Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer Breakdown
The full trailer for The Last Jedi has finally arrived! Have you seen it? If not go watch it now, then come back here to check out our screenshot rundown and fulfill your destiny!
The 2 minute 34 second trailer is dark side heavy, as we would imagine a trailer for the second act in a three part story would be. We begin with an unmasked Kylo Ren, overseeing First Order operations, by himself, which turns out being the case for most of this trailer, Kylo Ren, on his own.
We love this shot here, with shades of Anakin in Attack of the Clones. The conflict within Kylo Ren was evident in The Force Awakens, and it is interesting to see his reflection here in this shot, perhaps as much figuratively as it is literally. It looks as though Rian Johnson is continuing that internal struggle we were introduced to in the previous film.
As Snoke’s voice booms over these shots
“When I found you, I saw raw untamed power.”
we see the new AT-M6 walkers marching heavily, scraping through the salty sands of the planet Crait, with Kylo Ren’s command shuttle hovering above.
Kylo Ren leads flame troopers into a cave of some sort, which we believe to be Crait. Perhaps they are attempting to burn up the valuable minerals once mined here. We saw a lot of fire in the first teaser, and ahead in this trailer, so perhaps this is the source of much of it.
Kylo Ren, masked once again, and possibly kneeling before Supreme Leader Snoke. The shot is very similar to the one of him in The Force Awakens, speaking to the mask of his grandfather, Darth Vader.
If this shot follows the previous one, a kneeling Ren picks up his lightsaber (unless it is a tricky reversed shot of him putting his lightsaber down). In the background we see two Praetorian Guards.
The parallels continue, we immediately go from a shot of Ren with his saber to Rey igniting the Skywalker lightsaber.
Rey begins speaking about her realization that something was always inside her. We believe these lines actually belong with her final lines in the trailer, but more on that later. This takes us to the next two shots, the ones we have all been hanging on the cliff for two years, Luke finally accepting the lightsaber that once belonged to him, that once belonged to his father.
The slight pensiveness and hesitation of Luke’s robotic hand in accepting the lightsaber that he last saw when he lost his real hand at the hands of Darth Vader is so subtle but necessary and perfectly executed by Rian Johnson.
What must be going through the mind of Luke at this point? A clash between memories and what lies ahead with this girl? A whirlwind of emotions swirling, going from complete solitude to an immediate injection of his past, and potentially his future, all at once.
Rey walking towards the Force tree in the murky fog of Ahch-To, the environment reminds us of Dagobah a bit, and perhaps the fog is a swift yet thick shot of symbolism, that Rey’s journey may not be as clear as we once thought.
The books…in the tree…we saw them in the first teaser…the Journal of the Whills? Did Luke send Rey to the tree to find them? Or has she gone off on her own after being turned away and discovers them herself?
There is no doubt Luke’s search for the first Jedi temple, and the origins of his religion will play a role, perhaps seeing how Obi-Wan lost Vader, and how he lost Ben, made Luke question whether the path of the Jedi lost its way.
Rey training with the saber, which is clearly a closer shot of the one we saw landscaped so beautifully in the first teaser, which shows Luke watching her from the cliffs above. It is no doubt that after much hesitation and concern, Luke will agree to train her.
But how powerful is she? Luke is about to find out.
Meditating and focusing on the Force, a huge crack splitting the ground they stand on sends a shock to Luke’s face. What if the split of the surface on Starkiller base that separated Kylo Ren and Rey in The Force Awakens wasn’t from the planet dying, but caused by Rey’s powerful connection with The Force? We saw her immediately display incredible abilities the moment after she closed her eyes, and whispered…….”The Force.”
The shot from the first teaser returns, another example of how potentially powerful Rey is, with telekinetic capabilities of unknown limitations.
Luke expresses massive concern, but when does he actually voice this concern? We see Luke seemingly escaping rubble – is this a flashback of his destroyed Jedi Academy? This leads us to think we may be in store for another Force/flashback.
Luke says he has seen raw strength like this before, and that it didn’t scare him then, but it does now. But who is he talking about? We immediately assume it is Ben (Kylo). But what if he is talking about his father, Darth Vader? Fear was a major theme for Luke in the original trilogy, and Vader himself acknowledged that Luke controlled his fear. Is Luke seeing a parallel in the power of Rey that he witnessed in his father?
A shot (or variation of a shot) that we have seen since The Force Awakens, which we have all assumed is Luke having escaped the destruction of his Jedi Academy, looking on solemnly with R2. But perhaps what we saw in Rey’s vision in The Force Awakens wasn’t all from the past. What if this shot happens now in The Last Jedi? If so, what is burning in the distance? It is something to think about, and if it turns out to be the case, the movies are intertwined more than we initially realized.
Rey on Ahch-To, early after her arrival as she is wearing the outfit she arrived in, clearly with worry and concern on her face.
Kylo Ren, again by himself, in his own mind, with his thoughts, but what are they?………
Conflicted? He takes one final look at his mask and then proceeds to smash it through the wall, which explains the shattered remains of it that we saw in the first teaser.
Kylo Ren’s TIE Silencer in pursuit of a ship, but whose?
Kylo Ren’s voice is heard, but who is he talking to? Himself? Another?
“Let the past die – kill it if you have to.”
A gravely concerned Leia, clearly sensing something through the Force – the sequence of shots would have us believe it is Ben.
