After months of speculation and waiting, the Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer debuted at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando. Here’s everything we learned from the trailer for The Last Jedi!
Rey’s Training
The trailer opens with a shot of some rocky ground, followed by Daisy Ridley’s Rey dropping into shot breathing heavily. The opening mirrors the first trailer for The Force Awakens, which had a similar shot on Jakku that ended with John Boyega’s Finn popping up and breathing heavily. We are calling it now: the trailer for Episode IX will start in a similar way, but with Poe instead!
Given Rey’s attire is similar to what she was wearing when she arrived on Ahch-To at the end of The Force Awakens, this is probably from Rey’s training under Luke’s tutelage. Of course, he might also have just dropped her from a Force choke because, let’s face it, the last person who probably held a lightsaber out towards Luke was Kylo Ren. And we know how he turned out. From the look in Rey’s eyes, it doesn’t appear that she is all too happy with the situation either.
Rey gets a few more moments showing off her Force skills. She shows off some burgeoning Force powers as she appears to levitate some small rocks, and later gets in from lightsaber training under Luke’s watchful eye. Time for a new Jedi training montage?
Skywalker Speaks!
After a stunningly silent portrayal from Mark Hamill in The Force Awakens, Luke Skywalker takes center stage with the first words of the trailer: “Breathe.” Gorgeous shots of Luke’s island retreat follow as he continues speaking, presumably instructing Rey in the ways of the Force. Of course, he has some new ideas about the fate of the Jedi that might not sit well with others. Luke believes that the Jedi should end.
At first, it seems like nothing more than Luke’s own grief and pain causing him to say that. After witnessing the death of his students and the fall of Ben Solo into Kylo Ren, he obviously blames himself and maybe (by extension) the Jedi. Could we be looking at a Luke who has come to see his position as the last of the Jedi as a curse more than a gift? Through his journey to becoming a Jedi, Luke has lost his adoptive parents, his mentor figures, his students, and now his best friend. Could Luke now see the Jedi as the cause of the galaxy’s problems, even more than the dark side? And how did the idealistic young dreamer from A New Hope fall so far?
One of the shots shows a building burning in the background while Luke sinks to his knees in the foreground next to Artoo. Remember the similar moment in The Force Awakens when we see Luke’s hand touching Artoo’s dome amongst the flames? Is this the moment where he finds his students have been killed, leading Luke to abandon the galaxy and his friends?
Our Princess and General
There’s no outright shot of Leia in The Last Jedi trailer, and maybe that’s a good thing. After the emotional tribute video that Lucasfilm put together for the beloved and deeply missed Carrie Fisher, nothing else would be able to follow it. But that doesn’t mean Leia is totally missing from the trailer. A shot of a woman with a rather elaborate hairstyle is shown from behind in front of star charts on what appears to be a starship’s bridge or command center. It is a good bet that the shot is showing Leia leading the Resistance from the front, just as she always has.
Finn and Poe
Rey and Luke are the focal points of this trailer, but the two new heroes of the Resistance still get a look-in. Poor Finn gets only one shot in the trailer, showing him in what appears to be a medical chamber. He is asleep and probably recovering from the injuries sustained in the fight against Kylo Ren. There is some Aurebesh mirrored on the glass that might provide a clue to Finn’s condition if anyone would care to take a stab at translating!
As for everyone’s favorite Resistance pilot; Poe shows up running down the hallway of a spaceship with BB-8. The hallway is rocked by explosions, and then we see Poe’s destination – his X-wing. He is forced to take cover when the starfighter is caught in an explosion.
Kylo Ren and the First Order
There are some brief shots of Kylo Ren in the trailer. The first is actually his shattered helmet lying on the floor. The second shows him unmasked with lightsaber in hand and a furious look on his face. The First Order are still very much a threat in The Last Jedi. We see TIE fighters and new Imperial walkers in various shots, as well as Captain Phasma leading a force of stormtroopers through what appears to be burning wreckage.
Star WARS!
The series is called Star Wars for a reason, and this trailer does not skimp on teasing the battles in the film. The first shows several new vehicles racing across a cracked flat towards a number of incoming walkers. Rian Johnson has confirmed that this takes place on the planet Crait. The planet has already been referenced in Star Wars Canon before, in the Rogue One Visual Guide of all places. Hidden away under pilot Heff Tobber‘s entry is the following: “Lieutenant Heff Tobber had been stationed as a transport pilot at the rebel’s Crait outpost prior to its abandonment.”
We also see the Millennium Falcon dueling TIE fighters once more, indicating that Rey does leave Ahch-To at some point in the film. A large space battle is also shown, with a new capital ship design for the Resistance supported by X-wings and A-wings.
The Last Jedi
We learn in The Force Awakens that one of the reasons that Luke left was to go in search of the first Jedi temple. Did he find it on Ahch-To? Well, the trailer shows that he might have found something there. What appears to be a bookshelf with several old tomes is one of the trailer’s most intriguing shots, followed by a close-up of the dusty cover of one with the distinctive symbol of the Jedi Order on the front. Is it be the fabled Journal of the Whills? Could these ancient books hold the secrets of the Jedi that Luke never had the chance to learn? And could the knowledge he has gained be the reason that he believes that the Jedi should end?
