After all these years, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker marks the culmination of the franchise. There has been a lot of hushed whispers and rumours about the final chapter in the saga and while we won’t reveal any of the plot points, there are quite a few surprise appearances in the final installment. Here is a list of every cameo that we know of featured in the film.
Disclaimer: There are spoilers beyond this point. Proceed only at your own risk.
All The Jedi Voices
Starting with the ones that aren’t physically in the film, long gone but never forgotten. At the beginning of the film, Rey says “Be with me…” while she meditates and repeats it later near the end before facing Emperor Palpatine. And like Aang in the Avatar state, the Force speaks back to her through the voices of past Jedis.
“These are your final steps, Rey. Rise and take them… Rey… Rise.” These are the first words that Rey hears and is supposed to be Obi-Wan Kenobi voiced by Ewan McGregor. Later there is another Obi-Wan phrase by the late Alec Guinness.
At the end, you can clearly hear Hayden Christensen tell Rey, “”Bring back the balance Rey, as I did. The Force surrounds you Rey”.
The full lineup of voices span not only the movie series but the entire Star Wars universe and include the following characters, as well as the actors: Yoda, Ahsoka Tano, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Kanan Jarrus, Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura, and Adi Gallia.
But it does mean that Ahsoka is dead.
Jodie Comer as Rey’s Mom
Of course, this is the big reveal. The question on everyone’s lips, who are Rey’s parents? Well, it turns out Rey’s mother is played by none other than the star of Killing Eve, Jodie Comer who sacrificed herself to spare Rey from her Palpatine roots.
Warwick Davis as Wicket
Near the end of the film, we all see the little teddy bears that started began the battle of cutest creatures in the galaxy (currently awarded to Baby Yoda, hands down). What you might not have known is that Warwick Davis is back in the Ewok suit, first donned 36 years ago in Return of the Jedi.
For even more feels, the Ewok we all know and love has a younger Ewok beside him. That Ewok is actually played by Davis’ son, Harrison. Named after a cast member that his father idolised. How sweet is that?
Chris Terrio as Aftab Ackbar
We all know Chris Terrio by now. Oscar-winning writer Terrio not only co-wrote The Rise of Skywalker but also voices a supporting character in the final film. Terrio loved Admiral Ackbar from Return of the Jedi so much that while writing the screenplay with J.J. Abrams, they decided to throw in his son into the mix.
“He, much like all his human compatriots, is also trying to live up to the legacy of his father. In the finale, you can see Aftab piloting one of the Resistance fighter ships. I was doing his voice temporarily, and then at a certain point J.J. said, ‘You can just do it,’ and that was a huge thrill, obviously.”
Greg Grunberg as Snap Wexley
Greg Grunberg is featured in a bunch of Abrams’ work including Lost, Star Trek Beyond and Heroes and is now back to reprise his role as Snap Wexley. This long-standing relationship not only gets Grunberg one of the best moments in the movie but just gives us a warm fuzzy feeling.
Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles
Although he is the second actor to portray Wedge Antilles, Denis Lawson’s return in a pivotal scene is still a welcome cameo and dampens the heartache as we watch Snap Wexley perish. And just as a fun fact, Lawson is actually Ewan McGregor’s uncle!
Shirley Henderson as Babu Frik
If you thought that that itty bitty tinkerer Babu Frik sounded familiar, you may know this famous Scottish actress Shirley Henderson by her distinct voice. Most famous for her perfectly pervy performance of Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter series, there’s no way you could miss this one.
John Williams as Oma Tres
After all this time, composer John Williams may have close to 300 musical credits, but he has never appeared onscreen until The Rise of Skywalker. He appears on the planet Kijimi as a bartender with a mechanical eyepatch named Oma Tres.
Fun fact: Oma Tres is an anagram for Maestro!
Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles as Random Stormtroopers
Ed Sheeran is no stranger to random cameos in major franchises, with his infamous appearance in Game of Thrones. He is now back for more as a random Stromtrooper on the planet Kijimi that gets blown up, so we’ll never really know where he is.
Harry Styles’ cameo poses some questions because we’re not entirely certain if he’s in the movie or if Mark Hamil is just pulling our legs with this cheeky tweet.
Lin-Manuel Miranda as Random Rebel
In 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda composed some cantina music for The Force Awakens during the Maz Kanata scene. Even for this final instalment to the saga, he put together some music together which he claims has “nice beat & you can dance to it.” After such a close relationship with the franchise, it’s nice to know that Miranda gets a chance to be a part of such a momentous ending.
James Earl Jones As Darth Vader
So Palpatine claims to be every voice that Kylo has ever heard in his head. But James Earl Jones’ raspiness and silky smooth low hum is nothing short of iconic and when we hear him again, it almost brought tears to our eyes.
Andy Serkis As Snoke
Despite his death in the last film, it was revealed that there are a whole bunch of Snoke clones. And as mentioned before, Palpatine was actually acting through Snoke so it would only make sense for Snoke’s voice to be featured alongside Jones.
J.J. Abrams as D-O
To really top it all off, J.J. Abrams has joined in the fun by replacing the adorable droid’s beeps and boops with his voice! Terrio even told Vanity Fair that Abrams was the perfect man for the job: “His voice was just in there as temp, and I was convinced after watching a few cuts with J.J.’s voice as D-O, that J.J. just was D-O. There was no other possibility.”
Chelsea started playing video games at a young age and has since sunk deeper into the hole of geekdom. She dreams of one day studying pop culture for a living so she can watch Netflix all day in her pyjamas.
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