Since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is wrapping up the Skywalker saga, it’s pretty much the last time for some key characters to make a significant appearance in the long-running sci-fi saga. And since it’s the end of an era in a galaxy far, far away, there are plenty of people who wanted to get in on the last chapter of the story that began all the way back in 1977.
That’s why there are plenty of cameos to behold in The Rise of Skywalker, some in the form of new characters, others being characters from previous installments of Star Wars. We’ve got a list of all the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker cameos that we know of so far, but beware of major spoilers as we name them.
J.J. Abrams as D-O
There’s a new droid on the scene in The Rise of Skywalker. His name is D-O, and he rolls around on a single wheel with a tiny megaphone for a head. He’s found in an abandoned ship that’s key in Rey’s journey to figuring out who she is. BB-8 uses some of his own energy to wake him up and he’s suddenly part of the gang. Unlike BB-8, D-O communicates through computerized words, though not in a sophisticated, advanced way like C-3PO. Instead he speaks in short phrases and sometimes single words. And it just so happens the voice used to bring him to life belongs to J.J. Abrams.
Chris Terrio as Aftab Ackbar
As we expected, the son of Admiral Ackbar makes an appearance in The Rise of Skywalker. His name is Aftab Ackbar, and he’s a small supporting character among the Resistance ranks. Poe Dameron even refers to him as Junior at one point, and he’s one of the key pilots during the final battle. While the physical presence of the character is played by actor Tom Wilton under a prosthetic headpiece, the voice is provided by The Rise of Skywalker co-writer Chris Terrio.
Warwick Davis as Wicket W. Warrick
Once The Final Order has been wiped out, we get a series of shots where different planets are celebrating victory as Star Destroyers fall from the sky. One of the shots takes us back to the Ewok village on the forest moon of Endor, and we see Warwick Davis back as Wicket W. Warrick from Return of the Jedi, and he his son Pommet Warrick is with him, played by Davis’ real life son Harrison Davis.
Talented Stormtroopers
There are a number of Stormtroopers throughout The Rise of Skywalker, but a few prominent ones are played by some recognizable names. In the credits, we have FN-2802 played by Radiohead producer and musician Nigel Godrich, FN-0878 played by Dhani Harrison, the son of The Beatles singer, songwriter and guitarist George Harrison, and FN-1226, played by Sleight and Sweetheart director JD Dillard.
We’re sure there are plenty more Stormtroopers played by celebrities, especially since we saw musician Ed Sheeran in Stormtrooper gear in one of the behind the scenes featurettes. We’ll update this section as more of these cameos start to surface.
Ed Sheeran Played a Resistance Alien
Speaking of Ed Sheeran, even though the pop star was spotted in Stormtrooper gear in some behind the scenes footage from The Rise of Skywalker, it turns out he played someone else. Oh My Disney posted a list of The Rise of Skywalker cameos (which we mostly already knew about), and they revealed the above image, noting that Ed Sheeran is under that alien head.
Rey’s Parents
We finally find out who Rey’s parents are and they’re played by Jodie Comer of Killing Eve and the upcoming Free Guy, and Billy Howle, a lesser known actor who has appeared in The Outlaw King, Dunkirk and On Chesil Beach.
Lin-Manuel Miranda Joins the Resistance
Though we’re not certain he’s easily visible at any point during the movie, Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda was a Resistance fighter in the movie, as evidenced by a featurette from behind the scenes.
John Williams as Oma Tres
In a brief appearance, longtime Star Wars composer John Williams appears as a bartender on the planet Kijimi. The camera lingers on him for a moment as our heroes make their way through a cantina full of aliens, and at first you don’t recognize him since he has some tech on his face, but it’s clearly John Williams, and he’s named in the credits as Oma Tres.
Mark Hamill as Boolio
Towards the beginning of The Rise of Skywalker, this alien has a message for our Resistance heroes about a mole in the First Order. That alien is named Boolio, and he just so happens to be voiced by Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill.
Kevin Smith as a Kijimi Local
The Clerks director himself revealed that J.J. Abrams gave him a cameo as a bundled up local on Kijimi, where our heroes take C-3PO for a dangerous reprogramming. The filmmaker explained how the cameo came about over here.
Snoke and Darth Vader
No, we don’t actually see these characters (though we do see the cloned body parts of the former Supreme Leader), but when Kylo Ren arrives on the Sith planet Exagol, the Emperor’s voice morphs into the voices of Snoke and Darth Vader for a brief second. Andy Serkis and James Earl Jones both returned to reprise their roles.
Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles
During the final battle on Exagol, a whole slew of ships show up to help the Resistance take down The Final Order. We don’t get a glimpse of many of the pilots behind these ships, but one familiar face pops up to tell Lando Calrissian that he’s doing some nice flying, and it’s none other than Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles, one of the Rebel pilots who flew against the Empire throughout the original Star Wars trilogy. Fun fact: Denis Lawson is Ewan McGregor’s uncle.
Harrison Ford as Han Solo
Yes, in what is one of the most surprising cameos of the entire movie, Harrison Ford returns as Han Solo. He’s not a Force ghost exactly, but rather a memory that lingers inside Ben Solo and appears after he becomes very conflicted about his place in the galaxy. He speaks with Ben about finally giving up the dark side. There’s even a wonderful callback to one of Han’s most famous lines from the original trilogy.
The Voices of Jedi Past
Here’s what you probably came to this article to confirm. In the climax of The Rise of Skywalker, Rey hears the voices of many Jedi who came and perished before her as their power begins to flow through her. She now represents all the Jedi, just as the Emperor is embodied by all the Sith. Here are the voices that Rey hears throughout this moment:
- Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker
- Olivia D’Abo as Luminara Unduli
- Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano
- Jennifer Hale as Aayla Secura
- Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu
- Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Frank Oz as Yoda
- Angelique Perrin as Adi Gallia
- Freddie Prinze Jr. as Kanan Jarrus
- Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn
For all of the Jedi who you might not remember from the live-action movies, they were prominently featured in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated series and the actors and actresses playing them are the ones who voiced them in those respective shows. This is the first time the live-action movies have brought in characters who have only appeared in animated form, like Kanan Jarrus and Ahsoka Tano. We hope this is a gateway for them to get the live-action treatment at some point.
The post Here Are All the ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Cameos (That We Know Of) appeared first on /Film.