Brendam: The Rise of Bernard is a 2028 fantasy-comedy adventure film and a sequel to Brendam: There and Back Again. The film is written by Brian Lynch, with Yarrow Cheney returning to direct the movie. It is the concluding installment of the six-part "Brendam saga".
The film features an ensemble voice cast including Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Justin Long, Helen Mirren, Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irons, Will Ferrell, David Cross, Michael Peña, Bruce Greenwood, Keegan-Michael Key, Paul Rudd, Gary Oldman, Jane Fonda, Benicio del Toro, Thomas Middleditch, Tracy Morgan, Adam DeVine, Robert De Niro, Steve Martin, and Dustin Hoffman.
Plot[]
A year after the Battle of Ahch-To, Ben "Eddie Ren" Livingston obtains a Sith Wayfinder device and travels to the prison Exegol. He discovers a now-older High Chancellor Rex Dangervest, who reveals he created Snoke as a puppet to control the First Order. Dangervest unveils a secret armada of Star Destroyers with which to create a new Zundapp-Mamageddon. He tasks Ben with finding the queen of Brendam, Rey, who is continuing her Jedi training under General Olivia.
Meanwhile, Finn, McPhee, and Chewie retrieve information on Eddie's discovery originating from a mole in the First Order. They are ambushed and chased by TIE fighters, but escape and return to the Resistance base. Rey learns that her ex-fiancé, Hamish Ascot (now wed), has taken over his deceased father's job and plans to have Rey sign over her father's ship in exchange for her family home as revenge on her for refusing to marry him. After learning that Dangervest has returned, Rey discovers notes on a Sith artifact in the Jedi texts Bernard left behind. Rey, McPhee, Finn, Chewbacca, BB-8, Toto, Mort Snape, Frankie, Luca, Alfred, Kylee, Siddeley, Rosita, Meena and Ash leave for Passanna to seek a contact Bernard knew, while Joe, Helga, Iago, Zig Zag, Steven, Porg, Thing 1 and Thing 2 stay behind with Olivia. Meanwhile, Ascot gets hired by Dangervest to capture Rey and make her into the Dark Side,
On Passanna, they encounter Bernard's first mentor, Benjamin Krupp, who explains that he and Bernard had traced the artifact to its last known location in the desert. Ben learns where Rey is through their Force bond and travels to Passanna with the Knights of Ren. Rey and the others discover the remains of a Sith assassin, his ship, and a dagger inscribed with Sith text, which Toto’s programming forbids him from interpreting. Sensing that Ben is nearby, Rey goes to confront him. The First Order capture the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca and the dagger; Rey, attempting to save Chewbacca, accidentally destroys a First Order transport with Force lightning. The group escapes on the assassin's ship, presuming that Chewbacca was killed in the explosion.
McPhee suggests that they head to Kijimi, to have the Sith text extracted from Toto’s memory. It provides coordinates to a Wayfinder device on Endor leading to Dangervest's location. Rey senses Chewbacca is alive and the group mount a rescue mission. While Ben searches for Rey, the group infiltrate his Star Destroyer with the help of Zorii Bliss, an old friend of McPhee's. Ben initiates a Force bond and tells Rey that she is Palpatine’s granddaughter, who had ordered her death as a child, fearing her power. Rey recovers the dagger and has visions of the assassin using it to kill her parents. Grand Moff Tarkin discovers the group and reveals himself to be the mole. He allows them to escape on the Falcon, but is executed by Dangervest's deputy, Allegiant General Enric Pryde, for treason.
The group follow the coordinates to Endor. They meet Rey's younger brother, Chuck and former lemons Ben Trout and Martin Pickles, who lead them to the leftovers of the second Death Star. Rey locates the Wayfinder; upon touching it, she envisions herself as a Sith. Eddie, having tracked the group to Endor, destroys the Wayfinder and engages Rey in a duel. A dying Olivia calls to Eddie through the Force, but Rey impales him. Sensing Olivia's death, Rey heals Eddie and takes his ship. She exiles herself back on Ahch-To, shaken by her Sith lineage. The spirit of Bernard appears and encourages Rey to face Dangervest as he once faced Dangervest's lieutenant, Professor Zundapp. He provides her with Olivia's lightsaber and raises his old X-wing from the depths of the sea near the island. Rey leaves for Exegol, using Eddie’s Wayfinder from his ship. Meanwhile, Ben has a vision of his nephew, Han Robinson, and they converse; Ben redeems himself and throws away his lightsaber.
Rey arrives on Brendam and transmits her location to the Resistance. She confronts Palpatine, who is surrounded by Sith loyalists. He demands Rey to kill him as a sacrifice, becoming a Sith herself. The Resistance, along with Chuck, Trout, Pickles, Krupp, and the Jedi Past, engages in battle with Dangervest's fleet. Ben arrives to help Rey defeat Dangervest and Ascot, overpowering the Knights of Ren. Dangervest and Ascot use the Force together to absorb the life essence of Rey and Ben, rejuvenating himself. He incapacitates Eddie and attacks the Resistance fleet with his Force lightning. A weakened Rey hears the voices of Bernard and Olivia. They encourage Rey to rise against Dangervest, who attacks her with his Force lightning. Rey deflects the lightning with Bernard’s lightsabers, killing Dangervest, but dies from the energy used. Ben resurrects her using the Force and the two kiss before he dies and becomes one with the Force. The Resistance, backed by reinforcements, destroy Dangervest’s fleet by killing Ascot and Pryde.
