Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Nearly Cost $600 Million, Making It the Third Most Expensive Movie Ever
Money isn’t just talking—it’s setting the agenda. From surprise donations to market-moving deals, the week’s biggest decisions came stamped with a price tag.
Well, the bill finally landed. The real price tag for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is out in the wild, and it is... a lot. Not quite a record-breaker, but close enough to make your eyes water.
The money, in plain numbers
- Total cost: $593 million for the ninth Skywalker Saga film.
- How that stacks up: just under The Force Awakens and Jurassic World Dominion on the all-time spend list.
- What we thought before: earlier estimates hovered around $415 million.
- What that $593M includes: production, reshoots, and assorted overhead.
- Despite all that: it still came in under budget, officially.
- Offsets: Disney pulled in more than $100 million in reimbursements.
For a movie with that many moving parts (and that much studio pressure), the under-budget note is honestly kind of wild.
How we got here: the messy path to Episode 9
Remember, The Rise of Skywalker wasn't the original finish line. Episode 9 started life as Colin Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates. Trevorrow exited, J.J. Abrams returned to wrap the saga, and the whole thing went through a very public creative shuffle. None of that is included in the price of aspirin, but you can feel it in the final number.
Trevorrow, cautiously peeking back in
After stepping away, Trevorrow mostly kept his distance from the franchise. Lately, he's easing back in, and he put it plainly earlier this year:
"My son and I have both decided that we are going to watch all of Andor this summer. But I do have to be honest; it has been a struggle for me to engage with anything Star Wars-related just on an emotional level. So, to the team that made Andor, I guess I can say that you're the ones who've finally brought me back in."
What's next on the big screen
The next theatrical stop is The Mandalorian and Grogu, with Pedro Pascal back under the helmet (and yes, Baby Yoda along for the ride). The first trailer dropped in September and, in a choice I did not have on my bingo card, teased Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt. There's also a new high-risk mission in play for Din Djarin. Should be a tone swing from the series, but the footage hints at a lean, punchy adventure.
If you want the broader roadmap (including the latest on the Rey movie), I keep a running guide to upcoming Star Wars films.