The Batman’s First Two Villains Have Reportedly Been Revealed

The Batman’s First Two Villains Have Reportedly Been Revealed

Last night, the news broke that Robert Pattinson, at the bare minimum, is one of the top contenders to play Batman next on the big screen, if not close to signing a deal. We’ll have to wait and see if Pattinson does indeed end up leading The Batman or if the eponymous role will go to someone like Nicholas Hoult, but for now, some news about Batman’s rogues gallery in the upcoming DC Extended Universe movie has come out. Get ready for some Batman Returns déjà vu, because evidently Penguin and Catwoman will be among the film’s baddies.

To be up front, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Penguin, real name Oswald Cobblepot, will appear in The Batman. Last summer, it was reported that both the Caped Crusader’s next movie and Birds of Prey were considering using the beak-nosed umbrella enthusiast. Since then, it’s been revealed that Birds of Prey is using Roman Sionis, a.k.a. Black Mask, as its main antagonist, and he’ll be accompanied by Victor Zsasz. Then in January, word came in that Penguin would indeed show up in The Batman, although this hasn’t been officially confirmed.

However, THR did reveal today that “another purrfect character” will appear in The Batman. Granted, while Catwoman isn’t technically outright named, unless director/writer Matt Reeves is wanting to give the significantly lesser-known Batman baddie-turned-anti-hero Catman his time to shine, then we can reasonably assume this is Selina Kyle who’s being talked about.

Penguin and Catwoman have been part of The Batman mythos since almost the very beginning, although nowadays the latter is frequently depicted as an anti-hero who is still the Dark Knight’s most recurring love interest. The characters, played by Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer, respectively, famously teamed up in 1992’s Batman Returns, and while that movie remains Penguin’s last live action theatrical appearance thus far, Catwoman was played in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises by Anne Hathaway. Penguin and Catwoman were also recently main characters on the TV series Gotham, played by Robin Lord Taylor and Camren Bicondova, respectively.

It’s also worth noting that it doesn’t look like Penguin and Catwoman will be the only villains to appear in The Batman. Matt Reeves has previously said that the movie will feature a “rogues gallery,” and THR has heard from a source that as many as six bad guys could show up, with Collider hearing rumors that Riddler could be part of this group.

Aside from the 1966 Batman movie, which saw Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman teaming up, the live action Batman movies have never exceeded having three villains per story (not including organized crime figures), so to potentially see half a dozen colorful baddies show up is intriguing. Hopefully this doesn’t result in the story being weighed down by so many people, but Spider-Man: Homecoming did prove you can have a collection of supporting and minor villains who don’t take away from the menace of the main threat.

No specific story details for The Batman have been revealed yet other than Matt Reeves saying it will be a noir-driven tale that highlights Bruce Wayne’s detective skills. And while the actor who plays Batman next, whether it’s Robert Pattinson or someone else, will be younger than Ben Affleck’s iteration, this movie will not be an origin story.

The Batman is scheduled to begin production within a year and will hit theaters on June 25, 2021. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage, and if you’re wondering what else is coming down the DCEU pipeline, look through our comprehensive guide.

Sylvester Stallone Compares Rocky's Grandson To Adrian In Sweet Photo

Sylvester Stallone Compares Rocky's Grandson To Adrian In Sweet Photo

Warning: SPOILERS For Creed II Ahead!

One of the ways in which Creed II expands on the four-decade Rocky saga is that it makes Rocky a grandfather. At the end of the film, Rocky visits his estranged son Robert (Rocky Jr.) and he meets his grandson Logan. It’s a heartwarming moment in its own right, but Sylvester Stallone has made it extra poignant by sharing a photo of Rocky and Logan together and comparing the tyke to Rocky’s love Adrian. Take a look:

They may not actually be related but Sly is right that Logan Balboa, played by Robbie Johns in Creed II, does look a bit like Adrian. Especially in the eyes and with the smile, the young actor looks like Talia Shire’s character from the early Rocky films, who would be his in-universe grandmother. Rocky even mentions this to Rocky Jr. in Creed II, with his son responding, “Yeah, I know.”

It is clear that the casting director did a solid job with finding a child actor who looked like he could belong to the Balboa family, even though he only appears briefly in the film. Although Logan definitely seems to favor his father and grandmother more than Rocky himself, something I think Rocky would prefer.

