Rey (Daisy Ridley) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX. Photo credit: LucasFilm
There were a number of important moments from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer and here are five the stood out to us.
I must have watched the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer at least 20 times already. On each watch, there is something different I notice.
But the first watch means so much because I’m able to pinpoint the most important moments to me — the ones that stood out (and then continued to watch and watch again).
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With a number of small snippets, which gave us enough but definitely didn’t give too much away, here are five of the most important moments from The Rise of Skywalker teaser trailer.
Rey’s moves
When the Star Wars trailer opens we hear Rey’s deep breaths. She’s getting herself ready for something that’s coming. It turns out to be a TIE figher bearing down on her. However, what comes next is amazing even for a Jedi.
Rey runs away from the TIE fighter and then flips backward over it — and maybe will cut it in half? Anyway, that’s the feeling I got as she was flipping over it with her lightsaber extended.
Here’s why the scene is so important: It shows that Rey’s training has come so far. She started as a scavenger trying to survive on a desert planet and has turned into a full-fledged Force user with amazing moves that Jedi of the past would be hard to replicate.
While some time has past between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, it seems Rey took that time to learn some new tricks in order to become what she needs to be to defeat the dark side.
But even beyond her moves, she stared down her opponent looking as though she was ready for anything. Rey knows her next steps won’t be easy, but she is not cowering either. Gone is the unsure person we met in The Force Awakens and instead is a confident, determined woman ready for anything.
LAS VEGAS – MAY 29: Actor Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor Palpatine character from the Star Wars series of films is shown on screen while musicians perform during “Star Wars: In Concert” at the Orleans Arena May 29, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The traveling production features a full symphony orchestra and choir playing music from all six of John Williams’ Star Wars scores synchronized with footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, HD LED screen. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Emperor’s Laugh
Emperor Palpatine is a man who managed to manipulate and control the galaxy to take control over it. The one person he couldn’t control would be his undoing — Luke Skywalker.
But was he?
That’s the question we have now as The Rise of Skywalker trailer ended with that sinister laugh Star Wars fans have come to know so well. It followed Luke Skywalker saying no one is ever truly gone. Usually, we take that to mean the heroes we love such as Luke, Yoda, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn.
But the same could true for the other side as well with Darth Sidious. He would have learned to become a Force ghost just as Qui-Gon and the others did, so why hadn’t we seen him until now. Perhaps, he has been the one manipulating Kylo Ren this whole time — or not. We truly don’t know.
Yet, the laugh at the end adds something more to Episode IX and something incredibly dark. While Snoke seemed to be the puppeteer of the First Order, it may just be that Palpatine was pulling the strings the whole time.
It’s the last thing we hear before the trailer ends and the one thing that will stick with us for quite some time.
General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) in STAR WARS: Episode IX. Photo credit: Lucasfilm
General Leia’s embrace
We knew Carrie Fisher would be in the final movie. J.J. Abrams confirmed at Star Wars Celebration he was able to feature unused footage from The Force Awakens to have Leia in the film.
We got one glimpse of that in the movie and it was everything that we needed to see.
Leia hugs Rey who has a tear falling down her cheek — and she may not have been the only one.
While Leia may not have a big role in Episode IX, it was important to see her. For so many fans, she made this franchise, giving us a no-nonsense princess who could wield a blaster and kill a Hutt.
As a general in the Resistance, she led the fight against the First Order, which includes her own son. That incredibly difficult choice is one no mother should have to deal with but Leia has picked the good of the galaxy over her own joy.
Leia may only get a few scenes since the movie is about the next generation, but that’s OK. Just knowing she will be in it is enough because of how incredibly important she is to the franchise.
It tied the original trilogy with the new trilogy and one that made it a joy to see if only for a moment.
Kylo Ren’s restored helmet in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX. Photo credit: Lucasfilm
Kylo Ren’s helmet
Oh, the rumors were out there of Kylo Ren and just what his new helmet would look like. We finally got to see it up close with Ben re-forging the mangled helmet, almost showing just how broken his soul is and wearing it on the outside.
While there are theories that perhaps Ren is not the one wearing the mask, it doesn’t seem to be that way at all.
Kylo Ren is embracing the person we met in The Force Awakens, going back to dark and sinister side, even if questions his resolve in the wake of his relationship with Rey.
The helmet is an important symbol for Kylo Ren. His grandfather, Darth Vader wore a sinister helmet (because it kept him alive since his body was practically destroyed), but it added to the mystery of who and what Darth Vader actually was.
Kylo reveres his grandfather, but doesn’t seem to realize or know the part where he chose love and family over everything else.
In this case, Kylo fixed the helmet to show off his status much in the way that Rey fixes the Skywalker lightsaber. Each one has their own path in this story and Kylo’s includes finding that side of him again.
Finn (John Boyega), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX.
The Death Star
At the Star Wars: Episode IX panel at Star Wars Celebration, Abrams and company said the gang goes on a mission together. There are less side stories and it’s more of a group adventure.
We see that briefly in the trailer when they all come up on what looks like the remains of the Death Star. When the Death Star was destroyed, apparently it didn’t just float away into space and become space junk.
The Death Star fell to a planet, being pulled in by its gravity, and took place in its new home — talk about some meteor.
Perhaps, the group needs to find something in the Death Star that will help them on their journey. Maybe they’re chasing Kylo Ren if he seeks out more about his grandfather. He already owns the helmet though, so we don’t know exactly what takes them there.
However, to finish out this journey, it looks as though they will have to face things that already happened and bring the story full circle.
One thing is for sure in Episode IX, the graphics and production look amazing. Even though the Death Star was obliterated in original trilogy, George Lucas used what it had it the time to make the most realistic production.
Given what is currently available, we are going to see some amazing visuals in The Rise of Skywalker.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres worldwide on December 20. What were your favorite scenes from the trailer?