Wow! From what we saw in that brand new trailer for The Last Jedi, the Star Wars Universe as we know it is going to be shaken to its very core! Or is it?
That three minutes of footage certainly makes some big promises, and while there’s no reason to believe The Last Jedi will be anything less than amazing, one can’t help but wonder whether or not clever editing is being used to lead fans to some false conclusions about the direction of the film.
Only time will tell, but in the meantime, we can certainly speculate. Here are 5 ways The Last Jedi trailer might be misleading us:
Finn Might Not Be Captured By The First Order
Mr. Big Deal, himself, Finn, doesn’t get a whole heck of a lot of screen time in the trailer. In fact, the biggest sticking point has got to be his epic clash with Captain Phasma. However, our last shot of Finn shows him walking briskly down a corridor, grimace-faced and closely tailed by a First Order Stormtrooper. At first glance, it would appear that Finn’s been captured by his old colleagues, but it’s entirely possible that he’s actually infiltrating them. We know he’ll be going undercover to infiltrate a First Order Super Star Destroyer, so perhaps this scene isn’t showing him in custody but rather in command.
Kylo Ren Might Not Kill Leia
One of the more emotional moments of the trailer is the alternating shots of Kylo Ren and Leia, not only because we get to see Carrie Fisher as Leia once again, but because of Kylo’s chilling voiceover: “Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.” The shots of Kylo imply that he’s preparing to make a difficult decision about whether or not he’ll kill his mother, as we see his ship’s targeting system lock onto a much larger vessel that we’re led to believe Leia is aboard. However, the shots of Leia show that she’s the only one expressing any sort of emotion other than “business as usual.” The crewmembers in the background remain completely casual, which is hardly the reaction you’d expect from people who are about to be blasted into the cold vacuum of space. Perhaps Leia’s expression is due to the fact that she’s simply connected to Kylo through the Force, and she can feel her son’s pain.
Rey Might Not Turn To The Dark Side
One of the biggest implications of the trailer is that Rey will align herself with Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke, embracing the dark side and turning her back on Luke much like Kylo did years ago. This is built up throughout the trailer, culminating with the scene in which Rey says, “I need someone to show me my place in all this.” The camera then cuts to Kylo Ren, who extends his hand, but the way the lighting is set up in the shots of Kylo and Rey, as well as the backgrounds, seem to suggest that these are actually two entirely different scenes that were simply spliced together. In fact…
Rey Might Not Be Talking To Kylo Ren At All
Early on in the trailer, Rey says, “Something inside me has always been there. But now it's awake. And I need help.” It’s presumed that she’s saying this to Luke, and her line from the end of the trailer, where she’s presumably speaking to Kylo Ren, seems to feel quite natural when it’s tacked on to the end: “Something inside me has always been there. But now it's awake. And I need help. I need someone to show me my place in all this.” While the trailer would have you believe that Rey’s final line is spoken to Kylo, it’s highly possible that she’s saying this to Luke, instead.
Snoke Might Be Talking To Rey The Whole Time
Right off the bat, the trailer kicks off with a voiceover from Snoke: "When I found you I saw raw untamed power, and beyond that – something truly special." When he begins his dialogue, we’re given shots of Kylo Ren, leading us to believe that he’s the one Snoke is speaking to, but as he utters those last three words, the camera cuts to Rey igniting her lightsaber. Think about Snoke’s choice of words, too. “When I found you” sure sounds like something you’re more likely to say to a young girl who was abandoned rather than a young man you met when he was training with his uncle to become a Jedi. Perhaps Snoke “found” Rey long before their climactic encounter in The Last Jedi, and he chose to withhold this information from his protégé Kylo Ren.
Unfortunately, the answers to these questions and more are still two months away. In the meantime, stay tuned to Epicstream for more The Last Jedi coverage!