WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, in theaters now.
While The Rise of Skywalker does bring a strong conclusion to the Skywalker Saga and many of the overarching themes of the franchise as a whole, it doesn't close the book on the series forever. There are still plenty of directions the remaining characters within the Star Wars universe can go in, which could help flesh out the future of the galaxy and find new, exciting corners of the universe.
Here are all the ways The Rise of Skywalker sets up potential future stories.
JEDI MASTER REY
The Rise of Skywalker ends with Rey concluding her journey to become a Jedi. With Luke and Leia both gone, Rey is seemingly among the last of the trained Jedi in the galaxy. She's fully embraced the light side of the Force, however, refusing to become a Sith and at one point even becoming connected with generations of previous Jedi knights long since past. While the film ends on a happy but ambiguous note for Rey (taking on the name of Skywalker after burying the lightsabers of her two masters on Tatooine), it wouldn't be surprising for Rey to find her new place in the galaxy as a mentor to a potential future generation of Jedi.
She knows enough of the spiritual side of the Force from her time with Luke, and she's zeroed in on her combat skills thanks to her training with Leia, so Rey would make a fine leader. She's also studied the ancient Jedi texts, making her likely to be one of the only people in the galaxy currently alive who can say that. While she may take some of Luke's lessons about the failures of the Jedi order to heart, it's likely that Rey will still impart the lessons she learned onto a new generation, continuing the cycle that led to her finding out more about her connection to the Force in the first place.
JEDI FINN AND SMUGGLER POE
Finn and Poe both receive some focus throughout the film, fleshing out both characters in ways that could easily be further explored down the line. Finn begins to examine his apparent Force Sensitive aspects, suggesting he could have it in him to become one of Rey's students. He'd be a pretty loyal ally to her while developing a new group of Force users. He's also got the philosophy down, revealing that he has grown in understanding what the Force is.
He even may have a pool of potential peers, as he learns about new character, Jannah's platoon dropping their weapons when they were Stormtroopers for the same reason Finn did -- something just felt wrong, which Finn has come to believe was the Force pushing him in the right direction. This could lead Finn to try to get them on the training wagon as well, which could be a fun way to bring a slew of fresh faces into that corner of the franchise.
Poe Dameron actually gets more of his backstory hinted at than he's had in two previous films combined, revealing that he has a shadier past than one would expect. While the group is on the world of Kijimi, it turns out that Poe has a bit of a history there. He was actually part of a gang of spice runners. Spice is the Star Wars' equivalent to a highly valuable illegal drug, meaning Poe was essentially a drug runner.
This criminal past also tied him to Zorii Bliss, a bounty hunter that Poe apparently had a romantic relationship with before he left the criminal world to join the Resistance. With the war over but Kijimi destroyed by the Final Order, it's possible that Poe and Zorii team up again as they find their new place in the galaxy. It could be an easy way to transition the pair into a Star Wars crime story, one that could probably have the freedom to be the heist film that Solo wanted to be; carrying far less baggage into the premise thanks to the open-ended finale of The Rise of Skywalker.
A MISSION FOR LANDO AND JANNAH
Jannah is one of the former Stormtroopers that Finn meets over the course of the film. Like him, she was an orphan stolen away by the First Order to be made into a Stormtrooper. But while Finn was alone in realizing the atrocities they were being asked to commit, Jannah's entire regiment of soldiers had the same realization. They end up becoming allies of the Resistance, participating in the final battle against the fleet of Star Destroyers. When the battle is won, Jannah ends up speaking with Lando Calrissian and revealing that she's not sure where she's from. Lando offers to help her explore the galaxy and find out more about her past -- and given her overjoyed reaction -- it's likely that she took him up on that offer.
Their search across the galaxy would be a fun chance to get more of Old Man Lando, showing the ropes to a rookie in the way Han had hoped to do with Rey in The Force Awakens. Lando's history of connections around the galaxy easily sets up plenty of new characters and settings. It would probably even be the easiest way to tie Chewbacca and the Millineum Falcon back to Lando, getting the ship finally back to the man who lost it to Han in the first place. The series could take an emotional dive in that direction, even tying the revelations from Solo about Lando's connections with the programming that runs the Falcon into one last story for the character. Plus, it leaves the door open for Jannah to take a larger role going forward, with a clear future to take after Lando in any way she sees fit.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant.