Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams is in a dash to the finish line. The final movie in the hit franchise is due out in a few weeks, yet Abrams recently revealed that the film is still undergoing edits — and his team is racing to get it done on time. So how does Abrams feel about his chances of getting the movie done in time for its Dec. 20th release?

‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ director J.J. Abrams | Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

Abrams is under pressure

The Rise of Skywalker is the end of the line for the popular franchise, which started its journey some four decades ago. With Star Wars fans around the world waiting to see how things wrap up, there is a ton of pressure on Abrams to get it right.

We are less than a month away from the theatrical release of The Rise of Skywalker, and fans are probably worried that Abrams is not finished with the final cut. Despite the time crunch, Abrams actually feels good about where things stand.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Abrams discussed the ongoing production process and revealed that his entire team is racing to get things done. But he still feels “infinitely better” about the project at this stage than he did with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

“We always knew we were going to have three fewer months to postproduction this film….. So much is still being worked on. It’s literally a practical race to get it finished,” Abrams shared.

Abrams noted that, with the final edits still underway, the new Star Wars trailers are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the main storyline. So there are still plenty of things to uncover when the movie premieres next month.

Why is Abrams not worried about the looming deadline?

One reason why Abrams is calm at this stage of the game is that all of the storylines and scenes in The Rise of Skywalker are pretty solid.

Unlike in The Force Awakens, the cast and crew have not been forced to undertake reshoots at the last minute or make big changes to the story. The actors have been playing their characters for the past two Star Wars films now and are much more comfortable with their respective journeys.

What good Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker images will we get tomorrow ? Here are textless versions of the EW covers. #StarWars #TheRiseofSkywalker pic.twitter.com/ETtKEZadX6 — Zcure1 (@Zcure1) November 20, 2019

Abrams also had a lot more on his plate in The Force Awakens and constantly had to think about what was coming next. There may be more pressure in The Rise of Skywalker, but Abrams is happy about where they took the story.

The only reason they fell behind is that The Rise of Skywalker is more ambitious than any of its predecessors. But it sounds like Abrams and his team have everything under control, even if they are crunched for time.

Everything we know about ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’

While Abrams rushes to the finish line, Star Wars fans cannot wait to see how the third film in the new trilogy wraps things up. We have already seen a lot of footage in the first two trailers, but Abrams promised that there are a lot more action scenes than have been revealed.

When it comes to the script, John Boyega (Finn) revealed that it was a bit complicated at first glance. The actor had to read the story at least six times before he understood everything, mostly because there was so much information to wrap up.

First look at Ed Sheeran, Lin-Manuel Miranda in The Rise of Skywalker costumes https://t.co/Va3njfh8pq — Entertainment Weekly (@EW) November 25, 2019

Although details about the plot are slim, we do know that the story picks up over a year after everything that happened in The Last Jedi.

At the end of Star Wars Episode VIII, the Resistance has suffered heavy losses at the hands of the First Order. With the resistance on its last leg, the upcoming film will see everyone struggling to fight for the cause.

‘The Rise of Skywalker’ drops new set photos

With the premiere only a few weeks away, Abrams and his team just released new photos from the set of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

This includes shots of Kylo sporting a new scar, Finn teaming up with newcomer Jannah (Naomi Ackie), and Poe (Oscar Isaac), joining Finn and Chewie for a flight in the Millennium Falcon.

There is no telling how the story will conclude, but we are definitely excited to see what Abrams has in store.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is scheduled to hit theaters on December 20, 2019.