Earlier today, Disney and Lucasfilm revealed the long-awaited title and first trailer to Star Wars: Episode IX at the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago. Now known as The Rise of Skywalker, this ninth and final installment in the Skywalker saga will bring back the biggest villain from the prequel films and original trilogy: Emperor Palpatine himself (who'll once again be played by Ian McDiarmid)! Of course, we obviously don't know if the Sith Formerly Known As Darth Sidious will return as a clone, a Force Ghost, a mere holographic recording on an old Imperial computer, or...as flesh and blood since Palpatine may have actually discovered how to cheat death as mentioned in the story about Darth Plagueis the Wise in Revenge of the Sith. That last one seems unlikely, but it was so cool to hear the Emperor's cackle at the end of this teaser!
Other notes about the trailer: Rey flipping over Kylo Ren's TIE Silencer is friggin' awesome, it's cool that Kylo's helmet is re-assembled (though I have no issues with him being helmetless like he was in The Last Jedi), BB-8's new sidekick Dio is adorable, there's still no sign of a true B-Wing starfighter in the sequel trilogy (the ski speeders in The Last Jedi don't count) and Lando Calrissian is back! The old-school one portrayed by Billy Dee Williams, not the Danny Glover version who apparently wanted to make love to a droid in Solo: A Star Wars Story. And General Leia lives on!
December 20 can't come soon enough... That is all.
