in the wake of her battle with Kylo Ren, she takes the "Wayfinder" and flees back to Ahch-To to collect her thoughts. Her mindset reportedly mirrors Luke’s while he was there prior to and during the events of Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. The vision of a possible dark future for herself in conjunction with the fact that she nearly killed Kylo Ren scared Rey in the same way that considering killing his nephew Ben in his sleep scared Luke Skywalker all those years ago. Rey feared the path she was headed down and decides to swear off the Jedi Order, exiling herself on Ahch-To like Luke did. Rey scuttle the ship that she used to get there just like Luke had done to his X-Wing, and she caps it off by casting Anakin's reconstructed lightsaber toward her demolished starship.
• Just when it looks like the Jedi Order is going to end (again), the Force ghost of Luke Skywalker appears to Rey, holding her discarded lightsaber and does what all good Force ghosts do; gives our hero the resolve to do what needs to be done. She must finish the work Luke began over thirty years earlier and put an end to Emperor Palpatine once and for all. According to my source, Luke passes on Leia’s lightsaber to Rey. Note: I don't know where it came from, where it's been all this time, or how Luke is physically able to give it to Rey, but what I can tell you (with only about 50% confidence at this point) is that Leia's blade is supposedly blue. Bolstered by her conversation with Luke, Rey takes Leia's lightsaber, transmits the location of the Sith fleet to the Resistance before heading out herself, possibly in Luke’s old X-Wing.
• On the subject of Force ghosts, Luke makes another appearance around the time of Rey and Kylo Ren’s crises of faith. Back at the main Resistance base, General Leia is on her deathbed. Note: My source describes it to me like Yoda’s death in Return if the Jedi, nothing bad happened, it was just her time to go. Luke has come to say goodbye, but before it all ends for his sister, Luke has one final lesson for her.
From what I've been able to put together, the final act of the film is structured like this:
• Rey leaves Ahch-To and travels to the Sith fleet in the Unknown Region/Wild Space. Eventually the Resistance fleet arrives and the big battle begins. Somehow, Rey finds her way to Emperor Palpatine who has been waiting for her. He confirms that what Kylo Ren told her was true. Apparently after his defeat on the Death Star II, Emperor Palpatine was shaken by the fact that he wasn't able to maintain his hold on Darth Vader or seduce Luke Skywalker to the dark side due to their very strong familial bond. During the course of their conversation, Emperor Palpatine makes reference to this bond between Darth Vader and Luke. He likens it to his bond with Rey, hoping that whatever familial connection they have will be enough to somehow win her over. It is Emperor Palpatine’s hope that their bond will be as strong as the Skywalkers was back then. Note: What my source described next feels very reminiscent of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
• Rey is trapped in Emperor Palpatine’s throne room, watching the two opposing fleets battle while she helplessly waches. It’s at this point that Ben appears. How we get to this next part is still a bit fuzzy to me, but apparently Ben and Rey join forces and begin attacking Emperor Palpatine. Leia's lightsaber comes back into play when Rey and Ben share the two Skywalker lightsabers throughout their fight. At some point, Emperor Palpatine overpowers them both and supposedly kills Ben. Note: there have been reports from other reputable leakers that Ben kind of/sort of dies, but my source on this seemed pretty unambiguous. Personally, I think we'll just have to wait and see what we learn over the next few months.
• When it looks like all hope is lost, the Force ghosts of Luke and Leia show up to help Rey. The three of them overpower Emperor Palpatine, destroying him, and ending his darkness once and for all.
• As for what the other members of the Resistance are doing at this point, they are all engaged in the mammoth space battle against Emperor Palpatine's Sith fleet being led by Allegiant General Pryde. The Resistance's goal is said to be to take out the Sith fleet’s flagship, severing communications with the other Star Destroyers and making navigation out of the Unknown Regions/Wild Space impossible for them. The Sith fleet’s flagship is destroyed around the same time that Emperor Palpatine is defeated and killed in his throne room.
• The last thing I was told is regarding the final sequence of the film. I don’t why, but our heroes travel to the planet Tatooine. During these scenes, it is supposedly revealed that Rey has cannibalized both the Anakin/Luke's lightsaber and the Leia lightsaber to make a unique one of her own that supposedly has a yellow/gold blade.
• Rey buries what amounts to the leftover pieces of the two lightsabers on the grounds of the former Lars homestead where Luke Skywalker was raised by Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.
• A local sees Rey and comments about not having seen anyone near this dwelling in a long time. The local woman then asks Rey what her name is to which she says, “Rey, Rey Skywalker.”
• The final shot of the Skywalker family saga allegedly echoes how the adventure began in 1977. The group of heroes, mirroring Luke’s gaze out at the horizon, dreaming of the future as Tatooine’s twin suns set in the distance. Credits roll.
