Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Ending Hasn't Changed From J.J. Abrams' Original Plan

The ending of the Skywalker Saga is finally upon us, and after nine films over the last four decades, many fans will get a sense of closure when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres in theaters. But while many big budget franchise films get retooled constantly all the way up until their premiere in theaters (see: almost every comic book movie), the plan for the latest Star Wars movie is all but locked in place. According to director J.J. Abrams, they finalized the ending of the saga long ago, and even though things change in the editing room, they're still sticking to the plan they've always had.

Abrams spoke with Marvelous TV when he was asked if the ending for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is still changing.

"The ending is the ending. It's really been a bit unusual in that the editing process, much of what we have in the third act is exactly what we always had. And that's not always the case. A lot of times you're like, 'The ending doesn't quite...' That's not the thing that we've been playing with," Abrams explained at D23 Expo.

Abrams previously said that the final shot of the film was decided early on, which is encouraging to hear for a film like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that is serving as a conclusion to over 40 years of storytelling. While Avengers: Endgame might have received some major tweaks despite being an ending to a major era in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the two franchises are very different.

The director of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker told MTV News that the final sequence of the film was one of the first things finalized in the planning process, indicating that the ending of the Skywalker Saga could be one of the most important aspects of this entry.

"If I had not decided on that, I'd be in real trouble," Abrams joked. "But, it was a very early on thing, and it's less the last shot of the movie than the last sequence, but it's something that I… hope you like."

We'll see how it all comes together when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres in theaters on December 20th.