There are two characters who we haven’t seen much of in the marketing for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, for obvious reasons. Of course, we’re taking about Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, who are set to show up in Episode IX but either haven’t been seen in the flesh in the trailers (Luke) or have been absent on all the posters that’ve been released (Luke and Leia). But now it looks like things are starting to change a bit.
Last night, we got a brand new one-sheet which finally featured the iconic characters and this morning, the marketing barrage continues with yet another TV spot. At only 30 seconds in length, there’s not a whole lot to digest here, but we do get to see Leia once more, and this time, holding a lightsaber, while there’s also an ominous tease from the Emperor at the end, as he says: “Let the final battle begin.”
All things considered, this latest bite-sized promo is another tantalizing taste of what’s shaping up to be one of the biggest movie events of the year. It might not eclipse Avengers: Endgame, but make no mistake about it, The Rise of Skywalker is definitely going to have an impact on audiences next month and might just leave a pretty sizeable dent in the box office, too.
Though early projections aren’t as high as The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, an opening weekend in the region of $200 million is looking pretty likely. Then again, these figures are subject to change as we approach D-day and with all the buzz around Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker being very positive so far, we wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up inching past that mark in the end.