The more and more I think about it, the more I think that this is going to be an exploration around the concept relating to the Cosmic Force that they'd been hinting about since
Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and the machinations relating all the way back to Star Wars
Episode I (especially with this year being the 20th anniversary of
The Phantom Menace). Especially when Kathleen Kennedy talks about George referring to the story arc as
"the third act of a three act structure" that's even more apparent when she mentions
keeping the context of what George was working within relevant over 40 years later, by taking to heart everything that inspired him.
Especially with including Ian McDiarmid, I bet we're looking at the way that the Force itself can emerge into particular individuals (since Rey and Anakin very much have that in common). The Skywalker Saga is really all about the legacy that started with the rise of Anakin – who was really a backwater planet slave child that came out of nowhere. That legacy went through from him to Luke, and from Luke to Ben – which then awoke within Rey via an as-of-yet-unexplained-mechanism (as we've learned that she and Ben are each others' mirrors in the Force). If you're looking at answering the question of what happened to kick off "
The Force Awakens" you're also answering what brought about "
The Rise of Skywalker" so it's functioning as an end to its own trilogy, as well as to the previous trilogies.
Insofar as how you accomplish that: In the Vader comics, we've seen Vader explicitly looking into moments of
Anakin's past as the Chosen One, which happened at Fortress Vader (
where the canon VR game Vader Immortal is taking place). Additionally, in
Rebels we've seen Palpatine attempting to gain control over this still-as-of-yet-unexplained Force conduit (relating to the prophesy and the Mortis gods) that could act as a bridge between events in time.
Ezra even hears Rey and Kylo Ren's voices in that place. With Rey having all of the original Jedi texts, there's plenty of opportunity for there to be a way to bring this really abstract concept into the film – especially with the
"No one's ever really gone" quote from Luke in the trailer and even the idea of becoming one with the Force.
I'd expect that if we see Palpatine in the flesh, it'll be utilizing those mechanics about the greater Cosmic Force that were established and used to save Ahsoka, since they're related
HEAVILY to what Palpatine has been shown actively pursuing. Additionally, George's biggest contribution to the Cosmic Force are in the Motris Trilogy, which is related to the prophesy, which are again related to all of the previous things with Anakin's conception and the Mortis Gods. Although that feels pretty doubtful for a film to cover (since it's a lot to establish on its own), we also have to look at the fact that there just flat-out aren't Sith Force Ghosts (as established in those Mortis episodes of
Clone Wars which is also returning), and the closest that they have are wraiths and illusions. Palpatine very much orchestrated the events all around the series, and it'd be really neat to see it finally close the book on those particular machinations that he very much seems to've set into motion and influenced, by having the new generation really hunt through the remnants of the past and finally reach the conclusion that Episode I set into motion – especially since that's what it sounds like they're looking to achieve.
How the hell our cast of characters plays into those events, and where that leaves the larger galactic conflict, I haven't the faintest damn idea – which is actually even more exciting to me. It's my best guess looking through the lens of what's in place, and the idea of IX as the final act of a trilogy that's also the final act of a three trilogy structure – but that also doesn't necessarily close that playground on that time, those characters, and their stories in the larger universe.
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