As fans continue the mind-numbing debate about The Last Jedi (mostly in my mentions), the first actual bit of reliable information about the plot of Star Wars IX may have finally been revealed.
A scan of what appears to be Empire Magazine's 2019 movie preview, includes some key information about when Star Wars IX will be taking place.
“John Boyega has confirmed the film takes place roughly one year after the events of The Last Jedi,” the section reads.
This is a massive time jump compared to The Last Jedi, which picked up immediately after the events of The Force Awakens. And it could hint at the rest of the plot of Star Wars IX.
As we know, the Resistance finds itself rattled and beaten down after barely escaping The First Order. What's left of our protagonists will likely get resettled in a safe/friendly place and prepare for whatever is going to come next.
If you'll remember, after the events of Empire Strikes Back, there was somewhere between 2-5 years between the movies. It took the Empire a few years to build the new Death Star after it was destroyed in A New Hope. And when we see Luke Skywalker in the beginning of Return of the Jedi, he's spent enough time to hone his skills with a lightsaber and the Force. He's become a confident and capable Jedi master, and it's possible that we might see Rey's powers develop in a similar way between The Last Jedi and Star Wars IX.
There's also the question of how director J.J. Abrams will handle Leia's death after the passing of Carrie Fisher in 2016. As Disney has announced, she will appear in the upcoming film via previously recorded footage that wasn't used in the previous movies. I've often speculated that the death of Carrie Fisher will be handled off screen and the next film will open with the heroes at her funeral. If this is the case, that old footage could potentially be used to show what happened in the year between Episode 8 and Episode 9. Now, this is certainly speculation of course, but it would make sense to put these scenes in a flashback so Abrams doesn't have to backtrack the main plot of this final film.
Matt Miller is a Brooklyn-based culture/lifestyle writer and music critic whose work has appeared in Esquire, Forbes, The Denver Post, and documentaries.
