Usually when there’s a pop culture moment taking off online (e.g. breaking news of college admissions scandals, “Old Town Road” remixes trending, or Times Up-ing the next male Hollywood exec), I’m typically at work sitting at a desk and having to sneakily thumb my way through all the nonsense on my tiny iPhone SE screen, not letting my coworkers onto the fact that I’m nearly addicted to keeping abreast on such “news.” However, all that secrecy goes out the window when something truly monumental happens. And that is, of course, when a Star Wars trailer drops; and not just any Star Wars trailer, but the trailer to the closing chapter of the Skywalker-centric saga. I went full-screen, volume up (headphones on, because I’m still a polite coworker), and didn’t try to hunker over the screen to hide it. No, when it comes to Star Wars I wear my fandom on my sleeve. And then I watched and savored the next two minutes with bated breath.
What can I say? I loved it. I loved what we got, and what we didn’t get. It felt like the perfect amount of tease for a so-called “teaser” trailer. And once that Princess Leia theme kicked in, full body chills and watery eyes ensued. We got just enough glimpses of the characters we care about (although I’m not sure if we see Rose?), including the one and only Lando Calrissian; that put a smile on my face (Nice to see you, Billy Dee!). As well as the late great Carrie Fisher, which my emotions can’t process just yet, except for wanting to cry like Rey. It appears that we’ll be getting Rey, Finn, and Poe together for a while, and some sort of face off between Rey and Kylo Ren. Even though Kylo killed the love of my life Han Solo, I’m still pulling for him to turn back to the good side just in the nick of time à la Anakin Skywalker. Yet, all that may be ruined when Luke’s voiceover reminds us, “No one’s ever really gone.” Initially we assume he’s talking about himself being a Force Ghost (like the fallen Jedi before him), but by the end of the trailer we get a blackout and only hear maniacal laughing, letting us believe that it’s none other than Emperor Palpatine. Welp, that’s no good. We hear a slight riff of the First Order theme mixed into the final notes of the score, and then we get it folks: the title reveal. The Rise of Skywalker. Cue those chills once again!
What does it all mean? Is Luke going to be back in some form in a bigger way? Or is it alluding to the rising of his legacy via a new generation of Jedi, as nodded to in the ending to The Last Jedi? My bets are on the latter, though sometimes it’s just as fun to under-analyze and simply see what happens come December. Either way, I’m ready…and also not ready whatsoever for this incredible saga to come to an end.
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