The Rise of Skywalker Teaser Trailer Breakdown

On the first day of Star Wars Celebration Chicago JJ Abrams, director of the upcoming Star Wars Episode IX, and Kathleen Kennedy, Director of Lucasfilm, gifted a first ever glimpse of what’s to come for the last episode of the Skywalker saga with a teaser trailer which lead to the reveal of the long awaited title: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. If you have not watched it yet (and if you have already for the 100th time, why not do it again?) please go ahead and press play below and enjoy before we dive into the breakdown of this incredible teaser.

This teaser trailer provides proof that The Rise of Skywalker will bring the saga together and beyond. From Lando’s come back (did you notice his wardrobe choice from Solo: A Star Wars Story?) to General Leia to none other than the presumed dead Emperor Palpatine! The last chapter of the Skywalker saga is going to definitely have a nostalgic feel with some new elements and characters that will close the circle around the three trilogies.

Ignite the Blue

The last time we saw Rey igniting the blue lightsaber was in the throne scene of The Last Jedi where Kylo and Rey contested the lightsaber in a force fight which resulted in the lightsaber breaking in half. Later in the film we see Rey recover the broken lightsaber. Up until now, nobody knew whether she would build a new lightsaber (much like Luke in Return of the Jedi) or repair the iconic blue. If you watch closely you’ll notice the hilt is slightly different in the center, but still has the same nostalgic look.

Rey vs Kylo’s TIE Fighter

This is by far the coolest, most spectacular moment of the trailer! My mind literally exploded after seeing this! Rey fearlessly facing what seems to be Kylo in his upgraded TIE fighter (noticed the red design around the cockpit?) is a statement that she is much more powerful since last time we saw her in The Last Jedi and that her and Kylo still have some unfinished business.

Kylo Ren’s Mask Back Together

Remember when Kylo got really pissed in the elevator after his pep talk from Snoke and repeatedly smashed his mask in anger? We all thought he did no longer need his mask and that he moved past his obsession to becoming the next Darth Vader. Looks like in this scene he had a change of heart. We see the mask being molded back together while clearly leaving red markings from the damage. I personally love this decision of Kylo going back to wearing the mask; it makes us wonder even more on what his destiny will be, whether the dark side will completely take over or perhaps a final redemption after facing the ultimate evil. There is still conflict in him!

Lando is Back!

We all knew Billy Dee Williams was coming back as Lando Carlissian in The Rise of Skywalker. What we didn’t know was that “Lando never left him”! It is beautiful to see his charm and spirit back on the big screen. Lando was perfectly portrayed by Donald Glover in Solo but I felt like we really needed Billy Dee back to close Lando’s story arc. Also, how freaking amazing was that they decided to visually merge the two Landos with Billy Dee wearing the same iconic yellow outfit Donald wore in Solo: A Star Wars Story?

Threepio, Finn, and Poe in Action

Threepio, Finn, and Poe are definitely an unconventional trio. I love how JJ Abrams is playing with different combinations of the characters we know and love and giving us new dynamics in The Rise of Skywalker. This scene has a Return of the Jedi vibe in many ways; the color tones and the vehicle they are on remind me of the Sail Barge assault scene near the Sarlacc Pit. I can’t wait to find out what kind of trouble our heroes are into!

Yavin Medal

This is more of a symbolic scene, much like the one we saw during the first teaser for The Force Awakens, where we see Maz Kanata handing Luke’s lightsaber to Leia. The Yavin medal was assigned to Han and Luke (fingers crossed Chewie will get his this time) by Leia at the end of A New Hope after defeating the Empire by destroying the first Death Star. It is definitely a nostalgic moment, where Leia might finally have the chance to mourn for her husband and brother’s deaths.

Leia and Rey’s Emotional Hug

Seeing the late Carrie Fisher reprising her role one last time in The Rise of Skywalker feels surreal. I can’t imagine how difficult and challenging the decision to have her back on the big screen after her passing was for JJ Abrams and his team. JJ announced and confirmed that they found a way to seamlessly utilize unused footage of Carrie from The Force Awakens which allowed them to continue Leia’s story in the last chapter of the saga. It looks like this scene is not a flashback but indeed part of the current story in The Rise of Skywalker. Her scenes are without a doubt going to add great emotional weight to the movie.

Death Star Relict?

In the last seconds of the teaser trailer, we see Chewie, BB-8, D-0 (the new addition to the droid family), Threepio, Poe, Finn, and Rey looking and what seems like the relict of a Death Star! Now this has not been confirmed yet, but from its shape and surface details it definitely resembles the remains of the Death Star’s superlaser eye floating in the middle of a large body of water.

The Phantom Menace

Soon after we see the presumed Death Star relict, everything goes dark and we hear a familiar laugh, the laugh of none other than Emperor Sheev Palpatine!!! His comeback was a great surprise and a welcome one indeed! Last time we saw Palpatine was in Return of the Jedi where Darth Vader saves his son from the Emperor’s powerful force lightning strike by lifting up and throwing the evil master down a reactor shaft to his death. We all thought there was no way Palpatine survived the fall and later the explosion of the Death Star, until now. We are not sure in what form he will be coming back, force ghost or in full flesh, but rest assured his presence will change our heroes destiny forever. Now the question is: where will we find the Emperor? And the answer might just be already out there. If you own The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens go to page 59 and take a look at the artwork titled “Underwater Emperor Room” by concept artist Ryan Church. You can clearly piece together Palpatine’s comeback with the previous Death Star relict; the rest of the story is yet to be told, but leaves room for imagination (and speculation)!

