WMG / Star Wars 9

Drumroll please...

Knights of the New Republic.

The reason for this would follow since The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi all form parts of a complete sentence. "The Force awakens the last Jedi." So, why not complete it with Knights of the New Republic to pay homage to the old video game Knights of the Old Republic while still keeping it in line with the New Republic?

Therefore, the complete Sequel Trilogy can be summed up as one single sentence — "The Force awakens the last Jedi Knights of the New Republic."

It would be a fools' errand for Disney and Colin Trevorrow not to go through with this.

There was a reason why they came back in the (now Legends) EU — always having the Empire/Sith or an expy as an adversary gets stale really quick and Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams have shown unwillingness to deal with the prequel Era state of no adversary of imperial strength. So why not bring back the solution to that problem in the Legends Canon? Thrawn has come back as well, after all... And to add to that, there have been hints in Disney books that Thrawn found something in the Unknown Regions - which just so happens to be the place where the First Order has its base of operations...

• Actually, the Vong were supposed to appear in an arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars that went unmade due to the show's cancellation, which automatically makes them canon, as all of the planned stories are canon. However, they're not Force-immune like they were in Legends, due to clarifications and changes in exactly how the Force works.
• Unless they appear or Word of God starts saying so, the Vong are not actually canon. Also consider the complex backstory and divided fandom regarding them in general. Then it is unlikely they will appear, more likely the Disney will keep it simple.

Considering that The Force Awakens had the traditional yellow outline for the Star Wars portion of its logo and The Last Jedi has red, and the fact that red, blue and yellow are the three most common colors, it's possible that Episode IX could have a blue one.

• And to keep up with the color fitting the film's atmosphere, if yellow in TFA represents hope, red in TLJ represents darkness, then blue may represent victory for the Light Side or the beginning of a new era of Force-users.

Given the serial escalation in terms of battles, like the ones from The Force Awakens and Rogue One. One can possibly imagine that the battle that will (Maybe) decide the definite order of the Galaxy between the New Republic and the First Order. And every side will bring their most powerful arsenals we can't possibly imagine. Admit it, it will be great to see that sort of final battle topping the one from Return of the Jedi.

Be it through a hologram recording to being one of the main antagonists, he will make an appearance in some capacity or be mentioned by a characters.

In the case that it doesn't appear in The Last Jedi, then it will appear in this film, and possibly in a Book Ends sort of way.

The E-wing starfighters from the Expanded Universe (Now Legends) Will be canon and it will serve the New Republic and/or Resistance Navy.

• Also there will be other Starfighters (like the K-wings, H-wings, D-wings, T-wings, Ect) will show up also in the New Republic and/or Resistance. *And the New Republic Star Defenders and other ships, and former Rebel Alliance ships (from Legends) will be in the space battle against the First Order Navy.
• There will be a ground battle with some New Republic Vehicles (From Legends) to Fight against the First Order Army.

The Nissis-Class Clawcraft will serve in the Chiss Ascendancy Navy and battle the Resistance Starfighters in space

Namely, Leia was supposed to have a confrontation with Kylo in Episode IX. What if that role was given to a different Skywalker - one who's probably been observing Kylo all this time, in disappointment and horror, but still has some love for him?

• Obi-Wan was heard talking to Rey during her Force vision from The Force Awakens, and Yoda manifests himself to Luke in The Last Jedi. It'd be fitting that the third primary Jedi from the first two trilogies shows up in some manner.

Because Episode 9, FN-2199, it just makes too much sense. Plus the official Star Wars website hinted he might still be alive.

• He might even have received a cybernetic augmention against his will, becoming an Ace Custom Stormtrooper with augmented body, absolute loyalty, and a huge arsenal of weaponry. As a side effect of the cybernetic augmentation, Nines himself might become a little bit out of his mind. In short, he will become what essentially is Ein Dalton in a Stormtrooper armor.
• Taking one step further, he would also be amputated and forcefully installed into a customized AT-ST as a Wetware CPU, giving him amplified reflex, more firepower and speed to strafe around on the field, to the point Nines himself is fully capable of fighting evenly against Rey, in a similar fashion to the Graze Ein, a case where the pilot himself becomes the Ace Custom.
• Alternatively, they could take a much more subdued approach and have him as a semi-important background character, identified through Word of God. Say, for instance, his survival alerted Kylo to him possessing force capabilities, and he "appears" as a Knight of Ren in a fight scene.

The fight against Finn didn't kill off Phasma entirely, but rather, merely injured her critically to the point she has to amputate all of her limbs, replace almost all of her organs with cybernetic parts and be put into either a suit of exoskeleton armor, or, a greatly augmented prototype AT-ST or a chrome TIE Fighter in the form of a Wetware CPU.

If the former is the case, she would become a person with the ambition, calmness and cybernetic body of Darth Vader but with a complete lack of Force sensibility, morality and combat prowess, the complete opposite of Kylo Ren. The only thing that keeps her (barely) alive is her sheer luck and the fact she's literally Made of Iron. At least until Finn can finally stake her to death on screen. Technically speaking, having everything but her brain replaced by cybernetic parts would make her more similar to General Grievous than Darth Vader himself.

If the latter is the case, she would become a pitiful figure who's basically a lump of flesh installed in a machine, constantly suffering from pain but is unable to voice it out, the chrome machine she "pilots" basically becomes a bulletproof cage that does nothing but prolonging her suffering, until she gets defeated once and for all, but deliberately being left alive, floating in the galaxy for the rest of her life.

With both Han and Luke dead, Leia is the only member of the original cast left after the end of The Last Jedi. And with Carrie Fisher's passing in 2016, Lucasfilm worked around the idea that Leia was written out of the plot when Colin Trevorrow was still signed on as director. However, with J. J. Abrams now back at the helm, they would have to figure out what to do with Leia.

