Editing Admiral Ackbar (section)

===Sequel trilogy===
[[Image:Admiral Ackbar in Star Wars The Force Awakens.jpg|thumb|250 px|right|Ackbar as he appeared in ''[[Star Wars: The Force Awakens]]'' (2015), which was released 32 years after ''Return of the Jedi''.]]

Admiral Ackbar appeared in the first two films of the [[Star Wars sequel trilogy|''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy]], which were distributed by [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] after [[The Walt Disney Company]] acquired [[Lucasfilm]] in 2012. His character is retired from military service before the events of the films, but Leia Organa convinces him to come out of retirement to fight against the [[First Order (Star Wars)|First Order]], a military dictatorship that was formed from the remnants of the original Empire.<ref name="Scott0106" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Hidalgo|2016|p=9}}</ref><ref name="Hidalgo59">{{Harvnb|Hidalgo|2015|p=59}}</ref> He regains his prior rank of Admiral and serves as one of the leaders of the [[Resistance (Star Wars)|Resistance]], a paramilitary organization led by Leia, who is now a General.<ref name="Fiduccia0417">{{cite web |last=Fiduccia |first=Christopher |title=Admiral Ackbar Voice Actor Unhappy With The Last Jedi & Holdo |website=[[Screen Rant]] |date=April 17, 2019 |url=https://screenrant.com/admiral-ackbar-last-jedi-death-backlash-holdo/ |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531193049/https://screenrant.com/admiral-ackbar-last-jedi-death-backlash-holdo/ |archive-date=May 31, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ackbar is in command of the Resistance fleet, with the Mon Calamari cruiser ''Raddus'' as his flagship.<ref name="Scott0106" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Hidalgo|2017|p=13}}</ref> Ackbar is widely respected by the Resistance personnel as one of the few living commanders to have faced the Empire during the height of its power.<ref name="Hidalgo59" /> In the first film, ''[[Star Wars: The Force Awakens]]'' (2015), Ackbar appears at the headquarters of the Resistance, and helps develop the plan to destroy the First Order's new superweapon, [[Starkiller Base]].<ref name="McGranaghan0929" /> He later monitors the successful attack against the weapon alongside Leia from the Resistance base on the planet [[List of Star Wars planets and moons#D'Qar|D'Qar]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Bray|Horton|Barr|2017|p=67}}</ref>

