Star Wars Celebration Chicago kicked off today with a panel dedicated solely to Star Wars: Episode IX (now officially titled The Rise of Skywalker). Disney has kept Episode IX under tight wraps, but the curtain was finally lifted - though only ever so slightly. Capping off the panel was our first look at the movie via a trailer, but prior to that, various members of the cast took the stage to answer some questions.
Included in the group was newcomer Naomi Ackie, who was finally able to share some details about her role. Ackie revealed her character's name to be Jannah, and briefly detailed how she fits into Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
"The original group are going on this epic, epic adventure together and I’m so excited about where Jannah crosses paths with them," Ackie teased. While she stopped short of revealing specific details, she did refer to the upcoming adventure as "wild" on multiple occasions.
Prior to today's panel, there was plenty of speculation that Ackie's character will be the daughter of Lando Calrissian, the smooth-talking smuggler played by Billy Dee Williams (who is also returning for the movie). Once again, Ackie couldn't directly answer the question, but she didn't completely dodge it either.
“Listen, Lando is a very charming man, so he could have children all over the universe. That’s what I’m saying,” the actress hinted. While Jannah wasn't featured in the first teaser trailer, a photo of her was shown on the big screen during the panel. Her costume has seemed to draw comparisons to Lando's, specifically the yellow and blue color scheme as well as the cape.
Of course, we all thought Rey was linked to the Skywalker family tree and turned out her parents were really just a couple of drunks. Or were they? The Star Wars: Episode IX teaser is filled with all sorts of moments that seem to retcon Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which director Rian Johnson previously said he's totally okay with Abrams doing.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters December 20 of this year.