Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Tatooine is harsh desert world orbiting twin suns in the galaxy’s Outer Rim. In the days of the Empire and the Republic, many settlers scratched out a living on moisture farms, while spaceport cities such as Mos Eisley and Mos Espa served as home base for smugglers, criminals, and other rogues. Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker both once called Tatooine home, and Obi-Wan Kenobi spent years in hiding there. Once known as a hive of scum and villainy, Tatooine has become quieter since the end of the Galactic Civil War.

The X-wing is a versatile Rebel Alliance starfighter that balances speed with firepower. Armed with four laser cannons and two proton torpedo launchers, the X-wing can take on anything the Empire throws at it. Nimble engines give the X-wing an edge during dogfights, and it can make long-range jumps with its hyperdrive and its astromech droid co-pilot. Luke Skywalker is famous for destroying the Death Star behind the controls of an X-wing.

A tiny, fiery planet in the Outer Rim, Mustafar maintains an erratic orbit between two gas giants. Mustafar is rich in unique and valuable minerals which have long been mined by the Tech Union. Its lava pits and rivers make this planet a dangerous habitat; its natives have burly, tough bodies that can withstand extreme heat. The planet became the backdrop for the fateful duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. After the rise of the Empire, captured Jedi were brought to the volcanic world for interrogation and execution.

The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural, and Sheev Palpatine is the most infamous follower of its doctrines. Scheming, powerful, and evil to the core, Darth Sidious restored the Sith and destroyed the Jedi Order. Living a double life, he was also Palpatine, a Naboo Senator and phantom menace. He manipulated the political system of the Galactic Republic until he was named Supreme Chancellor -- and eventually Emperor – and ruled the galaxy through fear and tyranny. The galaxy rejoiced when he died at the Battle of Endor, but Sidious had cheated death and patiently plotted a return to power.

Heirs to the legacy of the Rebel Alliance, the Resistance's starfighter corps gathered freedom fighters determined to counter the growing threat of the First Order. The Resistance’s pilot ranks were filled by Alliance veterans, disillusioned former New Republic officers, and adventure seekers from every corner of the galaxy.

A small, secretive private military force, the Resistance was founded by rebel hero Leia Organa to monitor the actions of the First Order. Most New Republic power brokers tolerate the Resistance while regarding Organa and her fighters as dead-enders with an unfortunate fixation on the past. Organa’s cash-strapped movement relies on credits, ships and equipment quietly funneled to it from the few senators who share her concerns. Resistance starfighters destroyed Starkiller Base, but the First Order’s retaliatory attack on D’Qar reduced its forces to a handful of brave freedom fighters.

Han Solo rose from an impoverished childhood on the mean streets of Corellia to become one of the heroes of the Rebel Alliance. As captain of the Millennium Falcon, Han and his co-pilot Chewbacca came to believe in the cause of galactic freedom, joining Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa in the fight against the Empire. After the Battle of Endor, Han faced difficult times in a chaotic galaxy, leading to a shattering confrontation with his estranged son Ben.

Seemingly abandoned by her parents on Jakku, Rey grew up a scavenger amid the wreckage of war. Her life changed when she agreed to help a droid on an urgent mission for the Resistance. Rey discovered she was powerful in the Force, and sought out the vanished Jedi Master Luke Skywalker to train her. That ended in disappointment, as did her attempt to bring Kylo Ren back to the light. But the resilient Rey continued her training and learned the truth about her parentage and her mysterious connection with Kylo. She then faced her greatest test: a confrontation with fear and evil that would determine the galaxy’s fate.

An extensively modified Corellian light freighter, the Millennium Falcon is a legend in smuggler circles and is coveted by many for being the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. Despite her humble origins and shabby exterior, the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs has played a role in some of the greatest victories of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic. The Falcon looks like a worn-out junker, but beneath her hull she’s full of surprises. A succession of owners, including Lando Calrissian and Han Solo, have made special modifications that boosted the freighter’s speed, shielding and firepower to impressive – and downright illegal – levels. The price of such tinkering? The Falcon can be unpredictable, with her hyperdrive particularly balky. Despite her flaws, she’s beloved by her owners – Han Solo and Chewbacca spent years searching the galaxy for the ship they once called home, rejoicing when they finally reclaimed her.

Committed to the cause of the Resistance, Finn fights alongside his closest friends in the struggle to defeat the First Order, the evil regime he once served as a stormtrooper. As FN-2187, he was trained from birth to serve the First Order, but a skirmish on Jakku awakened his conscience and drove him down a different path, one that proved both heroic and dangerous.

C-3PO longs for more peaceful times, but his continued service to the Resistance — and his knowledge of more than seven million forms of communication — keeps the worry-prone droid in the frontlines of galactic conflict. Programmed for etiquette and protocol, Threepio was built by a young Anakin Skywalker, and has been a constant companion to astromech R2-D2. Over the years, he was involved in some of the galaxy’s most defining moments and thrilling battles. Since the Empire’s defeat, C-3PO has served Leia Organa, head of a Resistance spy ring aimed at undermining the First Order.

A reliable and versatile astromech droid, R2-D2 has served Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, and Luke Skywalker in turn, showing great bravery in rescuing his masters and their friends from many perils. A skilled starship mechanic and fighter pilot's assistant, he has an unlikely but enduring friendship with the fussy protocol droid C-3PO.