Star Wars Icon Finally Gets On-Screen Appearance in The Rise of Skywalker

Over four decades after the Star Wars universe was born in Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker concludes the Skywalker Saga. But ending one of the most beloved stories in movie history involves more than just the actual narrative of that ending. The Rise of Skywalker also included a lot of nods to the earlier films in the franchise as well as some cameos including one that saw one Star Wars legend finally get his moment on-screen.

Spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker below.

After composing the music for every one of the main Star Wars films, iconic composer John Williams finally went from being part of Star Wars behind the scenes to being in front of the camera in The Rise of Skywalker. The moment come in a very brief scene on the planet Kijimi as Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe (Oscar Issac), and Finn (John Boyega) make their way through a cantina on their way to meet with the droid smith Babu Frik. As the heroes pass, the camera lingers for just a moment on a bartender in the cantina, one with what appears to be some sort of ocular tech on his face. That bartender? Turns out it's none other than John Williams as Oma Tres.

It's worth noting that the name "Oma Tres" is an anagram of the word "maestro". A fitting name for a character played by the real-life maestro responsible for the music for not just the film but for the Star Wars universe.

It's a fitting moment for Williams after his long history with Star Wars and it's also fitting because Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may well be his final work for the franchise. Williams revealed in 2018 that once he completed composing for The Rise of Skywalker he might be done with the franchise.

"J.J. Abrams is preparing [Episode IX] that I will hopefully do next year for him," said Williams. "It will round up the series of nine that will be quite enough for me. Disney will take it further and they will probably continue on to do Star Wars for decades. So I think it's all good."

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is directed by J.J. Abrams and stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Naomi Ackie, Keri Russell, Domhall Gleeson, Ricard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, and Ian McDiarmid. You can check out the official description below.

"Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come."

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in theaters now.