There will be a coup attempt (likely led by Hux) to overthrow Kylo Ren from the head of the First Order. Chances are he will be nowhere near as good or intimidating as Snoke at the job, and Hux is clearly not wanting to remain his Number Two for long.

• It will be attempted during a climatic fight between Rey and Kylo Ren by ordering whatever troops/ships/vehicles present to fire undiscriminately on them and claiming the title of Supreme Leader Hux. It will fail and lead to a battle between two First Order factions and be just what the good guys needed to save the day.

He will likely be the only Original Trilogy hero left when the movie starts, not counting C3PO and R2D2, and provided Lando Calrissian doesn't show up. The Sequel Trilogy already saw Han and Luke die and Leia won't show up. He may also go down with the Millenium Falcon.

It makes sense to bring back a familiar face from the original trilogy to fill the void left by the passing of Carrie Fisher rather than create a new character we've never seen before. Given that Billy Dee Williams is more than willing to reprise his role, it would be surprising if Lando wasn't included.

but to Kylo instead of Rey. Think of the last thing he says to Kylo in The Last Jedi. “See you around, kid.” And earlier, he also said a variation of Obi-Wan’s line about always being with him, even if struck down. Those lines aren’t just witticism or call backs, but promises. He’s already told Leia that he still believes Kylo isn’t beyond help, so he’s going to keep trying to sway Kylo back to the Light as a ghost.

There's certainly reason to believe she could be headed towards being an influential leader among her people, and being the new Mandalore or at least the leader of a Mandalorian army could give her a significant role. Rogue One gives precedent for elements from Rebels appearing in the live action films, and we know from Star Wars Propaganda that she survives at least past the Battle of Yavin and remains affiliated with the Rebels. Mandalorians have been absent from the Sequel Trilogy so far but are a well-established part of Star Wars lore, and introducing a Mandalorian affiliated with the good guy side to the big screen would be a new twist for the main saga. Finally, The Last Jedi heavily plays up the Rebel Starbird insignia as a symbol of hope in the face of the First Order. Who originally designed the Starbird (in-universe)? Sabine...

And he will seek revenge on Kylo Ren. Darth Maul canonically survived the same kind of fatal injury as him, after all.

The Last Jedi brought back Yoda's Force Ghost, so this would make sense as a Serial Escalation from that. They may even show up to assist her in the Final Battle, in an All Your Powers Combined moment.

While Lando Calrissian is the obvious choice for a familiar face from the Original Trilogy, and a good candidate to fill the void in New Republic / Resistance leadership, Winter could perhaps (also) appear to tie up any loose ends that require a firsthand insight into Leia's more personal thoughts and feelings...who better than a lifelong close friend with an eidetic memory? And an established Legends character might have at least a bit more traction than an all-new one. Of course, her absence from Princess of Alderaan means that, like most of the Canon Immigrant characters already ported over from Legends, her backstory would have to be changed a bit: It's pretty much impossible to justify her having been a foster child of the Organas in canon now, but she and Leia could still have already known each other at least as acquaintances early in life and grown closer during the Rebellion.

The big twist could possibly be that Rey won't live in the final part of the trilogy. Daisy Ridley stated that this is her last Star Wars film and the trilogy has had two movies without any major surprises in it. So it's a possibility that Rey performing a Heroic Sacrifice might not only end the war but cement herself as a legend and a source for inspiration to future Force Sensitive users for the next Star Wars installment. While being not just a big surprise but a intense Gut Punch to close out the trilogy.

Kylo is just not coming back to the dark side guys. He committed patricide at his first chance at redemption, and didn't accept the 2nd. He's committed to the dark side and will never go back. He's killed a lot of people, and he actively avoids the light side. He hero-worships Vader and is now the 'supreme leader' of the first order.

Otherwise, what would be the point of Luke encouraging Leia that no one is beyond help, or the regretful look he has at the end of The Last Jedi? Having finally attained what he's always wanted, he's going to realize how empty victory is when it comes at the cost of being utterly alone. Hux definitely doesn't respect him, and may potentially be plotting a coup—and if that happens, then not only would he have sacrificed his last human connections for power, he wouldn't even get to keep that power. Either way, he'll find that he isn't happy now that he got what he's always wanted, kinda like Zuko, so the only alternative is to finally listen to the "pull to the Light" (and potentially Force Ghost Anakin and/or Luke). Effectively, he has to realize that he wants to be redeemed and do it himself, not let other people (Han/Rey) save him. Now, whether he lives through it or not...

• Rian Johnson has said he thinks Kylo is still redeemable after The Last Jedi. He's not directing Episode IX, but it still seems like something to consider.

Rey will defeat Kylo, but it'll be Hux who actually kills him, in revenge for a film and a half of abuse and humiliation.

To fit the theme of "balance" that The Last Jedi introduced, and end the cycle of the light side and dark side in constant conflict.

• Except the very concept of "grey" has been repudiated repeatedly by Pablo Hidalgo. Furthermore, the balance between good and evil doesn't really work like Yin and Yang given that the latter is not a necessity (to say nothing of how Yin and Yang have nothing to do with human morality or that being half-good, half-evil is pretty evil in its own right). On top of that, based on the visual metaphors present on Ahch-To, the balance is based on ebbs and flows. Greying would only result in a messy mishmash. If anything, 'balance' might mean what the Jedi were aiming for, and what Qui-Gon, Yoda, and Obi-Wan achieved: coming to terms with their own inner darkness and balancing it out with the light of their actions.

