USA TODAY International Edition
‘Last Jedi’ trailer expands the mythology
A look at Luke, where everyone is after the battle
ORLANDO “I only know one truth: It’s time for the Jedi to end.”
That’s a pretty charged statement to make in front of a packed house of Star Wars nerds. But after his non- speaking appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Luke Skywalker ( Mark Hamill) has some pretty deep stuff to say in the first teaser trailer for the next episode in the saga, The Last Jedi ( in theaters Dec. 15).
He looks to be the Yoda to Daisy Ridley’s Rey, though the old Jedi master doesn’t seem as in love with the Force as he once was. Or is he?
“I thought that was a really good starting point just to let everyone know this might not end up being what you expect,” writer/ director Rian Johnson told USA TODAY after unveiling the trailer Friday at Star Wars Celebration.
The Last Jedi picks up where Force Awakens left off, with Rey going to see Luke on a desolate island. It’s evident from the new footage, during which we hear a voiceover of Luke training Rey in the Force and see her experiencing the physicality involved, that it won’t be an easy road.
Former Stormtrooper Finn ( John Boyega) remains in a medical tank following a battle with Kylo Ren ( Adam Driver). Meanwhile, X- wing pilot Poe Dameron ( Oscar Isaac) and his droid BB- 8 are scrambling to their ship as the Resistance is attacked by the First Order, on the warpath after the detonation of Starkiller Base.
The trailer offers a glimpse of a burning building and hints at what happened between Luke and nephew Ben that resulted in the Jedi master becoming a recluse and his prodigy adopting the name Kylo and joining the Dark Side. But the focus is largely on Rey, as she figures out how to harness the Force.
“Who knows what Luke’s been doing all this time or why he’s on an island in the middle of the sea?” Ridley says. “All the directions it could go in are very exciting, and the one it ends up going in is really cool.”
As with every Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi boasts new vehicles and planets that will appeal to younger fans. But Johnson also has woven in callbacks to the original trilogy for older fanboys and girls. A scene from the Battle of Crait featuring podracer- style Resistance ships preparing to engage First Order AT- ATs harks back to The Empire Strikes Back’s Battle of Hoth.
Is it time for the Jedi to end? Nope. Sorry, Luke, but we’re down for more.