Wow! If you haven’t yet, take a look see right here at The Last Jedi Trailer 2. If you have no desire to see this yet for fear spoilers, look and read no further. If you do, you’re in for a treat.
Having just had my face melted by Trailer 2 for Star Wars The Last Jedi, I’m finding it difficult to organize my thoughts. There was sooooo many goodies. While lately I’ve been on the fence viewing trailers because they just seem to reveal too darned much, it is useless to resist, here. After all, it’s why we’re here, it’s Star Wars! I tuned in to halftime of the game tonight wide-eyed and curious, and boy, was I rewarded! We were all rewarded with this one.
I’ve had a good feeling all along about Rian Johnson, and tonight I believe that some of my suspicions about him were justified. Man did we see a lot in a little over two minutes. On the one hand, I feel like I saw too much, and on the other, I’m thrilled that I just had my anticipation for The Last Jedi kicked up, oh, a thousand percent.
One thing is for certain now, The Last Jedi is going to be a gorgeous movie. The trailer revealed a lot of fantastical elements, from critters and ancient abodes, to starships and exotic locales. It had a fantasy feel to it; some scenes wouldn’t have looked so out of place in Lord of the Rings. (Oops, am I allowed to say that here? Blasphemy!). The images were sharp, and had a very crisp and clean look, while also evincing a shady and dark atmopshere. It was quite a visual contrast from The Force Awakens. There were a few character closeups, too, that were very dramatic – like one of Poe Dameron as he exclaims that the New Republic will be “the spark that lights the fires to burn the First Order down.” Good stuff. The trailer was filled with shots that were both epic and intimate, and hinted at many conflicts.
Indeed, this is a, epic, beautiful trailer.
My first, biggest takeaway was finally viewing a living, breathing Luke Skywalker. One who walks and talks! Here now we finally see Luke as a character, rather than just the stoic, stone-faced elder who silently looks on Rey with confounded trepidation at the end of The Force Awakens. You know, that scene which has been burned into our psyche now, a moment we’ve waited for so long to unfold. And not only did the trailer actually just march right up and show the exchange between Rey and Luke, (woah there!) with Rey handing him his ole’ lightsaber, but we got a healthy dose of Luke’s mindset thereafter. He mentions how he’s seen power like Rey’s once before, and this time he’s scared of it. Chilling, Luke Skywalker frightened by the notion of a force user… Pretty telling on how he views Rey’s arrival, or, more to the underlying theme, how he views the presence of one so young wielding such mighty power with the force. Tying this tidbit together with the earlier trailer, it’s all but screaming that Luke has no desire for the galaxy to suffer whatever wrath he feels Rey might inflict, no matter her intentions, and consequently he loathes the thought of her turning to the dark side. As already made evident, he wants nothing to do with the Jedi, and now its obvious he’s not so thrilled with anyone wielding power such as Rey’s, title or no. Luke looks haggard, intense, and it’s going to be something to see just how broken or masterful he is…
He has a brief exchange with Leia, (sniff, oh, Carrie…) that suggests he’s trying to convince her that encouraging Rey’s path may “not turn out as hoped.” Hmm… And, if I’m not crazy, Luke looks wet and/or wounded here…
(Anyone notice that Rey appears wounded in the arm on the new official poster?)
Indeed, there’s a lot to infer and digest concerning Luke Skywalker in this clip, and it has me chomping at the bit to see where this is going.
Another plot thread I’ve been bouncing around in my head is the path of Kylo Ren. We’re given some really juicy nuggets concerning him, too. The Force Awakens evinced that Kylo (Ben Solo) struggles to hold onto the dark path he has chosen, as he is inherently pulled toward the light. After seeing The Last Jedi marketing material for Kylo, it’s interesting to note how he’s mostly absent of his helmet. Being that he’s expressed desire to follow in the footsteps of his mighty grandfather, Darth Vader, and that Kylo obviously suffers no ill physical effects from not wearing it, we can deduce that his helmet is more a form of fashion than it is function, and to see him cast it away could be telling as to where his path is leading. Is his want of following the dark side more about living up to the expectations of Vader than it is inherently his own desire? Well, that’s what we’ve been wondering this past couple years. Snoke explaining why he wanted to train Kylo, along with seeing Kylo himself smash his helm in what could be an early scene in TLJ, could evince that Ben Solo’s biggest dilemma is the one inside his soul.
The trailer further teases a scene that shows Kylo in the cockpit of his Tie Fighter, his finger lingering above the fire control, ready to destroy the bridge of a starship that his mother, General Leia, is occupying. He thinks about letting go of his past, and grimaces as he makes to fire, only to… Alas, we’ll have to see the film to learn of their fate, but this again displays Kylo’s struggle. I sincerely have a feeling we’re going to see him turn… We’ll see. But my feeling after seeing these scenes, coupled with what I know of Kylo, really does beg some intense questions as to his nature, either way. And there’s this tidbit – We’ve seen foreshadowing to the Knights of Ren, and they appear to be terrible…but…are we getting the full picture on the Knights of Ren? Now, now, I’m not inferring that they are good, but should they be under Kylo’s full control, and Kylo sways on way or the other, what would this mean for the Knights? Just something I pondered after viewing Kylo here. And I wonder now why they call themselves Knights. If they are evil, knights would infer that they perhaps don’t think of themselves as such.
Maybe? No?! Ha! The fun of wondering…
Kylo Ren is also seen extending his hand out to Rey when Rey suggests she needs someone to help find her “place.” This could be a trick of angles, as Kylo may or may not even be in Rey’s presence at the time. If she is, it’s awfully intriguing to suppose that Rey is seeking help from him (which Kylo did offer at their encounter in TFA). This would also support the notion that Kylo is not completely beholden to the dark side…unless that is where Rey is turning? Ha! That would be something, if in fact Rey is seduced by Kylo, which is exactly what Luke Skywalker fears. If Luke shuns her efforts to become a Jedi, there’s no telling where Rey could turn… Well, that’s some outlandish conjecture, but the trailer was really bold in suggesting so many potentialities.
So, we’re left with a host of exciting questions that convince me – The Last Jedi will indeed turn Star Wars on its ear. There’s some lofty stuff going, and no doubt we’re going to see more than one character take an unexpected turn…or perhaps not so unexpected. It all depends on your point of view.
It;s going to be a fun ride, guys. What are your thoughts?
Stay safe out there, and may the force be with you, always.
