We have now finally been shown the new Star Wars trailer, and it is a piece of movie history as it is the final ever trailer we will get for a film within the Skywalker Saga, something that began over 40 years ago in 1977. That is because Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will end the saga (although films within the Star Wars universe will continue) and it will also end this specific sequel trilogy.
This trailer reveals the most about the film that we have seen so far and we finally get some more dialogue and characters actually interacting with each other, whilst also hinting at a story yet still maintaining the usual Star Wars level of secrecy. People have had a very strong and mostly positive reaction to this new trailer which is definitely a good sign given the comparatively divisive reaction people had to The Last Jedi. JJ Abrams is returning to the franchise after starting the sequel trilogy with the well received The Force Awakens and the hope is that he can again capture that lightning in a bottle moment which lead to the film becoming the biggest in American box office history, and at the time only the third film ever to cross $2 Billion at the world wide box office. While I think it is unlikely to reach those heights again, I think somewhere in the region of $1.5 Billion is most likely and this would be an incredible success.
The film itself seems to promise our trio of heroes (Rey, Finn, Poe) finally working together on a mission for the resistance while Rey and Kylo Ren either battle to the death or hook up and become the galaxies most powerful (and most brooding) couple. We also get hints of how the very dead Palpatine and Luke Skywalker will play into the story, and are also promised that unused footage from The Force Awakens will allow the story of Carrie Fisher’s Princess/General Leia to be completed, even though she passed away long before filming could start on Episode IX. This trailer was actually released on what would have been Carrie Fisher’s birthday, and we know the force is always with her and she is greatly missed.
I will do a future post closer to the films release that goes more in depth with how I feel the film will play out, but for now I am just glad to report how visually and emotionally powerful this film looks, and I have faith in JJ that he will deliver the goods.
The trailer can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qn_spdM5Zg