What’s Up With That Statue On Jedha In The Final Rogue One Trailer?

In the final Rogue One trailer, we glimpsed a huge statue half-buried in the sand on Jedha. We speculate on what it means…

The final full trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was dropped on YouTube early this morning. There are tons of new scenes to speculate about. One of them shows a giant statue half buried in the sands of the planet Jedha. Look for it in the trailer below at 0:39 seconds.

Below is a high-resolution frame of the statue.

Image Credit: Lucasfilm

The statue is obviously a Jedi or some other type of lightsaber-wielder, given it is holding a lightsaber. It would make sense the statue is a Jedi, as it would fall in line with what we already know of Jedha. Let’s recap: Jedha is a new planet in Star Wars lore created specifically for Rogue One. A mecca for believers in the Force for thousands of years, it is now under the occupation of the Empire. But some individuals who remain loyal to their faith in the Force – Chirrut Imwe, for one – still regard Jedha as a sacred place.

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A couple of months ago, we speculated that perhaps there is a Jedi Temple buried somewhere beneath Jedha’s surface. Having seen the statue in the trailer above, half-buried in sand, it looks like that guess is not far off. It has also been speculated that the Empire is looking for kyber crystals to power their new Death Star’s laser. A Jedi Temple ruin would be the perfect place to begin that search.

What I love about Star Wars is how deep the lore and the history of the different societies and sects of the galaxy are. The level of world building in Star Wars, which is being continued in Rogue One, is on par with the great J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. In fact, the giant statue in Rogue One reminds me of the herculean Argonath statues in The Fellowship of the Ring. They bring a level of the fantastic and the medieval into the war zone that is the overarching aesthetic of the first Star Wars standalone film.

Next: The Best Shots From The Final Rogue One Trailer

We hope to learn more about the statue on Jedha and the Jedi’s former presence there the closer we get to Rogue One‘s release in theaters on December 16th.