The epic trailer for the highly anticipated eighth chapter in the Star Wars saga, The Last Jedi, was released Monday night and as expected, it’s chock-full of teases that will surely add fuel to the fire of fan theories both old and new. Will Captain Phasma finally get her revenge on Finn? Will Kylo Ren seek to reunite Leia with the slain Han Solo? What exactly has Chewie and that adorable little Porg so frightened? However, the biggest question that seems to be seared almost unanimously into the minds of fans after watching the new trailer is whether or not Rey – the benevolent force of hope and strength from The Force Awakens – will turn to the dark side.
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The trailer wastes little time planting the seeds for this potential narrative twist to bloom into a full-fledged garden of intrigue, beginning with Supreme Leader Snoke’s bone-chilling words, which he presumably says to Kylo Ren: “When I found you, I saw raw, untamed power… and beyond that, something truly special.” Fast forward to just under the one-minute mark, and we cut to a scene of Rey training in the ways of the Force under the watchful eye of Luke Skywalker, who gives off a look of genuine shock, bordering on fear, when his new student causes the rocky cliffs of Ahch-To to crack beneath their feet. “I’ve seen this raw strength only once before,” says Luke, as we cut to what we can assume is a flashback of the Jedi Master immediately following his betrayal by Kylo Ren. “It didn't scare me enough then. It does now.” The parallels between Rey and Kylo Ren are clearly established, with both Snoke and Luke using similar verbiage to describe their respective pupils, but in looking back at Kylo Ren’s descent to the dark side, the writing on the wall becomes ever more apparent.
By the time he was 23, the former Ben Solo had begun training under his uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, as one of the students in a group Luke hoped would eventually restore the Jedi Order. However, feelings of abandonment resulting from Han and Leia’s tumultuous relationship, as well as his inherent Force potential thanks to his Skywalker lineage, left Ben vulnerable to the persuasion of Supreme Leader Snoke, the figurehead of the First Order that rose from the ashes of the Galactic Empire.
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After embracing the dark side of the Force, Ben left everything Luke tried to build in ruins, including his Jedi Temple. He adopted the name Kylo Ren and took on the role of apprentice to Supreme Leader Snoke as a member of the Knights of Ren. Feeling responsible for Ben’s descent, Luke cast himself into a self-imposed exile, and the hope of restoring the Jedi Order was all but lost.
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As for Rey, her entire character arc in The Force Awakens stems from her own abandonment issues, having been seemingly cast aside by her parents on the junkyard planet of Jaaku as a child. Furthermore, we’re also looking at a character that appears to have a connection to the Force that’s so remarkable, it even manages to instill fear in the veteran Jedi Luke Skywalker. And of course, we’d be remiss not to mention the closing moments of the trailer, in which a visibly distressed Rey says, “I need someone to show me my place in all this,” followed by Kylo Ren extending his hand in earnest.
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Make no mistake: While it’s easy to take the pieces we’ve been given thus far and use them to map out the direction we believe The Last Jedi will go, there’s rarely just a single method of getting from point A to point B. The goal of any good trailer isn’t to outright give away any major swerves the film might have in store for viewers. In fact, more often than not, it’s the exact opposite, as misdirection and Red Herrings are carefully sprinkled into the trailer by way of scene splicing, voiceovers and other bits of clever editing. That being said, what we see in the trailer could very well be nothing more than a cinematic sleight of hand meant to keep fans on their toes. Then again, one could also argue that the best place to hide something is in plain sight.
In any case, a move as bold as Rey turning to the dark side would certainly help back up director Rian Johnson’s claim that The Last Jedi isn’t merely a rehash of The Empire Strikes Back, which gave fans arguably the biggest swerve in the history of the franchise by revealing that Darth Vader was Luke’s father. With the exception of both films containing a significant plot twist, Rey unprecedently aligning herself with Snoke and Kylo Ren to oppose Luke would not only help give The Last Jedi a distinct voice in terms of Star Wars films, but it could also help lay the foundation for a brilliant homage to the Dark Horse miniseries Star Wars: Dark Empire. The story, by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy, details the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine, who succeeds in turning Luke Skywalker to the dark side as his new apprentice until Leia is eventually able to redeem him by appealing to the good inside him.
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Despite the fact that Dark Empire is no longer canon, it wouldn’t be the first time the post-Disney Star Wars Universe borrowed from Legends, as evidenced by Grand Admiral Thrawn debuting in Season 3 of Star Wars Rebels. Additionally, it would help paint a clear picture for the direction of the J.J. Abrams-directed Episode IX, while still leaving plenty of room for interpretation considering we’re dealing with an almost entirely new cast of characters.
Regardless of which direction The Last Jedi ultimately goes, whether or not Rey succumbs to temptation and turns to the dark side will surely be a topic of debate in the Star Wars fan community for the next two months. In fact, you can probably expect either outcome to spawn a whole new set of debates once The Last Jedi hits theaters. After all, this is Star Wars.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi features returning cast members Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma and Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, joined by franchise newcomers Kelly Marie Tran as Rose, Benicio del Toro as “DJ” and Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. The film arrives Dec. 15.