Zeroed in on a the target (the trailer would have us assume it’s Leia), the shot pans to Kylo Ren, his thumb hovering over the trigger.
Is a mother connecting with her son through The Force? Is she creating the hesitation, churning up the confusion, the conflict within him? This next shot is one of the best in the trailer. No dialogue but Adam Driver delivers everything we need. Fighting back sadness, closed in, is he still being torn apart? The novelization of The Force Awakens pointed out that Kylo Ren was unexpectedly, to himself, affected by killing his father. It did not give him the satisfaction he thought it would. Is Kylo Ren more conflicted and tormented in the wake of this in The Last Jedi? Did it not complete his journey towards the darkness but add a ring to the internal chaos?
The mood shifts to the Millennium Falcon (we were all waiting for it!) flying through a cave of some sort, in again what we assume to be Crait. Perhaps these are the mines of Crait which we have learned are rich with minerals. Has the Resistance returned to a planet familiar to both Luke and Leia (see upcoming comic Star Wars: Storms of Crait, and Claudia Gray’s Leia: Princess of Alderaan) for resources and that deserted former Rebel base?
From Rian Johnson’s Vanity Fair interview months ago:
â(Crait is) way out there. Itâs uncharted. Itâs a mineral planet and so there are mines on it.â
â(There is) an old Rebel base [on Crait] thatâs now abandoned,â which will end up âplaying a key role in the movie.â
The mighty Chewbacca! Still in the right-hand chair, is Rey still at the helm or is she too busy with her journey that she has handed over the keys?
A porg! These little bird-like habitants of Ahch-To are here to dial up the cuteness level. Our guess is one of these little guys accidentally sneaks on to the Falcon and they discover him mid-flight after leaving the planet, and he becomes “the porg” for the rest of the trilogy.
What is Star Wars without epic space battles??
Poe Dameron viewing the damage from the previous shot perhaps? Something tells me he needs to get to his X-wing immediately!
As we found out in previous reports, Poe’s X-wing has been modified, and he has a little extra boost at his disposal. From the Empire Online coverage:
The X-Wing (an Incom-FreiTek T-70, to be precise) has, according to Rian Johnson, been specially modified by Resistance engineers, with a temporary accelerator pod affixed to the aft section. According to The Last Jedi director, the pod, when primed, increases Dameron’s speed, allowing him to outrun First Order cannon emplacements. It’s just a temporary boost and will burn out quickly but it’s enough to get beyond the barrage of turbo laser fire from First Order Star Destroyers such as the one depicted in the image.
Here are some shots of Poe, who as we know is “one hell of a pilot”, taking his fight to the First Order:
It looks like Poe is flying over the First Order’s new mega-Star Destroyer Dreadnought during the battle of D’Qar as the Resistance attempts to flee their current location. As we mentioned in an article last week, Poe and his team will be aided by an A-wing squad commanded by Tallie Lintra.
A determined Poe Dameron, with an increased leadership role is ready to light the fire that takes down the First Order. That is clearly Carrie Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourde as Lieutenant Connix in the background in this next shot.
The Resistance is not stopping the First Order without getting past the leader of the stormtroopers. That’s right, she made it out folks, Captain Phasma is BACK!
The fight we have anticipated since the end of The Force Awakens is going to go down, as Finn and Phasma appear set for an iconic one-on-one encounter amidst the madness that surrounds them.
Finn is still in his undercover First Order disguise that was teased to us in previous releases. As we know, Finn and newcomer Rose will be going undercover within the First Order. Well, it appears they got caught, and Finn, without time to change back into his jacket (which we all know suits him quite well), will be battling Phasma in First Order officer attire.
These are incredible shots, as you can see Finn reflecting off of Phasma’s helmet. This is going to be an epic fight, but the question remains, will we see Phasma unmasked?
In this next shot it looks like we see the First Order Dreadnought doing some damage to Resistance Bombers (B/SF-17 heavy bomber), we speculate that this is happening in the battle over D’Qar.
Here is our little buddy BB-8, looks like he got a little cooked, but he’s okay. It even looks like he shakes his head like he got his bell rung a little at the end of this shot. Don’t worry, he’ll be all right!
“This is not going to go….the way you think.” declares Luke Skywalker (a quote that Mark Hamill himself chose to use in his Tweet of the trailer)
Move over porgs, the new creature getting a lot of buzz are these mysterious ice foxes, which inhabit Crait. There are clearly many of them as you can see them running for cover here at the base in the mountains of Crait.
The reverse shot of this base entrance is shown, and all we see is Leia at the entrance alone. What is happening here?
The shot moves closer to Leia’s face, clearly solemn but also what appears to be in contemplation. Is she weighing her options moving forward?
The behind the scenes reel showed us Rey diving in water, and now we see her under water (notice the alien skeleton in the bottom right corner)…..
and emerging from the water.
Is this a test? It looks like she emerges from the water to find Luke. Did he send her down there for something? Perhaps he is asking her to do him a favor and see if she sees an X-wing down there with a green lightsaber (I’m kidding).
We come back to Finn, now being escorted by First Order stormtroopers, he is in the First Order disguise. This is likely after he is caught, being walked to the First Order Judicial Executioners for his sentencing and ultimately, his execution. Something tells us he will figure his way out of this predicament, as we expect his battle with Phasma to happen after his escape.
