Everything that’s known about the final draft of Episode IX, written by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly.
Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly were hired in August 2015 to write Star Wars Episode IX. They would have almost 4 years until the film was due in May of 2019. Meanwhile, Episode VII: The Force Awakens would come out in December 2015 with Episode VIII scheduled for 2017. The former had been filmed the previous year and was deep into post-production, while writer/director Rian Johnson had already written several drafts of the latter and was readying to film the first shots for it in September.
The Connolly/Trevorrow duo couldn’t get started right away. Trevorrow was already set to film The Book of Henry that fall. But the two got down to work in 2016 writing the final installment in the Skywalker Saga. They finished their first draft on December 16th, 2016. Less than two weeks later, Carrie Fisher died. Her untimely death was a problem for the pair. Her character, General Leia Organa, was an integral part of that script. In addition to making the normal changes from a first draft to a second one, they had to figure out a way to write around Carrie’s death. Lucasfilm would be unhappy with this/these further draft(s) as they would bring in writer Jack Thorne to put his spin on the project, with Trevorrow still scheduled to direct. Thorne would not work out either, and he, Trevorrow, and Connolly would all be released from the project as Lucasfilm essentially started over. The final film would be written by J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio, and directed by the former, who delivered Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker in December of 2019.
In January 2020, details about the initial Trevorrow/Connolly version of Episode IX leaked out as several people in the media got their hands on the first draft of their screenplay. Shortly afterward, a couple of batches of concept art for their vision leaked. The final coup de grace happened in February when the entire first draft script was posted online.
As part of this flurry of activity, MakingStarWars put together a report detailing the final draft that Trevorrow and Connolly wrote. The site had been permitted to read the script by someone who had it, but MSW did not have a copy. The report was a series of bullet points and comparisons to The Rise of Skywalker and seemed hastily written as well. Combined with the fact that the full first draft had not leaked yet when it was posted, it was hard to follow the story. The date of this final draft is unknown. MSW omitted it to protect their source. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of Jack Thorne’s involvement on August 1st, 2017, so the draft is likely dated before then. It is also likely just the pair’s second draft, as an MSW stream discussing it repeatedly called it the second, as did whoever uploaded the leaked concept art.
Below I have done my best to take the details from the report and fill in the holes with information from the first draft in an attempt to give as in-depth a summary of the story of this particular draft as possible. The beginning that takes place on and above the planet Kuat is nearly identical to the first draft, so if you’ve read that you can safely skip that part if you so choose. For a full summary of the first draft, see here.
All images shown in this summary are taken from the two leaks of concept art for the film.
CRAWL: The First Order is everywhere. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren is on a quest to find the ancient secrets of the Sith while his Knights of Ren search for the last Jedi Rey. The Resistance plans a secret mission to light the fire of revolution.
The script opens on a First Order-controlled artificial ring orbiting one of the moons of the planet Kuat. Star Destroyers are said to dot the ring like spikes on a punk bracelet. BB-8 is onboard, undercover, and attempting to disable a security checkpoint. He and Rose have been here for weeks preparing for this mission. On the moon, Finn is disguised as an alien worker toiling for the First Order and is waiting for BB-8 to disable the checkpoint. He nearly gets discovered but is saved at the last moment by a robed Poe Dameron. They make their way through the now-disabled security post and to a huge migrant settlement where Rose is. Finn tells Poe that none of them chose to be here. The First Order forced them here. Rose explains the plan to them: ignite the ring’s fuel reserves to create a chain reaction detonation to destroy it and the fleet of new Star Destroyers it holds. If it all goes well, they’ll be light-years away when the ring blows.
The plan, which utilizes BB-8 up on the ring, does not go well. The bombs don’t go off and Rose, Finn, and Poe are surrounded by stormtroopers. They seem seconds away from death when Rey, who’s been secretly following them, comes to their rescue, dispatching the First Order troops with a new, double-bladed lightsaber. Poe is upset that she risked herself like this. She’s too valuable. She spots migrants in trouble and wants to help them. The migrant children are in awe of the woman they recognize as a Jedi. Rose, Finn, and Poe beg her to stay with them and complete the mission, but she can’t ignore the pleas of the oppressed people of Kuat and heads to help them. Before she can, however, TIE Fighters blast the area, cutting her off from them and forcing her to go back with the other heroes.
