Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer – A Closer Look

The trailer for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi has finally arrived, and hoo-wee, what a trailer! A lot of content was packed into the two-and-a-half-minute preview, and since it pays to take things slow and look at things frame-by-frame, we decided to take another deep dive into a new look at the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

 

 

There are two things I wanna get into before I get started. The first is that you guys should seriously consider checking out John and Val’s piece before – or after – you read my article, as they did a great job on it. My article will be a bit more on the technical side of things. The second thing is below, as I’d like to point out that what we don’t see in the trailer is also important.

 

 

What’s Not In The Trailer

 

 

None of the new major players in The Last Jedi – Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico, Benicio Del Toro’s “DJ”, and Laura Dern’s Amilyn Holdo – are seen at all, and neither is the presumed minor player BB-9E. Of the major characters that are returning, we do not see C-3PO or General Hux, and R2-D2 does not appear in any new shots (though he’s in the scene where Luke collapses to his knees). Nor do we get a closer look at Cantonica and Canto Bight, in spite of that location being crucial to Finn and Rose’s mission. Also worth mentioning is that, unless I’m missing something, we don’t get a look at the First Order Scout Walker that’s been previewed in LEGO form. But we do get a good look at the First Order’s artillery, which brings me to the first official point…

 

 

The First Order Repurposes Old Imperial Designs

 

 

Let’s forget about the gargantuan AT-M6s for a moment and appreciate the fact that the First Order has a love for the Galactic Empire’s old stuff. Not everything needs to be a super-spiffy, bigger and badder reimagining of what came before in order to actually be effective. Case in point – both the AT-AT and AT-ST designs look to be similar to the original models, only slightly sleeker in a few places. In fact, if you look closely at the opening shot, you can see a First Order AT-ST and a First Order AT-AT march forward.

 

 

I think I’ve read that somewhere in the new canon, it’s outright stated that the First Order repurpose old Imperial tech because it’s cheaper for them to do so – they are, after all, only a fraction of the size of the actual Galactic Empire. If that’s the case, then expect to see some really cool, really varied designs for the space battles to come between The Last Jedi and Episode IX, as it’s entirely possible that these fleets will have some familiar designs snuck into them.

 

 

Like Grandfather, Like Grandson

 

This part isn’t my observation, but one from fellow SWNN contributor Wayward Jedi. He noticed that a lot of scenes of Kylo Ren drew upon similar images seen in the Prequel Trilogy with Anakin Skywalker. Almost all of this has to do with Hayden Christensen’s take on the character (someone that Adam Driver more closely resembles than either Harrison Ford or Carrie Fisher). I’ll let these images speak for themselves:

 

 

 

On a less serious note, Kylo Ren surprisingly takes after the Jake Lloyd version of Anakin, as seen here:

 

 

 

My day will be made if Ben says “This is TENSE!” at any point in the dogfight. Extra points if it’s under a voice modifier, but it’s delivered the exact same way that it was said in The Phantom Menace.

 

 

A War Of Attrition

 

 

Some fans have admittedly been a little antsy over the Crait battle since the teaser dropped – after 3 seconds of footage showing that there would be a sequence involving tiny speeders going up against giant walkers on a white planetary surface, some overzealous fans took to pearl-clutching and claiming that, even with the radical differences presented in the rest of the teaser, The Last Jedi was absolutely a remake of The Empire Strikes Back. It was kind of ridiculous then, but it’s really ridiculous now.

 

 

Looking at the actual trailer, we seem to have a better kind of idea of what situation the Crait battle is meant to represent, and while the scenery’s similar, the difference between the two battles is as different as night and day – and the battle presented in The Last Jedi is shaping up to be the darker of the two. Unlike the Battle of Hoth, it’s not a First Act evacuation that happens to lead to a crushing defeat; this is a Third Act story element, and it’s in a much more dire context with regard to the good guys. The Resistance is deliberately holing itself up in a bunker and are trying to stave off the First Order as long as they possibly can, most likely hoping – however desperately – for reinforcements that may or may not arrive.

 

 

How do I know this? Well, look at the state that the Resistance is in – we already know that a lot of their fleet has been picked off based on the events of the trailer. It’s pretty clear that Poe, Leia, and Holdo’s leg of the movie is going to involve them being on the run from pursuing First Order forces before they decide to hide in a base on Crait, and at that point they’re operating with artillery that goes all the way back to the days of the Clone Wars. Our heroes are not in good shape here. To make matters worse, it’s likely that Kylo Ren will be looking for another way into the base…

 

 

Luckily, Star Wars is a franchise with a history of the good guys sweeping in at the last minute to save the day.

 

Kylo Ren Completes His Training And Changes His Costume

 

 

I’d actually argue that the reverse to what I put in the headline happens in terms of actual chronology, but that’s not quite how the trailer puts it. I believe that the first scene of The Last Jedi, in order to keep in line with the established formula of sticking to having an opening shot focus on space, will show Kylo Ren being taken to the Supremacy by General Hux at Supreme Leader Snoke’s command. After being healed, we’ll then see Kylo Ren get up and smash his helmet in a fit of rage. Before he’ll actually begin training, however, I think that he’s going to be sent out to lead the counterattack on the Resistance fleet (unless he’s not part of the initial attack, but the second one – more on that in a bit).