The First Order, this shot reminds me a lot of the hanger on the Death Star II in Return of the Jedi. You can see walkers in the distance as well as AT-STs (or a form of them) on the right. Perhaps a new model has taken on a new name as have the new walkers.
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Here we see more shots of First Order walkers at the battle of Crait, with Kylo Ren’s command shuttle above accompanied as always by TIE fighter patrol protection. The red churning up on the right indicates the Resistance is already firing shots their way, as the blasts are too close to be coming from the walkers themselves.
The battle of Crait rages on, with a TIE fighter getting shot down. This is a great action shot as the TIE plummets to the ground and explodes into pieces at the camera. Any question on whether Rian Johnson can direct action sequences are quickly answered with a resounding “yes”!
One of the most important shots of the trailer for us is seeing Snoke’s face, finally not in hologram form. Snoke looks awesome. This does not look like a cartoon or too-CGI, and he appears evil and intimidating. There have been rumblings of concern over Snoke fizzling out lately, especially with a lot of fun being poked about his action figures and his unexpected choice of attire, but these next two shots might make us rethink those jabs.
“Fulfill your destiny!” – Snoke
Rey is being tortured by Snoke as a Praetorian Guard looks on off to the right. She is likely doing what she can to resist him, but unlike her resistance to Kylo in The Force Awakens, Snoke might be too much for her to fend off.
The final shots of the trailer have thrown fans into a speculation tornado on social media. Rey speaks:
âI need someone to show me my place in all thisâ
It appears that she is talking to Kylo Ren, which is followed by him reaching out his hand to her. But I feel this is old-fashioned Star Wars trailer misdirection. Check it out after the shot of Kylo.
First off, look at the shot of Ren. He is surrounded by smoke, fire, and embers raining down around him. Then go back and look at the shot of Rey, absolutely nothing. The lighting is similar, yes it is probably fire of some sort, and edited perfectly to have us think this exchange is happening between them, but we are convinced that is Rey talking to Luke on Ahch-To. If you need more convincing look at Rey’s outfit. That is the same tunic she arrived at Ahch-To in. Also, her hair in her post-training action figures and images show it looking more like a Qui-Gon Jinn down look, and this is clearly still exactly how she looks when she first arrives to meet Luke.
So this begs the question…who is Kylo Ren reaching out to? Could it still be Rey but in another shot? Is it Leia, his mother?
What did you think of the trailer? It has already been viewed nearly 10 million times on YouTube, and the overall consensus seems to be very positive. This film looks dark, as it should be, but also full of the necessary character weight and development and struggle that is required in the second act of a trilogy. In addition to this, the movie looks incredibly unique, and fresh, so perhaps the “Empire rehash” narrative can be put to rest finally. It looks like Rian Johnson may have really created something special here with The Last Jedi, and we are just over two months away from seeing his vision on the big screen, and having all of these speculations and questions answered.
Light….darkness….the balance….The Last Jedi blasts into theaters on December 14th.
You can find me on Twitter @JohnnyHoey, and you know we’ll be covering this in-depth on our official podcast The Resistance Broadcast @RBatSWNN.
“For my ally is Rian Johnson, and a powerful ally he is.”
John Hoey is the Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net and the host of The Resistance Broadcast podcast
"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."
Epic trailer! Epic!
Loved the trailer and the brooding atmosphere, I don’t think they revealed too much as we have seen most of the locations before, what I did notice though was the lack of saber vs saber or the Knights of Ren and Praetorian guards in action. I hope they have saved these for the film, I will be miffed if they aren’t in it in an action sequence in some way.
Fave trailer of the year so far.
Loved the trailer and the brooding atmosphere, I don’t think they revealed too much as we have seen most of the locations before, what I did notice though was the lack of saber vs saber or the Knights of Ren and Praetorian guards in action. I hope they have saved these for the film, I will be miffed if they aren’t in it in an action sequence in some way.
Fave trailer of the year so far.
I’m beginning to think that shot when the First Order is in that hangar has classic AT-ATs and AT-DPs from Rebels
Maybe AT-STs. Who knows.
I was gonna say the same thing, there are clearly old AT ATs in that shot, you can see it in the shape of the head. Perhaps we will see both of them side by side in the battle to get some size comparison?
They’re not the Imperial design AT-ATs or AT-STs, unfortunately. (Compare the front window of the FO AT-ST with the Imperial AT-ST.)
I say unfortunately because I do think it’d be cool if the FO salvaged some of the old Imperial vehicles and reused them, just as the Resistance has some OT Rebel vehicles.
To me the main and biggest hint is in Rey’s outfit and hairstyle. She is using her 1st act look (end of TFA) not her “Qui Gonn look” that would naturally appear later on the story. The shot of her at the end of the trailer is happens during the first or second act not the third were such a twist would naturally take place. It’s a bit of clever editing and misdirection.
Great article.
Yep. It had me the first time though.
Oh absolutely, it had me freaking out when i watched it live. It was only after a couple more calm views that i noted the difference in background between Kylo and Rey and the lack of Rey’s 3rd act outfit.
This definitely will take out a lot of the apprehension for the film away from everyone, I think. Great breakdown as well.
