'Star Wars Episode 9' Is Definitely The End Of The Skywalker Saga, Says Oscar Isaac

When a press release from Disney and Lucasfilm last summer announced the cast of Star Wars Episode 9, it casually mentioned that this chapter would be "the final installment of the Skywalker saga." Now franchise cast member Oscar Isaac has doubled down on those claims, and he makes it sound like this really will be the end of the road for the primary Star Wars saga. But what does that mean for the new characters introduced in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi?

Oscar Isaac recently appeared on The Today Show to promote the upcoming Netflix movie Triple Frontier (watch the trailer here, and read our review to see if it's worth watching), and conversation inevitably turned to Star Wars Episode 9. Since we haven't seen more than a single official image from the film, and we don't even know the title yet, Isaac couldn't say much. But what he did say sounded like this will bring the largest part of the Star Wars franchise to a complete conclusion. The actor said:

"It is the end of the entire Skywalker saga. Nine stories. This is the culmination of the thing. I think what J.J. [Abrams] has done, and really the whole Lucasfilm team, is going to be incredibly fulfilling. It's also special for us because you get to learn a lot more things about these characters."

Even though this is the end of the Skywalker saga, Isaac's comments still make us wonder if this will be the end of the road for new characters like Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Isaac's character Poe Dameron. After all, if this is the end of the Skywalker saga, as long as those characters aren't revealed to have any ties to the Force-sensitive family, then their stories can continue in future movies, TV shows, comics, or whatever form of media Lucasfilm wants to use.

Furthermore, this being the end of the Skywalker saga makes us wonder what that means for Ben Solo (Adam Driver). The Skywalker bloodline flows through him thanks to General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher, who is appearing in the movie by way of unused footage from the previous two films), and if this is meant to end the saga once and for all, one would have to assume that means the First Order leader isn't going to come out of this alive. Ben seems to have made his choice to stay on the Dark Side as Kylo Ren, and there may be no coming back for him. But what new things will we learn about these fan-favorite characters?

Star Wars: Episode 9 opens in theaters on December 20, 2019.