Kylo Ren obtains a Sith wayfinder that leads to the planet Exegol. There, he finds a resurrected Emperor Palpatine, who reveals himself as the power behind Snoke and the First Order. Palpatine unveils the Final Order—a massive armada of Sith Star Destroyers—and orders Kylo to find and kill Rey, who is continuing her Jedi training under Resistance leader Leia Organa. Poe Dameron and Finn deliver intelligence from a spy in the First Order that Palpatine is on Exegol; Rey reads in Luke Skywalker's notes that a Sith wayfinder can lead them there. Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, BB-8, and C-3PO depart in the Millennium Falcon to the desert planet Pasaana, where a clue to a wayfinder is hidden.
Kylo initiates a Force bond with Rey to discover her location. He travels to Pasaana with his warrior subordinates, the Knights of Ren. With Lando Calrissian's help, Rey and her friends find the clue—a dagger inscribed with Sith text, which C-3PO's programming forbids him from interpreting—and the remains of a Sith assassin named Ochi and his ship, which Rey recognizes. Rey senses Kylo nearby and faces him, while the First Order capture the Falcon, Chewbacca, and the dagger. Attempting to save Chewbacca, Rey accidentally destroys a First Order transport with Force lightning. Believing Chewbacca is dead, the group escape on Ochi's ship.
They travel to Kijimi, where the droidsmith Babu Frik extracts the Sith text from C-3PO's memory, revealing the wayfinder's coordinates. Rey senses Chewbacca is alive aboard a First Order Star Destroyer, so the group stage a rescue with the smuggler Zorii's help. Rey recovers the dagger and experiences repressed memories of her parents. She duels Kylo, who reveals that she is Palpatine's paternal granddaughter. Foreseeing her power, Palpatine had ordered Ochi to find the young Rey, but her parents hid her on Jakku, prompting Ochi to kill them with the dagger. To spite Kylo, General Hux saves Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca from execution, revealing himself as the spy. Rey and her friends escape, while Hux is executed by Allegiant General Pryde. The group fly the Falcon to the wayfinder's coordinates on a moon in the Endor system.
There, they find renegade stormtroopers led by Jannah, whom they recruit to the Resistance. Rey retrieves the wayfinder from the wreckage of the second Death Star, but she is met by Kylo, who destroys the wayfinder and duels her. In a dying act, Leia distracts Kylo through the Force, and Rey impales him. Sensing Leia's death and overcome by guilt, Rey heals Kylo and takes his TIE fighter to exile herself on Ahch-To. Meanwhile, Kylo converses with a memory of his father, Han Solo. He discards his lightsaber and reclaims his identity as Ben Solo. To draw Rey out, Palpatine deploys the Sith fleet and sends a Star Destroyer to destroy Kijimi. On Ahch-To, Luke's Force spirit encourages Rey to face Palpatine and gives her Leia's lightsaber. Rey leaves for Exegol in Luke's X-wing fighter, using the wayfinder from Kylo's ship.
Rey transmits her coordinates to R2-D2, allowing the Resistance, now led by Poe and Finn, to follow her to Exegol. There, she confronts Palpatine. Debilitated, he demands that she kill him, in anger, so his spirit can possess her body. The Resistance attack the Sith fleet, while Ben overpowers the Knights of Ren and joins Rey. Palpatine senses their power as "a dyad in the Force" and drains it to rejuvenate his body. Lando arrives with reinforcements from across the galaxy, including Babu and Zorii. Palpatine incapacitates Ben and attacks the Resistance fleet with Force lightning. Weakened, Rey hears the voices of past Jedi, who give her strength. Palpatine attacks her with lightning, but Rey deflects it using Luke and Leia's lightsabers, destroying him before dying herself. Ben uses the Force to revive Rey, sacrificing himself, and they kiss before he dies. The Resistance destroy the remaining Sith forces, while people across the galaxy rise up against the First Order.
The Resistance celebrate their victory. Rey visits Luke's abandoned homestead on Tatooine and buries Luke and Leia's lightsabers. A passerby asks her name; seeing Luke and Leia's Force spirits nearby, she responds, "Rey Skywalker".