In addition to just being a sweet sentiment, Sylvester Stallone’s Instagram post shows how emotionally layered the end of Rocky’s story is in Creed II. At the end of the film, after waffling over calling his son and bridging the gulf that had widened between them over the years, Rocky shows up on Rocky Jr.’s doorstep. There he sees his son, once again played by Rocky Balboa and This is Us’s Milo Ventimiglia in a surprising cameo, and he meets his grandson for the first time.

This moment has weight not only because it represents that wounds are beginning to heal and gives Rocky a happy ending, but because Rocky’s son and now his grandson couldn’t have existed without Adrian. The loss of Adrian, Rocky’s great love, has hung over the modern Rocky films from Rocky Balboa onward, imbuing Rocky with a constant sense of longing and melancholy.

When Rocky met Logan, he was not only seeing his grandson, he was also seeing something of his dear, departed Adrian, telling Logan he looked like her. He then begins to tear up. It is both very sad, but also beautiful and joyous, signaling that although Adrian is gone, she lives on in this new life and Rocky can find happiness in the world without her.

It’s really the perfect ending for the character, and this ending might actually stick because Sylvester Stallone has said that he is done playing Rocky.

While, we'll see if he holds true to his word on playing Rocky, another iconic character that Sly will soon be done with is John Rambo. The actor returns to the role in Rambo V: Last Blood on September 20. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the movies headed to theaters this year.

How Much Avengers: Endgame Made Opening Night

How Much Avengers: Endgame Made Opening Night

Avengers: Endgame pre-sales have been insane ever since they went on sale, so people should already be fully aware that the new Marvel movie was going to have a big opening night. But being aware that a movie is big and understanding exactly how big a movie is are two different things, which is why we’re about to talk opening night numbers here.

Obviously, Avengers: Endgame absolutely dominated on opening night, with early reports indicating the flick could bring in at least $43 million. At the time, thanks to all the myriad showings that happened beginning at 6 p.m. yesterday evening, Deadline reported that the number could ultimately be as high as $57 million. Yes, for one evening of showings.

In fact, however, once the final numbers dropped, the movie made even more money domestically. Variety is reporting Avengers: Endgame opened to a record-breaking $60 million dollars. That would be a lot for an entire opening weekend, but it's an excessive number for just one night.

The previous number to beat for opening night was for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which made $57 million domestically in its initial entrance into theaters. Over the weekend, Avengers: Endgame will play in over 4,600 theaters, so the numbers should only grow moving forward.

We’ve been reporting for weeks that Avengers: Endgame would open to record numbers. Certain showtimes have been sold out in various parts of the country for days and days. The AMC on 42nd Street had most showtimes until the middle of the night sold out, with only screenings at 1:45, 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. available, for example.

If Avengers: Endgame actually hit $57 million last night, the final Phase Three movie could be well on the way to making the $800 million that was estimated as a possibility by early box office trackers in terms of worldwide numbers. And I’m not talking $800 million in total; instead, I’m saying this movie could make $800 million during opening weekend. How ‘bout them apples?

To compare, when Avengers: Infinity War opened around this time last year, that movie also had an incredible opening weekend, pulling in $640.4 million during its first few days in theaters worldwide. For that movie, the flick opened a little later in China, which is why some are anticipating Endgame could blow past the $800 million mark.

This time around Avengers: Endgame is already breaking records in China in terms of pre-ordered ticket sales, so theoretically the numbers could be even higher there.

Domestically, Avengers: Endgame is also expected to be a winner and early numbers have U.S. and Canada totals at just under $300 million. With $57 million to kickstart that, the movie should be in good shape, as Friday nights and Saturdays are even bigger moviegoing days. (Although presumably a lot of people went Thursday night so as not to get spoiled.)

Ultimately, so far this year the box office has been a little sluggish compared to previous years. While titles like Glass, Us, and Captain Marvel have done well, there hasn’t been a Black Panther-type of movie to really rally insane numbers into theaters prior to this weekend. Avengers: Endgame could ramp things up considerably. I’m sure theaters are hoping it does.

Are we on our way to a record box office year? Only time will tell. But we will definitely keep you updated in regards to Endgame. In addition, to see when the likes of Godzilla: King of the Monsters and The Lion King will have their own chance to shine in the sun, take a look at our full movies schedule.

Should New Mutants Get A Streaming Release Rather Than A Theatrical One?

Should New Mutants Get A Streaming Release Rather Than A Theatrical One?

