'Star Wars: Episode 9' Spoilers: Who Will Die? We Ranked All 22 Characters

It’s fairly obvious that at least one major character will die in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The new Vanity Fair piece makes that pretty clear, but it’s also common sense; there are just way too many blasters being fired and lightsabers being wielded for someone not to bite it. But, who is the most likely to die in the final installment of the Skywalker saga? Who is the least?

Here are 22 characters all set to appear in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, ranked from least likely to most likely to perish or become one with the Force. This ranking is not based on science or real betting odds, meaning if you are creating some kind of gambling around this, I want you to remember that all I did here was use my opinions, informed by a deep understanding of the Force. (But, hey Force visions can be wrong too, right?)

Onto the list! Remember, we’re starting with people least likely to die, and ending with characters most likely to die.

Speculative spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ahead.

22. Rose

Are you kidding? You really think Lucasfilm would kill-off Rose after the insane and frighteningly deranged backlash from trolls aimed Kelly Marie-Tran? No way. Rose will live. Even if everyone died in the movie, Rose would still be alive.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a 100 percent positive feeling about this.

21. Maz Kanata

No. Way. Maz was set-up as the new Yoda in The Force Awakens, but so far, the Star Wars universe has not delivered on that promise. Plus, with so many other Star Wars movies on the horizon, it seems very likely that Maz could show up anywhere.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a good feeling about this.

20. Snap Wexley

Greg Grunberg plays affable dudes and, in real life, is a very affable dude. I like Greg Grunberg and was very confused as to why his happy pilot Snap Wexley wasn’t in the The Last Jedi. Snap will be back. And he’ll live if only because J.J. Abrams seems to really like Greg.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a good feeling about this.

19. Zorri Bliss

Keri Russell is playing a bounty hunter-ish character named Zorri Bliss. Will Keri Russell take of her helmet? Is her presence in the movie because J.J. Abrams created the hit ‘90s sitcom Felicity? Will the entire Skywalker saga just be a very complicated retroactive prequel to Felicity? Search your feelings, you know the answers. Also, Zorri will live, because she’s almost certainly not “Zorri Bliss.” Right? She’s someone else in disguise. Dare I say it? Rey’s mom, a secret criminal?

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a good feeling about this.

18. D-0 (aka, that new droid)

Remember when everyone got super pumped for the new Star Wars droid? Yeah, BB-8 was amazing in 2015! The new droid is called D-O, which honestly sounds like Homer Simpson saying “D’oh!” in my head, and let’s face it, this little thing is going to survive. Abrams isn’t going to kill his newest droid.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a good feeling about this.

17. Connix

Resistance officer Connix is played by Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher’s daughter. She had a small role in The Force Awakens, a slightly larger role in The Last Jedi (she opens the freaking movie) meaning she’ll probably have a decent amount of screentime in The Rise of Skywalker. Connix will live, too, if only because it would be in absurdly poor taste to give Carrie Fisher’s child an onscreen death in Fisher’s final posthumous movie.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a good feeling about this.

16. Rey

Rey will not die. I think you can figure that one out yourself. I didn’t rank her least likely to die, if only because you could weirdly imagine a scenario where Rey is slightly more likely to die than all the folks I listed above. Still. Rey is not going to die.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a VERY good feeling about this.

15. Jannah

Played by Naomi Ackie, Jannah is another new character and everyone seems pretty sure she’s Lando’s daughter. In terms of her surviving the movie, being Lando’s daughter won’t save her, but being a young, vibrant new character will. This is the end of the saga, old things will die, but not new characters. Jannah is safe.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a VERY good feeling about this.

14. BB-8

Right on the fence here. BB-8 probably won’t die because he is the R2-D2 of the new films, even though I’m kind of still not sure how I feel about him driving those AT-ST walkers in The Last Jedi. (Sorry, I like TLJ, but that scene…) Anyway, I weirdly just don’t know about this one. BB-8 might live, but he also might end up as space junk just to let us know the stakes are for real. (Even though they’re not! Look at all the people the plot can’t touch already!)

Likelihood of survival: Always in motion is the future and BB-8’s soccer ball.

13. Finn

I can’t be the only person who thought Finn was going to die in The Last Jedi, right? It really seemed like Finn was going to sacrifice himself for the Resistance, but was, of course, saved by love. (Which is pretty great.) Still, while I don’t actually think Finn should die in Rise of Skywalker or like, at all, you can totally see Lucasfilm kicking around the idea.

