Source plot synopsis — includes the ending
A year after the Battle of Crait, the resurrected Emperor Palpatine sends a message of revenge to the galaxy. Kylo Ren obtains a Sith wayfinder that leads him to the hidden planet Exegol, where Palpatine reveals himself as the power behind Snoke and the First Order. Palpatine unveils an armada of Star Destroyers and offers it to Ren if he finds and kills Rey, who is continuing her Jedi training under Resistance leader Leia Organa. Poe Dameron, Finn and Chewbacca deliver intelligence from a First Order spy that Palpatine is on Exegol. Rey, Poe, Finn, Chewbacca, BB-8, and C-3PO depart in the Millennium Falcon to the planet Pasaana, where a clue to a wayfinder is hidden.
After initiating a Force bond with Rey to discover her location, Ren travels to Pasaana with his warrior subordinates, the Knights of Ren. With Lando Calrissian's help, Rey and her friends find the clue—a dagger inscribed with Sith text, which C-3PO's programming forbids him from translating—and the remains of a Sith assassin named Ochi and his ship. Rey senses Ren nearby and confronts him while the First Order captures the Falcon, Chewbacca, and the dagger. Attempting to save Chewbacca, Rey accidentally destroys a First Order transport with Force lightning. Believing that Chewbacca is dead, the group departs on Ochi's ship.
The group travels to Kijimi, where the droidsmith Babu Frik extracts the wayfinder's coordinates from C-3PO's memory. Rey senses Chewbacca is in fact alive and aboard Ren's Star Destroyer, so the group stages a rescue with the help of the smuggler Zorii Bliss. Rey recovers the dagger and experiences repressed memories of her parents' deaths. Rey duels with Ren, who reveals that Palpatine is her grandfather. Foreseeing her power, Palpatine had ordered Ochi to find the young Rey, but her parents hid her on Jakku, prompting Ochi to kill them. Meanwhile, the First Order's General Hux saves Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca from execution, revealing himself as the spy. Rey and her friends escape, while Hux is killed by Allegiant General Pryde.
The group follows the wayfinder's coordinates to a moon in the Endor system, where Rey locates the wayfinder in the wreckage of the second Death Star. She is confronted by Ren, who destroys the wayfinder and duels with her. In a dying act, Leia distracts Ren through the Force, and Rey impales him. Sensing Leia's death and overcome by guilt, Rey heals Ren and takes his TIE fighter to exile herself on Ahch-To. Meanwhile, Ren converses with a memory of his father, Han Solo, which motivates him to discard his lightsaber and reclaim his identity as Ben Solo. Palpatine deploys his fleet to draw Rey out and sends a Sith Star Destroyer to destroy Kijimi. On Ahch-To, Luke's Force spirit encourages Rey to face Palpatine and gives her Leia's lightsaber. Rey leaves for Exegol in Luke's X-wing fighter, using the wayfinder from Ben's ship.
Rey transmits her coordinates to R2-D2, allowing the Resistance—now led by Poe and Finn—to follow her to Exegol. She confronts a debilitated Palpatine, who demands that she kill him so his spirit can possess her body. The Resistance attacks Palpatine's forces, while Ben overpowers the Knights of Ren and joins Rey. Palpatine senses their power as "a dyad in the Force" and drains it to rejuvenate his body. Palpatine wounds Ben and attacks the Resistance fleet with Force lightning. The spirits of deceased Jedi Knights reach out to Rey and place their power within her. Using both Luke and Leia's lightsabers, Rey deflects Palpatine's lightning onto him and he is destroyed, but the confrontation exhausts Rey. Ben uses his remaining Force power to revive her, and the two share a kiss before Ben dies. Meanwhile, Lando arrives with reinforcements from across the galaxy and Palpatine's remaining forces are destroyed.
As the Resistance celebrates the fall of the First Order, Rey visits Luke's abandoned homestead on Tatooine and buries Luke and Leia's lightsabers. A passerby asks her name; seeing Luke and Leia's Force spirits nearby, she responds, "Rey Skywalker."
After initiating a Force bond with Rey to discover her location, Ren travels to Pasaana with his warrior subordinates, the Knights of Ren. With Lando Calrissian's help, Rey and her friends find the clue—a dagger inscribed with Sith text, which C-3PO's programming forbids him from translating—and the remains of a Sith assassin named Ochi and his ship. Rey senses Ren nearby and confronts him while the First Order captures the Falcon, Chewbacca, and the dagger. Attempting to save Chewbacca, Rey accidentally destroys a First Order transport with Force lightning. Believing that Chewbacca is dead, the group departs on Ochi's ship.
The group travels to Kijimi, where the droidsmith Babu Frik extracts the wayfinder's coordinates from C-3PO's memory. Rey senses Chewbacca is in fact alive and aboard Ren's Star Destroyer, so the group stages a rescue with the help of the smuggler Zorii Bliss. Rey recovers the dagger and experiences repressed memories of her parents' deaths. Rey duels with Ren, who reveals that Palpatine is her grandfather. Foreseeing her power, Palpatine had ordered Ochi to find the young Rey, but her parents hid her on Jakku, prompting Ochi to kill them. Meanwhile, the First Order's General Hux saves Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca from execution, revealing himself as the spy. Rey and her friends escape, while Hux is killed by Allegiant General Pryde.
The group follows the wayfinder's coordinates to a moon in the Endor system, where Rey locates the wayfinder in the wreckage of the second Death Star. She is confronted by Ren, who destroys the wayfinder and duels with her. In a dying act, Leia distracts Ren through the Force, and Rey impales him. Sensing Leia's death and overcome by guilt, Rey heals Ren and takes his TIE fighter to exile herself on Ahch-To. Meanwhile, Ren converses with a memory of his father, Han Solo, which motivates him to discard his lightsaber and reclaim his identity as Ben Solo. Palpatine deploys his fleet to draw Rey out and sends a Sith Star Destroyer to destroy Kijimi. On Ahch-To, Luke's Force spirit encourages Rey to face Palpatine and gives her Leia's lightsaber. Rey leaves for Exegol in Luke's X-wing fighter, using the wayfinder from Ben's ship.
Rey transmits her coordinates to R2-D2, allowing the Resistance—now led by Poe and Finn—to follow her to Exegol. She confronts a debilitated Palpatine, who demands that she kill him so his spirit can possess her body. The Resistance attacks Palpatine's forces, while Ben overpowers the Knights of Ren and joins Rey. Palpatine senses their power as "a dyad in the Force" and drains it to rejuvenate his body. Palpatine wounds Ben and attacks the Resistance fleet with Force lightning. The spirits of deceased Jedi Knights reach out to Rey and place their power within her. Using both Luke and Leia's lightsabers, Rey deflects Palpatine's lightning onto him and he is destroyed, but the confrontation exhausts Rey. Ben uses his remaining Force power to revive her, and the two share a kiss before Ben dies. Meanwhile, Lando arrives with reinforcements from across the galaxy and Palpatine's remaining forces are destroyed.
As the Resistance celebrates the fall of the First Order, Rey visits Luke's abandoned homestead on Tatooine and buries Luke and Leia's lightsabers. A passerby asks her name; seeing Luke and Leia's Force spirits nearby, she responds, "Rey Skywalker."
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license