 

 

The reason for that is that the patch over his scar – which, like Kylo Ren’s helmet and the costume itself, give us an idea about when this scene takes place. We know he’ll have it from his first scene and he won’t lose it until he goes to Ahch-To at the latest. But since we know that he hesitates to take the killing shot against Leia, Snoke will know about this and demand that he get his act in gear to do the deed right later on – which is why I think he ends up heading to Crait with a squad of flametroopers.

 

 

 

Let’s Give Luke A Hand

 

Attention to detail is something that the people at ILM clearly love, and it’s on display here. If you look at the wrist to Luke’s cybernetic hand…

 

 

…You can see that there’s a dent in it at approximately the same location where it was shot in Return of the Jedi.

 

 

Another subtle detail that’s also worth noting is that Luke’s hand is visibly trembling as he’s taking hold of the lightsaber – which was his father’s and his own, and now, Rey’s – indicating just how much emotional weight this object holds for him. Subtleties in a performance can really make all the difference, so I’m glad that Mark Hamill was able to include that in his performance.

 

 

The First Jedi Temple

 

Or, as we fans have colloquially taken to calling it, the Force Tree. It’s… Kinda dead.

 

 

The continuity of this shot, which directly precedes a more familiar one, suggests that this gloomy place is where Luke’s little library of Force-related literature is held. Said place looks different from the cave where Luke says “It’s time for the Jedi to end.” at the end of the teaser. However, continuity can be deceiving, as I will point out much later in this post.

 

 

Why this temple is in such poor condition raises a number of questions, but perhaps the state of things here could be symbolic of how terribly out-of-balance the Force itself is. Poor Luke can’t come around soon enough.

 

 

Why No, That’s Not Yoda’s Shadow

 

 

Some fans mistook this shot in the teaser, which has a rock face at the top that likes like a little green munchkin could sit upon it, to presume that Yoda’s Force Ghost was present. Even though he’d, y’know, be a fluorescent blue space-magic-ghost as opposed to a silhouette. This is put to rest with the shots of Rey’s lightsaber practice which establish that it is indeed a rock:

 

 

Still, don’t rule out the possibility that we could see our Little Green Friend make a return elsewhere…

 

 

More Context For The Jedi Tragedy (Plus – Why Luke Isn’t Head-Over-Heels For Rey)

 

 

We now know that when things fell apart at Luke’s Jedi Enclave, Luke was incapacitated. But by the time he came to, it was too late – his nephew had fallen into the Dark Side and his life’s work was in ruins. Knowing that Luke was actually there and unconscious – instead of being too late to stop the massacre, as some had presumed – presents an interesting situation. It implies that before Ben went on a rampage, he was sure to attack his uncle. And though he killed his fellow students, he spared Luke for whatever reason – which is presumably why Snoke ordering him to kill Han was presented as being a crucial test, as he didn’t have it in him then to kill his own family.

 


 

The reasons behind Luke’s reluctance to train Rey seem to boil down to his own guilt of being unable to stop Ben from turning evil and his fear that if he trains Rey, she could be just as dangerous. And that fear is somewhat justified – Rey is absurdly gifted with the Force as it is without any training (something the movie looks to actually explain). But it seems as though Rey will ultimately help Luke understand that he still has a role to play in this war, and maybe, just maybe, she’ll help him realize that he can forgive himself.

 

Oh, and that one shot with Rey in the teaser (shown below) seems to directly follow the above shot. It’s likely that this is where Rey sees the flashback with Luke and Ben.

 

 

 

Spaceships Ahoy

 

Ironically, while the First Order seems to make use of repurposed techniques, it’s the Resistance that gets the shiny new spaceships. From what glimpses we get at the space battles, we can see updated versions of the GR-75 medium transport and the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate:

 

 

And we’ve also got some new ships, such as the Raddus and whatever that thing on the right is called:

 

 

And here’s a closer look at the Mandator IV-class warship:

 

 

And there’s even a brief shot of what looks to be the Supremacy behind the TIE silencer’s attack on the Raddus:

 

 

Also of interest is that the footage shown appears to be a composite of at least two different space battles – one over the evacuated Resistance base on D’Qar, and one in that appears to be deep space where the Supremacy is hot on the tail of the Raddus. Poe is the key to determining which is which here – in the former, he’s in his signature X-wing (before it gets blown up later, as evidenced by the teaser), and in the latter, he’s aboard a different sort of transport. Kylo Ren only seems to be involved with the D’Qar battle, which I’m guessing has a lot to do with the fact that he obviously can’t spend the entire movie chasing the Resistance if he ends up going off to Ahch-To to settle the score with Rey and Luke.

 

 

One other thing: Kaydel Ko Connix is in the background of this shot. Her role is said to be greater than it was for The Force Awakens, and in light of recent events, I think it’s likely that she’ll have an even bigger role in Episode IX.

