Every secret and clue in the first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi just went live a short while ago, and you’ve probably seen it a dozen times already, haven’t you? I don’t blame you. After months of waiting, director Rian Johnson’s sequel to The Force Awakens revealed a lot within less than two minutes. Let’s unpack it all.

Ach-To baby! Bad U2 references aside, The Last Jedi isn’t wasting any time when this sequel picks up. Two years may have passed since The Force Awakens debuted back in 2015, but Rey’s getting an education from Luke’s school of hard knocks right from the opening.

Hogwarts, go suck a lemon. The Ach-To sequences were filmed all over Ireland, gorgeous new locations where Luke has spent the last couple of years in exile.

“Breathe…just breathe,” Luke says. Well I would, but these scenic shots have left me downright breathless so far.

If The Last Jedi is the Empire Strikes Back of the new trilogy, then I love this little callout to Luke’s unfinished training with Yoda on Dagohbah. While Rey’s full potential to wield the Force has yet to be explored in depth, she’s clearly got a lot of potential that Luke will hone. Either that, or this is our first look at Zack Snyder’s Supergirl movie.

I love how Rey’s vision of the galaxy around her, focuses on the late Carrie Fisher’s presence as that of a symbol of light and hope. The heart and soul of the Star Wars franchise, Fisher finished filming on the Last Jedi before her untimely death last December. Gone, but clearly not forgotten, Fisher was always that welcome lighter side of the Force within Star Wars.

As for the dark? Vader’s legacy has clearly been shattered in this little metaphor, as the First Order regroups for the next phase of their plan. While the loss of Starkiller Base may have been a massive blow to the remnant forces of the Galactic Empire, they’d clearly managed to strike a decisive blow when they destroyed the seats of power belonging to the New Republic.

The galaxy is in chaos right now, and the First Order isn’t going to waste that opportunity to reclaim the worlds lost since the fall of the Emperor in Episode VI.

No idea where this scene takes place, but it may have been a hideout for the Jedi judging by the insignia of the nearly extinct order of Force-wielders.

Rey’s training on Ach-To continues, as Luke Skywalker wonders if he should have loaned her that DVD with the montage sequence from the first Highlander movie on it.

No idea yet what these vehicles are, but they look like the bastard children of the Red Arrows and pod-racers. I’m more curious to see which planet they’re marking though. Are we back on Jakku? Jedha from Rogue One? There’s only so many desert planets around in the Outer Rim after all.

Man, Finn got f*cked up at the end of The Force Awakens after he attempted to challenge Kylo Ren in lightsaber combat. John Boyega’s character is going to need a whole lot of Bacta to heal from that one-sided fight.

Poe Dameron! BB-8! The real stars of Star Wars are finally here and ready to kick ass!

Or maybe not. While Poe’s trademark black X-Wing gets sent to the scrapheap, it looks like the First Order is closing in on the Resistance. Remember, they had the location to the Resistance base and more than enough manpower to pick a fight with them even after Starkiller Base was destroyed. Looks like Snoke and General Hux are proving that sometimes, the Empire strikes first.

Fun fact: Director Rian Johnson happened to leave his signature on the Millenium Falcon. I’m kind of hoping that the CGI team on The Last Jedi kept it there for the digital version of the Falcon. Who’s piloting it though? With Han Solo dead, I’d bet Rey is more than ready to scrap with the First Order in the ol’ rust-bucket.

Heh. Blue Rey. Hehehehehehe.

Kylo Ren! Honestly, I thought he’d have a much more pronounced facial scar after the ass-kicking from Rey, but he’s looking damn good for a Sith disciple who barely survived the destruction of a sun-eating planet-shattering superweapon. And he still has his signature light saber. You can bet that the disciple of Snoke is very hungry for a more even rematch with Rey after The Force Awakens.

One of the biggest questions in the Force Awakens, was the mystery of Luke. Just what happened to him and his new Jedi academy? We got a mere glimpse of the destruction done by the Knights of Ren in the 2015 film, and it looks like we’ll be getting a much deeper flashback as Luke finds out that he was too late to stop another Jedi culling.

Ah Captain Phasma, the Boba Fett of new Star Wars: She looks cool, stands around doing nothing and got a humiliating exit. Here’s hoping that Gwendolyne Christie’s badass chrometrooper commander gets to actually do something in the Last Jedi.

I love me a glorious space battle. Rogue One set the bar high last year with it’s third act solar brouhaha, as the Empire and the Rebel Alliance had a major engagement against one another. With two decades to arm up and replenish their ranks, I’m looking forward to seeing a much bigger confrontation play out between the First Order and the Resistance as they stage their very own space Waterloo.

“It’s time for the Jedi to end.”

What does that “one truth” even mean? Perhaps Luke has a point. The balance of the universe has constantly been tipped in favour of the Sith over the years as the Jedi order has been hounded towards extinction several times. Clearly the old ways are not working, and it’s time for a new order to rise from the ashes. Is The Last Jedi singular or plural? I’ve got a sinking feeling that Skywalker may very well be that last Jedi, the one Force-wielder who finally brings balance to the ancient belief system and blazes a path for something…different to fight back against the Dark Side.

And that’s it folks! A short but brief teaser. It’s going to be a long wait until December.

Last Updated: April 14, 2017