Now that you’ve had time to catch your breath thanks to the reveal of the first teaser trailer forRian Johnson’sStar Wars: The Last Jedi, you might be wondering just what the heck is going on in the eighth film in the Skywalker Saga. Not to worry. We’ve combed through every frame of the trailer to not only pull pertinent images but to give you a breakdown of what those scenes mean, what plot points they might suggest, and some history and trivia to fill in the gaps. Don’t fret if you don’t know the entire history ofStar Warsup to this point; we’ve got you covered. Let’s get to it!
Click hereto catch up on all of our Star Wars Celebration coverage.John Boyega(Finn),Daisy Ridley(Rey),Oscar Isaac(Poe Dameron),Adam Driver(Kylo Ren),Lupita Nyong’o(Maz Kanata),Gwendoline Christie(Captain Phasma),Dohmnall Gleeson(General Hux),Mark Hamill(Luke Skywalker), the lateCarrie Fisher(General Leia),Anthony Daniels(C-3PO), andAndy Serkis(Snoke) all return for the latestStar Wars. They’ll be joined byBenicio Del ToroandLaura Dern. The film is scheduled for release on July 10, 2025.
The clever opening scene of this first trailer mimics those of the films that came before it; while we think we’re staring into deep space, the twinkling stars we see are actually glints of light on the rocky surface ofAhch-Towhere Rey is embroiled in her training under Luke Skywalker. Luke sought refuge as a hermit at this place, the location of the first Jedi Temple, following Kylo Ren’s betrayal and murder of Luke’s Jedi students. More on that in a bit.
Luke’s training of Rey echoes that of Qui-Gon training Obi-Wan,Obi-Wan training Anakin, and, of course,Obi-WanandYoda training Luke. Some of those pairings were more ill-fated than others… It’s the latest in a long line of masters and apprentices, but perhaps it’s also the last since Luke seems ready to give up on the Jedi Order altogether.
As Rey reaches out into the Force, she sees a Resistance leader (presumably General Leia, as played by the late Carrie Fisher) looking over a holographic map projection, a scene reminiscent (and in the bloodline) of this unused shot fromRogue One: A Star Wars Story.
This is followed by Vader’s destroyed helmet; it seems Kylo Ren has had another tantrum. (Some think this is Kylo Ren’s helmet; what say you?) Rey says she sees, “Light, Darkness, the balance,” to which Luke replies, “It’s so much bigger.”
When Rey sees these visions, there are whispered voices in the background. Thanks toGizmodofor deciphering them since my old man ears would not cooperate: During the “Light” scene, it sounds like someone saying “Help me, Obi-Wan,” which supports the idea that this is Leia. During the “Darkness” scene,Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan whispers, “…seduced by the Dark Side.” And during the “Balance” scene, apparently Yoda whispers something to the effect of, “Train you, I will.”
And then a curious thing: What appears to be a set of very old books on a display of what looks like a rock and driftwood … or maybe antlers. However, as Gizmodo also pointed out, the design is reminiscent of theStar Wars Rebelscharacter,Bendu, a Force-sensitive entity who claimed to personify the balance between the Light Side and Dark Side of the Force in one person. Perhaps Luke has stumbled upon the same state of being… [Updated:There’s also talkthat perhaps the roots/branches seen above are related to theForce-sensitive treespecies. One such tree was gifted to Poe Dameron’s parentsby Luke Skywalker himself.]
One of the roughed-up pages of one of those books has thesymbol of the Jedi Orderpainted on it, a symbol that’s also similar to the design of the newly released poster. It’s also being rumored that perhaps this book is theJournal of the Whills, which was an original idea ofGeorge Lucas' way back in the day, but was finally made canon inStar Wars: The Force Awakens. Could his idea from long ago in a studio far, far away now finally be part of the series in earnest?
Getting away from Luke and Rey, the trailer cuts to the salt-flats / desert planet Crait. And as this quick shot from the trailer shows, there are Imperial Walkers who are presumably about to square off against a group of speeders/modified A-wings. These speeders are, for reasons unknown, gouging the surface of Crait as they fly, kicking up a vibrantly red-colored debris field.
Here’s what director Johnson had to say about this planet and its place in the film (viaEW):
“It’s way out there. It’s uncharted. It’s a mineral planet and so there are mines on it.” Crait is the site of an “an old rebel base there that’s now abandoned. It ends up playing a key role in the movie.” Those speeders/skimmers “show up where they have to deal with a very pressing and immediate threat," like, I dunno, First Order Heavy Assault Walkers, which have been rumored. This is apparently where one of the film’s epic action sequence will take place, harkening back to the assault on Hoth’s base inStar Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.
Expect some “beautiful design elements” for Crait beyond those glimpsed in the trailer: “I hope some really unique ones that we’re able to bring into it,” he added.
Though we get a shot of Finn in his healing pod, we don’t even get an eye flutter. FeelsBadMan. What’s more interesting (and a little silly) is the translation of the Aurebesh language seen on the pod. Though Finn is listed as “stable”, the rest is either gibberish or a funny in-joke:
We do see BB-8 and his best bud Poe Dameron together again, though it appears as if they’re caught up in an attack on their Resistance hangar / base, like the one we previously mentioned on Crait. I’m really hopingPoe’s T-70 X-wing fighter, codenamed Black One, makes it out intact.
The Millennium Falcon, however, shows no signs of slowing down despite her advanced age as she mows through attacking TIE Fighters. The question is, who’s flying her? If Rey’s back on Ahch-To (which she may not be by this point in the movie), is Chewie flying … Solo? (Pardon the awful, unintentional pun. RIP Han.) Or is that ne’er-do-well Lando Calrissian back in the captain’s seat?! During “Star Wars Celebration”,Billy Dee Williamshimself sadlyconfirmed he would not be inStar Wars: The Last Jedi, but perhaps he’s playing coy and keeping the surprise, well … a surprise!
Kylo Ren has not fixed his dang lightsaber, but he has apparently embraced his scarred face and ditched the goofy helmet. So maybe thatwasthe crumbled helmet we saw earlier on…
We also get an extended bit of a flashback scene in which Luke and R2-D2 sit and watch Kylo Ren and his knights attack and burn down Luke’s Jedi school. It’s difficult to tell if these fiery shots are connected in the same scene or if they’re simply edited together to appear that way, but we’re definitely going to get some flashbacks either way.
An epic space battle is in the cards forStar Wars: The Last Jediwhich seems to include some new starfighters. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m not familiar with the model of the fighters/cruisers on display here.
Luke, perhaps dejected and perhaps not, now holds to “one truth: It’s time for the Jedi to end.” But maybe that just means the balance is finally at hand, completing his destiny…
One final thought on the film’s newly released poster: It mimics the symbol of the Jedi Order (and is a nice throwback to the 1977 film’s poster as well), and yet it shows Kylo and Luke divided by Rey’s lightsaber. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that, in addition to theveryred tone of the poster overall, Rey’s lightsaber is the sole blue light (and only other color besides black and white) in the poster. The question is this: Is her Light side power being dominated by the Dark side in this poster? Is she actually driving away the Dark side with her own power? Or is she somehow managing to achieve a balance of both within herself? That’s going to be my main question going intoStar Wars: The Last Jedi, and I can’t wait to find out!
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