Month: October 2019

Lost and The Lord of the Rings actor Dominic Monaghan has a role in the upcoming sci-fi blockbuster Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. We still don’t know who specifically he plays, but the new Episode IX trailer has provided a first look at his character.

Monaghan appears to be playing a resistance fighter. He can be seen in the trailer standing behind Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico. This appears to be a tense moment when people are scrambling to prepare for battle.

Monaghan played Charlie Pace in Lost, which was co-created by Rise of Skywalker director JJ Abrams. This is the first time Monaghan and Abrams have worked together since.

Monaghan is also known for his portrayal of Merry in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings series. He’s done work for video games as well, as he played William Joyce in the video game/TV show hybrid Quantum Break from Control and Alan Wake developer Remedy.

Monaghan is not the only newcomer joining the cast in Rise of Skywalker. The Americans actress Keri Russell plays the mysterious Zorii Bliss, who is “very cool and a little bit shady.”

In addition to the new trailer, Disney released a new poster for the movie, which you can check out below.

Advance tickets for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker are on sale now, and unsurprisingly, the tickets are selling incredibly well. CNBC and Brandon Katz report that Rise of Skywalker sold more tickets through Atom Tickets in its first hour than Avengers: Endgame did earlier this year. In fact, The Rise of Skywalker shifted 45 percent more tickets, Katz said.

This sets a new first-hour record for Atom. The other highest-sellers in the first hour on Atom are Avengers: Infinity War, The Last Jedi, and Rogue One.

This data may not be perfect, as people are pointing out that the demand was so high for Endgame that it crashed ticketing sites. Whatever the case, it’s clear there is also a huge amount of interest in The Rise of Skywalker.

You can buy advance tickets for The Rise of Skywalker at movie theatres and ticket-sellers around the world. In addition to standard tickets, a number of theatres are offering special events like a marathon of all nine movies and more.

Go to the Star Wars website to see a full rundown of what the various movie theatre chains and ticket-sellers are offering for The Rise of Skywalker.

A new trailer for The Rise of Skywalker premiered this evening during Monday Night Football. The film arrives in theatres on December 20.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

In a galaxy very, very close to home, people who were watching American football were treated to the battle between the light and the dark side in the latest trailer for Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker.

During halftime of Monday Night Football, the new video debuted, which you can see below. The trailer sees the return of many familiar faces–some of which haven’t been included in the latest Star Wars trilogy until this film, like Lando Calrissian and Sheev Palpatine. There’s also a sense of finality throughout the trailer, with both Luke and Leia saying goodbye to Rey, C-3PO taking one last look at his friends, and the words “the saga will end” popping up at 1:44. If the new trailer has you excited, you can buy tickets to Rise of Skywalker right now.

It’s been a relatively quiet couple of months for the latest Star Wars outing. The last time fans saw any new footage was back in August at D23. We also learned a bit more about Kerri Russell’s part in the film as Zorri Bliss.

That wasn’t the only Episode 9 reveal during the evening. We also got a look at a new poster for the movie, which you can check out below.

One thing Star Wars fans are extremely excited about is that they’ll finally learn more about the Knights of Ren, a group we saw very briefly back in Force Awakens. Episode 9 stars Daisy Ridley as Rey, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Mark Hamill as Luke, and Billy Dee Williams as Lando.

Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20.

For more stories set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, check out our final preview impressions of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The upcoming Star Wars game takes place between Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One, putting you in the boots of Cal Kestis, whose mission to bring back the Jedi Order is impeded by the efforts of the growing Galactic Empire and their dangerous Jedi-killing Imperial Inquisitors, like the Second Sister.

Despite no official announcements, the Lord of the Rings TV show’s cast continues to grow. Deadline reports that Amazon has hired English actor Joseph Mawle to play a lead role in the big-budget fantasy show coming to Amazon Prime.

Mawle is known for a number of roles, including Benjen Stark on HBO’s Game of Thrones. He also played Jesus Christ is the TV show The Passion.

The actor is reportedly going to play a villain named Oren. The show has already reportedly cast Black Mirror actor Will Poulter as Beldor and Australian actress Markella Kavanagh as Tyra. Maxim Baldry, who was most recently seen in HBO’s Years and Years, has also come aboard the Lord of the Rings TV show to play a “significant” but unspecified role.

According to Deadline, Amazon searched far and wide to cast the Lord of the Rings show. The show reportedly employed casting directors in the US, UK, and Australia for the show.

The Lord of the Rings TV show takes place during the Second Age, but there is no word on any of the characters who might appear in it or by what means the show will handle its time period.

In other news, a new Lord of the Rings video game focused on Gollum is in development at Daedalic Entertainment, while a AAA online Lord of the Rings game is also on the way.

For more on Lord of the Rings, check the True Fiction video feature above in which we examine how World War I inspired The Lord of the Rings.