After all of the hoopla, spectacle, and growing pains, The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox have merged, as expected. Among all of the questions and concerns about the various properties that are now shared between these united parties, the status of director Josh Boone’s The New Mutants is one that keeps being raised by fans and cast members alike. You could sense the frustration in recent remarks made by one of the film’s stars, and despite the further reports that none of the reshoots planned to revise The New Mutants seem to have taken place, the film still has a release date set for August 2nd, but the question remains: Where will it be housed?

Now unless those reshoots are going to happen at some point in the near future, it feels like we’re going to be told one of two things in the near future. It looks like either The New Mutants will shift its release date yet again, or if the persistent rumors have anything to say, the project might find itself shipped off to a streaming service for distribution.

But is that the best way to release this film, which has been in the works for a couple of years now? Either prospect seems in the cards, so why don’t we lay down the case for either a theatrical or streaming release of The New Mutants? Before we get too far into the weeds though, let’s discuss something that might effect this decision to an important degree, as it will more than likely factor into the decision ahead.

What May Be The Deciding Factor

One event may determine just what happens to The New Mutants, in terms of its release. That happening is none other than this summer’s release of Dark Phoenix. Much like The New Mutants, director Simon Kinberg’s swan song for Professor Xavier and his school of gifted youngsters has been dancing around the release calendar before and during the Disney/Fox merger. If their initial release dates had stuck, we would have seen The New Mutants released last April, with Dark Phoenix unveiling itself this past November. But after a big shake-up in the Fox release date calendar, both films found themselves pushed to 2019’s release slate. Which certainly hasn’t isn't a gigantic vote of confidence for either film.

With Dark Phoenix taking an earlier release date of June 7th, it’s going to be the first of the two out of the gate in the post-Disney/Fox merger world. So there’s some added pressure on the X-Men movie to deliver, as whatever the box office fate of this film tends to be, it could even influence whether or not The New Mutants will see the light of day at all. It’s not a bad thing to consider either, as if the latest mutant adjacent flavored spinoff looks like it’s going to take a dive in theaters, there’s convenient alternatives to traditional theatrical means that would put the film out for the world to enjoy. Alternatives that major studios like Paramount have taken when films like The Cloverfield Paradox were hanging in the balance of whether they were considered commercially viable or not. But let’s dig further into just why a theatrical release for The New Mutants could be worth the while.

The Case For A Theatrical Release

While The New Mutants and Dark Phoenix seem to be in the same boat, there’s still hope for the edgier property to break out of the negative buzz. Come to think of it, if The New Mutants goes through the reshoots meant to make it a potentially scarier R-rated film, that’s another qualification that’d help put the film on the path to better fortunes. Part of Dark Phoenix’s problem is that it’s following in the footsteps of its franchise predecessor, X-Men: Apocalypse. This newer class of spun-off mutants doesn’t have that same baggage, with all of the freedom to be its own thing; if it capitalizes on that possibility to the fullest, it could be a hit.

Of course, in order for this to happen, The New Mutants may need to reassign itself to a new release date in the future. More than likely, the studio could pencil the film in for one of the untitled release slots that Fox put aside for Marvel projects to be determined in 2020. This comes with the added bonus of giving Disney a chance to start testing out its release strategy between Fox's Marvel projects and the studio's own internal Marvel Studios brand. Disney could potentially get its feet wet with the X-Men by ushering out this theatrical release.

The New Mutants is an opportunity to try something new when it comes to the treatment of one of Fox’s last Marvel franchise before its acquisition. Those sorts of opportunities have served the studio well in the past, as Deadpool took similar risks in content and release strategy and went on to become one of the biggest Marvel hits outside of the MCU. Of course, this puts a lot of eggs in the basket of The New Mutants being a theatrical success. Let’s now take a look at why a streaming release might serve the film better.

The Case For A Streaming Release

It’s true that The New Mutants is an opportunity for Fox and Disney to try out a new franchise and the baggage surrounding the release of Dark Phoenix potentially limited to that film’s fortunes alone. We're getting into a lot of ifs here, but if that turns out to be the case, then a theatrical release for The New Mutants could be dead in the water. Which means debuting the film on a streaming service just might be the best bet for Disney and Fox to give the project its due, and release it instead of cutting it off from audiences completely. Whether or not the movie is good, a streaming service could be a less splashy way to get eyeballs to watch it and still make some money in the process.