The planned mode of escape is no longer viable so they decide to steal a Star Destroyer. After all, Poe can fly anything, so this should work, right? To get to one, they hop in a turbo lift from the moon to the ring. Unfortunately for them, it was designed for droids so they’re nearly crushed by extreme g-forces. They end up on a fuel dock, where they use a Glide Rover to make their way over to the Star Destroyer Eclipse. From a control tower on the ring, First Order Admiral Vonn realizes that they’re heading for a nearly empty ship.
The heroes quickly make their way to the bridge, where Rey mind-tricks the crew into setting a course for the Nirauan system where the Resistance base is. Poe has the controls but struggles to get it out of the docking station. BB-8 uses a maintenance shuttle to zip over to the Star Destroyer as it begins to leave. Rey wants to immediately jump to light speed despite it being risky. Thankfully, they still manage to make it.
After the escape, a ship called the Knife-9 appears at the ring and docks. Out stride the Knights of Ren. Admiral Vonn, eager to redeem himself, tells them that a “location cipher” was placed on BB-8 which will allow the First Order to track the heroes back to their base. But it’s not good enough for the Knights. They kill Admiral Vonn.
— — End of the beginning sequence that appears to be identical — -
We then head to the planet Remnicore which the First Order has made their capital. A boy named Dade wanders the street, disheveled and alone, taking care to avoid First Order patrols. Meanwhile, in the capitol building, Hux, who has named himself Chancellor, speaks with a warlord council including the alien Lord Gherlid. Hux claims that the Resistance is almost vanquished but Gherlid believes the youth are on the verge of revolt. The council is desperate for Rey, the last hope of the Jedi, to be killed. Sollony Ren, a Darth-Maul-like character, is the de facto leader with Kylo off on his quest.
Kylo has arrived at the planet Moraband and makes his way to a Sith temple filled with ancient statues. A message from Supreme Leader Snoke has had him searching for a holocron of Darth Plagueis that contains all the secrets of the Sith. Force Ghost Luke appears to tell Kylo that this is the wrong path. It only leads to an empty, hollow tomb. Kylo ignores him and opens the holocron he finds. It senses the light inside him and rejects him, red lightning shooting out and attacking him, damage spreading across his face.
Rey awakes on the Eclipse with a start, feeling Kylo’s pain. She talks with Finn about her apprehensions. She’s seen how much the children and everyone count on her and believe in her but she doesn’t know if she’s strong enough. Poe says he’s going to park the Star Destroyer on a moon, but Rose is dubious he can pull it off. He finds a massive amount of weaponry on board the ship, enough TIE Fighters and walkers to take over the capital. They attempt to make contact with Leia and the Resistance base but only hear a quick word from Leia about being under attack before the connection is lost. Rey says they must head to the base. They have no choice.
Kylo is on the verge of death when a group of wommels find him and take him back to their cave to nurse him back to health. Their selflessness touches him.
Poe, Finn, Rey, and Rose snap out of light speed in a TIE Shuttle that Rose stole above the planet Korilev to find it under siege by the First Order. They speed down to the surface and find General Organa. As they try to hustle her onto the Falcon, a TIE Fighter crashes into a nearby tower, sending shrapnel everywhere. Leia gets hit! Chewie barely gets her onboard. But it’s too late. Though we don’t hear it, she gives Rey a message and then dies, becoming one with the Force.
From the cave on Moraband, Kylo feels his mother’s death. It sends him into a rage, but the kindness of the wommels manages to calm it.
The Falcon is trying to weave its way through the First Order assault over Korilev, constantly being buffeted by laser fire. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Knife-9 begins pursuit behind it. The Falcon is in such bad shape, its shields gone, and Poe is pushing it so hard, that it leaves a trail of fire behind it when it finally makes the jump to hyperspace.
