I am somewhat tardy in my analysis of the first teaser trailer for “Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker,” mainly due to the fact that I was at Disney World when the trailer dropped.
The trailer starts off with the Lucasfilm Ltd logo, with Rey breathing heavily as she stands in the middle of a desert. Is she back on Jakku? Is it Tatooine? Is it another desert world?
We don’t know at this point, but the sequence where Rey’s lightsaber ignites with a “snap-hiss” — followed by her back flipping toward what looks to be a new take on a TIE Interceptor — is pretty epic.
We hear Luke’s voice saying, “we’ve passed on all we know... a thousand generations live in you now.”
“Star Wars” teasers these days tend to be pretty vague in nature.
More than any moment in the trailer, what has people talking is the movie’s title — “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Internet theories tend to fall into four categories:
Theory #1: Rey is actually a member of the Skywalker family.
Theory #2: Luke and/or Anakin Skywalker return in the movie.
Theory #3: The title refers to a redemption arc in the movie for Kylo Ren.
Theory #4: The Jedi are no more, so a new Force-wielding order called “Skywalkers” take shape under Rey’s leadership.
The fourth theory is the one that fans seem to like. It apparently stems from early drafts of the story for George Lucas’s first “Star Wars” movie where the term “Skywalker” referred to Force wielders (not a family name).
In my mind, that is the most appealing theory at this juncture.
In the bonus materials for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” director J.J. Abrams suggests the concept of finding out “Where is Luke Skywalker?” spurred him to work on the project.
Then when Rey finds him on Ahch-To in Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Luke seems completely ambivalent about the Jedi Order. In a later sequence in the movie, Yoda seems ready to “burn the house down” as it regards the Jedi.
Is it possible that Rey — taking up the mantel of Force wielders — refers to this new order as “Skywalkers”...?
Time will tell.
The concept is intriguing. It would allow the “Skywalker Saga” to be tied up in a neat bow, and create a new mythology for future movies and TV series (on the upcoming Disney+ streaming service).
But let’s get back to the trailer...
We get a cool shot of Kylo Ren clotheslining “someone” in a forest with a red glow.
We get a new droid to go along with BB-8. The droid is called D-O...
To me, the three black lines on his head feel similar to the lines on Mickey Mouse’s gloves (that might be because I just spent a week at Walt Disney World):
Maybe "D-O" moniker stands for "Disney-Owned" droid... ;-)
Lando shows up in the in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. I’d been waiting with baited breath to see Billy Dee Williams in the new trilogy.
By the way, Lando is wearing a gold shirt. He also wore a gold shirt in “Solo: A Star Wars Story”:
We see a shot of Leia holding one of the medals she presented to Han Solo and Luke Skywalker after the Battle of Yavin in Episode IV.
Rey hugs Leia via what I assume to be wizardry by Industrial Light & Magic (I still think Rey could be her daughter or niece).
We see our heroes looking at the carcass of a Death Star — either from “A New Hope” or “Return of the Jedi.”
You hear Luke saying “...no one’s ever really gone” (which sounds like the tagline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) followed by the maniacal cackle of the Emperor.
The title rolls, and the trailer ends.
The trailer wasn’t particularly groundbreaking or awe-inspiring, but it looked intriguing enough.
I should also note there were various “non-descript” shots of Poe and Finn on the desert planet.
Regardless of what anyone is saying at this point, I think it’s possible J.J. Abrams will pull a “switcheroo” and reveal Rey is a Skywalker. I know it seems far too obvious, but so was the ending for Abrams’s sci-fi series “Lost.”
You can’t discount the notion of them going with the cliché ending. I hope they don’t, but they could decide play it safe.
(That said, I really hope they go with a more novel approach in Episode IX).
I’m sure we’ll learn more as the Dec. 20 release date approaches.
Stay tuned...
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