Megan Rickards 
Megan reflects on the gravity of the Star Wars legacy following the star-studded world premiere of The Rise of Skywalker
Monday, December 16, 2019, is a day that will be long remembered in the pop culture universe. It will forever stand as the day the final huge Star Wars main saga came to a close with its massive premiere in Hollywood, California. It was a night filled with stars, emotions, memories and more. I will shamelessly admit that I teared up more than once while watching the live stream of the said premiere. Seeing this made me think of how this franchise impacted and shaped not just my life, but also many others. It’s a saga that has managed to do what few others have, stick around and remain popular for over 40 years. That’s right, it means that this final movie in this story could be shared with three and possibly even four generations of fans.
With that said, as emotionally painful as it was, the night began with a look back at clips from Episodes I-VIII demonstrating at everything it took to reach this point before ultimately ending with some we’ve already seen in this final installment Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. From there, flash polls were posted on Twitter under the official Star Wars account @starwars, celebrities such as Catherine Taber (@cattaber), Matt Lanter (@mattlanter), Dee Bradley Baker (@deebradleybaker), James Arnold Taylor (@jatactor) and Dave Filoni (@davefiloni) all of The Clone Wars animated series fame, along with the stars of the movie John Boyega (@johnboyega), Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isacc, Mark Hamil (@hamilllhimself), and of course Billy Dee Willams were all interviewed and pressed for what few details they could give about the movie without spoiling it and getting into trouble with the studio heads.
To help celebrate this momentous occasion, fans from all over came dressed in only their Star Wars best. How often does a night like this happen? The answer, not often. Again, this movie was over 40 years in the making. Little did George Lucas know way back in 1976-77 as he was making and finishing the first movie then known simply as Star Wars, just how immensely popular his little space opera would become. With how reserved and quiet he is known to be, one has to wonder if he would have made this insanely well-liked series if he knew simply how big it would become. Would he have instead shied away, saying, ‘It’s not for me? I don’t want to be part of anything this big and fancy’? We can only speculate.
In the meantime, fan expectation is understandably high, both from how much this has been marketed to them and everything that has led up to this one movie. Suffice it to say, should anything go wrong, Star Wars creators will not hear the end of it for a long, long time. Force help them if it does. From the memes to the characters and toys, this movie has so much riding on it than likely any other movie before it. Everything comes down to Thursday night in the US at 6pm when the first showings begin. No matter what happens after this movie, fans and the general public alike will conceivably be talking about this one for years and decades to come.
From a more personal standpoint, seeing it on Thursday evening will be painful as anything, but as Master Yoda once said, “Rejoice for those around you who transform into the force”. While this quote is technically talking about the death of a person (Anakin’s secret wife Padmé), the same sentiment can apply here. Don’t be sad because this is ending, be happy and celebrate the memories you made along the way. Without it, I wouldn’t have met wonderful people like David Jessie and his sons on the hit podcast show Tatooine Sons, John, and Megan of Nerdherder Podcast fame and of course Phil Roberts the founder and editor-in-chief of this amazing site Future of the Force. In other words, this ending is bittersweet. It’s sad that it’s ending, but happy due to the memories that were made along the way.
As you go and see it in theaters, please remember to keep a tight lid on any and all spoilers so every fan and every person can have the same experience you did. While you’re doing that, please don’t forget to leave your thoughts and comments down below and share any pictures relating to your showing with @futureotforce with #TheRiseofSkywalker. We can’t wait to see them and possibly learn what Star Wars means to you and how much of a role it has played in your life. We love to read stuff like that.
The Future of the Force. The future of pop culture writing.
Megan Rickards is a prolific Staff Writer for Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars, Batman and the Arrowverse. Follow her on Twitter @FindingHerSpot where she channels the Force frequently!
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I am a major “Star Wars” fan who currently writes for Future of the Force and is absolutely loving it! Until my writing career really takes off, I am now writing for Future of the Force full time, having graduated Spring 2018 with my Bachelor’s Degree in Literature and Writing.
My other interests include ABC’s “The Good Doctor”, CW’s “Arrow” and “The Flash”, and DC’s “Batman”. Of all the iterations of Batman, my favorite would definitely have to be 1992’s “Batman: The Animated Series”.
If you want to stop by and talk, please feel free to send me a tweet. I promise to get back to you as soon as I can.
