Star Wars 9: Plot, filming and cast details of JJ Abrams directed sequel to The Last Jedi revealed

After all the alleged leaks and spoilers, Star Wars: The Last Jedi finally premiered around the world during the ongoing holiday season. As expected, it triggered a mixed feeling among fans — one for failing to answer all the questions from the Force Awakens and for featuring a shocking twist at the end.

Warning: The following story contains spoilers from The Last Jedi. Do not proceed further if you have not watched the film yet.

Episode VIII was everything fans of the "galaxy far far away" wanted to see — the ferocious battles between the First Order and the Resistance Force, the emotional struggle Kylo Ren initially fought after he was ordered to blow his mother Leia Organa's Resistance ship, his meeting with Rey and their initial bonding untill he kills Supreme Leader Snoke and announces himself as the new Supreme Leader.

Kylo's bloodthirsty mission continued in the latest film as he aspired to wipe out the Resistance army. Thanks to Luke, who finally came out of his years of exile in Ahch-To and challenged his former Jedi student Ben aka Kylo, providing enough time for Leia, Rey, Finn and their army to escape the new Supreme Leader's wrath.

At the end, it turned out, Luke never left the lonely planet and instead, projected himself before Kylo using his power of Force. His sacrifice, however, cost him all his energy and he ultimately disappeared in the air joining the Jedi legends — Obi-Wan and Yoda.

The ending of the movie offers multiple scopes for director JJ Abrams, who will return to helm the final film of the trilogy, Star Wars 9, that follows Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

Star Wars 9 plot

As of now, no one knows how Episode IX will end the saga that had Luke Skywalker at the centre of the plot. Director Rian Johnson, who is garnering rave reviews for helming the eighth sequel, has revealed that Episode VIII was meant to challenge the characters to their highest level, both emotionally and physically. And all the loose ends will be tied in the final film of the trilogy.

"There is definitely the idea that we know it is a three-movie arc. We know the first film is an introduction, then the middle act is training, meaning challenging the characters. The third is where they all come together and you have to resolve everything," he told Deadline.

Plenty of questions from the trilogy still remains unanswered, including who are Rey's parents and what happens to the late Carrie Fisher's character and will Luke ever come back?

Abrams is expected to pull the curtain on all these questions with the ninth and final Star Wars film. A recent Screen Rant report claimed that he was supposed to pitch his story ideas for Episode IX to Lucasfilm on Friday, 15 December.

Will Luke Skywalker return to Star Wars 9?

Almost all the major cast are set to return including, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac. Mark Hamill's return still remains a suspense as many speculate he may return as the ghost of Luke just like Yoda. His return was confirmed by the actor himself in August when he shared a cryptic tweet.

When will Star Wars 9 release:

The filming of the highly anticipated movie is set to begin in June 2018, with the plan to release the film in December 2019.