 

 

Red Crystals

 

 

One of my favorite scenes in the trailer from a purely visual standpoint, I get the feeling that this could top the flight over Jakku in The Force Awakens. This scene seems to be connected to the shot of the Millennium Falcon taking flight in the teaser, and my guess is that this is part of the same sequence:

 

 

What’s interesting to me is that depending on how the story plays out, this could take place on either Crait or Ahch-To. On one hand, the emphasis on red fits in quite nicely with the crimson dust just under the surface, and the planet itself is apparently an outpost well-known for having an abundance of resources for mining. But on the other, we know that Luke has a small, red crystal on a pendant, and he may have got it from the planet he’s called home for the past few years:

 

 

It’s most likely Crait that we’re looking at here, but still – it pays to keep an open mind when it comes to speculation. Hopefully, that upcoming comic where Luke visits Crait in the OT era ought to help clear things up.

 

 

Finn Challenges Phasma After Infiltrating The First Order

 

 

It’s already known that Finn and Rose go on a secret mission to infiltrate a major First Order Outpost in order to do… Something. (The details aren’t clear right now.) This involves the duo donning First Order Officer disguises, as seen in the BTS reel:

 

 

As I mentioned earlier, Rose is nowhere to be found in this trailer – something I think is rather interesting considering that she has the largest part of the three new major characters in this movie. But that absence presents an interesting implication as to why Finn is so determined to take Phasma down in this fight scene (which appears to take place in the big AT-AT/AT-ST factory after some kind of attack) – one wonders if Phasma did something to Rose to elicit such a response.

 

 

Looking at the BTS reel again, I have suspicions that this part of the movie is going to involve the Executioner Stormtroopers – as there’s more than enough room for a handful of them to appear among the ranks of the various stormtroopers seen in the hangar (pic’s at the top of this article). The scene above certainly looks like it was filmed on a set and not a location.

 

 

Also, I just want to take a moment to appreciate this still. Finn was hardly in this trailer, but this glimpse at the major fight scene easily ended up being the hypest moment. (Also, yay, Phasma gets to do something!)

 

 

The Leviathans Of Ahch-To

 

 

Almost every Star Wars movie has had a major creature encounter play a role in the overall narrative (save Revenge of the Sith, which was going to have the Nos Monster attack Obi-Wan after Order 66 – before George Lucas decided to streamline the narrative – and Rogue One, which had Bor Gullet, but that doesn’t quite count since there’s not a real fight with it). In the lower-right corner of the image shown above, you can see the skull of some kind of sea creature – one which personally reminds me of the Colo Clawfish from The Phantom Menace. With Rey spending some time underwater on Ahch-To, one has to wonder if the big creature battle on the planet will take place underwater.

 

In a somewhat related note, it appears that this shot of Luke and Rey, which is shown after she gets out of the water…

 

 

…Directly precedes this close-up of Luke.

 

 

There are stone huts in the background of the first shot, while it’s not clear if they’re in the second – though the area Luke is positioned in certainly makes it feel like it’s one and the same. It would certainly make sense if Rey gets angry at Luke if this is right after she nearly got eaten by some monster, as I’d imagine that her patience would wear thin at that point – the lack of any kind of lightsaber glow indicates that this is a confrontation of words, not of violence.

 

 

Snoke Unleashed

 

 

Some of us were worried that Snoke would be getting the short end of the stick when Rian Johnson stated that we won’t get his full backstory. Worry not – from this trailer, it’s now clear that he’ll end up having a personal encounter with Rey that involves him tapping into the Dark Side. While Snoke is clearly not the type of villain that we’re going to see do corkscrew jumps, our quick look at the villain does make it clear that he’s actively able to manipulate the Force.

 

 

There’s a bit of debate as to whether or not Snoke’s monologue at the beginning of the trailer is directed at Rey or Kylo Ren. My guess is the latter, although “…Something truly special” sounds like it might come from a different conversation (and one that could be directed toward Rey). It’s also interesting to note that while he’s doing whatever he’s doing to Rey, he’s remaining seated in his throne.

 

 

Possible Misdirection

 

 

What seems to be the talk of the town with this trailer is actually the final shots, where we see Rey talk about how she’s in need of guidance and how Kylo Ren seems all too willing to help her with that:

 

 

However, I’m going to present an alternative argument – namely, this might just be misdirection based on footage of two different scenes that have similar lighting. Take, for instance, the shot of Luke falling to his knees in the teaser (which also appears in the trailer):

 

 

In the teaser, it was immediately followed by this:

 

 

Thusly, a few people who saw the trailer and didn’t look at it closely came to the conclusion that Captain Phasma was part of the assault on Luke’s Jedi Enclave, an event that takes place years prior to The Force Awakens. However, since we know that she and Finn will throw down in a burning hangar, and that’s what was in the background of that scene, it’s abundantly clear that “TrooperBowl” is what the teaser was alluding to, not Phasma’s involvement in the flashback. Not to mention the neon lights in the upper left-hand corner.

 

So with this in mind, we go back to the shots with Rey and Kylo Ren at the very end. Here’s what’s a little suspect about these two shots: the background with Rey’s profile looks pretty tranquil, all things considered. In the meantime, the scene with Kylo Ren involves something big catching fire, with embers and soot falling around him. Now, don’t get me wrong – I totally think that Kylo Ren is extending his hand out to Rey here. It’s just not in the context that’s being presented. What I think they’re doing is splicing two scenes together.

