Star Wars: The Rise of the Skywalker Trailer Analysis

What more introduction do I need? It’s Star Wars, motherfuckers, and you know how we feel about Star Wars around these parts. Check out our review of the first trailer here, and let’s dive into the second one without further ado!

0:11: So I love that they opened with this shot of the two suns of Tatooine; for me, that’s one of the most enduring images of the Star Wars cinematic world, because it just displays such an endless trove of possibilities and newness and a whole fascinating original universe to explore. Are they hooking me in with a shameless appeal to my nostalgia? Yes. Am I buying it? Yes.

0:18: Carrie Fisher passed almost two years ago and it still feels like someone has punched me in the face every time I see her.

0:50 I love that they’ve really taken their time including so many classic, iconic moments from the entire series this far, and have precisely one (1) second from Attack of the Clones. Even they know that film is a joke.

1:09: Don’t…don’t make me think about The Last Jedi, guysmake me think about The Last Jedi, guys. You’re meant to be selling this film to me, remember?

1:14: Look, the only reason that this trilogy keeps on returning to sand planets is because Oscar Isaac looks so rakishly dapper in his desert gear, and that’s some rock-solid reasoning as far as I’m concerned.

1:18: Will I be blubbing through every second that my personal Queen Carrie Fisher is on-screen? You best believe it, team!

1:21: I still just love the spaceship design in the Star Wars series, and no, it’s not just because I played Battlefront II (the original and best) so many times through that I committed them all to memory.

1:23: Yes! That right there behind John Boyega is Naomie Ackie, who put in a brilliant performance in Lady Macbeth a couple of years ago and whose career I’m delighted to see actually going somewhere.

1:27: C-3P0 with red eyes is pretty funny to me. I hope the scene prior to this was him just going to town on a giant blunt.

1:30: It’s been three movies, and I’m still so happy that we have Rey as a lead. I waited long enough for the modern Star Wars movies to stop wasting their female leads (ahem, Padme Amidala), and Daisy Ridley brings so much weight to this performance.

1:33: I don’t know why, but every time Kylo Ren does The Thing (you know) with his lightsaber, I want to see the film in question precisely 1% more.

1:39: My KINGDOM for a good lightsaber battle, I tell you! This looks awesome.

1:47: I see a lot of people freaking out about this shot of Rey with the red (immensley cool) saber, but for the time being I’m relatively convinced that it’s just a vision Rey has and a really damn good hook for the trailer to end on. Like if the Empire Strikes Back trailer had that sequence where Luke cuts off Vader’s head in his vision with no context, it would have had the same impact as a tease, but not so much in the actual movie. That said, if they do follow through with this, colour me hyped, because I love nothing more than a good third-act-heel-turn, especially when they involve some excellent cape action.

Let’s be real: I was always going to see this film, even if the trailer was Mark Hamill farting directly down the camera for three straight minutes, but this actually looks pretty promising: I love the visuals, love the focus on the whole Star Wars saga, and I’m very here for rakishly dapper Oscar Isaac any day of the week. What did you think? Are you concerned about the way this is unfolding, or are you looking forward to seeing how this story ends? Let us know in the comments below!

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By Louise MacGregor

(header image via The Verge)