The Star Wars saga continues with the latest trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, second in the new Skywalker trilogy, returning us to a galaxy far, far away at a time of great unrest. Director Rian Johnson steps up to the plate to bring us another taste of the visual feast coming this December. And when the last trailer ends with a grizzled Luke claiming that the famed heroes known as the Jedi must end, it has a lot to live up to.
Not only does The Last Jedi have the responsibility of carrying on the torch passed on from The Force Awakens, JJ Abrams’ first chapter in the trilogy, it must expand upon the characters and their universe in fresh, interesting ways. And it must handle with grace and care what we suspect is the final full performance of Carrie Fisher (General Leia Organa), whose tragic loss sent shockwaves through the Star Wars fandom earlier this year.
All of this in addition to setting us up for the inevitable third chapter, back in the hands of the director who jumpstarted the franchise again, with JJ Abrams retaking the reigns after Jurassic World‘s Colin Trevorrow stepped away from the project, citing creative differences.
With all this on his shoulders, Rian Johnson brings us The Last Jedi, and one can only hope it strikes us half as strongly as the previous middle chapter, The Empire Strikes Back.
After charming the pants off Breaking Bad fans with some of the crime drama’s most stellar episodes, and carving a new niche into genre film with the sci-fi triumph Looper, Rian Johnson is poised to bring us something spectacular, his biggest project to date, and surely what will burn his name into the brains of many an uninitiated nerd.
And, with all the criticisms lobbied at the previous film in the Skywalker story, fairly or unfairly, we’ll have to hope he’s brought his A-game to the table on this one.
Considering what’s set before us in the new trailer, I don’t suspect we’ve got much to worry about. We’ve got our first real look at Snoke, who previously only appeared in hologram form. John Boyega’s taking no guff from Gwendoline Christie as they face off, using a familiar weapon from The Force Awakens that got a lot of people talking unexpectedly. Oscar Isaac’s holding it down with a rousing speech to weather the oncoming chaos. And Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver appear to be at a particularly troubling crossroads that perhaps leads the fate of the entire galaxy hanging on their next fateful decision.
At least until the guaranteed sequel. And the next one after that. And the next one after that. And…
Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives December 15, 2017. Be there or be spoiled instantly.
