Image credit: Vin Hill
With Star Wars: The Last Jedi teaser out, fans are overflowing with theories. The smallest second of footage leads to a multitude of possibilities. Little hints at new directions for the characters and for the ongoing saga are everywhere if you know how to look, and eagle-eyed viewers are looking hard. And some of them are seeing implications that could shake the Star Wars universe to its very core. So let’s take a look at some of the biggest fan theories there are out there and see just how plausible they are:
Luke will disappoint Rey
Luke Skywalker will let Rey down in some way. Of all the theories gleaned from the trailer, this one seems the most likely. It’s all but inevitable. Daisy Ridley has hinted at this herself in interviews. She’s said, “Rey has a certain expectation of Luke. And as a lot of people know, it’s difficult when you meet your heroes because they might not be what you expect.” It sounds like Luke may not live up to Rey’s expectations or idealized image of him in some way.
Luke appears to be willing to train Rey, but he also says in the trailer the Jedi order needs to end. If he seriously means he wants to end the Jedi order, odds are that will upset Rey. It hurts to see your hero wanting to give up. Luke’s isolation on the island indicates he has withdrawn from the world in some way after all that’s happened, so Rey may also be dealing with a depressed, bitter or damaged Luke and seeing him having such an attitude would definitely crack that pedestal Rey has placed him on.
Luke saw his Jedi Temple burn to the ground with R2-D2
One shot of the trailer that’s caused a lot of speculation is the shot of a cloaked figure beside R2-D2. The figure watches a burning building in apparent despair, falling to their knees. It’s unsure exactly who this cloaked person is, but the prevailing theory is that this is a flashback. The cloaked figure is Luke Skywalker and he is in despair watching his Jedi Academy being burned to the ground by the First Order. This is an event that likely would have taken place after Kylo Ren’s betrayal. It’s possible Luke was the only survivor of this attack. That would do a lot to explain why he would be so wracked with grief and guilt, he’d want to exile himself on an island- and also why he might possibly want the Jedi to end.
Captain Phasma will invade the rebel base…or she invaded the Jedi Academy
There are two theories about the trailer’s shot of a helmeted figure that appears to be Captain Phasma, surrounded by the First Order, marching steadily on as fire and destruction rages around them. The first and most likely possibility is that this is a shot of the First Order attacking the Rebel base. It would be a scene that comes after that shot where Poe and BB-8 are running along inside the base, only for a ship to explode right in front of them. This definitely seems to indicate the base is being attacked by the First Order and the shot of them marching in would logically follow that. Some of that wreckage around them even looks like it could be parts of the ship that exploded.
Another possibility is that this is from a flashback scene to the First Order invading the Jedi Academy and burning it down. If this is the case, it looks like Captain Phasma might have been involved in that attack. If that’s true, we can expect Luke to be pretty angry at her, to say the least.
The First Order will find Luke’s hideout
We see a lot of shots of the First Order attacking in the trailer, both aerially and on the ground. One possibility that has been raised is that the First Order might end up hunting down Luke’s island hideout and attacking it. If they can find the rebel base, who’s to say they couldn’t also follow Rey’s trail to where Luke is? Luke may be trying to retreat from the world, but the world is likely to come and kick down his door, especially if he’s training a successor who could be a threat to the Order.
The Journal of Whills will appear
In the trailer, we get a shot of someone reading a book that looks like it has a Jedi insignia on it. It seems likely this book is going to contain some secrets about the Jedi or at least some new lore. This leads a lot of people to speculate the book is actually the Journal of Whills.
This mysterious journal has a long history in the Star Wars franchise. An early outline of the Star Wars saga was called "The Journal of Whills". Lucas originally had this idea that an immortal being called Whills would watch over, record and narrate the whole saga. The concept behind Whills eventually transformed into the Force.