We think of Rey as the primary character of the new films, but when The Force Awakens came out, it was certainly a movie about Rey AND Finn. The Last Jedi literally relegated Finn to the b-plot (maybe the c-plot?) of the entire movie, putting him in a weird supporting role which wasn’t really where he was at in The Force Awakens. If Finn makes a big comeback in The Rise of Skywalker it might be a tragic one. It could happen!

Likelihood of survival: Always in motion is the future.

12. Poe Dameron

Poe is pretty much the reverse of Finn: he was a side character that seemed important in The Force Awakens and then became a huge deal in The Last Jedi. Poe also seemingly changed more than most Star Wars characters do during the course of The Last Jedi. All of this makes him more well-rounded than he was in The Force Awakens, which totally means he could die. We tend to care more about well-rounded characters! Watch out Poe!

Likelihood of survival: Always in motion is the future.

11. C-3PO

Look, if there still weren’t ten other characters to rank, I’d put C-3PO as number one most likely to die. At this point, C-3PO as played by Anthony Daniels is the only character and actor who has been in all nine Skywalker saga Star Wars movies. (And he’s even in Rogue One!) The point is, C-3PO is the embodiment of the saga. Lev Grossman’s Vanity Fair story about Rise of Skywalker also suggests that C-3PO will do something he’s never done before in this movie. Will that something be … die for real?

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

10. R2-D2

Ditto everything I said about C-3PO, minus the stuff about the actor, if only because Kenny Baker sadly passed away in 2016. (R2-D2 is currently played by Jimmy Vee.) But, just like C-3PO, R2-D2 personifies the Star Wars saga relative to the Skywalker family. Meaning, he could very possibly, die.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

9. Leia

Like Rey and Connix, it feels very unlikely that Lucasfilm would have Leia die, if only because it would seem like it would be in very poor taste. The again, Leia isn’t the least likely character to die in The Rise of Skywalker, if only because there are so many other characters. Leia will probably live, but then again, J.J. Abrams could devise a tasteful way for her to join the Force and be with her brother and … Han Solo, too.

Likelihood of survival: A mystery is clouding the Force.

8. Chewbacca

Infamously, in 1999, the expanded universe Star Wars novels killed-off Chewbacca in the novel Vector Prime written by fantasy novelist R.A. Salvatore. This obviously no longer counts as canon, but when you consider how long Chewbacca has been around (he’s somewhere in the 800 years old range) it’s not insane to think he’d die in Rise of Skywalker. Even from old age.

Likelihood of survival: A mystery is clouding the Force.

7. Lando

After mysteriously being absent for the last two Star Wars movies, Lando is back for The Rise of Skywalker. But will he be back for good? The idea that Lando could die in a Star Wars movie has been on the table since Return of the Jedi. Back then, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan suggested that Lando could be eaten by the Sarlacc pit, just so people knew it was dangerous. There also some rumblings that the notion of Lando dying while destroying the Death Star could happen, too. The point is, he has led a dangerous life, meaning, this could be the end of the road for him.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a kinda bad feeling about this.

6. Allegiant General Pryde

This is the new First Order bad guy played by Richard E. Grant. From being a bad boyfriend on the third season of Girls (with Adam Driver!) to playing the villainous Great Intelligence on Doctor Who, Grant is good at being bad. So, this guy is toast. He’s so dead.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a very bad feeling about this. (Which is also good.)

5. Palpatine

So, Palpatine is back in some way, shape or form for The Rise of Skywalker, which, presumably means he’ll have to be killed again if everything is going to work out for the good guys. This seems like a no-brainer, but Palps has to die.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a very bad feeling about this

4. General Hux

The fact this characters is still alive at this point is shocking. Clearly, Kylo Ren’s greatest failure is not managing the way his grandfather did: by using the Force to get rid of middle-managers like Hux. Then again, Hux is kind of like the Tarkin of the new trilogy, which means he’s really on borrowed time.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a very bad feeling about this.

3. All the Knights of Ren

Unless the Knights of Ren somehow all turn good, all of them are going to die in this movie. Kylo Ren will probably kill them in one scene, too, just like he and Rey did with those red Praetorian guards in The Last Jedi.

Likelihood of survival: I’ve got a very bad feeling about this.

2. Kylo Ren

There’s no way Kylo Ren makes it out of this movie alive, even if he does become a good again. Just think about it. He’s a goner. I would have put him number one, but I had to make a cheap joke, which is impending in a second.

Likelihood of survival: He’s dead, like his father before him!

1. A bunch of Stormtroopers

Ah-ha! You forgot about these guys, didn’t you! It wouldn’t be a Star Wars movie if a bunch of Stormtrooper didn’t get randomly killed. So, let’s start pouring one out in advance for these guys.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is out everywhere on December 20, 2019.