So Ben stops blaster fire in midair, and Rey can even crack stone floor, but what are the rules? I mean, can they introduce an even more powerful force user (Jedi) with every movie? And since Anakin was supposed to be the most powerful ever, I just really hope we learn that in this movie
Different abilities doesn’t mean more powerful
Every film will now introduce a more powerful force user and an even larger superweapon…
The Death Super Nova, then the Dead Black Hole, the Death Galaxy… :p
There’s a decent explanation for all the obsessions with superweapons floating around out there (in one of the alleged spoiler rumors) tied into Snoke which would make all the Deathstar reboots make sense
Rey has a very raw power, from what’s said in the trailer. Maybe Anakin was not the most powerful of all times, after all đ
Anakin was the Chosen One, no mention of him being the most powerful.
He had the highest midiclorian count for whatever it’s worth. đ
Ah yes true – higher than even Master Yoda’s wasn’t it? Still, if you can’t control that power…..
Yeah and then came LUKE who SMASHES Anakin’s powers.
Vader wa was weakened after most of his body was burned down on Mustafar. That is mentioned in several canonical references. Anakin in his prime was much stronger than Vader.
“His midichlorians are higher than Yoda’s?”
How many of us asked that in 2002, or 2005?
Surprised no one is talking about the Death Star siren at the beginning of the walker shot.
Last bit Rey & Kylo are definitely in different scenes. Their is a lot of echo on her voice, like Luke’s in the cave when he says it is time for the Jedi to end. There is no echo on Kylo’s voice.
Is Finn captured and under duress or has he been reconditioned and is leading the storm troopers?
Or he has infiltrated the First Order while still being with the Resistance. Eventually Phasma finds him out and the fight ensues.
Crait confuses me. I thought it was supposed to be a salty planet. But that sure looks like snow in the shot of the crystal foxes.
It’s supposed to be salt. Frankly i can’t tell the difference between that or snow unless i touch it or look really close. They’re both a white powder so i can’t tell.
Sure, you could argue that the white stuff accumulated on the ground is salt. But the white flakes drifting through the air … that’s gotta be snow. Salt just wouldn’t flutter to the ground like that.
Couple years ago we visited the Great Salt Flats in Utah. This is exactly what they looked like. Totally cool. Looks totally like white snow. Didnt have the read layer underneath, but the white and how flat are a perfect match.
Please don’t ruin Luke… please don’t ruin Luke… please don’t ruin Luke…
Yeah, he doesnât exactly seem quite right in this trailer – too nervy – are we getting our first glimpse of what Mark Hamill has been talking about.
If you were in Luke’s position, would you feel right? Especially after you have tried to rebuild the entire Jedi religion, build a new academy, train a new generation of Jedi to protect the new Republic etc. but to have everything you have worked so hard for, taken away by one student of yours. I know I would be not right after that…
I’m scared for Luke. I think Rian is going to ruin him.
It looks like having watched his nephew kill all the Jedi students has ruined Luke. I love that the main hero of the Original Trilogy is broken. That will force the story into new territory.
Broken is okay IF he finds his way back to being a hero
Luke has to have some triumphant arc
Remember JJ spouting all before TFA – the theme was “who is Luke Skywalker?”
If he is broken, bitter, etc. without any redemption for himself, then the story is weak
I thought JJ wanted to use the scrapped concept of Luke going to the dark side in the original script for RotJ?
You may likely need another film for that.
Is it just my imagination, or can i see some predatory-looking beast in the bottom-right corner of the shot with Rey underwater?
I see it too. Or perhaps it’s a skull.
Yeah that’s what i thought, maybe the skeleton of some weird sea monster?
Snoke in Gold Yellow robe? Reminds me of a certain rebel (cough) Ezra…
And did Ezra take growth spurt pills? He’s not Ezra
Ezra is barely an adult when we see him so ha!…or he could use stilts!
Better Than Ezra. Wait….
The Emperor had a golden robe in the first draft of ESB, incidentally.
Ezra is about Luke’s age. Snoke on the other hand is ancient. They can’t be the same person, but Ezra could be Rey’s father (although he is not).
If it turns out that they are just teasing us with a Rey kylo team up for the second straight film I will be a sad panda.
And Iâm going to be really angry if Rey turns evil because she canât deal with emotional turmoil… but Kylo Ren turns good despite murdering his own father (and possibly mother.)
What I’m hoping for is that neither Rey or kylo end the trilogy on the light side or dark side but meet in the middle. Luke wants nothing to do with Rey and snoke has clearly been using kylo, so it would be cool if they both went their own way.
Luke better fight someone in this.
I know I donât need to see anything else. I got my tickets opening night and now I am just playing the waiting game.
“Luke says he has seen raw strength like this before, and that it didnât scare him then, but it does now.”
I’m thinking the “before” reference was Palpatine, and the “now” is Snoke. We’ve all assumed Luke is on Ahch-to due to some kind of self-imposed exile. But what if he’s there to prepare to face Snoke. Perhaps that’s what he’s been searching for, a means to defeat him, maybe the answer is in the book.
Judging by the trailer, Rian Johnson has made an effort to connect the prequel with the original trilogy. I would not be surprised if Anakin’s force ghost does make an appearance in this film.
I’m also convinced this movie will turn the whole Star Wars lore on its head.
Anakin Force ghost? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo
” I would not be surprised if Anakin’s force ghost does make an appearance in this film.”
Boy, I would be.
