You may have noticed the logo for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker isn’t the color you were expecting it to be. What does it mean?
Marketing for Star Wars:The Rise of Skywalker has already begun — but it’s about to ramp up tenfold in the next few months. Which means you’re going to be seeing a lot more promotional materials — including the logo that first made its grand entrance back in April.
If this logo looks a little different to you than logos of Star Wars movies past, you’re not just seeing things.
More from Editorial
- How animation changed Star Wars: Ewoks and Droids
- The Acolyte might change Star Wars storytelling
- No Star Wars for Feige, and I’m ok with that.
- 3 major ways the Star Wars Holiday Special changed canon
- If Jon Favreau remakes the Holiday Special, it needs to star Peli Motto
It’s obviously not yellow or red like the last two movies in the trilogy it belongs to. But it’s also not blue, either.
I first saw this logo at Star Wars Celebration Chicago when they showed the original teaser trailer — and revealed the official title of the film — for the first time. I was in overflow viewing, which meant I was in a room with hundreds of other fans watching a livestream of the main event on a large screen at the front of the room.
I didn’t notice, at first, that the words “Star Wars” weren’t blue. I was sort of too busy freaking out about hearing Palpatine’s laugh, among other things.
It wasn’t until later, after many (MANY) more teaser viewings and scrolling through Star Wars Twitter that all of us realized: Hey … does that logo look ever so slightly purple to you?
Oh. Yeah. It’s DEFINITELY purple. (Violet. Indigo. Whatever.)
What?
This is an obvious break from Star Wars tradition. Every logo before this one has been some variation of yellow, blue, or red. But we should have known something was up when The Last Jedi — the second, not the third in its trilogy — turned out to be red.
If The Force Awakens had a yellow logo and The Last Jedi had a red one, it would have made logical sense that The Rise of Skywalker’s would be blue, bringing everything full circle.
Instead, Lucasfilm has given us something we didn’t expect — perhaps preparing us for the movie itself, which is said to have a “mind-blowing” ending.
What does it mean?
A popular fan theory surrounding the final installment of the Skywalker saga is that “balance” will be a key theme throughout the movie. That’s a no-brainer: It’s been a running thread throughout the whole story.
Anakin Skywalker is said to be the one who will “bring balance” to the Force. Rey has been portrayed as a character intrigued by both light and dark elements of the Force, causing many to question whether or not she will be the first “grey Jedi” to appear in a feature Star Wars film.
The prediction is that everything until now has built up the possibility that what we know of the long-standing conflict between the Jedi and the Sith will cease to be, and something new — something more neutral — will replace it.
While the color purple doesn’t hold much meaning in the Star Wars universe, red and blue do — as evidenced by the original lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, repeated again between Vader and Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back.
Red and blue together make purple. Which implies that, in some way, Rey and Kylo Ren will achieve some kind of balance in the Force by combining blue (light) and red (dark).
This aligns pretty well with what Abrams and Johnson have been trying to tell us so far. There is an obvious mirroring between Rey and Kylo Ren. They both stand on opposite sides of an invisible line, both at conflict with one another and within themselves. Both feeling the pull of both the light and dark.
Perhaps where they will end up is on that invisible line — a “grey area” that the Jedi haven’t touched before.
After Rey, presumably, the Jedi will be no more — if it’s true that she is “the last Jedi.” It’s possible that what will result in the aftermath will be some kind of Force user who embraces both the light and dark side. You might end up calling them skywalkers.
Regardless of the film’s exact outcome, it’s clear there will be a joining together of some kind. Will Rey and Kylo have to team up to defeat Palpatine? Maybe. But we have already seen them fight in tandem in Snoke’s throne room. Exactly how two opposing sides come together — and what it will look like afterward — we’ll have to wait until December to figure out.
In the meantime, check out a few other popular The Rise of Skywalker theories — including the one about Emperor Palpatine possessing Darth Vader’s mask.
Will Rey and Kylo Ren team up in The Rise of Skywalker — or are they sworn enemies for life? Share your hopes, fears, and theories for the film with us.