 

The first, with Rey sounding unsure and being in need of someone to guide her, comes across as a line that happens after initially being rejected by Luke (who, as we’ve seen, is anxious about getting back into the swing of things). Where I think it fits in is this scene shown in the BTS reel, where Chewbacca has a campfire going in front of the Millennium Falcon:

 

 

Whether she’s talking to Chewbacca or R2-D2 here isn’t certain – for all we know, Luke might be curious how she got there and could be more willing to listen to her after a reunion with two of his old friends. The background here is much “softer” than the “by the Force this entire planet is on fire” aesthetic that Kylo Ren’s scene has. And, more tellingly, she has her first outfit in this scene – we know that, at the point where Kylo Ren would arrive on Ahch-To, she’d be wearing her second outfit like she is on her way to the First Jedi Temple and when she’s taken a dive.

 

I believe that both of Rey’s quotes in this trailer are part of the same conversation in spite of being split up. Furthermore, I think that Kylo Ren’s monologue about how he believes the past should be discarded is a comment aimed at Rey, because there’s no other character it really could be aimed at. And she will probably end up going with him – like it or not – because we now know that she ends up at Snoke’s place before she somehow gets to Crait. We know she will from her costume change and these two shots in the BTS reel:

 

 

Man, this is gonna be an eventful movie. We have Rey spending a lot of time on Ahch-To, ending up on the Supremacy, and then heading to Crait in time for the final battle – all while Finn starts on a Resistance ship, goes to Cantonica, infiltrates an First Order base, and still has time to meet up with Rey on Crait. And that’s not even getting into Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren’s respective stories.

 

 

One More For The Road – A Hidden Message In The Poster

 

 

As a side note, I’d like to close out this article with one little thing on the poster: the way it’s designed is quite deliberate – yes, I know Poe Dameron is randomly on “the Dark Side” half of the poster, but bear with me – and our pals over at r/StarWarsLeaks decided to show off why it’s shaped the way that it is.

 

 

Darth Vader helmet X TLJ Poster…see for yourself….. from StarWarsLeaks

 

 

BAM! I don’t think this is a coincidence at all – the Sequel Trilogy fundamentally seems to be about the legacies of Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and their father, Darth Vader himself. So this subtle way of alluding to the character’s iconic helmet seems like a clever way to subconsciously remind fans about the bigger picture. The Skywalker Saga is fundamentally about the rise and fall (PT), redemption (OT), and legacy (ST) of the Jedi known as Anakin Skywalker, and it’s important that the franchise emphasizes this wherever it can.

 

Anyway, those are my extensive thoughts on this trailer. If there’s anything you’d like to discuss, add to, or refute, you’re welcome to do so whether you’re on the board or in the comments section.

 

 

+ posts

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

103 thoughts on “Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer – A Closer Look

  • October 15, 2017 at 7:45 pm
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    Looking at these images I have to say that I absolutely hate thee design of Snoke’s throneroom. It’s like they used “redscreen” instead of greenscreen and then forgot to remove it in postproduction.

    • October 16, 2017 at 3:50 am
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      Agreed. The TLJ trailer footage has a “CHEAPNESS” to it compared to TFA that I didn’t expect.

      • October 17, 2017 at 1:14 am
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        That “CHEAPNESS” is called looking different. Because it is the first of the new films to not really have any set “function” we can guess at. TFA was meant to usher us back in so the keyword was “familiar”. Rogue One was an experiment who’s success depended on the “familiar” entities and resulted in a member-berry fest albeit an entertaining one. TLJ doesn’t really have to depend on any of those. It just needs to have middle of a trilogy tropes that fall within the SW formula. Ships, Sabers, Training, Conflict. Aside from that its fair game. This of all the new saga films has the most leeway to be whatever it wants to be so it will feel different. Hell I felt different in watching it. I didn’t get my nostalgia chills. But I wasn’t supposed to. Don’t mistake different for cheap. That’s your own rationalization for not understanding what you’re seeing because at the end of the day its all just seconds of images out of context meant to get some sort of reaction out of you. The only real reasonable thing to do is just kick back and enjoy the pretty pictures and music. SW thrives on misdirect and false advertising sometimes when it comes to hyping up people because its the one franchise we’re ok with doing that so long as we’re presented with a surprisingly good tale. So knowing that. After 7 movies. Why try to start fitting a 2.5 hour film you know you’ll know nothing about until seeing it into some sort of box you define with the loose scraps and threads you have to draw from.

    • October 16, 2017 at 1:02 pm
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      It might look cool in the movie though. We’ll just have to find out.

  • October 15, 2017 at 8:11 pm
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    The new Scout Walker is in there, but it’s hard to spot. Right in the beginning, while Kylo is brooding over the large hangar with the falling sparks, there are several walkers stored there, including several Scout Walkers, one of which is actually walking away from the camera, to the right of Kylo’s silhouette.

    • October 15, 2017 at 8:13 pm
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      There are also at least a couple of stationary Scout Walkers on the right side of the hangar with the assembled troops in formation. But I haven’t watched the trailer fifty times already. Nope. Not me. I’m too busy with…business. Or something.

      • October 15, 2017 at 8:16 pm
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        Aaaaand I see that you were actually referencing a very different Scout Walker design. Okay. This is all very exciting, but I need to remind myself to read first and then post comments…. Breathe. Just breathe.