However, Luke and Snoke will both be Force Beings ("ghost" is too simple a word for them), and therefore their powers will be amplified Up to 11. Snoke will also reveal that his death was a Thanatos Gambit and exactly what he wanted - now the Dark Side is stronger than ever, and he has become stronger with it.

So Hux has mostly been distinguished by being an unwilling number two under new supreme leader Kylo Ren and for giving Nazi-like speeches. We of course know from Disney EU who his father is and Force sensitivity is implied to be at least partially hereditary, so he probably won't suddenly whip out a light saber or Force choke some underling. However, we have seen with Thrawn that not knowing the ways of the Force does not make one a plaything of the light saber wielders. He may not have displayed all that much agency or cunning thus far, but that may just him putting up an unassuming facade to strike when the time comes. Plus he has motive and will eventually have opportunity to get rid of Kylo Ren, (he likely also doubts the story about Snoke's death and who knows whether there is a holographic recording) - the only thing we don't know him to possess is the means to get rid of Kylo Ren, lethally or not. But given that Phasma is dead or possibly so, Snoke is dead and there are scarcely any other Imperials we get more than a glimpse of, a Hux-Ren conflict makes sense for painting the First Order multidimensionally. And the seeds have already been sown, we are just led to believe that Hux has no choice but to grovel and suck it up. Does he?

Given the general trend in pop culture to explore morally gray characters (Game of Thrones for instance) as well as the success of Rogue One, a film that did exactly that plus the already established presence of First Order defectors and arms dealers selling to both sides, it would be surprising if we wouldn't get more gray. While Episode 8 was obviously shot too early for the reaction to Rogue One to influence the plot, there still are some moral ambiguities, but they are expressed by a character who ultimately turns out to have been a traitor (the casino planet thief and jailbreaker). It is quite possible that the writers designed this to be able to further explore it (e.g. him not being so traitorous after all) if the gutsy decisions for Rogue One pay off or to quietly drop it if Rogue One bombs. Given Rogue One's success.... Plus, we have still not seen Lando who filled the "supposed friend who turns out less trustworthy than hoped" role in the Original Trilogy.

All three of them committed some blatant talk-backs against the chain of command: Poe caused the loss of many Resistance forces in a needless skirmish and later commits mutiny against Vice-Admiral Holdo, Finn attempted to desert (even if it was for Rey, it was still an act of desertion), and both Finn and Rose did some sneaking around behind their superiors' backs on an unauthorized mission that not only failed but also caused even more Resistance losses thanks to putting their trust in someone who, useful as he was, clearly was not someone who could be trusted to begin with.

What remains of the Republic and the Resistance are certainly not going to be happy if word gets out about Finn and Rose being indirectly responsible for the second wave of Resistance losses, and it wouldn't be surprising if they faced demotions, dishonorable discharge from the Resistance, exile from the Republic, or the like.

He's already demonstrated his willingness to knock a few heads to get his way, and he's not going to take any more crap from his subordinates. Hux, I'm thinking, is going to go the way of Admiral Ozzel for mouthing off to his new Supreme Leader one time too many. If Phasma survived her Disney Villain Death from The Last Jedi, she'll either have the good sense not to come back and to take her armor with her, or will be fired and possibly strangled as well for her incompetence, with Kylo telling her something like "Blaster firing squads are not too good for my enemies, Phasma, and they're not too good for yours either." As with Hux's subordinates near the end of The Last Jedi, other minions will either rapidly fall into line or be strangled.

Along these same lines...

The philosophy Kylo now follows, as he explained it to Rey, is "Let the past die; kill it if you have to." Hux is a part of that past he has every reason to want to eliminate. Therefore, as a practical application of his philosophy while refashioning the First Order to suit himself, Kylo is going to do his best to put Hux in as much immediate danger as possible in hopes that his untrustworthy subordinate will conveniently die by somebody's hand other than his own. Only if that doesn't work will he send him the way of Admiral Ozzel; then he'll find himself somebody more competent and loyal to command his fleet like a new Admiral Piett.

Whether his interest in Rey is a Villainous Crush or something else, Kylo Ren will want to follow in his grandfather's footsteps in yet another fashion, so whether by medical science or the old-fashioned way, he's going to give Rey Someone to Remember Him By such that the Skywalker line will carry on, albeit in a rather horrifically twisted way.

• There might be a full-on Dating Catwoman relationship between them, either of which will try to distance themselves when something like a child gets in the way.

Kylo and Rey conceived a child through their Force Bond during the events of The Last Jedi (most likely when they touched hands), a la Anakin's conception. The plotline will borrow somewhat from the story of Jacen Solo and Allana from Legends; they will have a daughter, and the film will be set a few years after Episode 8, meaning she'll be at an age where she can at least talk. Finding out he has a daughter will eventually turn Kylo Ren back to the light.

Look at all he's achieved so far... and how little he has to show for it. The kid can't even win for winning!

• As for the "copy Vader" part, Kylo destroyed his mask and "let his past die" so it's unlikely he'll continue this way.
• Scratch the "copy" part and just go with the "surpass" then, although for all his avowed new philosophy, I think Kylo's going to discover the past has got a long reach.

In a bit of Reality Subtext, one of her subordinates will arrive in her quarters one day to find General Leia's now-empty Resistance uniform lying on her chair where it landed after she was very unexpectedly called away. Luke will be the one to break it to Rey that Leia is now reunited to her brother and her husband, and Rey will be the one to break the news to everyone else.

With Carrie Fisher's death, it will be unlikely that she is recast and she will not be recreated digitally. It is possible that episode 9 will be a Time Skip and Leia may have gotten ill or had a Heroic Sacrifice somewhere around there. Episode 9 could also begin with Leia's funeral.

