The internet is on fire because about a day ago, the trailer for Star Wars Episode IX finally dropped and with it, the title of the final addition is the sequel trilogy – The Rise of Skywalker.
The Skywalkers have been at the very center of the Star Wars Saga since its conception back in 1977. And, according to an interview with Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Episode IX also marks the end of the Skywalker Saga; the ending of a story that’s been told over four decades and through the eyes of three generations of Skywalkers.
So, without further ado, let’s go ahead and breakdown the trailer to the film that will mark the end of an era.
POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING! FOR A MOVIE THAT HASN’T COME OUT YET.
1. Rey’s New Look
Obsessive Star Wars fans may have noticed how important color is to the franchise, especially when it comes to clothes. Anakin’s dark robes, for one, signified his connection to the Dark Side. Luke’s white robes in A New Hope (1977), which he traded in for a slightly dirtier beige attire in the sequel, signified the purity of the character. At least, until Return of the Jedi (1983), where he used black clothes with white inner linings that signified the character’s inner struggle between light and dark.
Similarly, this motif is present with Rey’s choice of attire. In The Force Awakens (2015), she wore a beige or dirty white outfit, possibly signifying an untapped sense of purity. In The Last Jedi (2017), she wore a dark outfit of grays and blacks, signifying the palpable pull to the Dark Side. But here, she wears an all-white variant of her usual outfit. It’s bright and clean, which may signify that she’s found herself firmly planted in the side of good.
Also in this scene, we see that Rey still has the NN-14 Blaster Pistol that Han gave her in The Force Awakens. Nice little nod to the character of Han Solo.
We also find Rey using the repaired lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker, but she seems to have made it her own. Even Luke made a few nearly insignificant changes to the design when it was in his possession. This lightsaber began the series, and it’s nice to see it end it.
2. A Rocky Desert Planet
In the first scene, we find Rey in a rocky desert planet being chased down by a TIE Silencer. Kylo’s TIE Silencer, pressumably. We may immediately think that this planet is Jakku, Rey’s home planet, and that our heroine’s found her way home. But, other than it being full of sand, this doesn’t look much like her home planet. Jakku didn’t have much for rock formations, just fields of sand and abandoned Imperial ships.
I believe that this is, instead, Tatooine, Luke and Anakin’s home planet, judging from the mountainous and rocky terrain. We may find our heroes searching for a lost artifact left behind by Obi-Wan Kenobi or Luke or maybe even Anakin.
But I am just basing this claim off rock formations. So, I might very well be wrong.
3. A Red Planet
We get a shot of our boy Ben Solo (a.k.a. Kylo Ren) with some Stormtroopers by his side, charging toward some unknowns in a planet with a crimson sky. I’ve tried looking for a planet in Star Wars canon that matches the blood-toned downcast of this one, but to no avail.
But, as The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi took a few plot beats from A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, respectively, so too might The Rise of Skywalker take a few things from Return of the Jedi. And if that is the case, this might be the sequel trilogy’s equivalent to the Forrest Moon for Endor, where they will find refuge with the help of some friendly, yet possibly cannibalistic, natives. Possible? I would say so.
4. Kylo’s Dope New Headware
Like Rey’s new white threads, we first saw Kylo’s repaired helmet in that “leaked” poster I did an article on a few weeks back. It doesn’t look like Kylo will be doing this himself, though. The sleeves on the hands doing the soldering have fur on them and I don’t know about you, but I never thought of Ben Solo as the fur-type. Must be a new character, if not an unimportant one.
In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren shattered is helmet to symbolize his defiance of the Sith Way, hinting to brighter future for the character. But the repair of it might, in turn, signal his deep descent into the Dark Side, especially with those evil looking seams keeping the helmet together.
5. The Trio in a Familiar Desert Planet
We catch a quick glimpse of Poe Dameron and Finn in a desert planet, pressumably Tatooine, which means that they’re mostly likely there with Rey.
Like in that “leaked poster” we see Poe in his Nathan Drake-inspired explorer attire and Finn in a more Resistance-approved outfit, complete with a Star Wars-y vest. Actor John Boyega was stoked to finally get a costume worthy of the galaxy far, far away.
Another interesting piece of detail here is that Finn’s got Rey’s staff, which could mean one of three things: One, she’s letting him borrow it, which I don’t understand why since he has a blaster. Two, Rey is lost and has been separated with her staff, in which case this may be a mission to find Rey. Or three, Rey gave him the staff because she’s finally attuned enough with the lightsaber to not need it.
Which one will it be, if any, we shall wait and see.
6. The New Driod on the Block
Watch out BB-8 because you’ve got some competition for title of “Cutest Droid in the Galaxy”. This new droid, affectionately called D-0 (like Dio), was said to be akin to a Death Star, according to director J.J. Abrams when he wheeled in the little orbicular droid at Star Wars Celebration this year.
