In the words of Luke Skywalker, “Breathe. Just breathe.” The Last Jedi trailer is finally here, and while we’re still processing our thoughts, theories, and feelings (so, so many feelings), let’s talk about some of our favorite moments.
Rey’s Training
So one thing we knew for certain when Rey approached Luke in the final moments of The Force Awakens was that Luke would eventually start training Rey, and it looks like he’s doing just that. One scene shows Rey swinging Anakin’s lightsaber near the edge of a cliff as Luke looks on. While the trailer makes it look like Luke is training Rey, given what he says in the trailer about the Jedi, he’s probably reluctant to do so.
During The Last Jedi panel at Star Wars Celebration, Daisy Ridley said the following about her character’s relationship with Luke: “Rey has a certain expectation as to what she might be getting from Luke and what that might entail. And as a lot of people know, it’s difficult when you meet your heroes because it might not be what you expect.” It sounds like Luke won’t be channeling Obi-Wan when he’s mentoring Rey. That said, Yoda wasn’t exactly what Luke was expecting when he sought out the wise Jedi Master.
The Light Side, the Dark Side, and the Balance
Seeing General Leia was probably the most emotional moment of the trailer for me, but there’s a lot to pick apart here. It seems like The Last Jedi will be dealing with the nature of the Force and exploring this theme that’s been such a huge part of the animated series The Clone Wars and Rebels. The Jedi. The Sith. It’s not as black and white as we might believe, as Luke tells Rey, “It’s so much bigger.” Maybe The Last Jedi will be exploring the rise of the Gray Jedi – the teaser poster definitely appears to imply that Rey will be walking the line between the Light and the Dark Side.
While Rey is talking about the Force, we also see a closeup of what appears to be a book that has the Jedi Order symbol on it. Perhaps these books are ancient Jedi doctrines that Luke found at the first Jedi Temple. The last few seasons of Star Wars Rebels featured an arc that heavily dealt with an ancient Sith holocron, and it seems like old Force texts will continue to play a significant role in the Star Wars Universe with The Last Jedi.
Finn Is Alive!
While we don’t see a lot of Finn in the trailer as he’s still healing from Kylo’s attack, John Boyega said of his role in The Last Jedi that “[Finn’s] not playing this time.” He also said that our favorite space bromance (between Finn and Poe) is back and stronger than ever.
Poe and BB-8 in Action
We also get to see Poe and BB-8 in action as they’re running towards Poe’s X-Wing just in time to see it explode. We’re guessing this attack was orchestrated by the First Order in retaliation for the destruction of Starkiller Base. So glad J.J. Abrams didn’t kill Poe off in The Force Awakens like he’d originally intended to.
It’s Time for the Jedi to End
This is something that was explored in the prequels and more so in The Clone Wars (actually, The Clone Wars is practically a doctoral thesis on why the Jedi are problematic). As a group, the Jedi don’t work, at least not in any of their past forms. The history of the Jedi is fraught with infighting and an epic civil war that’s been described as one of the darkest eras in galactic history. So maybe Luke is right – maybe it’s time for the Jedi to end and for some other, more balanced force to take its place. Bendu anyone?
New Character Rose
This wasn’t in the trailer, but during the Celebration panel they announced the addition of a new character, Rose, played by Kelly Marie Tran. She’s part of the Resistance and works in maintenance. The director of the film, Rian Johnson said that Rose “is not looking to be a hero, and she gets pulled in a very big way into an adventure in this movie with Finn.” I for one always welcome the addition of strong female characters, and I can’t wait to see Rose in action!
What did you think of the The Last Jedi teaser trailer? Let us know at @PureFandom on Twitter!
