【99 Moons】

We're one month9 Moonsone day removed from the arrival of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final chapter in a nine-movie saga that began more than 40 years ago.

Now, a fresh pile of details and photos brings revelations about the story and the characters populating it, compliments of an Entertainment Weeklycover story. There aren't any dramatic spoilers, but for those hoping to stay completely in the dark on the upcoming movie, this is your spoiler warning.

The Rise of Skywalkerpicks up more than a year after the events of 2017's Star Wars: The Last Jedi. After years and years of struggle, the Resistance is officially on the ropes and the First Order is ascendant. The hunt for Luke Skywalker is over and the last remaining Jedi Master is dead.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Dark times, all, and immediately reminiscent of the state of the galaxy far, far away at the opening of 1983's Return of the Jedi. Many people observed that director J.J. Abrams first chapter in the new trilogy, 2015's The Force Awakens, both mirrored and flipped the script on 1977's original Star Wars. Will The Rise of Skywalkerchart a similar path? That's the vibe at this point.

When the story opens, Rey (Daisy Ridley) is off training to be a Jedi while Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) are busy gathering Resistance allies under the orders of General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). But something happens – exactly what isn't clear – that brings all three of the young characters together on a journey, a first for this trilogy.

"We’re not just a ragtag group of people who have been thrown together,” Isaac told EW. “We’ve actually had time to train. There are some really great sequences with the three of us in infiltrating spaces."

While The Rise of Skywalkerbrings the new trilogy's core characters together on an extended mission for the first time, there's some suggestion that something... else is going on with Rey. During a chat about Abrams encouraging the trio to improvise more, Isaac seemingly almost lets something slip.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

"I think it really captures the spirit of the original trilogy,” Isaac said of what Boyega described as the "messy and natural" dialogue their improvisation brought out. "On top of that," Isaac continued, "there’s fact that Rey has…." Then he caught himself, saying only that "Rey is driving her own thing. She's not doing what other people are telling her to do."

Whatever's happening with Rey, her more than a year of training since the last movie's timeline means she'll be pulling out some new Force tricks in The Rise of Skywalker. While those new skills will be helpful, Abrams notes that Rey's critical role in the coming movie will be colored significantly by early experiences on Jakku, the first minutes we spent with her in The Force Awakens.

"The scavenger who is desperate and haggling for portions and trying to survive [in Force Awakens] — those special skills and that special experience ends up being something that is essential to saving the galaxy."