As the Resistance and their allies celebrate, Rey visits a newly rebuilt Systar City. She buries the Livingston lightsabers having built her own, which has a yellow blade. A local asks her name; as the spirits of Bernard and Olivia look on, she replies with Rey Skywalker.
Cast[]
- Helen Mirren as Olivia
- Robert De Niro as Bernard
- Liam Neeson as Ben "Eddie Ren" Livingston
- Cate Blanchett as Queen Rey
- Christian Bale as King Finn Weasel
- Justin Long as McPhee
- Michael Douglas as Toto
- Jeremy Irons as Joe
- Will Ferrell as BB-8
- David Cross as Alfred
- Michael Peña as Poe Dameron
- Bruce Greenwood as Grand Moff Tarkin
- Keegan-Michael Key as Chuck (Key also voices the adult Joe from the first four films)
- Paul Rudd as Allegiant General Pryde
- Gary Oldman as Mort Snape
- Jane Fonda as Kylee
- Benicio del Toro as the Sheriff of Brendam
- Thomas Middleditch as Chewbacca Octopus
- Tracy Morgan as Steven
- Adam DeVine as Lord Hamish Ascot
- Steve Martin as Rex Dangervest
- Dustin Hoffman as Baron Benjaminis "Ben" Krupp
Daveed Diggs, Andy Dick, Christina Applegate, Anna Faris, Amy Poehler, Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Morgan Freeman, Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford, Anthony Hopkins, and Dan Castellaneta reprise their roles as Frankie, Luca, Rosita, Meena, Ash, Goobot, Ooblar, General Carlos E. Carlos, Helga, Zig Zag, Iago, and Thing 1 and Thing 2. Alan Arkin voices an older Sam Deavor (who is the Sheriff's deputy) and Anne Hathaway voices McPhee's old friend, Zorri Bliss. Actors making vocal cameos include Patrick Stewart as Supreme Leader Snoke, and the voices of the Jedi Past with Idris Elba as Lovelace, Craig T. Nelson as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi, Alan Tudyk as Smek and Francis Robespierre, Bob Odenkirk as Prince John, Jim Cummings as Gavin, Wiggins and Ratcliffe, T.J. Miller as The Emperor, Ryan Reynolds as Cecil, Chris Cooper as Fearless Leader, Wallace Shawn as Boris Badenov, and Joan Cusack as Natasha Fatale.
Tropes[]
- Arc Words:
- "Inner voice."
- "Enough is never enough."
- "Really really!"
- "How it's supposed to be."
- "Aha!"
- Bait-and-Switch: In the teaser, Bernard's reassuring "No one's ever really gone" is followed by an Evil Laugh from the previously Put on a Bus Rex Dangervest.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Joe becomes this to Olivia while Rey and her friends are in Passanna to find Bernard's contact.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Rex Dangervest and Sam Deavor return to the film series after being absent from There and Back Again.
- Also returning to the mainline films is Benjamin Krupp, who last appeared in Brendam 2. In the teaser trailer he is seen piloting the Millennium Falcon once again alongside Chewbacca.
- Butt-Monkey: Joe. This is most obvious near the climax of the movie where he gets a pigeon on his head, much to his horror. But when Olivia thinks Joe got a new hat, he likes it and thinks it's not bad at all.
- Continuity Nod: At the climax of the movie, McPhee says "Aha!" when he smashed some of Dangervest's henchmen.
- Demoted to Extra: Six of the main/supporting characters from the previous movie have a handful of scenes in this movie:
- Joe becomes a minor character in this movie, spending half of it staying with Olivia. He doesn't have any action scenes until the film's final battle.
- Also, Grand Moff Tarkin, who, after becoming one of the main villains in the previous movie, has a few brief appearances in the film's first act, right before he gets killed by Allegiant General Pryde.
- BB-8, after becoming one of the main heroes in the previous movie, still tags along with the heroes on their quest, but doesn't contribute anything important and is mostly relegated to the background.
- Steven barely gets a handful of lines and his friendship arc with Finn from the previous movie is abandoned.
- Olivia even becomes this, serving as a supporting character. Her advice for Rey to find Bernard's contact kicks off the movie. Also, her death kicks off the film's climax.
- Bernard, after his death in the previous movie, appears in a single scene in the movie, when he encourages Rey to fight Dangervest and save Brendam right before the final battle.
- Eerily Out-of-Place Object: Rey, Finn, McPhee and company go to an ocean containing the destroyed remnants of one of the moon-sized Death Stars.
- Evil Laugh: Rex continues to have a sinister, malicious laugh to match his own cruel, mocking demeanor.
- Grand Finale: Invoked in the teaser, which includes the title card "The saga comes to an end".
- Meaningful Echo: Bernard's line "A thousand generations live in you now" serves as an echo of Obi-Wan's own line to him back in Brendam 2 "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice".
- Reforged Blade: The blue lightsaber that was used by Lovelace, Bernard and then Rey before being wrecked in There and Back Again reappears in Rise repaired and being used by Rey once more.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Joe does not travel with Rey and her friends because she tells him to stay behind with Olivia looking after her by being in charge while Rey is gone.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: Rey now has a completely white outfit to illustrate her taking the role of a champion of the light.
- Something We Forgot: Near the climax of the film, Rex sends out a secret weapon, which is a pigeon, to capture the Resistance, but it get on Joe's head. For the rest of the film, he wears it without even knowing it is still on his head.
- The X of Y: The Rise of Bernard.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Keegan-Michael Key is the only member of the original cast to voice an original character in the sequel duology. He once voices the adult Joe. In this film, he voices Chuck.