My theory is that, with the Skywalker Saga coming to a close, Abrams plans to retire OG driods C-3P0 and R2-D2 from future movies and have the spherical duo take the reigns. After all, the story of the Skywalkers has more or less been told from the eyes of C-3P0 and R2-D2. We open the entire franchise with them, in fact. To have them pass on the torch to new set of droids would be a fitting and definitive end to that story that started 40 years ago, and the beginning of something new told through a new pair of circuited eyes.
Either way, Disney is definitely looking to cash in with this new driod with new merch. And speaking of new merch…
7. Jump Troopers
It seems like every new Star Wars film since The Force Awakens is looking to introduce us to a brand new brand of Stormtrooper. And why wouldn’t they? New Stormtroopers means new collectible figures for all you toy nerds out there.
Just as Rogue One (2016) brought us the Dark Troopers and The Last Jedi brought us the Executioner Trooper, it looks like The Rise of Skywalker is bringing us the Jumptrooper.
Previously appearing only in the games, cartoon shows, and the Legends, the Jumptrooper is a class of Stormtrooper that looks roughly similar to the ordinary ones but with jump packs or jetpacks that they use for temporary flight. We see a few leaping across the desert planet chasing down Poe, Finn, and C-3P0, who are in some kind of cruiser.
Best part about these guys? They come to variants depending on the planet’s terrain, which means we’ll be getting Arctic Jumptroopers, Desert Jumptroopers, Forrest Jumptroopers and more. So, except all those variants to be made available by Hot Toys, Bandai, and Hasbro.
8. Han and Luke’s Medal
By the end of the trailer, we get a quick close-up shot of a familiar looking medal. If you’ve watching the original trilogy recently, you’ll recall that this is the medal that was given to Han Solo and Luke Skywalker by then-Princess Leia for their role in blowing up the Death Star. It’s actually the last shot of A New Hope.
It looks like it’s Leia holding this and we get a shot of her hugging Rey right after this one.
Don’t you just miss Carrie Fisher? Bless her.
Yes, she’s in The Rise of Skywalker for real. They promised that they wouldn’t use CGI magic to bring her back for this last film, but they’ll instead make use of unused footage already taken for The Last Jedi and previously taken footage for this final outing. Apparently, she got a few shots in before her untimely passing. So, think of this as final send off for the most amazing, beautiful, and badass princess in the galaxy.
9. Billy Dee Williams is back as Lando
The galaxy’s other favorite smuggler is back for the final entry of the sequel trilogy! Billy Dee Williams is returning to reprise his role as Lando Calrissian, and in a Solo-esque attire, no less. He’s finally got his ship back and is flying it with Chewie, taking the Millennium Falcon through hyperspace.
My guess is that after Han’s death, Leia asks Lando to offer his aid to the broken Resistance one last time. After their retreat and almost defeat at the hands of the New Order in The Last Jedi, the Resistance is gonna need some help and some new ships. Who better to help them than the cape-wearing card player himself!
I can imagine the scene now. Leia handing the golden dice over to Lando, who knows exactly what it means and is now unable to refuse the request of his old friend’s widow.
10. The Second Death Star and an Unsettling Cackle.
In the last part of the trailer, we get this epic shot of what remains of the Second Death Star situated in the middle of a raving sea. The destruction of which marked the fall of the Galactic Empire. This means that the trio will find themselves traversing the Forrest Moon of Endor, over where the menacing not-moon was obliterated in Return of the Jedi.
Whether the Death Star itself or something on it is their end goal is unclear, but having the remnants of the Death Star in your movie and not letting the characters explore it would be such a waste though. So, yeah, I’m guessing they’re definitely after something on the planet-destroying space station.
With this scene comes voice over from Luke saying, “No one’s ever really gone.” referring to the those who’ve passed on, including the himself. But as he says that, the maniacal laughter of a long-thought dead Sith Lord takes over as the trailer cuts to black. The laughter, of course, belongs to none other than the true villain of the Star Wars Saga, Sheev Palpatine or, as he’s more commonly known as, Darth Sidious.
Actor Ian McDiarmid, who has played the Emperor in the first six films, is confirmed to be returning for The Rise of Skywalker. So, it’s merely a question of how Sheev returns. One theory is that Sidious will return as a specter, similar to the illusion that took the form of Darth Bane in front of Jedi Master Yoda. Another theory is that the Sith Lord planned for his demise and knew through the force that his Galactic Empire would rise again as the New Order. And thus, he set in motion a plan to would lead to his eventual resurrection.
The Emperor has always been the big bag behind the shadows since the beginning – molding Anakin, creating the Galactic Empire, seducing Luke. Doesn’t it just feel right that, despite his death, he would still be the one pulling the strings? Imagine if Snoke was merely a puppet and Rey and Kylo were merely pawns. Imagine if all that’s happening is how it is because it was all according to the will of Darth Sidious.
Those are the top ten details that I found in the new trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There’s obviously more but I thought I keep it relatively short. Tell me, did I miss anything you thought as too important to leave out? If so, comment them down below. And don’t forget to like and share. It really helps. Thanks for reading through.
LAZY BOY POPCORN 