The Rise of Skywalker heads into theaters this weekend, complete with the trilogy’s mainstays Poe, Finn and Rey, as well as franchise newcomers like Naomi Ackie’s Jannah and Richard E. Grant’s Allegiant General Pryde. The Skywalker Saga is coming to an end with Episode IX, but The Hollywood Reporter is here with the lowdown on what’s next for the stars of the series.
Daisy Ridley (Rey)
After making her feature film debut in The Force Awakens, Ridley has appeared in studio tentpoles (Murder on the Orient Express), animation (Peter Rabbit) and indies (Ophelia). Next up will be the Peter Rabbit sequel, as well as Doug Liman’s long-delayed adaptation of Chaos Walking, where she stars opposite Tom Holland, which does not yet have a release date from distributor Lionsgate after is was pushed off of its April 1, 2019 release.
Oscar Issac (Poe Dameron)
The Golden Globe winner’s varied extra-galactic work over the past four years has included Annihilation, X-Men: Apocalypse and At Eternity’s Gate. Post-Poe Dameron, Issac will next be seen opposite Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, out Dec. 18, 2020, playing Duke Leto Atreides.
Adam Driver (Kylo Ren)
After an awards run last year for Spike Lee’s BlackKklansman, Driver is expected to receive recognition for Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. The Oscar nominee will be next showing off his melodic abilities in Amazon’s musical drama Annette, and is set for Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, starring with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Jodie Comer.
Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux)
After his time as the franchise’s resident imperial die-hard, Gleeson is heading for the small screen, starring in the Phoebe Waller-Bridge-produced HBO comedy series Run. He will also reprise his role as Mr. McGregor in the Peter Rabbit sequel.
John Boyega (Finn)
Since being cast in The Force Awakens, Boyega has not exclusively spent his time in a galaxy far, far away. During his tenure as Finn, the actor appeared in the Pacific Rim sequel, Uprising, and the Kathryn Bigelow-directed drama Detroit. Upcoming, he has the BBC series Small Axe from Steve McQueen, which also stars Black Panther actor Letitia Wright, and the crime drama Naked Singularity, and is attached to Creed II writer Juel Taylor’s They Cloned Tyrone.
Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico)
After making her acting debut with The Last Jedi, Tran chose Facebook Watch show Sorry for Your Loss as her first Star Wars follow-up. Upcoming, Tran will be lending her voice to Disney+ Pixar series Monsters at Work and the DreamWorks animated sequel to caveman comedy The Croods.
Naomi Ackie (Jannah)
One of the new additions to the Star Wars universe, Ackie was cast in HBO Game of Thrones prequel pilot, which was surprisingly not picked up to series by the network. She can be seen in the second season of Netflix series The End of the F***ing World.
Richard E. Grant (Allegiant General Pryde)
Another franchise newcomer, the Academy Award nominee’s foray into attempted galactic supremacy will be followed by the adaptation of musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie for New Regency and 20th Century Fox. He will also reprise his role in Lionsgate and Millennium’s action comedy sequel The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.
Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata)
For her next project, the Oscar winner is trading in Star Wars motion capture for international espionage with Simon Kinberg’s 355, where she stars opposite Jessica Chastain, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz and Fan Bingbing. She is also set to produce and star in the series adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah for HBO Max.
J.J. Abrams
After a somewhat unexpected return to the Star Wars fold to replace Colin Trevorrow in the director’s chair, Abrams has yet to land on his next project. Having signed a reported $500 million overall deal with WarnerMedia under his Bad Robot banner, the director has been rumored to be mulling a Superman project but nothing officially been announced.