Members of the cast and crew were particularly excited to film a scene with Ackbar. Ben Rosenblatt, a co-producer with ''The Force Awakens'', said having Ackbar on the set was "the moment that meant the most to me, personally",<ref name="Rosenblatt">{{cite AV media |people=Rosenblatt, Ben |year=2016 |title=Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey |medium=Documentary |language=en |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5532610/ |time=51:57–52:12 |publisher=[[Lucasfilm]] |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424075638/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5532610/ |archive-date=April 24, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> adding: "Security has been so tight, we're not allowed to take pictures or anything, but I had to take a picture of Ackbar on set and show it to my brothers because we loved Ackbar."<ref name="Rosenblatt" /> Actor [[John Boyega]], who portrayed [[Finn (Star Wars)|Finn]], said of performing with Ackbar: "as a ''Star Wars'' fan, it doesn't get any cooler than that."<ref>{{cite AV media |people=[[John Boyega|Boyega, John]] |year=2016 |title=Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey |medium=Documentary |language=en |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5532610/ |time=52:16–52:24 |publisher=[[Lucasfilm]] |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424075638/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5532610/ |archive-date=April 24, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Gary Whitta]], a writer who has worked on several ''Star Wars'' projects, said: "When I went to the set of ''The Force Awakens'', the first thing I had to do was put on the Admiral Ackbar mask, and I did. It was a big deal, and I've always loved that character."<ref name="Brooks0509">{{cite web |last=Brooks |first=Dan |title=Gary Whitta on Exploring the Force and Giving Ackbar His Moment in Marvel's ''Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' Comic |publisher=[[Star Wars|StarWars.com (Official)]] |date=May 9, 2018 |url=https://www.starwars.com/news/gary-whitta-on-exploring-the-force-and-giving-ackbar-his-moment-in-marvel-star-wars-the-last-jedi-comic |access-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606023841/https://www.starwars.com/news/gary-whitta-on-exploring-the-force-and-giving-ackbar-his-moment-in-marvel-star-wars-the-last-jedi-comic |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the trilogy's second film, ''[[Star Wars: The Last Jedi]]'' (2017), Ackbar leads the Resistance as they evacuate their base on D'Qar, and orders the ships to jump to hyperspace to escape the First Order. The First Order fleet pursues the Resistance, sending [[Kylo Ren]] and other TIE fighters after the MC85 Star Cruiser ''Raddus'', on which Ackbar and other senior Resistance leaders are aboard. First Order TIEs open fire on the main bridge of the ''Raddus'', causing a massive explosion and blowing all occupants into the vacuum of space. Ackbar is killed, along with everyone else on the bridge except for Leia, who is saved by her use of [[the Force]].<ref name="Scott0106" /><ref name="Chichizola0531">{{cite web |last=Chichizola |first=Corey |title=Admiral Ackbar Actor Calls His Death In Star Wars: The Last Jedi A Huge Disappointment |publisher=Cinema Blend |date=May 31, 2019 |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2474193/admiral-ackbar-actor-calls-his-death-in-star-wars-the-last-jedi-a-huge-disappointment |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531162057/https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2474193/admiral-ackbar-actor-calls-his-death-in-star-wars-the-last-jedi-a-huge-disappointment |archive-date=May 31, 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref> Although Ackbar had no lines of dialogue during his death scene in the film, the comic book adaptation of ''The Last Jedi'' revealed that his last words were: "Torpedoes inbound. It's been an honor serving with you all."<ref name="Dolloff0529">{{cite web |last=Dolloff |first=Matt |title=The Last Jedi Comic Reveals Admiral Ackbar's Final Words |website=[[Screen Rant]] |date=May 29, 2018 |url=https://screenrant.com/star-wars-last-jedi-admiral-ackbar-final-words/ |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531193058/https://screenrant.com/star-wars-last-jedi-admiral-ackbar-final-words/ |archive-date=May 31, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Wakeman0601">{{cite news |last=Wakeman |first=Gregory |title=Admiral Ackbar actor calls his 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' death a 'joke' |work=[[Yahoo! Finance]] |date=June 1, 2019 |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/admiral-ackbar-actor-has-strong-words-about-his-star-wars-the-last-jedi-death-192151673.html |access-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614021731/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/admiral-ackbar-actor-has-strong-words-about-his-star-wars-the-last-jedi-death-192151673.html |archive-date=June 14, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Whitta, who wrote the comic book adaptation, said he was saddened Ackbar died so quickly in the film, so he wanted to give him "a little bit of a moment before he dies".<ref name="Brooks0509" />

Ackbar's total screen time across all three of his ''Star Wars'' film appearances totaled only three minutes and 30 seconds.<ref>{{cite web |last=McEwan |first=Cameron K. |title=13 Star Wars characters with surprisingly little screen time |website=[[Digital Spy]] |date=November 27, 2018 |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a871475/star-wars-characters-screen-time-surprising-short-lived/ |access-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112223355/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a871475/star-wars-characters-screen-time-surprising-short-lived/ |archive-date=January 12, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was originally planned to appear in ''[[Rogue One]]'' (2016), a standalone [[List of Star Wars films and television series#Standalone films|anthology film]] separate from the sequel trilogy. During the initial screenwriting process, he appeared leading a space fleet during the climactic space battle at the end of the film. However, he was removed in later script revisions and his part replaced by [[List of Star Wars characters#Raddus|Admiral Raddus]],<ref name="Breznican0324">{{cite magazine |last=Breznican |first=Anthony |title=''Rogue One'' revisions: The TIE fighter scene, a deleted planet, and killed cameos |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=March 24, 2017 |url=https://ew.com/movies/2017/03/24/rogue-one-revisions-tie-fighter-scene-deleted-planet-killed-cameos/?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter |access-date=June 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602230311/https://ew.com/movies/2017/03/24/rogue-one-revisions-tie-fighter-scene-deleted-planet-killed-cameos/?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter |archive-date=June 2, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Orange0315">{{cite news |last=Orange |first=B. Alan |title=Why Admiral Ackbar Wasn't in Rogue One |work=[[MovieWeb]] |date=March 15, 2017 |url=https://movieweb.com/rogue-one-why-no-admiral-ackbar/ |access-date=June 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602230259/https://movieweb.com/rogue-one-why-no-admiral-ackbar/ |archive-date=June 2, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> who, in an homage to Ackbar, was also a member of the Mon Calamari species.<ref name="Martinelli1226" /> Whitta, who co-wrote the story of the film, said he wanted Ackbar included, but since he was already featured in ''The Force Awakens'', the team behind ''Rogue One'' decided the character should not appear in two films released so closely together.<ref name="Breznican0324" /><ref name="Orange0315" />