Personally I don’t think it will happen, but with Rian Johnson making the effort to bridge the gap between the prequel and original trilogy, I wouldn’t entirely rule the possibility out.
I hope he does appear, it would make sense that Anakin and Obiwan appear to counsel Luke but to also guide Rey on the right path.
Eh, I don’t know if Anakin has any real insight that Luke doesn’t already have.
Also, Hayden is just such a sore point bc of his acting. I am sure he would be better now, but…pass.
This trailer tells me that Rian has created a much more mature movie than TFA. I didnt get any of the clicky pandering over the top shots that we got with TFA in this trailer. Rian is gonna make star wars great again!
This trailer tells me that Rian has created a much more mature movie than TFA. I didnt get any of the clicky pandering over the top shots that we got with TFA in this trailer. Rian is gonna make star wars great again!
“clicky pandering”. Thats a new one.
Agreed. I get why some are cynical over TFA, like myself. But I knew that Rian Johnson wasn’t going to pull another TFA, unless he was mandated by the studio. But even so, KK I doubt would have even done so. But really, to me this movie is taking the dark atmosphere and making it count.
And that to me is important. ESB in my view is a tad bit overrated, but what it gets right which is atmosphere and escalation, it does this to a T. Now, if TLJ can take those lessons from ESB and apply it to this movie while forging its own path, I am fairly confident that this movie will be fantastic.
For me, the visual highlight of the trailer was the crystal foxes running towards the base, followed by the reverse shot of Leia looking out the giant blast door. Just looked and felt so “classic Star Wars” to me. The giant blast door was like a combination of the Yavin 4 Temple entrance, Hoth base entrance, and Jabba’s giant palace door, yet different enough to be it’s own impressive design. And those crystal foxes or whatever they are looked amazing – so much more inspired than some of the other alien creatures we’ve seen so far like the porgs and the caretakers. Crait looks like it could be a very interesting locale in this new film….
I think Rey is talking to luke outside the falcon (where chewiie made a fire) so the lighting on her face kinda matches the shot of Ren but i think they are not in the same place https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/632bf9ce203b411fe352af8b22bc6278ae4e591b2b38d0711f3aaab2aa414840.jpg
YES. Literally just came to the same conclusion a second ago after looking at the first trailer and the bts reel. She’s wearing the clothing she had at the end of TFA. She’s in a cave facing Luke speaking to him. The lighting is used as a misdirect.
I think the only non-Acht-To shot for Rey is with Snoke.
So the question remains as to who Ben is reaching out to.
What’s awesome is that there is no other shots outside of Acht-To with Rey or Luke. So they haven’t revealed much….unless they stay there for a majority of the film.
When I heard about doing Snoke in all CG, I was worried, but this looks damn good.
Agreed, that skin/muscle, ugh. Is that Andy Serkis’ voice, too? The man has range, he deserves an Oscar in a new category…
Yeah if you follow Rian occasionally I believe he mentioned it was both motion and performance capture so its a mix of the best of both worlds allowing Serkis to do what he does best.
They’ve done a beautiful job of making Snoke more, ‘real!’
I that a grave stone that Rey is training next to???
I thought this! When I originally saw the headstone in TFA I was hoping it was going to be Mara Jades (Just to make her canon!) LOL!
For starters, I have to give major praise to the production value of this movie and the cinematographer, Steve Yedlin. TFA looked good, despite some iffy CGI. But this looks leagues better. To be expected, but yeah this will probably be the best looking SWs film to date since RO.
But what I adored about this trailer was the theme of identity. I love when trailers or movies do this and have one concept that is prevalent throughout the story. And for those who think this movie will be ESB, no it won’t. I have seen some people pedantically picking apart certain sequences from this trailer, harkening it back to Empire. This movie from the get go seems to be doing this right: using the second installment aspects of empire, dark atmosphere, in depth characterization, but ultimately forging its own path.
This being that this film is a direct continuation of TFA but also giving us some cool stuff, like more epic space battles. Something that ESB didn’t do, minus the Walker battle on Hoth. In short, I am super excited to see this. And really, my excitement for Rian Johnson started ever since he was announced. And truly, I do believe he can make his mark with this movie.
Also, why do I get the feeling that the lines of Snoke have been edited out of order? Like for example, “âWhen I found you, I saw raw untamed power.â line I feel like that is addressing Kylo and his next line about fulfilling destiny perhaps is pointed at Rey.
Also, I love Luke’s line: âThis is not going to goâŚ.the way you think.â A clear indicator of perhaps Rey wanting to challenge Kylo or Snoke in a reckless fashion, but perhaps a nod to the audience(or naysayers) that this movie won’t turn out the way one would come to expect.
Iâm hoping that Luke delivers that line to a bunch of Knights of Ren who think they have the upper hand. He then ignites his lightsaber and goes all Jedi Master on them. I know it probably wonât happen.
If there is one moment where I’d fanboy out, it would be that sequence you just described.
I think this trailer is full of misdirection. They didnât spend 2 years protecting the plot just to give it away in a trailer two months before the movie is released.
My hope is that they donât turn Luke evil or into some broken man that needs to be saved by Rey. Reyâs character needs to have some failures or the Mary Sue talk will increase.
Luke doesn’t, necessarily, have to be saved by Rey (most likely, they will save each other) but he NEEDS to be “broken”. You can’t have full-blown-out-hero-Luke in this context, it doesn’t make sense.
