Millions of voices cried out in excitement on Friday when the official title and first trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker debuted. Here are the trailer's six biggest takeaways:
1. No one's ever really gone. The teaser is built around a Luke Skywalker voiceover, suggesting Mark Hamill's role following Luke's death is likely more significant than a cameo. Could Luke's reference to "we" also suggest more Force ghosts will visit Rey?
2. "Every generation has a legend." This phrase calls back to the trailer for The Phantom Menace, supporting speculation that The Rise of Skywalker will tie the entire franchise together by featuring connections to the prequels.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
3. Our princess. Leia is seen hugging Rey in a bit of the Carrie Fisher footage originally shot for The Force Awakens, years prior to Fisher's death. But Rey is wearing her new outfit, teasing some post-production alterations.
4. Repairs. The teaser reveals Rey's lightsaber and Kylo Ren's helmet, both destroyed in The Last Jedi, have been reassembled.
5. Lando reunites with the Falcon. Billy Dee Williams returns as Lando Calrissian, finally reuniting with the Millennium Falcon — and, in turn, with L3-37. Might he regain possession of the ship he lost to Han Solo decades ago?
6. Palpatine lives? The teaser shockingly ends with a cackling Emperor Palpatine, who was killed off in Return of the Jedi, after a shot of the wreckage of the Death Star. Could Palpatine have found a way to appear as the Sith equivalent of a Force ghost? Could he have survived? Or might this have something to do with the film's McGuffin, which could be located inside the Death Star ruins? Either way, it seems a character who hasn't factored into the saga in a major way in years could unexpectedly play a key role in its final installment.
Watch the trailer below. Brendan Morrow