Let's say Rey successfully gets captured by Kylo Ren and eventually turns over to the Dark Side. It would be the Darkest Hour for the film. Rey might be redeemed by the spirits of Anakin Skywalker or Luke. Another likely outcome would be Rey and Finn having an "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight which will end with Finn dying and Rey realizing what she had done.

We do get a Ship Tease of them both. It is likely that the Force Bond they have will grow to be more intimate. This could either lead to Kylo Ren's redemption or Rey's fall to the Dark Side. Maybe both?

Building on the above, Rey will realise that she cannot close the Force Bond with Kylo as much as she wants to. They will both note that their being intertwined by The Force has to be for a reason. Both of them will keep trying to convince the other to come to their side while their bond with each other increases, which will result in a secret Dating Catwoman dynamic with the both of them. They both come to realise they will have to each choose between their respective ideals and each other and it is an uncomfortable choice to make. In the second act, something will happen to make them find out that "darkness rises with light to meet it" actually refers to them, and that the only way to save the Galaxy is is not by Light or Dark dominating, but by having the Jedi be truly Grey. Thus this will increase the urgency of their situation.

Somewhere in the third act, their friends on each side will come to know about their relationship. Most probably Hux (who will become the true villain in this movie) on Kylo's side and Finn on Rey's side. Finn will believe that Rey is Brainwashed and Crazy or has some variant of Stockholm Syndrome. This makes him go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge and he rallies the rest of the Resistance to launch an attack against Kylo Ren, believing his death will put Rey "back to normal." Hux on the other hand will be aghast and furious with his Supreme Leader for "showing such weakness" and will also come to realise it was he who killed Snoke. Hux will engage in mutiny against his Leader and have him captured/locked in a dungeon somewhere while he prepares for the attack of the Resistance. He will be hell-bent on killing Rey by his own hand because in his eyes, she was what ruined The First Order.

While both the sides are fighting, Kylo manages to get out of his prison and uses the Force Bond to find Rey. They find each other and have a reunion with a Big Damn Kiss. However, it doesn't last long. In the novelization, Rey has psychic dreams of a male voice telling her "Don't worry, sweetheart, I will come back for you." When she meets Kylo the first time, she notes that she "had seen that face in a dream, a nightmare." It will be shown that this scene is the one she was seeing in her dreams. Kylo will do something dangerous (possibly confront Hux/Finn on his own) and attempt to keep Rey out of harm's way.

Rey doesn't stand for that, and decides to join him in stopping the fighting on both sides. Hux is killed and Kylo orders The Resistance to be left alone, while The First Order reforms itself. Kylo turns himself in to be imprisoned by The Resistance, while Rey becomes the new Empress of The First Order and rules for a time.

The end of the movie will be a Time Skip of 2-3 years, with Ben Solo out of prison and ruling a reformed First Order with Rey at his side. Finn, Poe and the others have not forgiven Kylo for the things he has done and disagree with Rey, but come to an understanding of why she did what she did. Thus they will not lose their friendship with her but still resent Kylo.

The ending shows Rey metaphorically and literally closing the door on her and Kylo’s connection because she doesn’t want to join him to the Path of darkness. After doing this, she is reunited with her best friend Finn, who now has a romantic interest with Rose, and meets Poe. It could lead to something.

• Considering neither of them can control the connection, it's very likely Rey doesn't have the power to cut the bond and it's still gonna be active going forth. Closing the door isn't literally destroying it, just a representation of her disappointment—and disappointment can be challenged or overcome.
  • That might be true, but there is the fact that Kylo chose to continue on the Dark Side, then frame her for the murder of Snoke, and tried to blast out the Millennium Falcon with her on it. Plus, he probably still wants to destroy the Resistance, which has Finn, her best friend. She might be disappointed, and it is reasonable for her to just not trust him or pursue any sort of relationship.
  • Well for one, we don't know if he knew she was on the Millenium Falcon. For another, of course she probably wouldn't want to have a relationship with him now. That's what "overcoming" means—him potentially overcoming the dark side at last, her potentially overcoming her hurt/distrust/etc. But even still, not trusting or wanting a relationship now /=/ stopped caring about him, nor does it make it likely for her to hook up with Poe, who she just met and has only one movie to develop with.
    • One movie and the five seconds of last movie actually- there may be a time skip involved in Ep. 9, which could help with Poe and Rey developing a relationship. And if Kylo Ren actually gains redemption, if might not be tied to having a romantic relationship with Rey, though she is definitely going to be a part of it.

The film will start several years after the battle of Crait. During this time : The First Order mitigated victories in both TFA and TLJ means that their conquest of the Galaxy is going slower than expected with many systems, inspired by the legend of Luke Skywalker, joining forces around the remnant of the resistance to form an Alliance against them with Poe as its military leader. This and Kylo Ren being his usual self means that many among the First Order officers start to more and more openly question their leadership, likely led by Hux. To counter this, Kylo Ren brings the knights of Ren out of wherever they were during the previous movies to serve as his lieutenants. On the Jedi side of thing, Rey uses the sacred texts she salvaged from the temple to build a new Jedi Order with many Force-sensitive individuals who have awakened around the same time she had. The climactic battle will not be a duel this time but an all-out brawl between the Knights of Ren and the New Jedi Knights.

She already did in TLJ, except she didn't die. She's just banged up a bit. I think every movie is good for one 'Heroic Sacrifice' and so is every character. You can't have two back to back 'Heroic Sacrifices' per film nor per character. That is just too contrived.

While his grandfather's anger lead to his grandmother's death, he will end up dying to save the woman he loves. When he and Rey are forced to fight to the death as it seems he's sticking on the dark side path, he'll be torn on whether to strike her down. Instead, he will turn his lightsaber on himself to make sure he can never hurt her, leaving Rey very conflicted. And like his grandfather he will die to save someone he cares about, just under very different circumstances.