        • October 15, 2017 at 8:19 pm
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          Since we are on the topic. Did you notice like the headless walker behind Finn? That one is driving me crazy. Is it a drone walker? It has no freaking head! Looks like AT-ST legs with lights and cannons only.

          • October 15, 2017 at 8:42 pm
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            That sounds weird and interesting, but I can’t seem to find it.

          • October 15, 2017 at 8:43 pm
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            Took me a bit to find this on google. See it on the right now?

          • October 15, 2017 at 9:06 pm
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            Thanks for pointing that out, well spotted!

          • October 16, 2017 at 11:30 am
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            It’s maybe a drone walker that got a short circuit due to the heat in the hall and now runs amok.

          • October 15, 2017 at 8:55 pm
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            WHOAH! There it is! That does look really weird. I wonder if that’s just a normal AT-ST that got its “head” blown up, like when Chewie and the Ewoks took control of that AT-ST on Endor and shot the head off of a second one. The “body” just kind of stayed standing, headless. Maybe this is a similar thing? Crew and controls gone, but the drive motors still running, perhaps?

      • October 15, 2017 at 8:16 pm
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        Right before Finn and Phasma clash you get a decent look at an AT-ST front on. You can see the new single slit cockpit.

  • October 15, 2017 at 8:19 pm
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    The end of the trailer is a total missdirection. I mean, it could end up that kylo asks for help at the end or something (instead of trying to seduce Rey to the dark side, perhaps he is asking to be freed from it.). But, check this out…

    They are 2 totally different scenes, from opposite ends of the film.

    1. Kylo scene is in the second half (or last third). His scar is ‘healed’.

    2. Rey’s scene is from first half (or first third.. or hell.. first 15 min lol). Her hair is up (i reckon her hair will be down for the remainder of the film after she goes swimming). Rey is most likely talking to Luke in a cave/hut

    • October 16, 2017 at 11:32 am
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      Maybe that scene is also from the flashback. Kylo extends his hand to Luke or someone else, maybe asking for help or to lure someone, before or while destroying the temple. That’s why he has no scar, yet.

      • October 16, 2017 at 12:02 pm
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        He actually does have the scar, though. i am saying it is healed up, and that carbon fiber band-aid graft thing is not there. That means it is in the second half of the film. I reckon the TIE Silencer part we see is in the first half, when the Resistance base gets attacked. (i am really excited for some space battles with Kylo!)

  • October 15, 2017 at 8:22 pm
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    I think the red crystal on his neck is from his dads sith lightsaber.

    • October 15, 2017 at 11:54 pm
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      but darth vaders lightsaber fell down the hatch in rotj

      • October 16, 2017 at 11:13 am
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        I would say “but Luke’s Blue Lightsaber felt with his hand from the Cloud City on Bespin, surely it was beyond being ever found”.
        …Ho well…

        • October 16, 2017 at 11:33 am
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          Except, the death star blew up, shortly after and Bespin did not.

      • October 17, 2017 at 1:09 am
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        i think it ha more to do with kylo wren and his dodgy light sabre, and wanting this from luke, maybe it is something more to do with that

    • October 16, 2017 at 12:49 am
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      Vader’s saber fell into the same energy well as Sidious. It’s the crystal from his green saber that’s been bled red by Luke himself after the Jedi massacre. Thus no green saber in the marketing or toys. He exiled himself not trusting his own powers after turning the Crystal red. Rey will bring him back to his senses and remind him who the real enemies are.

      • October 16, 2017 at 5:18 am
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        “Thus no green saber in the marketing or toys.”

        Remember, Rian Johnson said in a recent interview that he and his Lucasfilm bosses sat down months ago and identified numerous elements of the film that would be completely hidden away from all marketing until after Dec. 15. If Luke fires up the green lightsaber, that’s undoubtedly one of the things on the do-not-show list.

        You can’t take the absence of something in the marketing as proof it won’t happen.

      • October 16, 2017 at 1:08 pm
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        Vader’s lightsaber might have still been around. In the Aftermath novels this dark side cult called the Acolytes of the Beyond bought Vader’s lightsaber. It isn’t told to us if it’s really his lightsaber or what happened to it after that but there are reasons to think the saber (or in this case the crystal) could still be around.

    • October 16, 2017 at 6:01 pm
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      I’m thinking Luke lost his shit and destroyed the Jedi temple and everyone there somehow…turning his own crystal red. One of his reasons for exile maybe.

      • October 17, 2017 at 9:51 am
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        The trailer directly debunks that because it shows us that Luke was out cold when the shit hit the fan, which is why we see him falling to his knees. He’s crestfallen in that moment, not triumphant in a random act of evil.

        – Pomojema

        • October 17, 2017 at 4:09 pm
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          Or he’s crestfallen in disbelief of what he’s done….

  • October 15, 2017 at 9:06 pm
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    Great article!