The Falcon pops out of hyperspace and crashes in a frozen ocean on the planet Wavett. The heroes have to hurriedly escape the sinking ship. Rey darts back in to save the Jedi texts and uses her lightsaber to break a wall to free Finn.
Kylo has made his way to Remnicore but is in terrible shape, with purple scars and burns on his face, and droids needed to keep him alive. Sollony sees that Kylo found the holocron. She remarks that both he and Rey were students of Luke, but tells him that he needs to sever his connection with her to clear his fate to the dark side. To protect his battered face, Kylo gets a new, more savage mask that is even closer to Vader’s than his old one.
The heroes are stuck on Wavett and are struggling in the cold. Chewie finds a piece of the Falcon’s radar dish and figures out that he can use it to send a transmission for help. Finn and Poe talk about their complicated admiration for Rey and how it ties into their brotherly relationship.
Away from them, an angry Rey beats up a piece of the Falcon. Luke appears to her, telling her he fears he is losing her. She doesn’t know why the Force is speaking to her. She’s no one. Luke says that means the last Jedi truly is dead. Rey tells him she believes Kylo is still being drawn to the light, but Luke disagrees. Skywalker is sure that Ben Solo is never coming back. That’s when Rey reveals what Leia told her: she wanted Rey to end Kylo’s pain. Before he disappears, Luke gives her a lightsaber and tells her she won’t be a Jedi until she confronts Kylo.
Back on the Star Destroyer Eclipse, BB-8 has discovered a map in its systems showing all the Resistance bases. The First Order knows where they are and is taking them out one by one. The Eclipse needs to get the word out, but communications have been jammed.
On Wavett, Rey has been passing the time reading the Jedi texts. She finds mention of an ancient form of communication, before even the Old Republic: the Spire of Ossus. It’s in a sacred chamber that only a Jedi may enter. Any Sith will be prevented from using it. But Rey doesn’t know where this spire is. Poe thinks he has a way to find it. He knows an astromancer who helps Jedi. She works with a Space Digger. Finn wants to head to the capital on Remnicore and use the arsenal in the Eclipse to cut off the head of the beast. They agree to split up. Poe, Chewie, and Rey will head for the astromancer while Finn and Rose go to Remnicore.
Rey and Kylo have a Force-connection talk over a fire. Kylo’s face appears to her as fully healed. They discuss Leia’s death. Kylo can sense the darkness in her while she can feel the light in him.
(How the heroes get off Wavett is some guesswork because the report is really vague about it. The Falcon is left behind, so there must be another ship in here somewhere, but it’s never mentioned.)
Poe and the others manage to find a bearded man named Fobis and offer to buy his ship the Phantom Hawk. He recognizes the last Jedi among them and gives them the ship for free. Rey and Finn hug goodbye before the two parties split.
Meanwhile, back on Remnicore, Kylo meets with Chancellor Hux. Ren is furious that Rey is still alive. He nearly kills Hux in his rage and orders the Chancellor to inform the Knights the very instant he finds Rey. His life depends on it.
Rey, Chewie, and Poe are in a ship stuck in a docking array. Rey has to use the Force to get them out of it. Poe tells her she going to have to tone down her whole Jedi thing when they’re out in public and she obliges. They head for the planet Bonadan, where Poe used to live with his grandfather, to meet the astromancer. The planet is home to a giant waterfront market.
The Phantom Hawk arrives at Remnicore with Finn, Rose, and R2-D2. Finn is disguised and R2 has a code that will help them find the underground resistance army. They run into Dade, the boy from earlier, on their way to where the army is. Except, when they get to the location, it’s empty and stormtroopers attack them. Finn, Rose, and R2 try to rush back to the ship, fighting through the First Order forces.
On Bonadan, Rey has gotten herself caught up in a drinking contest with some aliens there.
Finn scuffles with a trooper and the trooper’s helmet comes off. Finn asks him if he can remember his life before he was taken by the First Order. When he can’t Finn tells him to find a name and something that’s actually worth fighting for.