Instead of mimicking the Vader turn, the hero will make the sacrifice to save the villain, and such an act will be powerful enough to bring Ben Solo back into the light.

Given his "Let the past die" philosophy upon usurping control of the First Order from Snoke in order to create a new order for the Galaxy, Kylo will come to the conclusion that this includes destroying the Force as well. In addition to finally ridding himself of the memory of his parents and uncle, Kylo's motivation may also stem from the belief, much like Kreia/DarthTraya did, that the Force is responsible for perpetuating the endless conflict between the Light and Dark and that only by destroying it, the Galaxy will finally be free from this ancient conflict and allowed a clean slate to start over. The main plot of the film will be Kylo uncovering some sort of ritual or means with which to carry out this plan and Rey looking to stop him before he puts all life in the Galaxy at risk in the process.

• We already know what can cause wounds in the Force: planetary-scale destruction like what happened to Malachor V... or to Alderaan and the Hosnian System. Kylo will seek to cause as many of these wounds as possible using whatever new superweapon the First Order comes up with to replace Starkiller Base, and it will be up to Rey and the Resistance to stop him.

We could actually see her begin to freeze to death before she made it back inside. Nobody survives something like that without long-term damage (just ask Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender).

Wanting to help the new Jedi, and preserve the incoming balance in the Force, a huge group of former Jedi will face off against Snoke, Sidious and other Sith Lords. With everything the Force can do now, perhaps some of the Sith could have found a way to become force ghosts too. While Rey (and perhaps Ben) fight the film's human Big Bad, Luke will be busy against Snoke, while his father will clash with the Emperor once again.

They can't just leave these guys to be just for supplementary material. Maybe Kylo will recruit them to help him spread his power. Or he could view them as "the past", i.e. part of when Snoke controlled his life, and try to kill them and decimate wherever it is they've situated themselves and forcing them to turn against him.

• If Hux launches a coup and the Knights turn to Hux's faction, they'll be bodyguarding Hux in the final battle. Ben and Rey will have more trouble getting past them than fighting Hux himself.

After all his atrocities, the Resistance won't be willing to accept him, suggesting that he must live in exile as penance for what he did. However, Rey takes comfort in she was right and visits him often. The final shot of the film is a Time Skip, revealing they have a son they named after Luke.

The Force Awakens reminded us that the "nobodies" under the stormtrooper armor are all somebody to somebody, so I figure this movie will do the same to remind us about how Rey's parents mattered to her, and possibly to at least a few other people.

According to various supplementary materials, Darth Sidious had a number of Sith artifacts stashed away somewhere on Jakku that were intended to be used to destroy the planet in the event that he died and left the Empire leaderless, which was the reason for the huge battle that left all those ruined ships lying around on the planet with all their valuable parts for Rey and her fellow scavengers to salvage. While the Working Title "Black Diamond" may or may not mean anything, it occurs to me to wonder whether that might be what at least one of those artifacts looks like: a kyber crystal Palpatine corrupted for use in his experiments, perhaps? In any case, if this battle was fought directly over wherever he was storing those artifacts, it's likely the scavengers have already found them.

I posit this possibility for two reasons: first, because it would be rather amusing to see some ignorant scavengers dig up these artifacts and sell them for scrap, and second because I'd like to think said ignorant scavengers were none other than (drum roll, please) Rey's ne'er-do-well parents! If one of them (say, the "black diamond") had the power to infuse people with Force sensitivity, this would also make a decent Author's Saving Throw for explaining how Rey is already so good at everything at her age where even Anakin wasn't; if her parents got an infusion of those midi-chlorians (or whatever) from the artifacts... Well, an infusion of Force sensitivity into Rey's parents around the time of her conception, coming from artifacts formerly belonging to the guy who once engineered the virgin birth of the galaxy's most powerful Force user would at least begin to make Rey's Canon Sue qualities seem a bit more plausible.

Including Mace Windu and Ahsoka Tano.

I don't believe we're quite done with him yet.

So organized crime has been a part of Star Wars ever since Jabba the Hut and business conglomerates of one sort or another have sort of loomed around the edges of the prequel trilogy. But as we know from US history, crime and business have often clashed with labor (the mob often provided strike-breakers or killed meddlesome labor organizers). Given that Maz (whom we are led to believe is a good guy) had to deal with "Union disputes" in a quite violent way in Episode VIII, maybe we will get a conflict within the rebellion between its labor and its crime wing. Or a strike breaks out on the First Order's newest Superweapon plan and the Rebellion tries to help the strikers or something. Wouldn't it be awesome to have John Williams write worker's songs?

After a Time Skip, the parts of the New Republic which haven't fallen to the First Order will instead be under a hardliner militant faction of the Republic, desiring to wipe the First Order off the face of the Galaxy. Initially a fringe group in the political climate of the New Republic, with the destruction of Hosnian Prime and the Senate, and therefore the loss of all opposition to said faction, this enables them to take advantage of the power void, and become the new governing body. Troopers in the New Republic Military (not the Resistance, they are allied, but separate factions) wear armor similar to that of the Old Republic, but with more vibrant color scheme to differentiate from the white armor of the First Order Stormtroopers. The gunships from Attack Of The Clones will also make a reappearance. Vehicles from Old Republic era also return, but modified and upgraded to modern specification. With this militant government, they are then able to fight back against the First Order.

Snoke's original body is failing and he wants to use a younger and more powerful body. This will prove Han's point when he told Kylo that Snoke was using him for his power. When Snoke died, his essence went into Kylo, and there he will plan the ritual to hollow out Kylo Ren and rule once more as the supreme leader. This is inspired by Valkorion's plan in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Kylo built his red lightsaber using the hilt of his blue Jedi lightsaber. While "bleeding" the crystal, his conflict with the light side caused the crystal to crack, hence the addition of vents to the lightsaber.

