by: keaton marcus

An Explosive “The Rise of Skywalker” Trailer Was Released at D23

This Could Really Be the End
Audiences and die-hard fans alike won’t want to believe that “The Rise of Skywalker” could be the conclusion to the “Star Wars” film franchise, but from the looks of it, its quite possible. One reason why is the first thirty seconds or so of the trailer is flashbacks to the previous installments, even some emotional clips from the classics. By doing this, the editors are sort of reminding you how much films you’ve been through, and really how the franchise has become such a big part of culture all up to this installment. However, we wouldn’t be too surprised if Disney and “Star Wars” stretched the saga even more—they are expanding the universe with their newest TV show “The Mandalorian” which is going to be released on streaming site Disney+. There are still many stories that deserve to be told on the big screen, but as of now, this could be the last time that you hear the clash of lightsabers in the theater.
Rey Has a Double-Sided Light-Saber
In the last clip of the trailer, audiences will likely get their biggest surprise, as the footage shows Rey (Daisy Ridley) in common Sith clothing donning a red, double-sided lightsaber. Is Rey turning to the dark side? What are these Darth Maul vibes? Is it a trick? There are many thoughts that come to your mind, but its all very confusing. This scene looks to be during the finale of the film, and could be connected to Palpatine theories. If so, Palpatine and Kylo Ren could have turned Rey over to be a Sith lord. It’s all very possible. In the previous film, “The Last Jedi”, Ren tricked Rey that he was on the light side, and they even fought evil together in the scene. In “The Rise of Skywalker”, it may be the opposite, and we may have Rey tricking Ren before an epic fight. However, deep in the back of your minds, you have that negative thought that it could end in destruction, and Rey may become the next big Sith lord. It’s not extremely likely—but you’ll have to wait and see.
J.J. Abrams is Returning to Direct
Sci-fi afficinado J.J. Abrams is returning to helm “The Rise of Skywalker”. Abrams directed the first film in the 2015-2019 trilogy, “The Force Awakens”, which scored an excellent 80/100 “sweet” on the Lemonradar. However, he did not come back to direct the sequel, “The Last Jedi” which was helmed by Rian Johnson and was handed a less-enticing 70/100 “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar. With Abrams returning for the third, and the trailer looking pretty damn epic, we could be looking at one of the best installments yet. Abrams reported that he wanted to bring something “new” to the franchise, which is refreshing, and it looks like Abrams is here to save the day from franchise fatigue. We think he’s true to his promises, cause based on the new footage, there is a bunch of unknown worlds, and even a couple new characters.
Lando is Back! (Leia too?)
Another thing we came bye was the returns of a couple old characters. Footage shows that Billy Dee Williams returning to play Lando once again. The previous time we see him was back in “The Empire Strikes Back” when he helped defeat the Empire once again. Actually, we also saw a younger version of Lando in prequel “Solo: A Star Wars Story”, played by Childish Gambino. We don’t know exactly why the old pal is back, but he’s back in the Millenium Falcon, and with Chewie—so, we’re happy. Another little fun surprise was to see Carrie Fischer returning after the previous picture to play Leia Organa in the trailer. It could be flashbacks, but from the looks of it, Organa is back. After Fischer’s death in 2016, they will likely have to use computer-generated-imagery for the role, but, you never know, they could have grabbed Fischer for a couple scenes before her tragic passing.
The New Planets and Characters
In the clips during the trailer, we get small glimpses of new planets entering the film universe. The Death Star is shown for a few seconds, resting on some sort of rainy, grassy type planet—but is unknown. That’s just the beginning. Kylo Ren and his troops also seem to be invading a world laden with dead forests, and we’re thinking Endor, but it is also likely another new planet. One last planet that is officially known is the snow planet dubbed Kijimi which will hold new character Zorri Bliss (Keri Russel), who is an old friend of Poe’s. Don’t worry, fans, you will still get your standard desert planets. Other freshly arriving characters include a new droid dubbed D-0, who audiences are hoping will be BB-8’s newest pal. Secondly, we see First Order General Pryde played by Richard E. Grant. Finally, a character that is still pretty unknown is Jannah played by Namoi Ackie.