Ewan McGregor and Denis Lawson attending the premiere of The Machine at VUE Piccadilly, London. (Photo by Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images)

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In the original Star Wars trilogy, Rebel pilot and friend of Luke Skywalker Wedge Antilles helped take down the Empire. Will he do it again in Episode IX?

One of the baddest pilots in the Rebellion is back, according to reports.

As Star Wars wraps up the Skywalker saga, it’s clear that the Resistance is going to need more than just a brief appearance by Luke Skywalker to inspire hope and ultimately achieve victory. They are going to need reinforcements, even if it means calling some of the best of the best out of retirement.

We already know Lando Calrissian is coming out of retirement (assuming he was ever retired in the first place) to pilot the Millennium Falcon alongside Chewbacca, but what about Luke Skywalker’s old pal Wedge Antilles?

Wedge was a pilot in the Rebellion who helped take down not one but two Death Stars. According to Rebel Force Radio, there are talks that he’s going to be joining the new Resistance in their efforts to take down the First Order.

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT THING. We just received a solid “YES” from a representative for the actor, Denis Lawson will be in #StarWars #TheRiseOfSkywalker reprising his role as Wedge Antilles. pic.twitter.com/ESoB0JhA1L — Rebel Force Radio (@RFRRebelForce) October 5, 2019

It also appears as though Wedge was featured on a cover for the book Star Wars: Resistance Reborn.

An updated version of the STAR WARS: RESISTANCE REBORN book cover appears to feature an aged Wedge Antilles from the original trilogy! pic.twitter.com/jliQQ7fUPe — Star Wars Direct (@StarWars_Direct) October 6, 2019

As pointed out in Esquire, Luke Skywalker tells Kylo Ren at the end of The Last Jedi that the “Rebellion” is reborn. Note that he said “Rebellion” and not “Resistance.” Luke is certainly aware of the Resistance at that point, his sister Leia is leading it.

So why does he say “Rebellion”?

It seems clear now that we’re going to get a true rebirth of the Rebellion from the original trilogy, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see even more characters than just Wedge Antilles and Lando Calrissian join the fray.

We saw at the end of The Last Jedi that the Resistance forces were depleted. The First Order literally picked them off one by one as they executed an escape. All they had left at the end of the film was a spark.

Could it be that Luke, prior to joining the crew in the fight as a Force projection, appeared to Wedge Antilles to recruit him? Who else could Luke have recruited? Who might Leia be recruiting?

We do know Poe Dameron is calling up old friends with Keri Russell’s character, Zorri Bliss, joining the fray.

This film is primed to give fans an Avengers: Endgame-like battle with characters old and new.