What kind of fan experience do you want to have with Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Wanna devour every new screenshot and trailer in the build-up to December 15? Well, tonight is a big moment for you because Disney just released the film's long-awaited second trailer, and, yeah, it's amazing.
Rather go into Last Jedi as cold as possible and avoid all trailers and TV commercials? You'd better have some serious self-discipline because in the coming hours and days the internet will be buzzing with reactions and obsessive, frame-by-frame analyses of this trailer. Hell, in the mere minutes it's taken me to write this opening paragraph hundreds of YouTubers have already posted their real time Last Jedi trailer reaction videos. Collider's reaction video instantly racked up 2 thousand views.
[Wait. 2 thousand? Good God. Why am I not on YouTube yet? Print is dead. Love live video. But let's table that for now.]
So, if you're someone wanting to maintain a pure fan experience for The Last Jedi get ready to do a lot of this:
I wish I could be that strong. See, I'm one of those people who believes that with a movie as unique as Last Jedi trailers are almost completely unnecessary. They serve as helpful reminders of the film's release date, but offer little more than that beyond unnecessarily spoilers, fodder for online news cycles and content for clickbait-needy outlets. When you're the sequel to a movie that grossed over two billion worldwide you don't exactly have to worry about drumming up enthusiasm or working hard to get audiences out on opening weekend.
But I say that as someone who loved Force Awakens. Not everyone felt the same way. Plus, the fact that last year's Rogue One grossed a billion less than Force Awakens worldwide suggests, well, not exactly a weakness in the force but a potential vulnerability. So, Disney can't simply sleep on this. They have to put out some new footage, and much as my better instincts told me not to I simply couldn't resist. Thankfully, holy shitballs does this trailer deliver:
I can't wait to see what the Emo Kylo Ren Twitter account has to say about real Kylo's Last Jedi attempt to add matricide to his list of achievements. He's already killed his dad. Why not add mom for good measure because maybe then Snoke will truly love him and he'll finally quiet those inner voices which keep telling him he's not dark or tortured enough. Except, of course, those voices are probably never going away.
Freakin' Kylo.
Looking back at what I said about Last Jedi's teaser trailer in April, I realize this new trailer could be accused of the same thing. Quoting myself here, "To all those who regard Force Awakens as a pale imitation of New Hope, you're probably seeing more of the same from Last Jedi since this trailer promises an Empire Strikes Back-like series of down notes (thank you very much, Clerks) merged with Luke (as Yoda) training Rey (as Luke)."
The new wrinkle is this trailer's implication that at some point Rey might join forces with Kylo.
Or that might just be two completely different scenes spliced together to mislead us.
Or it's a real scene but one which will have a far different meaning once viewed in context.
I don't know. We should never completely trust trailers, but the narrative Disney's marketing department seems to be spinning here is that in The Last Jedi Rey and Kylo's relationships with their respective mentors will sour and turn them toward each other, thus circling back to The Force Awakens ' finale when Kylo offered to train her.
If that truly comes to pass in Last Jedi man will Luke have seriously dropped the ball, all because Rey's powers seem to terrify him and force painful memories of his failure with Kylo. At least that means we might get the long-expected flashback to Kylo's rebellion and the formation of the Knights of Ren.
I'm not completely opposed to the idea of our presumptive chosen one joining sides with our presumptive villain, but it would be such a radical departure from franchise norms that I don't completely trust it. Kylo killing Han Solo seemed to close the book on him as a redeemable character, and we haven't seen enough to understand how Rey could ever even dream of siding with him. More likely, we are seeing some attempt at subterfuge on Rey's part, but it's the thing Luke warns her won't go as well as she expects, which is why we also see her apparently being tortured by Snoke at one point.
Or Kylo is actually the one switching sides in that moment , not Rey.
I clearly don't really know what is happening there, but damn is it ever intriguing.
Elsewhere, we see Finn lock swords with Captain Phasma, Poe delivers a rousing hero speech, Leia helplessly hopes Kylo doesn't blow her ship to smithereens, this holiday season's new favorite toy makes an appearance alongside Chewie on the Millennium Falcon....
...and Snoke makes his first non-hologram appearance.
All in all, an intoxicating set of images and sounds from a movie we're all going to be seeing just over 2 months from now .
Where do you stand on the trailer and some of its plot implications? Let me know in the comments.