Considering we haven’t seen any real material from The New Mutants, and only one trailer exists for the film, it seems that the spending decision pertaining to marketing the film has its parent studios in doubt. Were The New Mutants to jump to a streaming services such as Hulu or Disney+, the advertising spend wouldn’t have to be nearly as great as a theatrical release would be. In actuality, Disney could do the same thing Paramount did with The Cloverfield Paradox, and announce the film’s release date on the exact day the film will drop. Or, if the studio really wanted to put some finesse into their pitch, it could make a quick announcement, cut a new trailer, and slot the film’s debut into either platform’s monthly refresh.

Perhaps the greatest asset that makes The New Mutants’ potential streaming release the best course of action is the fact that no matter when Disney decides to release the film, it doesn’t have to worry about competing with any of the already programmed films set to launch from the their individual label or the Fox label for that matter. Putting this project into a new sort orbit that allows it the latitude to be released at any point without conflicting with any pre-existing gameplay on Disney or Fox’s end allows director Josh Boone the time he seems to need to get the cast together, conduct his reshoots, and put forth the best version of the film that can be made.

Where I Stand

Weighing out the pros and cons for both theatrical and streaming release options for The New Mutants, it feels like the better option for the film’s success is to give it a home on a streaming service, more than likely on the Hulu platform. This is an atypical film that doesn’t conform to the same sort of mold that the X-Men series does, despite coming from the same source universe. Marketing the film for a theatrical release could be a bit of a nightmare at this point, and even with another release date bump, the movie would still be on a tighter overall timeline to be completed for theatrical exhibition.

Meanwhile, with the freedom to launch whenever the studio damn well pleases, as well as the fact that a streaming film can debut faster than one set for theaters, there’s a lot of pressure taken off of The New Mutants’ ability to perform to traditional standards of success. It also releases this project to the public, while ensuring that the money used to make it wasn’t wasted. Even if the reshoots were cancelled altogether, and the current cut of the film was workshopped into something resembling a final cut, it’s a lower stakes game to send that finished product to Hulu or even Disney+ if it decides to get less family-friendly.

But, of course, there’s one more thing to consider when it comes to The New Mutants’ fate: the will of the people. Using the poll below, let us know if you think that these new mutant adventures should still go to the cinema, or if they should jump into the world of streaming content.

The New Mutants is currently on track for release on August 2, 2019, and will remain so according to the powers that be. Should that change for any reason, we'll break the news as we find it. in the meantime, you can take a look at what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has planned for Phases 3 and 4, in our handy guide to upcoming Marvel movies.

There Are Two Things Keanu Reeves Really Wanted In John Wick 3

There Are Two Things Keanu Reeves Really Wanted In John Wick 3

After the first two action smorgasbord John Wick movies, its almost hard to know how John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ups the ante even further and gives Baba Yaga something new to do beyond just adding to his body count. Fortunately, Keanu Reeves had some ideas, and there were two things that the actor really wanted to see in the third film. As he explained:

I wanted John Wick in desert, passing a dune. Saudi Arabia. Lawrence of Arabia, in a suit John Wick. ... And I wanted John Wick on a horse.

John Wick of Arabia? Keanu Reeves seemingly wanted to put his character in situations that we haven’t seen him in before, ones that are foreign to him and the audience. As Keanu Reeves told Collider, he wanted to put the hitman in the desert like Lawrence of Arabia and separately, have him ride a horse. As we’ve seen in the trailers for John Wick 3, Keanu Reeves got his wish on both accounts.

In the trailers, we see John Wick in the desert, traversing a dune in a suit. He looks completely out of his element and out of the context we are used to seeing him in. Keanu Reeves wants John Wick to suffer, and not being appropriately dressed in the desert looks pretty miserable. That said, John Wick does still look cool in his suit and maybe he’ll meet up with the new Men in Black who will also be going to the desert in Men in Black: International.

John Wick on a horse is also quite the sight because we are used to seeing the assassin on foot or in a car, so to see the ultimate badass riding a horse through the city like a knight of old is pretty cool. Keanu Reeves also elaborated a bit on these elements and the broadening of the world of John Wick. He said:

I thought it would be cool if John Wick escaped on a horse, so we got John Wick riding some horses, fighting with some horses. That was fun. I thought would be cool if John Wick was in a suit in a desert, somehow. So, we’re going to go some desert. We got some cool story there that is opening up the world. We’re really fans of the world. I love the character, so I was like, "How do we get John Wick on a dune?" We came up with an idea – we’re opening up the idea of the High Table, the world—the levels, architecture. If 1 and 2 were The Continental, and we kind of started to hear about the High Table, and now we’re going deeper into the High Table.

