Is Rey going to follow Ben Solo to the Dark Side?
That's one of several questions posed by the new trailer for the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Episode VIII of the main Star Wars saga, that debuted during last night's Monday Night Football game, where the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Chicago Bears 20-17.
The two minute, thirty second trailer opens with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) standing in front of a window, overlooking what appears to be a weapons plant manufacturing dozens of First Order combat walkers.
We hear a voiceover from Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), who says "When I found you, I saw raw, untamed power. And beyond that, something truly special."
We cut to Crait, a new mineral planet that now serves as a base of operations for General Leia’s Resistance. Old school AT-ATs are on the march, along side larger versions known as AT-M6s, as well as Kylo Ren’s personal shuttle.
The next few shots show Kylo Ren leading a garrison of stormtroopers through a craggy black rock formation, then kneeling in a blood-red room and reaching down to pick up his lightsaber.
Cutting to the planet Ahch-To, we see Rey (Daisy Ridley) finally handing over the lightsaber she recovered in The Force Awakens to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). "Something inside me has always been there," remarks Rey. "But now it’s awake. And I need help."
Rey walks toward what looks like a giant, decayed tree trunk. Inside the tree, she finds a modest bookshelf first shown in the teaser trailer. Rey then demonstrates her will over the Force, sending cracks through the ground as she meditates.
Luke appears considerably terrified by Rey's strength in the Force. "I’ve seen this raw strength only once before," he begins, as the trailer cuts to a flashback. Luke’s mechanical arm emerges from a heap of fiery splintered wood. Standing next to R2-D2, Luke's knees buckle at the sight of his temple ablaze. "It didn't scare me enough then. It does now."
We see a close-up of Kylo Ren’s face, which highlights the scar that Rey gave him in the previous film is now covered by a black metallic strip, either for healing or simply accentuating his new facial feature. He smashes his helmet against a wall, echoing the shot in the teaser of its shattered remains.
"Let the past die," remarks Kylo Ren. "Kill it if you have to. That’s the only way to become what you were meant to be."
Kylo Ren shows his family's talent for flying in his new TIE silencer, ripping through Resistance capital ships. Snoke’s Mega Star Destroyer, the Supremacy, is visible in the background. We then see General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), Kylo Ren’s mother and leader of the Resistance, as she watches the carnage. Kylo Ren aims at the bridge of a ship, his grip tightening around the firing mechanism, as it's heavily implied that Kylo Ren will murder his mother as well.
The Millennium Falcon speeds through a cave of red crystals, which may be the minerals found on Crait. The mighty Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo) lets out a roar as a porg squawks beside him. The camera doesn’t show us who’s in the Falcon’s pilot seat.
We then see hotshot pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), who makes a brief motivational speech. "We have a spark that’ll light the fire that’ll burn the First Order down."
The trailer cuts to images of ex-stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) dressed as a First Order officer, presumably in disguise. Carrying a First Order riot control baton, Finn charges at his nemesis Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) in what appears to be the ruins of the combat walker factory from the beginning of the trailer.
Next, we see a number of fleeting images, including BB-8 shaking off an electric shock in an X-Wing, and Luke lying down in the rain, warning someone off-camera, "This is not going to go the way you think." Returning to Crait, we see a new creature that resembles a crystalline ice fox running toward what looks like a Resistance base.
Rey plunges into a pool of water and emerges in a grotto. Luke stands over her wearing his darker robes. We see a massive battalion of stormtroopers and officers overseeing the factory. Finn enters, wearing the same disguise he wears while fighting Phasma.
We cut to Snoke, presumably not a giant hologram this time, reaching out to someone off screen "Fulfill your destiny," he says as we immediately widen to a shot of Rey being bent over by the Force and screaming in agony.
In the final scene, we cut to black and hear Rey’s voice say "I need someone to show me my place in all this." The camera switches to Kylo Ren, surrounded by sparks and ashes, with his face now missing the metallic stripe and leaving the scar behind. Kylo Ren offers his hand, leading us to think he's offering it to Rey, but the sparks and ashes don't appear alongside Rey, so who knows?
If you'd like to check out the new trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official Star Wars account on YouTube...
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 15, 2017.