The Force Awakens had the typical yellow seen in the prequel and original trilogies, and The Last Jedi had red. So, green could be the next color to be used, to create vibes of Return of the Jedi.

With Carrie Fisher sadly unable to come back as Leia, this would leave all of the original main three gone. Luke realised that he had no way to get off Ahch-to with his X-wing rusting in the sea. His idea? Giving up his physical form. That way he will either be "more powerful than you can possibly imagine" and be of more use to the Galaxy, with that scene with Yoda being Foreshadowing of this because he was able to control the weather and still seemed to be solid (giving Luke a solid whack on the head with his cane) — and giving Rey that third lesson he owes her — OR will prove himself so freakin' strong in the Force that he will regain his physical form and lay waste to the First Order. Keeping in mind that IX is going under significant rewrites after Fisher's passing.

It will lead to questions from the First Order (accusingly) and the Resistance (in awe) about how Rey was able to get on the Supremacy, get into Snoke's throne room, assassinate Snoke, defeat the Praetorian Guards and Kylo Ren, and then leave but leave Kylo alive. Kylo will probably continue trying to lie his way out, but poorly, and eventually Hux will either find the truth or fabricate something similar enough and start a coup; Rey will probably be forced to admit the truth about why she went, which will create fear among the Resistance about her having a Psychic Link with the Supreme Leader. Other than her loyal friends (Finn, BB-8, Chewie, etc), most will start accusing her of being a spy, and she'll be distrusted heavily (especially if Leia, who would advocate for her, isn't around). The adversity will finally bring them together again, this time long-term, but at the cost of being outcasts on both sides.

• Alternatively, Kylo will Force-Choke his way out the problem the way he did the first time Hux tried challenging the legitimacy of his leadership; another case of his following in the footsteps of his idolized grandfather. For Rey's part, if she's still got that bond with Kylo, she'll be a liability to any sneak attacks the Resistance is planning to pull whether the others trust her or not. As Luke had to leave the Rebels' strike team to go face his father, Rey will undoubtedly have to go deal with Kylo again one way or another.

Possibilities include:

• She will build an entirely new lightsaber, using the Jedi texts as a guide. Could be a single or double blade. Could be green, blue or another colour entirely. Given that she would most likely be using texts and the remains of Anakin's saber as a guide, it will probably be fairly traditional, no extra bells and whistles.
• She will recover Luke's green lightsaber and use this one instead. She'll probably return to Ach To and find it among Luke's effects. Or she will locate his former Jedi Academy and find it buried in the ruins.
• Using the texts, she will repair the blue lightsaber and continue to use it as before. It will either be returned to perfect working condition or, due to the damage, it will now have an unstable blade like Kylo's, maybe even requiring the addition of a cross guard style vent to keep it from malfunctioning.

There's an indication that the Force is growing more powerful. We're seeing new abilities, or at least enhanced versions of abilities used both by Luke and Kylo. Rey and Kylo have been described as unusually powerful in the Force, and yes, there is the fact that Rey seems to have become an almost entirely self taught Jedi in a short space of time. If she's really not related to anyone special, there's one other possible explanation:

The Force is empowering random individuals to compensate for the lack of Jedi Knights. They're more powerful than the ones we've seen in the Prequel Trilogy and even pre-existing ones have been getting a boost of sorts. The boy at the end of The Last Jedi is another example. This is what is meant by bringing balance to the Force. The Jedi exist to maintain balance, but when something goes wrong, the Force can step in to correct things. When the Sith were growing in power, it created Anakin to destroy them. And when Luke decided not to continue the Order, the Force set about creating new, extra powerful Force Users to restore the balance.

Rey therefore, is not the chosen one, she's one of the chosen many. She just happened to be the first super powered Force sensitive to come to light.

Going off the theory above, if the Force is boosting the power of random individuals, maybe the survivors last seen aboard the Millennium Falcon will start discovering their own Force capabilities. This will include Finn, Poe, Rose and maybe even Chewbacca. The original plan would have been for Rey to start training them, while Leia would serve as the Grand Master of the new Jedi Order. With Carrie's passing that sadly will not be the case. Instead, maybe Luke will appear to them to help over see the training instead.

She's the only Reasonable Authority Figure left after Vice Admiral Holdo sacrificed herself, and Leia won't be there anymore.

She will return there to meet the spirit of Luke Skywalker and Yoda and will seek advice from them.

After a time skip, Kylo runs a pretty benevolent regime bringing relative peace to the galaxy. Despite this the Resistance (or what's left of it) are still trying to expose the "new and improved" First Order as genocidal terrorists. They aren't completely wrong either, since Hux and his followers have plans of overthrowing Kylo and kick-starting chaos across the galaxy. Once the Resistance realise the truth, they join Kylo's faction to fight Hux's "rebellion". We'd see Resistance Troopers working with Stormtroopers, X-Wings alongside TIE-Fighters, light side users alongside dark side users. It would fit the 'balance' theme of the sequels. Kylo's First Order eventually becomes the canon version of the Galactic Alliance.

Not only will we see some faces from the old EU (such as Garm Bel Iblis, Airen Cracken, Ardus Kaine, and Ysanne Isard), but we'll also see the classic Stormtrooper armor, classic TIE Fighters, Imperial-class Star Destroyers, even a new Death Star that, in a Shout-Out to How It Should Have Ended, will be nicknamed the Right Back Atca. On the Republic side of things, we'll see some more classic equipment as the Republic starts providing older equipment, such as T-65 X-Wings, Y-Wings, RZ-1 A-Wings, B-Wings, old Rebel Trooper equipment, T-47 Airspeeders, MC 80 starships (possibly including the Home One), maybe even some vehicles from the old EU such as the T2-B, V-Wing airspeeder, and the E-Wing, K-Wing, and even the Nebula-class Star Destroyer. Not only would it put the Resistance on par with the First Order, it would also be a great Shout-Out to fans of the old EU.