Normally you might think that bending the story so that you could do something that looks cool would be ill advised, but the John Wick franchise is all about doing badass stuff that looks cool and, in this instance, these elements are opening up the world of the film. John Wick: Chapter 2 moved the franchise international and John Wick 3 looks as though it will have even more globetrotting.

It sounds like part of what takes Baba Yaga to the desert is the deepening mythology of the series that will happen in this film. The existence of The Continental was what first showed us that John Wick wasn’t just a normal revenge tale or hitman movie, it had a mythology to it. In John Wick: Chapter 2 we began to see that there was an organization that seemed to govern these international establishments and set the rules for the assassins, The High Table.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is set to take us further into The High Table and show us more about how this underground world of assassins works, and that should give fans plenty to be excited for -- in addition to seeing John Wick do battle on horseback, trek through the desert, and swordfight with ninjas on motorcycles.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum gallops into theaters on May 17. Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of this year’s biggest movies, and for all your movie news stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

How Much Money Will Other Movies Make During Endgame's Opening Weekend?

How Much Money Will Other Movies Make During Endgame's Opening Weekend?

As you must have heard by now, Avengers: Endgame is in theaters and it's doing pretty well for itself. That's obviously an understatement, as the film shatters box office records and is poised to break a few more before long. However, Endgame isn't the only movie in theaters right now. Those films have absolutely zero hope of getting first place, but how will they perform when one movie is the center of all the attention? Relatively decent, by the looks of it.

Other than Endgame, the other films currently in nationwide theaters include The Curse of La Llorona, Shazam!, Captain Marvel, Breakthrough, Dumbo, Little, Missing Link, Pet Sematary, and Us. A lot of different options for moviegoers to choose from, but on the whole, none of these films are projected to make more than $11 million this weekend.

The Curse of La Llorona is likely to take second place this weekend. The horror film, which follows a mother in the 1970s trying to protect her kids from a ghost, is currently projected to gross $10.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo. The movie opened last week to $26.3 million. Llorona has grossed $65.2 million worldwide. Overall, the Conjuring Universe film has performed well and, seeing as its one of the newer releases, it makes sense that it takes second place.

Following Llorona is likely to be DC's Shazam! The superhero movie is projected to close out the week with $9.1 million. Shazam! opened a few weeks ago to favorable reviews and has enjoyed a healthy box office run so far. The film currently sits at $328.6 million worldwide, which isn't too bad for standalone first time superhero.

Endgame isn't the only Marvel movie in town. Captain Marvel is still kicking. The film has already made over $1 billion worldwide and cemented Carol Danvers into the MCU, but this weekend will still see it gross around $7.3 million more. Funnily enough, you can also see Captain Marvel appear in Endgame for a double dosage of Carol.

Those three are the most significant numbers of the bunch. The rest are currently projected to be as follows: Breakthrough, $6.1 million; Dumbo, $3.8 million; Little, $3.8 million; Missing Link, $2.4 million; Pet Sematary, $2.3 million; and Us, $1.9 million. Not exactly numbers to write home about, but some of these titles have been in theaters for a while now, so it's natural that they are grossing much smaller numbers.

We'll have to wait and see how next week shakes out. The two big releases are Ugly Dolls and the comedy Long Shot, but it doesn't seem likely that either will be able to dethrone Endgame. That honor might go to Detective Pikachu the following week on May 10, but who can say at this point?

You can see any of the above movies in theaters (unless your local theater shut out anything not called Endgame), or you can go see Avengers: Endgame again.

Let's Talk About That Death Star Shot In Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker's Trailer

Let's Talk About That Death Star Shot In Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker's Trailer

Last Friday, the first trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker dropped at Star Wars Celebration, and while hearing Emperor Palpatine’s laugh at the end was arguably the preview’s biggest surprise, there were plenty of other cool and intriguing moments to absorb. This included the scene right before the Palpatine tease, where Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Chewbacca, C-3PO, BB-8 and D-O are on a strange planet where wreckage of a Death Star can be seen in the distance.

Wait, hold up, weren’t we done with this monstrosity? Evidently not. While the Star Wars sequel trilogy featured its own planet-destroying weapon in The Force Awakens, Starkiller Base, we’ve now learned that one of the Death Stars from the Original Trilogy will somehow factor into The Rise of Skywalker’s story. The question is which one.

Let’s backtrack and briefly go over the history of the two Death Stars. Within the Star Wars universe timeline (as opposed to the order in which the movies were released), the first Death Star was teased via schematics Count Dooku was given by Poggle the Lesser on Geonosis at the outbreak of the Clone Wars. Three years later, following the end of that conflict and the Empire’s rise to power, Emperor Palptaine ordered the space station start being constructed.