I have always wanted to see AT-ATs approaching Echobase again only with giant laser cannons on their back.
Chewbacca and the bird creature flying the Falcon through that asteroid tunnnel was the highlight for me. Well that and the Finn and Poe sequences.
You are going to wish you picked up those dozens of Finn, Rey, and Poe warming the toy shelves last year as they are really going to break out this time around. Just you watch.
When Luke talks about only seeing this raw strength once before, we immediately think of Kylo or possibly Darth Vader … but what if he is referring to a young girl from years back. We all know that there needs to be a big twist in this film and even if one of them has to do with revealing a family member, they need to go beyond our expectation of that alone. So, If Rey was originally known by Luke (family member or not), maybe the big twist is that she was a young force prodigy from his Jedi academy but she no longer has a clear memory of that time? Maybe Snoke initially wanted her, but she was hidden and so he went with Ben as an apprentice instead. I know that there is probably some recent novel or something that would make this vague theory not work, but just a thought.
Rey (my daughter) better not turn evil. I need to see more of Carrie in this film, also. RIP Carrie
Rey (my daughter) better not turn evil. I need to see more of Carrie in this film, also. RIP Carrie
I don’t know how to explain it but why does this TLJ footage look so “cheap” ? The cinematography and angles — just look ODD and not very “Star Wars.”
I know what you mean. My observations:
1. Composition. The obvious differences are the use of overhead shots. In the trailer alone there are two of them (Ahch-to and Kylo Ren and the First Order flame troopers). As far as I’m aware we’ve never had these kind of shots before. Also, most of the trailer scenes look tightly cropped, emphasising the main subject, rather than framing them within their surrounding background, and cutting down on unnecessary noise.
2. Depth of field. The vast majority of the captured images above have a very shallow depth of field, i.e. only the main character is in focus, with their background being blurred out.
3. Light. The Ahch-to daylight scenes are extremely harsh looking. This was most likely to do with the time of day when the scenes were shot, with the sun being high in the sky creating a very hard look , rather than the golden light more photographers favour when shooting closer to dawn or dusk.
4. Colour. This movie clearly favours the use of bold primary colours. Red is everywhere. The Crait scenes are a very good example, with the blues and red. Likewise, the dominant red used in the scene of Kylo Ren with his lightsaber.
The above is what jumped out at me that makes this movie look quite distinctive from other SW movies.
You, Mr Kenny, are a GENIOUS FYI.
Depth of field for sure. I don’t know if the same person shot this but it does remind me of Looper, which I was afraid of.
You were right. It doesn’t look “Star Wars” — the cinematography is too-Looper.
“too-Looper” is, definitely, a good thing đ
And, by the way… are you really going to post the same stuff, over and over again? It’s sad.
“too-Looper” is, definitely, a good thing đ
And, by the way… are you really going to post the same stuff, over and over again? It’s sad.
Loved Looper. The cinematography does look extremely similar. Steve Yedlin was director of photography for both movies. The look compared to episodes IV-VII is a little jarring.
The over head shot of Kylo Ren and the flame troopers storming a cave is a call back to Anakin storming the Jedi temple with the Clone Army in ROTS. A lot of the shots in this trailer had homages to the prequels as well as original trilogy.
I did pickup on that The Last Jedi looks a bit of a blend of the prequel and original trilogies. Heard somewhere that Rian Johnson is a fan of both eras. I wasn’t aware overhead shots had been used before in the prequels.
As long as there is NO shaky cam, I can tolerate even a german or french movie look and feel in SW.
Lol. I think most of us are suffering from shaky cam fatigue.
TFA had its own cinematography sometimes kind different from the First trilogy, and I will intentionally leave out of comment the prequel trilogy.
The Space Battles and Crait battle are totally Star Wars, so in that I am not agree.
As everyone use smartphones and they are always wide angles, I believe that changes how everyone sees images.
I am agree with you some parts in TFA and what we know in the TLJ are using Wide Angles probably in the first trilogy were not present… but I think it is the sign of the times… most pics in instagram or twitter are wide angles, and you can see them in movies and series, it is not anything people don´t see everyday.
TFA and TLJ in my opinion Art-Cinematography are Star Wars quality updated, I certainly love it, even if I admit there are some changes.
Interesting point, thanks for sharing.
TFA had its own cinematography sometimes kind different from the First trilogy, and I will intentionally leave out of comment the prequel trilogy.
The Space Battles and Crait battle are totally Star Wars, so in that I am not agree.
As everyone use smartphones and they are always wide angles, I believe that changes how everyone sees images.
I am agree with you some parts in TFA and what we know in the TLJ are using Wide Angles probably in the first trilogy were not present… but I think it is the sign of the times… most pics in instagram or twitter are wide angles, and you can see them in movies and series, it is not anything people don´t see everyday.
TFA and TLJ in my opinion Art-Cinematography are Star Wars quality updated, I certainly love it, even if I admit there are some changes.
Interesting point, thanks for sharing.
There is an original AT-AT with the new walkers on Crait, further down the line.
Are they really the original AT-ATs? I think it’d be cool if they were, the FO having salvaged some old Imperial armory. But upon closer inspection, these FO AT-ATs appear to have a sleeker head design.
