New Featurette Goes Behind the Scenes of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is hitting theaters in December, and fans have been eagerly awaiting the movie’s Vanity Fair spread, a longstanding tradition between the franchise and publication. The “Ultimate Preview” was revealed yesterday with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) gracing the covers. In addition to the articles, Vanity Fair also released an on set exclusive video (see above), which shows a behind-the-scenes look at the highly-anticipated film, and chronicles Annie Leibovitz’ sixth Star Wars set visit in her career.

“To have Annie Leibovitz come and document the work that’s being done, it’s just, it’s a gift,” director J.J. Abrams says in the video.

“Annie has been a part of this saga for almost 40 years,” Lucasfilm President, Kathleen Kennedy, added. “She’s sharing in the culmination of this with all of us. It’s an incredible honor to have her step in and capture this moment.”

The film’s stars also chimed in during the video to discuss how they feel about the end of the new trilogy.

“I feel very nostalgic at many, many points that this is all, as everyone says, you don’t get experiences like this very often,” Daisy Ridley shared.

“I’m gonna miss it so much,” Oscar Isaac added.

“Me, Daisy, and Oscar; it’s like a moment in all of our lives really,” John Boyega said. “This is really it.”

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set to star a returning Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. New cast members include Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, and Keri Russell, and the returning veteran actors are Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams.

According to Abrams, Leia will be featured in the film using unreleased footage of Carrie Fisher from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In fact, the director opened up about Fisher’s role during his Vanity Fair interview. He also made it clear that he didn’t feel “beholden” to the franchise’s past this time around.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is expected to hit theatres on December 20th.