Fan Reactions

The Rise of Skywalker teaser trailer breakdown would be incomplete without some amazing fan reactions. I wanted to put together a few to find out what the fans thought about our first glimpse of the last chapter of the Skywalker saga and cover anything that I might have missed out in the breakdown. Enjoy and May the Force be with Us!

Talking Bay 94: I was in the overflow room for the Episode IX panel and was tired, cold and so, so nervous. Every quick image flash while the cast and crew was talking (Lando in the doorway, the gang together in the forest, the new blob monster) got me more and more excited. Try as Anthony Daniels might with his book shilling, I could hear my heart beating through my chest. And then. The trailer. I could barely pay attention to the individual scenes. I was just too focused on the title. Quick flashes: Lando in the cockpit, the ruins of the Death Star, Leia hugging Rey … and the laugh. It is not easy to surprise me but hearing Palpatine again blew me away. The title blew me away. Revenge. Return. Rise. I can’t wait.

Matt Moore of Comics With Kenobi: I watched the teaser for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and was wounded, not by violence but the realization that more than 40 years after it began, the Skywalker Saga is reaching its conclusion. I won’t say end, because nothing truly ends, but it is clear that this stage of the story is wrapping up and, much like Luke felt in The Last Jedi, it’s time for it to do so. The teaser encapsulated everything that has underscored Star Wars — in all its myriad forms, iterations and media. Mystery! Intrigue! Sacrifice! Uncertainty! Loyalty! Old friends, new friends and more. From Lando — he finally got the Falcon back — to Rose and Finn and Poe and Rey and Chewie and 3PO to, yes, Leia. This teaser did more than tease, it exhilarated and, just when you were left agog at the sight of the ruins of the second Death Star, it leveled you with that deep, haunting and ominous laugh to cackle. December 18 cannot arrive soon enough.

Steve Galloway - Literature Editor, Jedi News: We’ve been waiting for a teaser trailer and title for so long and now we finally have one! My first viewing was on my phone while watching my godson play soccer. So, I didn’t get to see it in all its glory and I saw Rey looking towards misty mountains. I was completely surprised by the title, then an all too familiar cackle slapped me in the face and like everyone else, I did not see that coming! A little later, I got chance to watch it again and then it all started to sink in. When I realised those aren’t mountains and it’s a space station (Well, part of one anyway) the reality of it all and the reason for cackle became so clear. I’m on my umpteenth viewing now and still seem to be seeing new things each time. This trailer delivers to help build up the excitement and has started the fan rumour and theories spinning like a windmill in a category 5 storm! We have been given a mere glimpse into what to expect, but remember this is only the ‘teaser’ trailer. All too many times we have been led down one path with clever editing that has put us off the scent of what we are going to get. My excitement for watching Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on December 19th, 2019 is off the chart and rightly so. In JJ we trust!

Dan Solo: Opening felt like it was just for the trailer. We’ve seen someone face up a tie fighter before and it not make the final cut. However the surroundings looked like Jedha. Could she be there to learn from a thousand generations, from Luke, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Yoda? The Skywalker way? Lando looked great, but will be interesting to see how they’ve brought him into the story. Many are speculating it’s a section of the Death Star over the sea/lake. I’m not so sure as the shape doesn’t quite seem right and they really do get blown to smithereens, but i would love it to be the case and it’ll be interesting to see what they do with it. It seems like Palpatine is back. He potentially kicked off the Skywalker line, in a movie called ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ surely he’s going to have a say…Right, back to painting.

Vindiana Jones: It’s been a long time since we heard anything about the last film in the Skywalker saga. Star Wars Celebration comes along and BOOM, here we go! I was so blown away from the start. Rey breathing heavy before she appears (almost exactly the same with Finn from TFA teaser) with the Anakin/Luke lightsaber rebuilt with a connecting agent. Lights it next to the saber Solo gave her then runs from a very cool TIE fighter who we don’t know who’s flying it, (you can hear Vader like breathing when the hands are shown) then backflips over it what looks like an attempt to attack it. Luke Skywaker is narrating, the gang is back together, not to mention “every generation has a legend ” straight from TPM. A ship that looks like the same one that drops Rey off at Jakku. BB8 has a new buddy droid named D-O. I scream with pure joy when I see Lando in the cockpit of the Falcon with Chewie going through hyperspace. Kylo Ren’s mask is being put back together by whom we have no idea? Poe looks like Indiana Jones, which I love. Then we get to the body of water where everyone on a cliff is looking at. Mountains? Temple? Base? No, it’s a piece of the Death Star! Last, we get the Emperor with his famous laugh. The title is not a surprise to me, even though I absolutely love it. I guessed “The Return of Skywalker”. Am I excited? More than I ever been in my life to see a Star Wars film. I think we’re getting the sequel to The Force Awakens I’ve been waiting for.

Make sure to check out the tweet below to read more fan reactions!

Ok we need to put together a trailer article this weekend. Reply to this tweet sharing your favorite moments from the teaser. We might just add your tweet to the article!! #TheRiseofSkywalker pic.twitter.com/VTNgKarex2

— Tatooine Times (@tatooine_times) April 12, 2019