  • October 15, 2017 at 10:17 pm
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    Great article!
    In regard to the FO repurposing stuff, I feel like we get mixed messages. They are too poor so they need to repurpose old machinery yet they have enough money to build a larger superweapon than the empire did along with large Star destroyers, gargantuan AT-M6, etc. They don’t have the ragtag feel of mismatched ships that the rebels of old had, so I really feel like lucasfilm cant decide if the FO is the underdog or some supreme force in this confict

    • October 15, 2017 at 11:03 pm
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      Very good point. I never liked the super weapon that was Starkiller and felt the FO should of been more akin to zealots like IS, so essentially a few Star Destroyer car bombs could of taken out the Republic and they were launched from Starkiller base.

      I also would of thought the role reversal so the FO were the rag-tag group for the TFA would of been cool, instead of a new name for a Rebel group.

    • October 16, 2017 at 7:02 am
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      Being practical is different than being poor. According to the Aftermath books, a lot of the Imperial equipment came from caches hidden by the Emperor, and has allowed the First Order to instantly bolster their ranks and divert raw resources to other projects.

      Lucasfilm has made a very clear effort to keep the First Order from feeling like the outclassed underdog, because it makes it harder for audiences to see them as villains. Google it, they’ve been pretty open about this.

    • October 16, 2017 at 1:04 pm
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      I think there’s a great deal of them actually wanting to resemble the Empire and going out of their way to look like them rather than simply ending up looking similar out of necessity or coincidence. I mean, if they had a very different message from the tyrannical Empire they would make an effort not to resemble them and a coat of paint for their Storm troopers cant be that expensive. Also many sources like the novel Bloodlines show how the FO was created with the remnants of the Empire and the support of politicians who were imperial sympathisers, who worshipped the Empire’s image. I think that instead of mixed messages they are trying to send a message of the FO being a group who wants to be like the Empire AND at the same time they conveniently save a buck since they aren’t as big as the Empire used to be.

  • October 15, 2017 at 10:31 pm
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    Crap they couldn’t ditch the regular old AT-AT and AT-ST.

    • October 15, 2017 at 11:04 pm
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      Well irl even the military won’t do completely new designs for their crafts because nobody will change what works. Most of them will just do improvement from old designs. It’s just a matter of practicality.

    • October 15, 2017 at 11:51 pm
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      I always hate to keep beating this drum as it’s be said many times before but many military entities use equipment and vehicles beyond 30 years. MP5 developed in the 1960s. Wildly used today. AK47… it’s in the name. Still the most widely used assault rifle. It’s not just countless rifles either. The Blackhawk helicopter was introduced in 1979. It’s actually more likely a military would use older proven models than constantly updating and spreading a prototype fleet wide.

      • October 16, 2017 at 4:05 am
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        Weren’t some countries using old American sherman tanks up into the 70’s or 80s?

        • October 16, 2017 at 9:31 am
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          Yes, a bit silly, Sherman was one of the worse tanks in WW2, T-34 was much better and probably they made more units.

          • October 17, 2017 at 12:54 am
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            We just made a ridiculous amount of Shermans, and they were easy to use and maintain.

          • October 17, 2017 at 5:59 am
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            Yes, agree, that was definitive in North Africa.
            Same about the amount of bombers B-29, B17, and they were much better.

          • October 17, 2017 at 1:42 am
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            Getting off topic, but I imagine the countries who America will have sold Shermans to are not countries Russia would sell their tanks to. I believe Israel had a load of them as they were a new state- beggars can’t be choosers.

          • October 17, 2017 at 5:51 am
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            Yes, of course, that was the reason.
            Spanish fascist Franco dictatorship had gifted Shermans too, until democracy bought German Leopards.
            Interesting what history tell us.

      • October 16, 2017 at 9:28 am
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        What is the equivalent to the MQ-9 Reaper Predator?
        F-117 I know, it is Poe Dameron-BB8

    • October 16, 2017 at 6:57 am
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      As others have pointed out, other than for the purpose of selling toys, there’s little in-universe justification for radical new military designs. Especially in a galaxy that has only known non-stop conflict since the Clone Wars.

    • October 16, 2017 at 12:44 am
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      I think it’s inside a First Order ship.

      • October 16, 2017 at 1:10 am
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        Me too… and I still stand by that he’s saving Leia. It shows you his light isn’t fully gone. I say it’s similar to the timeline they presented. Fleet is attacked early on. They more or less run to Crait. How did Leia survive? Kylo helped her.

        Yet he still didn’t come back from the dark. So that’s why (maybe) she looks so forlorn again just before the attack on Crait. Because she knows there is still good in him but here he is again determined to do the dark thing.

        Speculation as always!

    • October 16, 2017 at 1:11 am
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      Didn’t say that it was… Just that the scene logically has to take place after his training and his attack on the Resistance fleet.

      – Pomojema

    • October 16, 2017 at 9:26 am
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      He looks Severus Snape here.

      • October 16, 2017 at 2:10 pm
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        This could be a flashback scene after Kylo Ren’s death, where we learn that all those times we thought he was an evil d*@#, he was actually on the side of good the whole time 🙂

        • October 16, 2017 at 2:23 pm
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          But he has the Scar in it… this is at the second half of the movie in the time line I believe.

          • October 17, 2017 at 1:39 am
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            Sorry, I was making a “Snape” joke, imagining that Kylo Ren was actually a Severus Snape-like hero, but we only find that out at the end.

          • October 17, 2017 at 5:53 am
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            I feel dumb now, lol.

