The ninth film in the original "Star Wars" saga will be called "The Rise of Skywalker," and will feature the return of the evil Emperor Palpatine to threaten the young heroine Rey and the Resistance, Walt Disney Co. revealed Friday.
Disney showed fans attending the "Star Wars Celebration" convention in Chicago the first footage from the movie, which will be released in theaters in December and will conclude the story that began in 1977.
A villainous cackle was heard at the end of the trailer, and the actor who played Palpatine in previous films, Ian McDiarmid, walked onstage to loud applause from an audience of roughly 10,000 fans, many waving colorful lightsabers.