The Rise of Skywalker Blu-ray and DVD is coming home this spring. Lucasfilm released a trailer for the home release earlier today to get Star Wars fans excited about all of the extras. However, while there are a lot of special features, there are no deleted scenes and there is no director's commentary from J.J. Abrams. The director did commentary for 2015's The Force Awakens, which gave a ton of new insight into the making of the movie, so why did he decide to sit this one out?
The Rise of Skywalker was originally supposed to have Colin Trevorrow write and direct. Disney and the director ran into some problems and J.J. Abrams was brought back on to finish the Skywalker Saga. Many saw the movie as a way for Disney to undo just about everything Rian Johnson accomplished with The Last Jedi, which may or may not be the reason why Abrams isn't interested in talking about the movie in a commentary track. It would have been interesting to get some explanations from Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio. Maybe they're saving that for a future release? We'll just have to wait and see.
As for deleted scenes, that's another mystery surrounding The Rise of Skywalker home release. We know there were reshoots and there was footage that went unused, so why aren't we able to see any of it? It seems really odd that the Blu-ray edition of the movie isn't coming with deleted or extended scenes. Hopefully we'll get an explanation soon.
The Rise of Skywalker arrives digitally in HD and 4K Ultra HD and via Movies Anywhere on March 17th, two weeks before it lands physically in 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on March 31st. It has not yet been announced when the final installment in the Skywalker Saga will be heading to Disney+, though a summer release would make sense. As for the bonus features, there are a lot of them, which you can check out below.
Bonus features included in The Rise of Skywalker home release starts with The Skywalker Legacy, which is a feature-length documentary that charts the making of The Rise of Skywalker. The documentary is followed by the Pasaana Pursuit: Creating the Speeder Chase. This portion dives into the making of the movie's epic land speeder chase and shows how this spectacular sequence was brought to the screen. Up next is Aliens in the Desert, which shows what it took to create the Pasaana desert scenes, from the sheer scale and complexity of the shoot to its colorful details. Also included is D-O: Key to the Past. This particular portion details the ship that connects Rey to the mystery of her missing parents and get to know the galaxy's newest, "irresistible droid."
The Rise of Skywalker contains more bonus features, including Warwick & Son, which focuses on Warwick Davis, who played Wicket in Return of the Jedi, as he dons the Ewok costume once more; this time joined by his son Harrison. Cast of Creatures centers on the team behind the movie's memorable creatures and reveals the puppetry, makeup, prosthetics and digital magic that bring them to life! A Digital Exclusive is a tribute to iconic Star Wars composer John Williams. The Maestro's Finale finds Williams as he reflects on his body of work for the Star Wars saga and shares insights on scoring The Rise of Skywalker.
If that wasn't enough, there will be different physical releases featured at different retailers. The Target edition comes with the Limited Edition Filmmaker Gallery Book, while the Best Buy edition gets the SteelBook treatment. Walmart also gets a limited edition version of the movie. The Rise of Skywalker contained a lot of moments for Star Wars fans, which they will be able to relive at their leisure when the home release hits the shelves next month. A Disney+ premiere date will be announced at a later date. Until then, you can watch the home release trailer below, thanks to the Star Wars YouTube channel.