Trailer Breakdown: ‘The Rise of Skywalker’

Hot on the heels of the D23 weekend, we just got an extra minute and change of new scenes from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The release date is scheduled for December 19th. If you want to read my breakdown details before you watch the trailer they are posted right beneath the video.

One other thing: the first minute and seven seconds is just a montage of scenes from the previous 8 movies in the original saga. My analysis will pick up at the 1:08 mark.

• 1:08 –Ensemble scene of the heroes (Rey, Finn, Chewie, Poe and C-3PO on a barren desolate planet. They enter what appears to be a giant outdoor celebration full of colorful…kites?
• 1:10---Non-CGI Princess Leia. RIP Carrie Fisher.
• 1:13---Multiple Rebel craft come out of hyper-space. Then, a shot of many, MANY Imperial destroyers.
• 1:19 ---C-3PO with glowing red eyes! Darth-PO, maybe? Nah.
• Then, we see a menacing laser bolt that looks like the weapon used by the Starkiller base in The Force Awakens. While Kylo Ren and Rey fight on top of what looks like a ship in the middle of a watery expanse, we hear the voice of Emperor Palpatine saying, “Your journey nears its end” and we hear the unmistakable sound of Darth Vader’s breathing. Screen dark for a second and then we see Rey wielding a red (as in “dark side”) dual-bladed, switchblade looking lightsaber! Is she evil? Is this a dream sequence or even a “Force vision” like we’ve seen in Empire Strikes Back and Last Jedi? Why am I asking YOU???

One thing seems certain: Emperor Palpatine is back in some shape or form. After all, when did getting thrown off of something ever actually KILL a Force-user in the Star Wars Universe? Darth Maul? No. Luke? Nope. Mace Windu? I like to think he got a concussion, lost his memory and ended up being the most bad-ass homeless person wandering the streets of Coruscant.