Cantina Talk: Meet the New New Class of ’Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’

Hello, and welcome to a new edition of Cantina Talk, WIRED's look at everything happening in the world of Star Wars. But first: If you haven't already read it, open another tab immediately and bookmark this oral history of Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace, because, really, there are some droids in there you've probably been looking for. But if you're not in the mood for revisiting the way the movies looked a long time ago, perhaps you'll be happier with these glimpses of what's to come.

Source: The man behind Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, J.J. Abrams

Probable accuracy: The thing with thematic descriptors is, who can really say what they're about?

The real deal: Wondering what Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is actually about? Well, tough luck; plot details are under wraps. But that doesn't mean writer/director J.J. Abrams isn't offering thematic clues, as he revealed to Vanity Fair: "This trilogy is about this young generation, this new generation, having to deal with all the debt that has come before. And it's the sins of the father, and it's the wisdom and the accomplishments of those who did great things, but it's also those who committed atrocities, and the idea that this group is up against this unspeakable evil and are they prepared? Are they ready? What have they learned from before? It's less about grandeur. It's less about restoring an old age. It's more about preserving a sense of freedom and not being one of the oppressed." He added, "The idea of the movie is kind of how I felt going into the movie as a filmmaker, which is to say that I've inherited all this stuff, great stuff, and good wisdom, and the good and the bad, and it's all coming to this end, and the question is, do we have what it takes to succeed?" Glad we cleared all that up.

Source: Annie Leibovitz, Lev Grossman, and Vanity Fair en masse

Probable accuracy: These are officially sanctioned releases, so they're 100 percent spot-on.

The real deal: There were, of course, lots of details that could be found in the Vanity Fair piece, not least of which were the first glimpses of new characters and new costumes from The Rise of Skywalker. Fans got to meet Zorri Bliss (Keri Russell) and Allegiant General Pryde (Richard E. Grant), and got confirmation that the Knights of Ren are in the movie! The piece also revealed the new locations Pasaana and Kijimi, the latter of which is the "Thieves' Quarter," which will almost certainly be important in the movie. And, perhaps most important, everyone got to see Naomi Ackie's Jannah in action, in a shot that likely inspired a million pieces of fan fiction almost immediately. It might be the final chapter, but The Rise of Skywalker isn't done introducing cool new concepts, aliens, characters, and planets.

Source: Anonymous sources

Probable accuracy: It's certainly being treated as fact by many people, even if it seems a little strange.

The real deal: Fans who thought they knew Lucasfilm's future plans for Star Wars were likely surprised by a recent report on BuzzFeed revealing that Laeta Kalogridis, screenwriter on Alita: Battle Angel and Terminator Genisys, as well as someone who has worked on James Cameron's Avatar sequels, are writing a movie based on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic videogame. The screenplay is apparently the first of three, which, if true, would mean that Lucasfilm is currently working on three separate Star Wars trilogies for the coming years—a plan that would, assuming the movie-every-other-year release schedule unveiled by Disney last month sticks around, mean that Star Wars is scheduled out for the next 20 years. (The first of the new movies isn't even scheduled to arrive until 2022.) Is Disney really working that far in advance, or is there something more going here?

Source: Disney Parks and all that sail in her

Probable accuracy: You can witness the accuracy with your very own eyes.