The Journal of Whills officially became a part of Star Wars canon later, but it’s a bit different than it was in the early drafts. The Journal of Whills is a book kept by the Ancient Order of the Whills, who are said to be beings deeply connected with the Force. They have holy men called shamans. The Journal of the Whills chronicles the history of the galaxy. An official Keeper of the Whills has the task of adding entries to it.
Such a chronicle would certainly contain a lot of secrets about the Jedi, so perhaps the shot in the trailer is of Rey studying the ancient book. Then again, the one reading is wearing gloves, so it could possibly be that Kylo Ren has located the journal and will use its secrets for nefarious purposes. Another possibility is that this is Luke discovering the journal.
Luke found the first Jedi Temple
When Luke disappeared, it was said that he went looking for the first Jedi temple. It’s very possible he found it or he finds it over the course of the movie. That shot of the book with Jedi insignia could be a book that was found in that temple. If so, it will be really interesting to know what else Luke found in there. Perhaps he stumbled across some information that convinced him that the Jedi needed to end? Maybe the book reveals some dark secret about the origin of the Jedi?
A Force Tree will be featured
There’s a shot of a shelf of books in the trailer and they look like they might well be inside a tree. If they are, it’s likely said tree is a Force Tree. Force Trees have been teased in Star Wars for a long time now. In the comic book series Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Luke went on a mission to retrieve the fragments of a Force-sensitive tree that grew at the heart of the Jedi Temple at Corsucant from a secret Imperial base.
It’s unclear what it actually MEANS for a tree to be force-sensitive and exactly why this tree was so valuable. But there’s no doubting that it is an ancient and majestic thing. So it would make sense that important knowledge would be stored inside such a tree.
A new type of Jedi will emerge
A lot of people are speculating that when Luke said that the Jedi needed to end in the trailer, he wasn’t talking about a permanent ending- but rather the beginning of a new type of Jedi.
Many have speculated that Rey might become a “gray” Jedi. In the trailer she says “Light. Darkness. A balance.” Maybe she will become a Jedi who embraces both the light and dark sides of the force and finds a perfect balance between them.
The black and white thinking to the old Jedi order- that there can only be a light side and dark side of the Force- hasn’t exactly worked out for them, after all. We’ve seen lots of good Jedi succumb completely to the dark side after they were unable to follow the strict Jedi way. “Only a Sith deals in absolutes” is in itself an absolute,and the way the Jedi see only two sides to the force may be an example of the Jedi’s own form of absolutism.
The idea of “Gray Jedi” Rey seems supported by the poster for the movie, which shows Rey holding a lightsaber that burns both red and blue- with blue representing the Jedi and red representing the Sith/First Order.
Maybe Rey will show us what “balance” truly means.
Luke or Rey will turn to the Dark Side
Of course, people have also speculated that these hints of Rey being drawn to the dark side means she could turn completely to the darkness. The lightsaber turning from blue to red could hint a turn from good to evil. This seems unlikely to me, but you never know.
And does Luke wanting the Jedi to end mean he’s falling to the dark side too? Luke seemed to have been devastated by Kylo’s betrayal and the news of Han’s death is unlikely to cheer him up. He could have lost his faith in the world, in the Jedi, and in the Force. That would make it easy for him to fall into darkness.
Kylo Ren may take a step toward redemption...or may just get broken
The shot of Kylo Ren’s shattered helmet in the trailer has led to a lot of speculation. Does the helmet represent the Dark Side and does it being broken and abandoned hint that Kylo is being drawn to light? After all, he clearly wears the helmet to emulate Darth Vader. It being shattered may indicate he’s choosing to take a different path. When we see Kylo Ren in the trailer, he’s not wearing his helmet. I think if Kylo does get redeemed, it’s unlikely to happen until the third movie. But the movie could be seeding the start of a redemption arc.
Of course, another thing the helmet could indicate is that Kylo Ren will get in a big fight that leads to his helmet getting trashed. He might end up facing some heavy injuries or even death.