There’s still eight months before the next episode of the Star Wars saga hits theatres, but this weekend is Star Wars Celebration Orlando so fans could be sure they were going to get a sneak peek of the upcoming chapter. And they weren’t disappointed. Lucasfilm and director Rian Johnson released the teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which opens December 15, 2017
Not a lot is known about the plot for the next film, so this two-minute video expectedly provides more questions than answers. Opening on the rocky island on which Rey (Daisy Ridley) found Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) at the end of the last episode, it appears he’s begun her Jedi training. In the light, we see General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) at a Rebel command console and in the dark is what appears to be Kylo Ren’s (Adam Driver) mangled mask, though he is later seen leading a group of Stormtroopers through fiery rubble. On a new mineral-based planet revealed to be called Crait, there seems to be a central battle set between giant At-At Walkers approaching in the distance and an army of small ships that score the salty earth to leave a menacing trail of red ash. And then there’s the ominous closing words from a voice that seems to belong to Skywalker: “I only know one truth — it’s time for the Jedi to end.”
Without context, it’s impossible to know what that snippet of dialogue means; but it’s certainly one of the most intriguing aspects of the teaser. The return of all the surviving Rebel fighters is reassuring (though they generally appear to be in peril or mourning), as is the appearance of the Millennium Falcon (even though the driver remains a mystery). The trailer and poster design suggest the dark side may be the dominant force in this episode, but considering this teaser probably reveals less than two percent of the final picture nothing is certain.