Poe and Rey get to the den of the astromancer Nomi, a tiny alien. Rey tells her about the planet she needs to find. Nomi says the Jedi will know the way to the destination and there the two will meet, the dark and the light. Rey has a vision of the place. In it, she sacrifices herself to Kylo to save the galaxy.
In the war room on Remnicore, Hux informs Sollony Ren that Finn has been spotted in the capital. Kylo is ahead of both of them. He’s tracked down Finn and confronts him. He demands to know where Rey is. Finn refuses to tell him and jumps into the darkness to escape him.
Rey can sense that Finn and the others are in trouble. Suddenly the Knights appear. Rey looks for a way to escape to the ship, but there are too many people around. She even spots a kid holding a doll that looks like her. Just being near her is putting them in danger. And they’re blocking her way. So she uses the Force to push everyone away from her, including Poe, who gets tossed into the water. She and Poe get onto a “razorsail” boat and make for their ship, pursued by the Knights in the Knife-9. A fight ensues between the Knights and Rey, Poe, and Chewie. Poe gets hit in the arm. Rey’s anger boils over and purple lightning shoots from her fingertips and kills one of the Knights. Poe and Chewie react with shock. With the Knights dispatched, Poe wants to go with Rey to the Spire, but she says she must go alone and face Kylo. She tries to mind trick him, but it doesn’t take until she kisses him. Poe and Chewie board the ship they came on to head to Remnicore to aid Finn and Rose.
In preparation for the job ahead, Rey dons the Jedi robes she toned down before. Luke appears again and talks to her about her past. She seethes with anger as he tells her that she already knows about her past. He says that the Knights of Ren are former students of his and that Kylo wanted to be her teacher. Rey is angry that Kylo lied to her. Luke warns her that if she gives in to her anger, no one will survive.
Kylo knows he must find and kill Rey. He can’t let her get to the Spire.
After his jump away from Kylo, Finn finds himself stuck in sludge and fighting a monster in a sewer. Dade finds him and helps him out of his predicament. The two make their way to the underground army. It’s looking pretty ragged.
Chewie, realizing they need help, takes Poe to a cabaret club for reinforcements. It’s owned by Lando Calrissian. Upon introducing himself, Lando remarks that he flew with Poe’s mother. The group heads to a private booth to talk. Poe begs for help, but Lando refuses, causing Poe to tell him “my mother was right about you.”
Rose has been captured by the First Order and is being tortured by Chancellor Hux for the signature codes to the Star Destroyer. She refuses to talk so Hux is ordered to kill her.
Rey has taken flight in the Knife-9. Mid-flight, she gets flashbacks to her past, causing her to crash out of deep space. She’s made it to Osis, the location of the Spire.
Kylo has arrived there as well and has had a rough landing of his own.
On Remnicore, Dade tells Finn that there are a hundred million “rustics” hiding but they can fight, which is what the First Order is afraid of. Finn gives an inspiring speech to them, urging them to rise up and fight.
Poe, thanks to help from Finn, communicates with Lieutenant Connix and the Eclipse and tells them that they will fly with a hundred pilots to Remnicore to support Finn and the ground assault. Rey will send out for more reinforcements from the Spire.
On Osis, Rey is making her way to the Spire through some woods. She’s overtaken by a flashback to her parents leaving her. They tell her that they’ll come back. In anger, she slices a tree in half. Kylo has a similar vision. He comes across a small house and goes inside to find Han Solo. Han tells his son that he has everything he needs with his family. He can always go back. His mother loves him. Then it morphs to Han dying at Kylo’s hands.
In the First Order capital, Finn leads an attack by the underground army, Dade, R2, and C-3PO at his side. Also in the army is the stormtrooper from earlier who now goes by Rafe.
Kylo and Rey meet at the Spire. She knows he’s alone and in pain. He knows she’s angry about her abandonment on Jakku and blames him. Because he killed her parents. But he blames Snoke for that. Rey pulls out her lightsaber while Kylo tells her that she was protected.
Poe is impressed by the flying of one pilot, unaware that it’s Chewie. They and the other pilots are almost instantly outnumbered. They need more pilots! Hux sends out undisciplined mercenaries in an attempt to keep the peace. Sollony discovers the holocron that Kylo found. He left it behind. She opens it but is able to take its dark power without being harmed. Finn inspires the rustics and they charge the First Order.
