New Rise of Skywalker trailer teases the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga

August 26th 2019, 8:40am

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Disney teased a ton of new content to geek out over at its annual D23 convention this year, but even with all the live-action projects and Marvel goodness on the way, many eyes were on Star Wars and Star Wars alone. Now, with the festivities coming to an end, Lucasfilm and Disney have rolled out the brand-new trailer for the conclusion to the Skywalker Saga — STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.

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Now, this isn't a conclusion in the way that AVENGERS: ENDGAME was marketed as a conclusion, in that it was for only one chapter of the series, with most of those same characters still having plenty left to do and will be seen again as soon as next summer. No, this is truly an end for what has been decades of storytelling, and the trailer lays that on thick by recapping the story so far through clips of the previous movies. This is all before we get into what new footage there is for this ninth Episode, ending with one helluva final shot.

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There's a lot to draw on and think about when it comes to all this new footage, even if it doesn't tease all that much beyond what the first trailer did. We see Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) going on their adventure in the desert, all before things get much more chilly in a frozen wasteland. Rey and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) will clash one final time in suitably cinematic fashion, but things end on an ominous note when Rey is shown in full Dark Side mode. I think I speak for the collective when I say, "What the fuck is going on there, and man is that a dope-ass red saber."

I don't think they will really have Rey turn to the Dark Side, and this is probably just some sort of nightmarish vision of a potential future. Still, it's some stunning footage to end on, and we can only begin to speculate what that means for her journey and where it will end in just a few months.

Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher and Ian McDiarmid also star with JJ Abrams returning to direct, and STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is in theaters December 20.