Nearly two decades later, the Death Star was finally operational, with its kyber crystals-powered superlaser first being unleashed on the surfaces of Jedha and Scarif. However, its full power would be demonstrated when Grand Moff Tarkin ordered Princess Leia Organa’s homeworld, Alderaan, be completely destroyed. The Death Star also nearly destroyed Yavin IV, the location of the main Rebel base at the time, but Luke Skywalker successfully used his Force-guided instincts to launch a coupe torpedoes into a conveniently-located exhaust vent (thank you for that weakness, Galen Erso) at the last minute, and the space station was destroyed.

The Empire began constructing the second Death Star soon after that, and only three years later, much of it was already complete. Not only was it even bigger than its predecessor, but it also removed the flaws that led to the first Death Star’s demise and was able to fire its superlaser every few minutes, rather than needing a whole day to recharge. Palatine let slip that the location of the unfinished Death Star to draw the Rebels into a trap, but thankfully, they still managed to destroy this monstrosity, which wouldn’t have been possible had it been completed.

Which brings us back to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which takes place a little over three decades after the Battle of Endor. While I can’t say with 100% certainty yet, I suspect that those are remnants of the second Death Star that the protagonists are visiting. Although the first Death Star was closing in on Yavin IV when it was destroyed, there was still a lot of distance between it and the planet, so wreckage of that size probably wouldn’t have made it to the surface.

The second Death Star, on the other hand, was right above Endor when it was destroyed, so it’s likely that parts of it managed to land on that world. And just to be clear, I’m speaking Endor the forest moon that we visited in Return of the Jedi, not the actual planet since it’s a gas giant. That said, the environment Rey and the others are on is much different from the one the Ewoks live in.

So for the sake of argument, let’s assume this is indeed the second Death Star the Rise of Skywalker characters are visiting. What does that mean? In typical Disney and Lucasfilm fashion, they’re keeping specific plot details for the upcoming Star Wars movie close to the chest, so who knows if we’ll get any hints in marketing and advertising about how the Death Star wreckage fits into the story. That being said, it’s a good bet that it’s somehow tied to Palpatine, who Ian McDiarmid is confirmed to be reprising in The Rise of Skywalker.

Remember, the second Death Star was also where Emperor Palpatine met his demise, as Darth Vader chose to save his son and toss his master into the space station’s reactor as Force lightning was still blasting from his fingertips. Since the Death Star was destroyed soon after, you’d think that was enough to ensure that the Sith puppet master was gone for good, and Ian McDiarmid has said that pre-The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine is definitely dead.

But the Star Wars universe is a strange place, and there’s already been plenty of speculation that The Rise of Skywalker will see Palpatine either resurrected or interacting with the land of the living as a Force ghost, though we shouldn’t discount that Palpatine will remain dead and appear though flashbacks or holocrons. Either way, it’s difficult to believe that the Death Star wreckage doesn’t tie into Palpatine’s role in this story. After all, he was the mastermind behind both of these terrifying weapons.

If Palpatine is resurrected in The Rise of Skywalker, perhaps the Death Star wreckage is where it will take place, and the heroes, having gotten wind of Darth Sidious’ return, head there for the movie’s climactic confrontation. It’d be so fitting if the Skywalker Saga ended with the Sith Lord finally being defeated for good at the same place he’d died decades earlier… except, you know, on a planet rather than out in space.

However, until otherwise persuaded, I’m more of the opinion that Palpatine is staying dead in The Rise of Skywalker; his involvement will only be through recordings/looks back at when he was still alive, and the final conflict in the movie will still revolve around overthrowing Kylo Ren and/or The First Order. To that end, maybe the Death Star site is the location of an object or key piece of information that managed to survive being blown up, and that’s why Rey and the others are going there. Retrieving whatever this thing is could finally turn the tide of the war in The Resistance’s favor.

If this ends up being the case, then it’s also reasonable to assume that Kylo Ren would have the same objective, meaning the Death Star could still be the site of a huge battle. In any case, given that the new main Star Wars installments have avoided revisiting classic locations, it’s intriguing that we’re heading back to the remnants of a machine that caused so much destruction at the end of the Original Trilogy. On the other hand, since this will be the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, it’s also rather appropriate.

We’ll find out what the deal is with the Death Star and so much more when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is released on December 20. For everything else coming to theaters later this year, look through our 2019 release schedule.