          • October 17, 2017 at 6:15 am
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            Not dumb at all, just an oversight. I should now…I’ve said way dumber things than that, and most likely will again 🙂

          • October 17, 2017 at 8:22 am
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            I fact Snape fits Vader, Dumbeldore fits Obi Wan, Poe Dameron fits Harry Potter, Drako fits Kylo Ren, Hagrid fits Chew, Lucius Malfoy fits Luke and Sirus Black fits Han Solo.
            🙂

          • October 17, 2017 at 9:12 am
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            I agree with Dumbledore/Obi Wan, Hagrid/Chewie, and Sirius/Han.

            But I think Vader was way more evil, for a long time, than Snape ever was. Not sure about Draco and Kylo, either – Draco’s Dad actually was pretty evil, whereas Han Solo had a good heart, just probably wasn’t a very good Dad.

            Completely disagree with Luke and Lucius though!!! Luke is a hero, Lucius was evil!

          • October 17, 2017 at 9:37 am
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            Well, that´s the trouble, this fantastic series are so dramatically extreme about good/evil, that sadly some source/personality has to be the good or bad guy.
            Snape is not exactly like Vader because he was a mole, but we saw it at the end, so all the time we felt like he was.
            Actually I consider Lor San Tekka and Darth Vader are the same personality, but Vader is expressing only darkness. Anakin would be San Tekka in his old age, so Poe Dameron meets that personality from some perspective and Kylo meets him in a different one as Luke/Leia have different experiences. Obviously that is personal a opinion.
            Yes, it is sad Lucius and Drako are evil compared to Luke, but for example Hermione has not a parallelism in Star Wars in my opinion.
            Being more clear, Kirk is Obi Wan and Spoke is Anakin during the Clone Wars, for example.
            Or a nowdays serie, Sons of Anarchy, Jax Teller is Kylo Ren and Clay Morrow would be Luke. The father absent would be granfather in this case Vader.
            That links with what I understand about this Luke going dark could be in the past, as you can see he is wearing the black cloak in the scenes of the academy burning… it could be Knights of Ren are Luke students, and his academy started to go dark. Like in Sons of Anarchy, Jax/Kylo occupied the role of Luke/Clay and went even darker.

    • October 16, 2017 at 10:35 pm
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      He certainly doesn’t look evil there. Weight-off-his-shoulders calm, I would say, Who knows… Perhaps he’s reaching his hand out to Finn after his battle with Phasma. While Finn has shown no signs of force sensitivity he is driven by fear and we all know where that leads.

  • October 16, 2017 at 12:45 am
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    Finally someone mentions the red crystal from the Funko toy. A crystal from Ach-to? Oh heck no, it’s the crystal from his missing saber I think. It has to be something special enough for him to wear, I doubt he’s into collecting the local minerals for jewelry. Couldn’t understand why none was willing to talk about that Funko toy or if they did they played it down. Denial I say! Luke goes into exile after loosing control a bit after the temple massacre. He unintentionally bleeds his crystal red causing him to not trust himself then goes into exile to contemplate the force. Rey will bring him back into the light.

    • October 16, 2017 at 11:08 am
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      My personal take on that crystal is that it came from Darth Vader’s Red Lightsaber and that Luke kept it as a reminder of how a Jedi can be corrupted by the Dark Side.

      • October 16, 2017 at 11:44 am
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        How do you get the crystal from a lightsaber that fell into a >100m pit and blew up with the Death Star a few moments later?

        • October 16, 2017 at 4:45 pm
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          Because people are bad at watching movies.

          • October 16, 2017 at 5:04 pm
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            But if it’s true that the Aftermath books describe a group of people buying Vader’s saber for burning it and thereby sending it to him, it appears to me that people are rather bad in telling stories …

          • October 16, 2017 at 8:22 pm
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            We Vader’s lightsaber and hand go down the reactor.

            It didn’t occur to you that the people selling that lightsaber were liars?

            The person buying it even questioned if it were the real one.

            People are also bad at reading books haha.

          • October 17, 2017 at 10:03 am
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            I did not read the book, yet, I just heard it from different summaries. But i’m glad to hear that the canon is still consistent in that case.

          • October 17, 2017 at 4:13 pm
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            That’s why reading the book is better than reading a Wiki entry. you get the full story and not someone’s version of it.

            The canon is safe haha.

        • October 16, 2017 at 5:15 pm
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          Good point, but if they can get Anakin/Luke’s saber after it fell down a massive shaft on Cloud City, they can get Vader’s saber also, I would guess. LOL

          • October 16, 2017 at 5:22 pm
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            The saber BLEW UP with the Death Star, though

        • October 16, 2017 at 5:57 pm
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          Because they can make shit up without explaining…lol

      • October 16, 2017 at 6:06 pm
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        Vader’s saber was destroyed in the energy well that killed the Emperor. I believe the story group has already confirmed this. It was destroyed before the Death Star even exploded.

    • October 16, 2017 at 5:55 pm
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      instead of carrying a ready to go lightsaber, using the force when needed, his new lightsaber will fly together and this is the crystal for it. It will shock everyone that it is red…lol, I have no idea but that sounded pretty good didn’t it?

  • October 16, 2017 at 2:03 am
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    It’s time for the waiting of The Last Jedi… to end.

