It has risen.
The final Rise of Skywalker trailer is here, and we've taken a close look at this new footage
for the Skywalker saga-ending movie.
Here are the small details you may have missed.
In the middle of all of the high-intensity action, you might have missed the original
Lando Calrissian, played by Billy Dee Williams, sitting in the center of a massive group of
Resistance members; a group that also includes C-3PO, stationed behind Lando, and what looks
to be Poe Dameron, standing in front of him.
He's sporting a bright yellow shirt similar to the one a young Lando wore in Solo.
Audiences haven't seen anything of Williams' version of Lando over the years, but when
Leia and Larma D'Acy told Poe in The Last Jedi that there were Resistance allies "scattered"
in the Outer Rim, many fans took this as a sign that Lando would make a triumphant return
before the film series was over, and that theory has been proven true.
We've already seen Lando back in action piloting the Millennium Falcon in the first Rise of
Skywalker trailer, but this new footage gives us a hint at the mission Lando could have
organized that put him back in the ship he lost to Han Solo all those years ago.
Could General Lando be taking Leia's place as the leader of the Resistance following
her possible death?
It's something fans have speculated about since the passing of Leia actress Carrie Fisher.
We can't say for certain, but our interests are certainly piqued.
If there's one thing the Star Wars franchise knows, it's how to carry out epic Jedi battles.
From Obi-Wan versus Darth Vader in a fight to the death, to Luke Skywalker fighting his
own father in a valiant attempt to pull him away from the dark side of the Force… to
whatever this was.
But in The Rise of Skywalker, there's a fight that goes down between two complex characters
in a place that's immensely important to the Star Wars franchise: the ruins of the second
Death Star, the follow-up version of the Empire's moon-sized weapon ship, which was then destroyed
in the Battle of Endor.
Why would Rey and Kylo be in the ruins of the planet-destroying Death Star?
Well, that's where Emperor Palpatine died, after being tossed into the Death Star's reactor
by a repentant Darth Vader.
Rey actress Daisy Ridley has promised that the pale-skinned Sith, otherwise known as
Darth Sidious, is very instrumental to the plot of The Rise of Skywalker.
Sounds like the thought-to-be-dead Emperor might have something that both Rey and Kylo
are after... which could explain why Rey is also seen in the final trailer for the film
confronting Emperor Palpatine.
An epic meeting between Rey and Emperor Palpatine might be more than just a battle between good
and evil; many Star Wars fans believe the Sith Lord could be the rising Jedi's biological
father.
Rey's real parentage has remained a hot topic of conversation for Star Wars fans - even
after The Last Jedi saw Kylo Ren tell Rey through clenched teeth that she's the daughter
of a pair of nobodies who sold her for drinking money.
From the moment fans heard Emperor Palpatine's unmistakable cackle in the first Rise of Skywalker
trailer, speculation that he could be part of Rey's bloodline took on a life of its own.
Believers of this theory have pointed to the existence of "dark Rey," seen in the special-look
footage shown off at D23, as some of the strongest evidence that Rey has some Sith blood in her.
Now, even if The Rise of Skywalker doesn't reveal that Palpatine has any sort of genetic
connection to Rey, it appears he'll have a psychological connection with her.
Just as the trailer shows Rey standing opposite a dark figure that looks like Palpatine, Luke
Skywalker says in voiceover, "Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi." Rey has been
putting blood, sweat, and tears into becoming worthy of Jedi status, and by Luke's own word,
that means her destiny is to look fear directly in the face.
Palpatine could represent Rey's biggest fear: either learning the truth of her parentage,
or staring down the physical manifestation of the occasionally-tempting dark side of
the Force.
At one point, we briefly see Rey and Kylo Ren both using their lightsabers to take a
vicious swipe at the statue of Darth Vader's helmet.
The moment happens quickly, but it still carries great significance.
Not only does this represent the killing of an era in this galaxy far, far away, but it
also suggests that Kylo may be moving toward redemption.
Though Kylo's donning his own helmet and still wielding his unique red saber, slicing the
totem of the person he's spent years trying to emulate hints at an evolution.
The son of Han Solo and General Leia Organa, the wayward nephew of revered Jedi Luke Skywalker
might be the Skywalker who ultimately rises.
He has Skywalker blood in him, and he's exhibited signs of confusion over his alignment within
the Force, so maybe The Rise of Skywalker will see the Skywalker in Kylo rise above
his dark person, reclaim his birth name of Ben Solo, and battle against the First Order
he currently leads.
Even the release date for the final Rise of Skywalker trailer holds significance.
October 21st is the late Carrie Fisher's birthday.
Fisher, who died on December 27th, 2016 after suffering a heart attack on a flight from
London to Los Angeles four days prior, would have celebrated her 63rd birthday on the day
Disney and Lucasfilm unveiled the final trailer.
This holds even more weight when remembering that The Rise of Skywalker will include footage
of Fisher as General Leia Organa that wasn't used in 2015's The Force Awakens, in a way
bringing the late actress back to life for the concluding chapter in the Skywalker saga.
Maybe some of the mysteries The Rise of Skywalker is set to shed light upon will involve exactly
how Leia learned to channel the Force, if she'll pass the Resistance torch to the next
generation, and whether or not she'll reunite with her brother Luke on the other side.
If director JJ Abrams is to be taken at his word, The Rise of Skywalker will answer these
questions.
And if the final trailer for the forthcoming flick is to be taken at face value, fans are
in for something beyond their wildest imagination when The Rise of Skywalker bows in theaters
on December 20th.
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