Kylo and Rey fight at the foot of the Spire. Kylo believes that if he kills Rey, the Jedi order will die and he will control the Force. Rey slices at Kylo’s face, revealing metallic structure underneath.
The Resistance, thanks to the power of the stolen Star Destroyers, pounds the First Order capitol building. Chewie acquits himself nicely in his X-wing, with BB-8 as his astromech droid, but is eventually knocked out of the sky and crash lands in the city.
Rose escapes capture and finds Finn. She tells him that the capitol building is not a building. It’s a ship! She needs BB-8’s help to stop it from going into hyperspace.
Kylo slashes Rey, staggering her. He taunts her, saying he could have been her teacher, before knocking her down 20 feet and leaving her for dead. He goes to the sacred Jedi room of the Spire where he’s confronted again by Luke. Luke tries to reason with him, but he won’t have any of it and destroys the Jedi room. As Luke gives a speech about how everyone is connected by the Force, Rey, Rose, Poe, and Finn are filled with a surge of hope. Finn can even sense Rey. She comes back to fight Kylo again. He belittles her as “no one” but she responds that no one is no one.
On the ground on Remnicore, R2-D2 is badly damaged and C-3PO doesn’t want to leave him. In the sky, Connix and the Eclipse are taking heavy fire. It gets so bad that Connix feels forced to retreat. But just as she’s about to, a thousand reinforcements appear. It’s Lando!
Back on Osis, Rey gets the upper hand. She has a chance to kill Kylo but doesn’t. She tries to appeal to Ben. She forgives him and offers him a different kind of balance. Before he can make a decision, Sollony shows up and grabs his lightsaber. Thanks to the power in the holocron, she’s too powerful for Rey. Sollony brings down stone debris on Rey, but just as it’s about to crush her, Ben saves her. She gives him half of her double-bladed lightsaber.
Meanwhile, on Remnicore, Connix tells Poe to do something reckless. Poe, now reunited with Finn, gives him a Resistance flag, and the former stormtrooper waves it proudly. Poe then slams an oiler into a barricade in front of the capitol building.
The fight on Osis gets intense. Sollony is about to kill Rey, but Ben takes the hit instead, mortally wounding him. Rey then channels the dark side to kill Sollony. Ben tells Rey that her name is Solana. Rey Solana. Then he dies. Rey is nearly dead herself but knows she must activate the Spire. She claws her way up and enters the transmission tower. Things move around her, powered by Kyber crystals. With the last of her energy, she sends a message out to the galaxy using her full name and telling everyone who will listen that hope is not lost. Among the people who see it and are inspired is the bounty hunter Bossk, relaxing in his den.
The battle has turned towards the good guys on Remnicore. The First Order has no reinforcements. All of their other forces are now tied up fighting with worlds inspired into battle by Rey’s words. Hux learns that they are outnumbered 3 to 1. Rose manages to sneak back into the capitol and sabotage its hyperdrive. She manages to get out just as it lifts off. It tries to jump to hyperspace, but thanks to Rose it instead crashes into a nearby star. Finn can sense that Rey is still alive.
Luke tells Rey that she is a Jedi, but will not be the last. He will always be with her. She starts glowing and wonders if this means she’s dead. Yoda appears and tells her there is no death for a Jedi. But her work is not yet done. Life begins to come back to her.
At a special ceremony, Chewie gets a medal for his actions in the final battle. Lando talks with C-3PO about how both of them wish R2 would come back to life. He does and Lando is overwhelmed by all the moments they’ve had together.
Finn has set up a school to teach force-sensitive young children. He’s reading a story one night when they ask him if he thinks Rey is still alive. He says she is. He can feel her in the Force. Poe and Chewie are flying around the galaxy, trying to find her. Meanwhile, Rey is on Wavett, using the force to lift the Millennium Falcon out of the ice. The last shot of the script is her arriving at the Jedi school to teach the kids.