  • October 16, 2017 at 4:19 am
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    I can’t stand that overhead shot of Kylo and the StormTroopers.

    • October 16, 2017 at 7:36 am
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      Why?

      • October 17, 2017 at 1:06 am
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        This guy claims excitement for trailers but hates just about everything presented. Granted their opinions, but seems to be a major contrarian.

        • October 17, 2017 at 1:12 am
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          Yes, i have noticed this in his previous comments.

    • October 16, 2017 at 12:58 pm
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      I love that shot, it’s one of the better shots.

    • October 17, 2017 at 12:52 am
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      It’s beautiful.

  • October 16, 2017 at 12:40 pm
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    You forgot to mention that the Raddus is almost certainly named after Admiral Raddus, the Mon Calamari officer from Rogue One

    • October 16, 2017 at 5:14 pm
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      That’s already been confirmed elsewhere in canon. I forget which book told that story, but from what I was told, Raddus was killed shortly after the events of Rogue One and became somewhat of a legend, hence naming the shop after him.

      The details may be a little different as I didn’t read it myself, but I know that that’s canon somehow. Good catch though!

  • October 16, 2017 at 1:34 pm
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    Two thoughts:

    1. Luke and Snoke… A similarity in name only? Is Snoke a clone of Luke, one that maybe grew mismatched? And Luke tried to kill him once which would explain the scars…

    2. Maybe Kylo Ren doesn’t extend his Hand towards Rey but towards his mother…

    • October 16, 2017 at 4:44 pm
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      Snoke isn’t human.

  • October 16, 2017 at 2:56 pm
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    Any idea why the TV spot surimposes Snoke’s “fulfill your destiny” line to Finn’s fight with Phasma rather than Rey’s force torture scene as in the theatrical trailer ?

    • October 16, 2017 at 4:44 pm
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      B/c it’s shorter

  • October 16, 2017 at 6:09 pm
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    It’s alive, and it rhymes!

  • October 16, 2017 at 6:21 pm
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    OK, what if Luke went darkside BEFORE whatever happened to destroy his “Jedi Enclave”? Maybe he even had a role in its destruction? Everybody seems to think his current state is a result of that event, but maybe it’s the reverse.

    My current pet theory is Kylo deliberately went to the darkside in order to get strong enough to confront Luke. He didn’t have an Obi-Wan or Yoda to train him, so he was stuck with Snoke. He’s in so deep he’s lost control, but the source of his obvious internal conflict is that he was trying to do something “good” but had to risk being completely lost to the darkside.

    Maybe that’s what the Knights of Ren are? A group of well-meaning ex-Jedi who thought they could handle dabbling in the darkside.

    • October 16, 2017 at 8:16 pm
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      That seems out there to me, personally. But we shall see.

    • October 16, 2017 at 11:54 pm
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      I think the best part of that whole theory is the last bit, about the Knights of Ren.

  • October 16, 2017 at 7:38 pm
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    Yes. Why is Luke’s hand skin gone now. I’m guessing from rising up the ashes

    • October 16, 2017 at 8:16 pm
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      He has clearly been in some adventures

      • October 17, 2017 at 12:28 am
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        Too much force usage

  • October 16, 2017 at 8:30 pm
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    Luke’s hand looks very different from TFA to TJL. I am assuming it has weatered away a bit over the years but it looks really different. The fingers are much thinner and robot-esk. I am not sure where I am going with this but its just something I noticed.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c0a22ba5daa4044f76136b16c7a593ddaab05a5f58e08ffbefa0b93fefd6dd69.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8cfc20865b24666fc46fa03d897ae086195fe58bd794fc60b5363deecbc4b7fa.jpg

    • October 17, 2017 at 9:58 am
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      Because he wears a glove in TFA and his robot hand is CGI in TLJ.

      Please also tell us how Kylo’s scar is different in this movie

      • October 17, 2017 at 3:31 pm
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        WELL! If you look closely…

      • October 17, 2017 at 4:34 pm
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        There’s no glove over Luke’s robot hand in TFA. The TFA and TLJ hands don’t look that different to me.

        • October 19, 2017 at 1:33 am
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          You’re not reading what I wrote, I’m talking about how the effect is done. in the TFA he’s wearing a robotic looking glove. in TLJ it’s done with CGI. That’s why his hands look different.

          Reading is not that hard

          • October 19, 2017 at 1:56 am
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            It’s also possible to read your words and misinterpret them. “He wears a glove” is not that clear given that Luke has worn a glove over the robotic hand in the past. Do we know it was a glove?

  • October 17, 2017 at 1:04 am
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    how about luke tells her how her mother died in the attacks by kylo or he may say it was his fault she died and he left her on the planet? which sends her over the edge? but kind of like obi wan did he keeps the full truth from her…..that being that he is her father

  • October 17, 2017 at 1:11 am
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    this to me is pointing more and more to kylo to luke rey to smoke good to bad bad to good

  • October 17, 2017 at 7:39 am
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    I LOVE this trailer! Can’t wait for TLJ! This is really a thoughtful and thorough analysis. I like some of the things Pomojema pointed out that I missed (like the underwater creature skeleton), as well as several of the clever editing misdirections. Opening night can’t get here soon enough!

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