This would be the perfect bookend, as Naboo was chronologically the first planet to appear in the saga. This would also allow for some callbacks to the prequels, such as having the Naboo send salvaged and reprogrammed B1 battle droids and N-1 starfighters into battle.

They will be reproductions of the Empire's previous models. Sense the redeveloped Tie Bombers didn't appear in The Last Jedi, They might be in the 9th film along with the redeveloped Tie Interceptors. And they will be seen in a space battle against the Remnants of the New Republic, and the Resistance.

Well since Rakata Prime made it to canon in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game and the Rakata in Poe Dameron 7: The Gathering Storm, it's possible that the Rakatan Empire will return to see revenge on the Galaxy with their ships, weapons and technology.

In canon, there seem to have been three versions of the Republic. In the Clone Wars, Pre Viszla mentions a fallen Old Republic (which I'll call the First Galactic Republic), distinct from the Galactic Republic of the Clone Wars era (which I'll call the Second Galactic Republic). Then after the rise and fall of the Empire, there existed the New Republic, which I'll call the Third Galactic Republic.

The First Republic seems to have been a chaotic period of galactic history, marked by wars between the Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians. According to Pre Viszla, it fell, and was reorganized into or replaced by the Second Republic. It seems likely that this was around the same time as the Sith's defeat and Darth Bane's implementation of the Rule of Two. By many accounts, the Second Republic presided over a galactic golden age as the Sith had been forced underground by the victorious Jedi. But by the time of The Phantom Menace, it had become corrupt and ineffectual, ruled by corporations and special interests, and influenced from the shadows by the Sith. These conditions of course sparked the Clone Wars and the Second Republic became the Empire. When the Empire was defeated, the Rebel Alliance reformed into the Third Republic. However, because the Rebel Alliance failed to learn from the mistakes of the Second Republic, the Third Republic was plagued by the same weak and complacent government which marked the fall of the Second Republic, and because it failed to enforce its own laws, galactic corporations and its own Senators secretly supported the growing First Order. When the First Order finally struck, the blow utterly crippled the Republic, maybe even destroying it completely as a galactic power.

My point is that a single galactic government seems to weaken the galaxy rather than strengthen it. The First Republic was never able to keep the Mandalorians at bay, nor were they able to deal with the Sith, relying entirely on the Jedi to do so. The Second Republic was heavily demilitarized, and the Jedi failed to prevent the Sith, a known threat, from infiltrating it. And the Third Republic almost exactly repeated the mistakes of the Second, with no Jedi Order to protect it from new Dark Side threats like the First Order. I think that the best course of action is not to restore the Republic for the second time in 35 years, but to create a new form of government or group of governments. This way, the galaxy cannot be completely crippled by any single attack.

Kylo Ren wants to face Rey on his own, so orders his soldiers to leave them. They fight, Ren eventually lets his guard down and Rey almost kills him before realising: he wants Rey to kill him so he can finally be free of his pain. Rey is the only person he would want to kill him because he cares so deeply for her.

Then Rey notices something and Force pushes Ben away just before a big laser bolt blows him away: Hux, piloting a large prototype armour designed to kill Force Users. Knowing this would be his best chance to kill his hated rival in secret, Hux was watching, waiting for one to kill the other with him picking off the winner. When Ben wouldn't move, waiting for Rey to end him, Hux decided to take a shot. Ben and Rey fight, and after a kewl battle, beat him. Ben has a chance to kill him, but he's too conflicted to call upon his anger. He walks away... when Hux tries to shoot him in the back. But he starts choking. Ben looks around and finds Rey, doing the standard Dark Side choke a bitch business, fury and hate in her eyes. She clenches her hand, camera still on her face as we hear the sound of Hux's inner neck crushing. It's this that makes Ben realise that he can't die. The speck of dark within Rey needs him as much as his spark of light needs Rey. If he died, Rey would be doomed to his own misery.

The T-85 X-wing will be piloted by Poe Dameron, while the B-wing MK II will be piloted by Finn and they would fight off the First Order Navy

The Starhawk-class Battleship will be seen in a space battle. However, it would be the only one in action and it will be destroyed by the First Order Tie Fighters.

Batuu is the planet that is based on Galaxies Edge in Disneyland. Since Galaxies Edge will be opened up in 2019 which is the same year when IX will be released. It is likely that planet will show up in the film.

Because it's the classic Skywalker Special! Okay, more seriously, instead of just happening 'for the sake of it', it could be as a form of narrative 'victory', in a twist on the classic dismemberment. Anakin and Luke lost their hands in battles they also lost, at low points. Perhaps he'll sacrifice his hand to win a fight or save Rey, at a high point.

As DJ would say: "No bad guys, no good guys, just business."

The Hapes Consortium will help the remaining New Republic, and the Resistance. They will help fight off the First Order with their ships (Such as the Nova-class battle cruiser, Hapan Battle Dragon, Miy'til Starfighter, Miy'til Assault Bomber, Hetrinar, and brand new never before seen starfighters and warships). And with ground forces (Such as tanks, speeders, infantry, ECT).

It's true status as a superweapon will be discovered, and it will be used as a Hail Mary pass by the New Republic to do unto the First Order what they did to them. As before, it requires a Force sensitive to properly aim it, bringing Kylo and Rey to the area, and both opposing fleets in preparation for a final battle. Rey reprograms the station to fire on itself, taking her with the majority of the First Order fleet with her.

