Some of The Rise of Skywalker's biggest surprises happen in a lightspeed flash.
That's why we're here to run down the biggest surprise cameos in the movie, from original
trilogy sidekicks to behind-the-camera architects.
"The dead speak!" proclaims The Rise of Skywalker's opening crawl, making it clear as soon as
possible that things are about to get weird.
And weird they do indeed get, as we find Kylo Ren arriving at the planet Exegol in response
to a mysterious broadcast from the (somehow alive) Sith Lord and Emperor Sheev Palpatine,
a broadcast heard on planet Earth exclusively as a Fortnite cross-promotion...
"At last the work of generations is complete.
The great error is corrected."
Ren finds Palpatine, but that's no surprise, we've known since the movie's first trailer
that he'd be back.
More unexpected are the cameos from other past antagonists, particularly because of
the unusual form they take.
When Palpatine introduces himself as "every voice you've ever heard inside your head,"
his voice shapeshifts briefly into that of Supreme Leader Snoke, and then that of Darth
Vader.
Sure enough, both Andy Serkis and James Earl Jones lend their menacing pipes to the illusion.
Snoke even appears a moment later in the flesh, nothing but the flesh, actually, with parts
of seemingly rejected clone bodies floating in a tank like a savory Snoke stew.
It's surprising to see Harrison Ford in Rise of Skywalker for a few reasons.
Sure, there's the fact that non-Jedi have never appeared as "Force Ghosts" in the movies
before, an issue the film skirts by presenting Han Solo as a figment of his wayward son's
memory, rather than an actual specter.
There's also Ford's infamous annoyance with the legacy of Star Wars.
He unsuccessfully campaigned to get Solo killed off in Return of the Jedi and will take great
pleasure in telling you he doesn't care who shot first.
It was surprising enough when it was first announced that he would star in The Force
Awakens, and downright shocking to see him pop up again in Rise of Skywalker.
But Ford seems to enjoy working with Adam Driver, and we can guess he probably liked
the idea of paying tribute to Carrie Fisher.
That's why it's easy to overlook what could've been eye-roll-worthy fan service.
From the moment we knew that The Rise of Skywalker would revisit the Endor system, we had to
wonder if we'd be seeing some Ewoks.
Sadly, the wreckage of the second Death Star isn't actually on the same forest moon we
visited in Return of the Jedi, but on Endor's "ocean moon."
The heroes' big knife chase brings them into contact with their new friend Jannah and her
very good space horses, but sadly, the adventure remains devoid of killer bears.
That is, at least, until the movie's grand finale.
As the Final Order fleet falls, a montage much like the one added to the "Special Edition"
of Return of the Jedi brings us to a few planets to witness the galactic victory celebration.
That's when we're reintroduced to Wicket, played once again by Star Wars mainstay Warwick
Davis, who was just 11 years old the first time he got zipped up into a teddy bear costume
for Episode 6.
Alongside him is Wicket's son, Pommet, played by Warwick's real-life son, Harrison.
Wedge Antilles is something of a Star Wars good luck charm.
Having survived all three major battles of the original trilogy, he was always there
when Luke and the Rebel Alliance needed him, even if he never took up a lot of screentime.
The character would go on to play a major role in plenty of Expanded Universe material,
endearing him to a generation of superfans.
It was surprising, then, that Wedge didn't make an appearance in The Force Awakens.
At the time, actor Denis Lawson was quoted as saying he turned down an offer to appear
because it would have, quote, "bored" him.
The actor later backtracked these comments, claiming that he would have accepted the role
if not for scheduling conflicts.
Whatever the case, he's there for a brief moment in Rise of Skywalker's climactic space
battle, manning a gun turret on the Millennium Falcon.
It's Star Wars tradition for behind-the-scenes crewmembers to make blink-and-you'll-miss-them
on screen cameos.
The Rise of Skywalker continues this tradition of giving incidental background roles to hardworking
creative types.
Director J.J. Abrams provides the stuttering voice of skittish droid D-O, while his Episode
9 co-writer Chris Terrio can be heard as Aftab Ackbar, the squidlike son of the beloved admiral
who perished during the events of The Last Jedi.
Most significantly, composer John Williams can briefly be seen as Oma Tres, the bartender
at the Kijimi dive where our heroes find Babu Frik.
As The Rise of Skywalker begins, we learn that Rey has been continuing her Jedi training
under Leia, focusing specifically on the effort to commune with the spirits of past Jedi.
Communication through the Force has been a specialty of Leia's ever since The Empire
Strikes Back, before she was even aware of her own abilities.
Still, despite her training, Rey remains frustrated and unable to hear any voices...until her
most desperate moment during the film's climax, as she lies nearly defeated at the feet of
Palpatine.
That's when generations of Jedi finally talk back, offering her encouragement and support.
Some, like Yoda, Anakin, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Qui-Gonn Jinn, are pretty obvious,
but in the chaos of the big final battle it was probably hard to make all those voice
cameos out.
Here's a quick rundown of the more obscure "Voices of Jedi Past" featured in this sequence:
Adi Gallia first appeared in The Phantom Menace, but most fans know her best from the animated
Star Wars: The Clone Wars series.
Similarly, Luminara Unduli and Aayla Secura first appeared in Attack of the Clones, but
are both best known from Clone Wars.
Ahsoka Tano is also from Clone Wars, but The Rise of Skywalker is the character's live-action
debut, technically, even if we only hear her voice.
Same goes for Kanan Jarrus from Star Wars Rebels, meaning former teen heartthrob Freddie
Prinze Jr., or his voice, at least, is in The Rise of Skywalker.
Talk about a surprising cameo...
"What was that?"
"I was busy."
"Yeah, busy wigging."
"Excuse me, I did not wig."
"There was major wiggage."
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