EPISODE IX: THIS IS NOT A DRILL
POP CULTURE SPIRIT WOW
So this happened this morning.
It’s only a first teaser. But a couple things to note:
Rey has got mad skills.
DANG.
2. The title does in fact follow the pattern of the third films in the prior trilogies, Four Words, with an “of’” and a “the” being two of them, and the First Noun beginning with R. And if you look at the three Rs in chronological sequence that’s Revenge, Return and Rise. Very hopeful.
3. There are moments in the trailer seem to involve elements from the past that are still hanging around. Luke’s lightsaber is back, so is Vader’s helmet – both of which were supposedly destroyed in Episode VIII. Also, the trailer ends with the Emperor laughing – and after it was over HE WALKED ON STAGE.
Last Jedi fans may interpret the return of these kinds of things concerning, as it could suggest JJ is throwing out major pieces of Episode VIII in favor of a return to nostalgia and old ideas. The title could fit with that interpretation as well – Who exactly could be this Skywalker that is going to Rise, anyway? Did you not see Rey just leap over a freaking TIE?
But I think they’re actually playing on our fears to get us excited. While Rey is clearly everything, the most interesting and arduous emotional journey in this trilogy belongs to Kylo’s, and I’ve got to hope that this is his Come from the Abyss to Redeem Himself Story. (Also, that’s a much more Star Wars-y storyline. It’s like Darth Vader’s journey, but with a character whose choices and pain we’ve gotten to track across the entire series.)
(Really really hoping this also means we get Ghost Han.)
4. Having said that, The Rise of Skywalker is a super weird title for a film that is supposedly going to end the Skywalker Saga. And it’s so narrow. One of the greatest elements of The Last Jedi was the way it blew open the story of the Force beyond the Skywalkers. What exactly does it mean to focus on them so tightly now?
5. The main scene we’re given, which seems to involve a battle between Rey and Kylo, is in a desert. Star Wars always loves a good Tatooine echo point. And interestingly, later in the trailer Poe looks to be flying a ship similar to the one that Luke and the Gang used to rescue Han on Tatooine. And he's flying though what look to be Tatooine-is moisture farm poles.
6. The planet in nighttime that the Falcon flies through also looks an awful lot like the planet where Galen Erso helped design the Death Star in Rogue One.
7. TWO WORDS:
8. WE ARE ALL REY AT THIS MOMENT.
9. At the end is that thing they’re looking at part of the original Death Star? In which case maybe we’re on one of the moons of Yavin?
How great would it be if this film somehow involves Tatooine and Yavin?
10. Ghost Luke’s words to Rey: “We’ve passed on all we know. A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight. We will always be with you. No one’s ever really gone.”
Excuse me, I need a moment.
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