Yeah, I agree. They look really really similar, but the “head” looks a little different to me. Also I can see some very subtle differences on the main “body” as well.
4 or 5 new AT-AT down the line there is a smaller (old) one underneath it
The scene of Rey going into the water reminds me of Assajj Ventress descending to the depths to kill the creature and find the dark side.
Clearly Snoke is crushing Rey, lets suppose that is happening passed half of the movie.
The questions are:
Can she free herself of it?
Or who will help her?
Candidates:
Finn
Luke
Rose
Poe
Kylo
What do you think?
I would imagine most probably Finn coming to the rescue or Kylo changing sides at this exact moment (kind of like when Darth Vader turns on the Emperor when seeing his son tortured in Return of the Jedi).
But what would really have me thrilled would be LeĂŻa reaching out to her through the Force and helping her! (both a real Girl-Power moment and a fitting tribute to the late Carrie Fisher, may she rest in peace).
Leia/Rose options are lovely.
Poe also is in debt as she rescued/helped BB8…
I actually see BB8 for Poe as a really apreciated pet, for weird it sounds, and I believe Rey interpreted it in the same way.
I think so as well.
Rose might be a lovely idea but I hardly imagine her facing Snoke.
Poe would be a possibility but I think he will be fighting with the Resistance rather than appearing in the room to help her against Snoke (though a well placed shot from his X-wing might make Snoke lose his focus just long enough for Rey to have a chance to escape).
Luke finally coming to fight Snoke and ultimately choosing to escape while the battle is not finished for Rey’s sake is another possibility.
Come to think of it, I’m starting to think we may have a moment of three battles at the same time (the battle on Crait, Finn fighting againt Captain Phasma and Ray against Snoke receiving help from Luke). That would be quite epic!
Well, that is the thing, surprising twists!
Or something not happening before… Poe flying is as skilled as any force user.
I can imagine Poe, Finn and Rose in a secret mission and rescueing Rey. I am taking that idea from the short text of Poe in the trailer… “the spark that start fire….” or something similar talking with Finn.
Definitely someone who can beat the Praetorian Guards hand to hand (they’ve been teased too much not to be seen in combat). So I would go with Luke or Kylo. Hopefully Luke with a certain green blade…
PS : pure daydream, but it would be so cool if R2 had kept his master’s saber hidden all this time and finally delivers it ROTJ style
I believe we focus too much on Force Users.
It must be a moment in Star Wars when some not force user defeat a force user, like David vs Goliath or a Frodo Bolson.
Like Jango vs Obi-wan ? đ I agree that it would be pretty cool, but the Praetorians are designed to fight lightsaber wielders, so…
But Kenobi was not defeated, right?
I mean, all stories are build on hidden rules we all accept, here it is force users always win, but it could be an exception.
I would like it to be Finn, but I am not sure he will be reunited with Rey in Episode VIII.
I like to think that we are going to get our ‘Luke moment’. He’s going to turn up and say something like “Let her go Ana….. SNOKE!” then ignites his lightsaber and all hell will break loose!
Yeah…
This morning I was thinking about Poe, Finn, Rose, Luke and Rey teaming together in a mission into Snoke super mega hyper destroyer đ
Or maybe Kylo…
What if the shot of Lukes hand reaching out of the rubble is not a flashback? Maybe he fought Kylo after Kylo discovered Rey and Luke on Ahch-to? Kylo believes to have killed Luke, captures Rey and brings her to Snoke. Luke digs himself out of the rubble to pursue them.
And what if Luke is refering to Palpatine as the one time he experienced this raw power? Maybe this could mean the Rey is somehow connected to Palpatine?
For me the reference to “Raw power” is opposed to “Refined power”, the former being untrained natural power and the latter being what power someone has when they have actually expanded and controlled their power, reaching their real potential. In that sense, I expect this sentence to apply to Kylo a lot more than Palpatine.
Actually….I like the Palpatine angle! Recovered from a hidden base somewhere and Luke couldnât just kill her so hid her. Then Han would also know about her past and Leia wouldnât want to say anything.
No. Rey is compared to Kylo Ren by Luke. And remember this. Not even Palpatine is as strong with the Force as the Skywalkers.
We all see Kylo Ren doubting about pushing the fire what we think it is against his mother Leia.
We then see Kylo angry about that.
We listen his voice, and we imagine it is all about killing his mother, probably.
What if, while he is dealing with pushing the fire or not, suddenly Poe and BB8 appears by one side flying the Xwing and kick his a**, like Han Solo with Vader in ANH.
I believe the new trilogy is a story about redemption. For whatever reason Kylo joined the Dark Side. He slaughtered all of Lukes students yet he has not become very powerful. He killed his father, yet he has not become powerful. Maybe he begins to realize that what Snoke tells him isn’t true. He has doubts and begins to realize what mistakes he made.
Mmm I don´t see redemption about being powerful.
So if he redeem himself but he did not go more powerful, he go back dark?
He must feel compassion, love, or any feeling that makes him leave dark.
I agree redemption may be an important theme in this trilogy. But I don’t think power has much to do with it. After all, Kylo Ren IS powerful (just being able to stop a blaster shot in mid-air is impressive).
I believe it’s more a question of feelings.
He fell to the Dark Side but I think he was hoping it would make him stronger and he would feel more free. But now it turns out he’s living a constant battle between who he’s become and who he used to be (or even who he wanted to be).