Apart from avoiding a lot of messy arguments in the fandom about which Anakin Skywalker made a better ghost, and saving money on the special effects for digitally recreating other Jedi from before Rey's time, I'm thinking the way the Force works, those ghosts are all just A Form You Are Comfortable With for when the otherwise impersonal Force manifests itself personally to speak directly to a Jedi. Luke met Obi-Wan and then Anakin and Yoda as ghosts because they're the people he knew and loved; we never see him having any interaction with (for instance) Mace Windu or any of the other Jedi from his father's time, because he's never met any of them before. Therefore, Rey will likewise only see Luke Skywalker because he's the Jedi she knew and loved. As for Leia, if she appears at all (Disney and LucasFilm having promised not to have her digitally recreated), it'll come from some recycled footage of Carrie Fisher just standing around and she'll be part of a silent montage of Force ghosts smiling at Rey, sort of like what Luke saw at the end of Return of the Jedi. Luke may even lampshade Leia's absence to Rey with a bit of Reality Subtext by explaining that while the Force could speak to her in the form of Leia (seeing as she and Leia seemed to be getting pretty friendly with each other in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi), it's more respectful to his sister for the Force to manifest itself as him instead; besides, he's still Rey's mentor and instructor, whereas Leia was just a friend.

Kylo has already shown that he allows his emotions to cloud his military tactics which resulted in the Resistance escaping.

Hux will coup against Kylo and force him out and Kylo will ally with the Resistance but only out of self-interest rather than a change of heart. The Resistance will use him against the First Order but will realize he is too greedy and volatile to be trusted and will eventually pull a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness on him.

That's how she'll break the cycle, by establishing peace between the force users.

She will be disliked for stopping Finn from potentially saving the Resistance, and even Finn would be pretty upset with her. Finn might continue his romance with Rey while Rose will be the Clingy Jealous Girl.

• Doubtful. One, we don't even know if the Resistance knows exactly what happened out there, and two, Finn doesn't seem to hate her by the end of the second film, he was right by her bedside. Honestly, the entire logic here seems pretty flimsy—"Finn might have saved the Resistance, so let's hate them for not letting Finn die" could just as easily be applied to Poe, since he's the one who gave the order to halt the attack.

Sense the AT-HS Walkers did not appear in the Last Jedi, they might appear in the 9th film. They would be used by the First Order to battle against the Remaining New Republic and Resistance Army. However, 1 would be stolen by the resistance and used against the First Order (Quite similar to Return Of The Jedi when Chewbacca and the Ewoks stole an Imperial At-St on Endor)

... which will actually be a trap. The various Resistance/Rebellion cell leadership will gather together to commemorate her passing, but the First Order will jump in to decapitate them.

But the trap... was Leia's all along. That is, her last request was to use her own funeral as bait to lure the First Order in. Warships jump in to pin down the First Order ships, leading to a ground battle.

This battle climaxes with Rey seemingly backed into a corner with a few soldiers, facing Kylo Ren and his Force-wielding Knights. Only Rey will reveal that her "soldiers" are actually her students; they all whip out lightsabers and a large battle ensues, with Kylo and his Knights forced to retreat.

This would be another defeat for Kylo, leading to increased difficulty in him holding his position.

The First Order will reproduce Old capital ships, vehicles, super weapons, etc. from previous Sith Empires, and the Eternal Empire, and they will develop New Tie Fighters that are modeled after every Sith Starfighters (such as the Sith Starfighter from the Jedi Civil War era, and the Mark VI Supremacy-class starfighter from the Great Galactic War Era, etc.) and use them to battle the New Republic, and the Resistance. They will develop new vehicles, starfighters, capital ships, etc., and they will be us against the New Republic and the Resistance also.

The last time we see him, he's knelt on the floor with an expression that hints at a deep regret for the choice he made. The mood of the scene and his body language is remarkably similar to that of Kallus's from Star Wars Rebels, at the end of the episode "The Honorable Ones" which most people consider to be when he made his decision to turn against the Empire. Shortly after this scene, Kylo realizes that Rey was right (and if Leia dies shortly after, this will help his choice as well) and decides to turn against the First Order...but remains where he is, because he knows his position will help the Resistance greatly, and who would ever suspect the Supreme Leader of being a spy for the Resistance?

There'll be a scene at the beginning of the film where he contacts the Resistance to give them information, using an alias and changing his voice. This is shown from the point of view of the Resistance, who don't know who he really is, so the audience doesn't either. Later on, Rey and someone else (possibly Finn) infiltrate a First Order ship undercover and are almost caught...but are saved by Kylo, who leads them to a safe place and reveals that he's the double agent. Finn wouldn't believe him at first, but then Rey will search her feelings and know it's true. Kylo will help them complete their mission, but then Hux will figure out that Kylo is a double agent and stage a coup, leading to Kylo (now going by Ben Solo again) escaping with Rey and Finn.

It was recently confirmed that Carrie Fisher's family gave permission for unused footage of her from The Last Jedi to be used in Episode IX. Given that due to her death Leia's role in the movie would be significantly reduced no matter what happened, it's possible that they may still kill her off, but have her appear as either a holographic recording or a Force ghost, depending on what happens. This would be the best way to integrate the footage into Episode IX without it being jarring.

• Jossed since Leia won't appear in Episode IX after all, according to an announcement made by Kathleen Kennedy.

After Carrie Fisher's death, some fans had speculated that Laura Dern's character would succeed Leia as the new leader of the Rebellion.

• Jossed since Admiral Holdo heroically sacrifices herself by ramming her command ship at Snoke's gigantic mega-class Star Dreadnought in The Last Jedi.