So we finally have it. The first teaser trailer for Star Wars episode 9 finally revealed to be titled The Rise of Skywalker. For a short teaser, it shows us quite a bit and gives us, even more, to speculate about. I’m going to break down what I think are some of the best or most important shots in the trailer and then we’ll theorize a little about what some of it could mean. Yes…we’re going to be talking about THAT laugh. Oh yes.
The trailer starts off with a shot of Rey standing on some desert planet. Now this being Star Wars that doesn’t exactly narrow it down but this is most likely Jakku or Tatooine. Both planets make sense to be included but if I had to guess my money would be on Jakku. Its where Rey’s story finished and seen as I think this is in the films 3rd act it may be where her story ends. I’ll admit the planet does look similar to Jedha from Rogue One but I doubt thats where she is.
Lukes narration is particularly interesting here. Not only does it cement my idea that we’ll see him as force ghost but he says to Rey “we’ve passed on all we know.” Who exactly is we? Possibly force ghost Luke and Yoda? Maybe even Obi-Wan and Anikan at a push. This film is set to tie in all 3 trilogies together so maybe we could see Hayden Christensen reprise his role as the chosen one again but as of right now thats pure speculation.
We get a shot of Rey holding the now repaired Skywalker lightsaber as the cameras shifts focus to an oncoming ship flying right towards her. Luke continues his narration saying “A thousand generations live in you now.” Rey as of right now really seems like the very last Jedi or least the last person alive you know the teachings of the Jedi. He also tells her “this is your fight” so I suppose we can’t depend on force ghost Yoda turning up and hitting Kyle Ren with a lightning bolt eh?
We see a quick glimpse into who is piloting the ship which looks to be Kylo Ren due to the gloves and outfit. The ship is revealed to be an updated TIE Silencer which we first saw in Ren fly The Last Jedi so its a pretty safe bet it’s him.
Next up is a beautiful shot of Rey running through the desert as Ren pursues her even getting close to running her down before she flips straight over his ship.
Aside from being a very impressive achievement from Rey it also gives us an up-close look at Ren’s Tie Sliencer which looks absolutely stunning. I don’t remember it having that much red up front so it looks to have had a few upgrades or maybe just a small paint job but either way, it looks fantastic. Again, from the way this trailers structured I think this may be from the third act so we could be seeing the start of Kylo and Rey’s final confrontation.
We then move to what I’m pretty sure is a completely new planet as a ship flies towards a mountain village. At first, I thought this could be an A-Wing but the shot is honestly to dark to properly make out. If you have any idea what this ship is let us know down below or over on Twitter.
These next couple of shots are really interesting. We see Kylo brutally slice and ground slam someone into the ground as he and some First Order forces in the background advance through this forest. I really dig the way he holds his lightsaber backward similar to Starkiller or Ahsoka. As for what planet this is I honestly couldn’t tell you but I don’t think we’ve seen it before. Some have suggested the man he kills is actually a Knight of Ren due to him looking very similar to old concept art for one of the Knights. I don’t know if I buy that but I suppose anything is possible. Either way, this looks like a really cool and really beautifully shot sequence.
People have been quick to jump up in joy and proclaim “He repaired the helmet!!” but who exactly is he? Because that right there is not Kylo Ren. I don’t remember Kylo’s hands being black or having that much hair on them. Who this is I don’t know, the hands don’t really match up with any of the new aliens we’ve seen so I suppose we’ll have to wait and see. I love that JJ brought the helmet back because personally it never should have been destroyed in The Last Jedi but on the flip side it getting destroyed has now made it look 10X cooler with those blood-red engravings it now has. Can’t wait to see Ren finally dawn it again.
A couple of quick shots now, we see Poe and Finn on that same desert planet Rey was one. Finn can be seen holding Reys staff. I really loved their chemistry in The Force Awakens so I’m excited to see them back together again properly.
BB-8 is back and he has a new friend which we now know is called D-O. I get it’s supposed to be cute and all but for me, this design doesn’t do a whole lot but I get it’s for the kids and its to sell toys so I don’t have a huge problem with it.
Time to get hit right in the feels! Lando is back and he’s in the Falcon. Which by the way looks to have adopted the old circular radar dish again. If anyone was going to pilot the falcon it had to be Lando. I cannot wait to see him back on screen one last time but it kills me that because of this movies time jump from The Last Jedi we may not see him mourn or react to Han’s death. I’m still holding out hope but either way, it’s great to see him back in the role.
Back onto our desert world now and we see what looks like a chase sequence. It looks like our heroes are on some form of Skiff or Speeder and there being pursued by new First Order jump troopers which we just barely catch a glimpse of. I’m all for stormtroopers with jet packs so I can’t wait to get a proper look at them.
We get a better look at Poe, Finn and, 3-PO trying to evade their attackers as they get shot at. Some recent leaks kind of give an insight to this scene but I won’t discuss them here to avoid spoilers.
The next couple of shots fly by super quick and can be easily missed but they show what looks like an original Rebel Alliance A-Wing crash into an Imperial Star Destroy, not a First Order design. This could be a flashback to the battle of Jakku. If you don’t know exactly what the battle of Jakku is, basically after the second Death Star was destroyed what was left of the Empire pulled all their resources to Jakku and the rebels confronted them there resulting in I believe one of if not the biggest battle in new canon Star Wars. Finally seeing this would be incredible and I really hope we get to. It would fill Jakku with so much more personality and character rather than feeling like a Tatooine rip off.
Another short nostalgia kick next when we see Rey holding the media Luke and Han were given at the end of A New Hope. Who knows maybe Chewie will finally get his reward.
The power of modern technology! We get a beautiful shot of Rey and Leia embracing which was achieved using cut footage from Force Awakens and Last Jedi. Still interested to see what they do with her character but this easily the most emotional moment from the whole teaser. Made only sweeter with Leia’s theme playing throughout the teaser.
We get a really sweet group shot of Rey, Poe, Finn, Chewie, 3-PO, BB-8 and D-O on a what I think is maybe a new planet looking off into the distance at something. Luke narration picks up again telling Rey that “They’ll always be with you”.
We pan to a shot of Rey looking at what is clearly debris from the Death Star. This doesn’t look like Endor but it could be Yavin IV making this the first Death Star rather than the Death Star 2. There have been concept arts floating round of parts of the Death Star under water and judging by its size and shape I’m guessing thats what we’re looking at. Luke concludes the trailer by saying “no ones ever really gone.” a phrase which is proven all too true mere moments later.
Fade to black and we hear the most iconic laughter in all of cinema as the title roles. The Emperor is back! How and why? well, we’ll be going into greater detail on that soon but some initial thoughts could be dark side spirits or magic, or maybe even full on shattered empire and its a clone of Sidious although I doubt it. I believe its official Star Wars canon that Sith cannot become force ghosts after death but old concept art did show off a red colored spirt and Dark Side users can connect there spirts to places or object so maybe Sidious’ spirit is connected to the remnants of the Death Star? Also, let’s not forget Sidious old master Plagueis was obsessed with cheating death so right now anything is possible.
That about wraps it up for the first teaser for The Rise of Skywalker. Man, that was a lot to take in. Did you enjoy the teaser? What are some of your thoughts or theories surrounding the return of The Emperor? Let us know down below and over on Twitter or just tell us what you’d like to see from the movie on a whole. We’d love to hear your opinions on Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.