The path to the Dark Side essentially follows emotions, mostly fear, anger, etc. But in the end, emotions like guilt, grief, love can also lead him back to the Light. I’m guessing killing his father made him feel more guilt and grief than the feeling of accomplishment he was hoping for.
That could make sense, might be why he kicked in his engine boost, to shoot across the battle in time to save Leia.
“What is Star Wars without epic space battles??” The Force Awakens. Joking aside, my favourite images are the ice fox (complete with Filoni-esque ears), Phasma’s shimmering armour and Kylo Ren leading the flame-troopers into the cave. Beautiful.
May have been mentioned, but what if Luke is referring to Snoke and not Kylo or Rey ?
Trailer tells us nothing and that’s a good thing.
I agree. I think the raw power Luke is talking about are Palpatine and Snoke.
There is a way to tell it, I am sure, but it’s apparent Rey is training and Luke is awed by her force power (crack in ground) – so does he start all gung-ho about training a new Jedi and then backs away out of fear, or is his fear not fueled or directed at Rey at all ??
Putting myself in Luke’s shoes, I would be afraid as well if someone without training was doing that already. Starting his own training rather late in his life (like Rey) it took him a lot more time to develop his talents (and we never saw him use very impressive Force powers).
Being afraid however does not mean he will not train her. He may need a little convincing though (but as I recall, Yoda also needed a little push from Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost to accept training Luke in ESB).
Yet, there is also a good chance they want us to believe that while seeing the trailer only to go in another direction in the actual movie.
Minor note, but those troopers following Kylo into the cave are snow troopers, not flametroopers. Not a significant point though. Thanks for the write-up!
Maybe they are SaltTroopers.
Internet is full of them
Hi thanks for the comments. was this confirmed somewhere? Or speculation? If this was confirmed I will update the piece.
I think that, if there’s any indication, it’s thw lenght of the blasters (much shorter than flathrowers), The helmet’s shape, the Pauldron on one of the troopers (flametroopers didn’t have any).
Yeah, the helmet shape, the backpacks and the skirts are all pretty visible so I’d say it’s a safe bet. Definitely not flametroopers. đ
I have a feeling that many of these shots will not end up in the final film
Your insights serve you well
I have a theory about why the rocks crack when Rey meditates. I think it is because she is trying to find the first Jedi Temple. The Temple is located under ground and when she uses the force it is revealed.
Luke’s dialog about seeing that kind of raw strength before and how he is affraid now would fit in nicely with that scenario.
To me it sound plausible.
Is there a chance that the lava march scene is Mustafar? There is steam coming from it on the sides if you look closely, so it may not be Crait. Also Rogue One made certain to show Vader lives there. It would make sense for Kylo to make a pilgrimage to his grandfather’s castle.
I thought the same thing exactly
I’m genuinely glad that so many fans seem to love the trailer, but I just don’t. I’ll try to be quick and not too ranty.
First, it feels a little too melodramatic overall. No big deal. Just doesn’t feel right to me.
Second, and most important, Luke is so weird, nervy, and confused. I can buy broken and sad, but the movie is going to have to work hard to justify old Jedi master Luke being the way he is in this trailer. Maybe it’ll work in the movie.
Third, Chewbacca’s little moment looks weird. His facial expression is off. Crazy eyes. Like it’s Chewie’s flamboyant little brother or something.
Fourth, I felt nothing from any of the character drama with Kylo or Leia. Maybe that’s just something to do with me and not the trailer, though.
Finn v. Phasma moment feels like overdone fan service.
Last, I don’t think there’s any exciting-looking lightsaber stuff. Little bit with Rey has that weird camera angle, then she almost hits a mountain. OK. Again, just not feeling it.
Two great things: Snoke looks amazing, and Finn looks bad-ass in his First Order outfit.
First teaser trailer suggested exciting movie but nuanced emotion and storytelling. This trailer, no.
Thanks for reading and letting me get my feelings out to fellow fans. I just feel like I’m the only one disappointed by the trailer. Maybe it’s all just me. Of course I’ll still try to be there opening night and I’ll probably love the movie.
Like others I presumed Snoke is talking to Rey at the start. But I donât get the âwhen I found youâ line. Is he referring to the awakening? Or did he find her as a child before Jakku?
Surely he’s referring to Ben Solo ??? đ
i guess i am in the minority…i did not like the trailer…I dont like what they have done with the character of Luke Skywalker…and totally feel like this movie is going to be a total clone of TESB…this whole trailer screamed The Empire Strikes back from start to finish…
The Hoth Battle….Vader and the snow Troopers entering the Rebel base…Leia Hearing Luke talk to her through the force….vader starring of into space full of conflict because he still loves his family…Yoda not wanting to train Luke….Yoda warning Luke he is not ready to go save his friends and face Vader…Leia standing in front of the blast doors on Hoth looking sad as they close…i can go on all day.. all of this is in TLJ trailer.. lame
I am a firm believer that the closing shot (Rey/Kylo) of this trailer is a mis-direct, but a bloody good one! Though the ‘inner nerd’ is screaming for it to happen, I know that in reality, it’s two different scenes that have been beautifully cut to make it seem like they’re actually together.
Yes, together as… Skywalker cousins.
This last scene could be a force vision seen by Rey. Similar to Lukeâs vision of vader in ESB.