As promised yesterday on Star Wars’ official Instagram account, the final trailer of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is here and it is emotional. Nostalgias, tear-jerkers, it’s all there. Fortunately, the trailer wasn’t the only thing that’s announced today, the official and final poster was also posted and let me tell you, both the trailer and the poster are amazing.
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The trailer starts with Rey (Daisy Ridley) running from something in the woods as Finn (John Boyega) narrates in the background. Finn started in The Force Awakens as someone who knew so little of the Force and now he talks of how the Force has brought him and his friends together. Then the scene changes to Lando (Billy Dee Williams) surrounded by the Resistance, Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) that looks so desperate as the people around her seems to be evacuating and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), and Finn looking back at their shoulders. Those scenes are narrated with Poe sounding like a great leader as he says, “We’re not alone. Good people will fight if we lead them,” in a reassuring tone.
The next scene shows Rey standing on some wreckage in the middle of the ocean, still with Anakin’s lightsaber at hand as her voice narrates in the background. Not long after, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) appears with his iconic lightsaber and walks towards Rey but from what I’ve seen, I don’t think Rey and Kylo are there to fight. What happens next could be the eeriest scene in this trailer. Tons of TIE Fighters were flying towards this big new place that looks like huge icebergs, a big empty menacing throne is shown and then a massive Star Destroyer rises from the ice as Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) eerily narrates in the background.
Image via Star Wars’ Offical Twitter
The particular scene (shown above) could be the most emotional in the trailer. There was a little creature that seems to be doing something to C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and Poe asks worriedly of what he’s doing. C-3PO replies by saying, “Taking one last look, sir… at my friends.” Let me tell you, that scene got me. I teared up and I also asked my friends who are also Star Wars fans and they also teared up during that scene. There’s another tear-jerker after that scene. It’s the scene that was already shown in the teaser trailer and the D23 Special Look where Rey’s hugging Princess Leia (archive footage of Carrie Fisher) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) narrates in the background.
The last few scenes of the trailer include visually stunning and scenes that got us guessing. Like where Rey and Kylo meet on what it seems like the debris of the Throne Room of Death Star II from Return of the Jedi where Luke and Darth Vader had a big showdown, or when Rey and Kylo destroy a black statue of some kind in a white room that has an Original Trilogy vibes, or when Rey was facing a floating figure that seems to be Palpatine and he is attached to some kind of machinery. Yet, the trailer ends beautifully with Luke saying, “The Force will be with you,” and continued with Leia whispering, “Always.”
Image via Star Wars’ Offical Twitter
Now there are some plus and negative points for this final trailer. The plus point is how LucasFilm keeps the trailer pretty vague. They don’t give too much away even from the first teaser trailer. They also just gave the fans three trailers; the teaser trailer, the D23 Special look and the final trailer. That’s it, nothing more is given. For me, that’s a big plus point because it keeps us guessing about what will happen in the movie or what won’t happen in the movie. Also, like every other Star Wars movie, I’m pretty sure J.J. Abrams has already prepared a big plot twist for us so by keeping things vague, the impact of the plot twist will be bigger. Another plus point is how they never show Palpatine’s face to the fans. They only give the fans his voice and his iconic laugh that shocked everyone in the first teaser trailer. The only appearance the Emperor made, except the flashback scene in the D23 Special Look, is on this final trailer and only shows the back of his hood and how he seems to be attached to some kind of machinery. It’s so good because it makes us wonder; is he like Vader now? Living with machines to stay alive? Does his face still look the same like in the Original Trilogy and the Prequels?
Unfortunately, the negative points for this final trailer, I dare say, pretty fatal. The first one is how Dark Rey from the D23 Special Look does not make another appearance in the final trailer. Why did she appear only in the special look? Was that an accident? Or were the fans right about how Dark Rey is just Rey’s hallucination like Luke’s hallucination when he was training with Yoda at Dagobah in Empire Strikes Back? They should’ve at least gave another glimpse of Dark Rey because when fans saw her for the first time, the hype was good and if they show her again in the final trailer, the fans will be more excited. Another one is how the new characters don’t make a lot of appearance in any of the trailers, just some glimpses in the final trailer. Keri Russel‘s character Zorii Bliss and Naomi Ackie‘s character Jannah are new additions to the Star Wars Saga and for Star Wars fans that only focuses on the movies and don’t go deep to the other tie-ins like the novels or reference books, this could be confusing because who are this two new characters? What’s their story?
Another plus points for this trailer are the visuals on this final trailer are so on point; the mysterious and vague vibes it gives through the lighting are perfect. Like when the scene where the sky is packed with Star Destroyers and lightning flashes around them, giving mysterious and evil vibes. The dialogues in the narration are also such great choices, like how the trailer ends with Luke and Leia that seems to be blessing Rey and how Rey’s and Kylo’s dialogues complementing each other’s. I don’t think I need to say more about the music because it is amazing. The final trailer song is composed by Blake Robinson using John Williams iconic themes. The score of this this final trailer is just perfect for the end of the chapter since The Rise of Skywalker is the end of the Star Wars Saga and I just can’t wait for more of John Williams’ amazing scores for the movie.
This December will be the ending to the Star Wars Saga but like what’s written on the trailer, the saga will end but the story lives forever.
Featured image via IMDb
