While at the Disney D23 Expo Congress, Lucasfilm shared a special new trailer for the final film of the newest Star Wars trilogy.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was set to release this Christmas, and to get fans in for a big premiere, Lucasfilm has unveiled D23 Un Certain Regard. It features a huge amount of old footage from all the latest Star Wars movies, but about halfway through it, we see new footage that shows our heroes in the desert, in a spaceship, and even engaging in an epic battle.
But the real jaw drops the moment we see the dark hooded Rey holding a double red lightsaber. Will she turn to the dark side? May be. Or is it some kind of vision, out of context. To help fuel the inevitable conspiracy theories, pocket a tasty treat to come up with a breakdown of this plot. Let us know in the comments if you spot anything else worth mentioning.
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Every key in the skywalker trailer lift
Let's just skip 1:12 in the D23 special watched trailer - when we see new footage from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Here's what we saw:
Where is R2-D2?
We see all the main characters - even C-3PO. But where is R2-D2 in this frame? And his absence is somehow important to the story of the rise of Skywalker? Maybe. We know that R2-D2 has been a key figure in all the latest Star Wars movies and even saved the lives of the characters. For example, R2-D2 once saved Padme when she almost burned molten metal in a droid foundry on Geonosis.
And, in force awakens, R2-D2 awakens correctly when the time comes, having the balance on the card you need to find Luke.
Why visit Pasaana?
Still in the frame, we can see the main characters walking towards the members of the Aki-Aki tribe. So, it must be in the Pasaana desert of the planet. “Is it Rei and the group looking for information about unknown regions?” Have a Pasaana mind on the outer edge of the known galaxy.
There are many reasons why they would like to know more about unknown regions. Now that we're assuming that Palpatine isn't dead, rumors indicate that he's somehow filled a part in the unknown regions with his own Sith soldiers. Another way the unknown regions could be due to the rise of Skywalker on the planet Ilum. This is the source of cyber crystals, light material.
Remember that Luke's sword was left in pieces at the end of The Last Jedi, so Rey may be trying to find a way to restore it.
Leia is back!
Next, we see a short shot of Lei. These are edited footage, mind you. We were told that Leia is at the heart of the film and still has one of the main roles. As such, it will be interesting to see what kind of unspecified footage you've managed to save to keep this character alive for yet another installment.
Old rebel means
Another shot shows us what appears to be the remainder of the resistance fleet. He's small, right? In particular, we can see B-wings, -wings, m-wings, which means that the resistance must be a repurposing of the old rebel means.
Imperial Star Destroyers
The old rebel means appears to be fighting the hidden Imperial Sith fleet here - an operation of a cinder-kind. But we're looking at Imperial Star Destroyers and not First Order Star Destroyers? Is this the fleet we've been hearing about, lurking in unknown regions for 40+ years, waiting for Palpatine's return? It sure looks like it. It's massive and, well, dark.
Hello Finn
The trailer then shows Finn and Jain. Were they staring at the massive Sith fleet of resistance ships?
Red-eyed S-3RO
What's going on here? Why are his eyes red? It reminds us of the triple-zero.
Death Star Beam
So now we're going to shoot what looks like a planetary destruction beam. Is there a new death star? Maybe. It could also be from the Sith Imperial Navy. Can you imagine if every ship had a gun as powerful as the Death Star?
Rey's training
The trailer then shows us Rey getting ready with a red ribbon tied around her hair. She throws her lightsaber at the training console - the same hatch in A New Hope - and catches it, how bad$$.
Palpatine voiceover
O! Voice-over from Palpatine talking about the journey, along with a shot of Kylo-Kylo Ren walking in a dusty, dark place with a red lightsaber lit up. Where are the survivors only going? Who is he fighting? And who is Palpatine talking about here?
Force flash fight
Now we know! Kylo-Kylo fights Rey on some of the wreckage of the Death Star. Is it the power of flash combat where they flash across the combat universe? We also get the feeling that Palpatine might be talking to Rey instead of living. Interesting.
Sasuke Rei
BAM! Sasuke Rei with two bladed red lightsaber. What's happening? Is this reality, or a dream? Is it a clone? Palpatine's voice-over ends with "now your journey... comes to an end." SO MANY QUESTIONS.
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