We went on a The Rise of Skywalker cameos hunting mission. Whilst we weren’t huge fans of this grand finale there’s no denying the incredible scale of this movie. A near impossible task of fixing the faults from the previous instalment J.J. certainly improved on the previous two movies. What stood out for me was the return of some old characters, whilst forced in places it was still nice to see them on the big screen once again. There were more subtle cameo additions in The Rise of Skywalker and we’ve listed as many as we can for you here today.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The Rise of Skywalker Cameos
Han Solo
The first of our The Rise of Skywalker cameos is none other than Han Solo. I’ve added Han in first because he was the most likely person to return to The Rise of Skywalker. Pictures of him at the premiere proved his return and he’s a key character in Kylo Ren’s story arc. So for those who saw the red spoilers text above and Han Solo straight underneath, i’ve given you a soft blow with this one. For those who are still reading this and don’t want to find out anymore movie cameos then click off right now!
Han and Kylo share an incredible scene together in The Rise of Skywalker. Kylo Ren a.k.a Ben Solo has bounced between the light and the dark side since The Force Awakens. In a scene reyminicent of the bridge scene in The Force Awakens (including exact dialogue taken from that film) we see the true direction that Kylo Ren is leaning in this powerful and quite emotive sequence.
D-O Robot – J.J. Abrams
D-O is an english speaking droid that provides a little comedic relief within The Rise of Skywalker. The voice is heavily modulated but the voice you hear is none other than director J.j. Abrams. For the first time since an episode of Alias in 2001 has J.J. acted as a character.
Jodie Comer (Rey’s Mother)
Killing Eve star Jodie Comer plays the role of Rey’s mother in this finale instalment. We finally learn about Rey’s past and divulge into why her parents left her many moons ago. Rey’s mother is unnamed in the movie just like her father but they play an integral role in revealing details of Rey’s past.
Warwick Davis (Wicket)
Warwick Davis has featured in many other Star Wars roles over the years but in this one he returned to his roots. The legendary character of wicket. Whilst a cool cameo it’s arguably the most pointless 3 seconds (if that) of screen-time just to throw in some nostalgia for fans to remenise about the days when Star Wars was a genuinely good movie.
James Earl Jones (Darth Vader)
For only a brief second do we get to hear James Earl Jones’ iconic voice in The Rise of Skywalker. Once single line near the beginning of the film where Emperor Palpatine is imitating Vader’s voice. We’ve certainly had our James Earl Jones fix for one year thou as his voicing of Mustafa in this years live-action The Lion King rolled the years back and raised the nostalgia bar to unreachable heights.
Denis Lawson (Wedge Antilles)
Wedge Antilles the infamous pilot returns, not for long but he’s in there! In the final scene where the First Order face off against the Final Order up pops Wedge for some epic fighter pilot ass kicking.
Chris Terrio (Colonel Aftab Ackbar)
So Admiral Ackbar had a son. That very son is a colonel in the Resistance. His first big on screen appearance. Played by Tom Wilton a prosthetics suit the character is actually voiced by Chris Terrio the co-writer of the movie. I think I need to be having words with Chris because the script (for me) was what absolutely destroyed this convoluted mess. There was certainly greatness within the movie but it never quite stepped into the spotlight long enough.
Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker)
I think this one was a bit obvious but we do see the return of Mark Hamil in The Rise of Skywalker. It seems that even in death the force is still strong with him as he performs not one but two mind boggling displays of ‘the force’.
Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke)
Andy Serkis crops up quite a few times in this movie as Palpatine is revealed as the man who created Snoke via experimental cloning. We see various clones in tubes in Palpatine’s lair. His voice can also be heard when Palpatine speaks to Kylo Ren as he discusses the sith’s future.
John Williams and the Force Ghosts
John Williams has a blink and you’ll miss it cameo as a bartender but the biggest group cameo has to be the Force Ghosts. A moment in the film where Rey calls upon the power of fallen Jedi’s to help her in her final stand against Palpatine. The voices call out to her in unison and the list is as follows:
Angelique Perrin (Adi Gallia)
Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus)
Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn)
Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi)
Jennifer Hale (Aayla Secura)
Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker)
Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano)
Olivia D’Abo (Luminara Unduli)
Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu)
Frank Oz (Yoda)
Overall
I’m positive that in the weeks and months to come more and more cameo roles will be revealed. I remember finding out months later about Daniel Craig’s appearance as a stormtrooper much later than the originally announced cameos. So we’ll just have to count the days away until more is revealed, did you spot some of the cameos in the movie? Also, have we missed any The Rise of Skywalker camoes already? Let us know in the comments below.
