NOTE: Possible spoilers for segments of The Force Awakens based on speculation and deduction from the trailers and other official sources.
Like many of you, I woke up Friday morning to the surprise of a new international trailer for The Force Awakens. Once again, J. J. Abrams threw us off the scent with talk of the last trailer being the “final” trailer other than a few TV spots and he surprised us with what is virtually a new, full trailer with many new shots and some revelations.
As I did with the “final” trailer, I will briefly examine some of the most intriguing shots.
The trailer opens with Rey inside one of the partially exposed engines of a buried Star Destroyer. She is prying something off of the engine, or perhaps trying to find a way inside the ship.
We see Rey’s speeder moving in the background with a single sunset. This is reminiscent of the twin sunsets in A New Hope and Anakin riding a speeder to find his mother in Attack of The Clones.
“Where do you come from? I know all about waiting. For my family.” Here we see shots of Rey having freed BB-8 from another scavenger’s net (as seen in a behind the scenes still) and the two of them walking across the dunes. The dialog suggests that BB-8 is waiting for someone, and, most intriguing, that Rey is also waiting for her family. Who is her family, why is she waiting for them, and how long has she been waiting?
BB-8 warns Rey and Finn of incoming TIE fighters on Jakku. This clearly precedes the shots we have seen before of Rey, Finn, and BB-8 escaping from Stormtroopers and TIE fighters towards the Millennium Falcon.
Kylo ignites his saber. Another look at the unstable, flame-like quality of the blade.
Rey and Finn exchange names on the Falcon. Note that Finn hesitates before he gives out his name. We know from the talking Finn toy that his designation is FN-2187. Finn is likely a nickname in the same way Clone Troopers made names out of their identification numbers. Is Finn more comfortable using his ID number, or is this possibly the first time he is using Finn as a name?
Leia in Resistance battle room. In these shots we also see Poe in his red flight jumpsuit, C-3PO with his new red arm, Chewie, and a character who looks to be played by Ken Leung, an actor from the Abrams produced TV series Lost. We know from Oscar Isaac’s appearance at Celebration that Poe was sent on a mission by Leia herself. Those who read the junior novel Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure know that this mission was to the planet Jakku.
BB-8 watches what is presumably the burning of the Jakku village from a distance. We know from earlier in the trailer that BB-8 is waiting for someone (likely Poe) when he meets Rey. We see from the ESPN trailer preview and the Comic-Con behind the scenes video that Poe is at this village when it is attacked. This is likely where Poe gets captured by the First Order.
Rey running on the leg of a downed AT-AT. We have seen her on this AT-AT in various behind the scenes photos and caught a glimpse of the foot in the “final” trailer as a ship takes off in the distance.
We get two new shots of Chewie, and one of them shows him using a detonator. What is he blowing up? The next shot shows another angle of the Star Destroyer bridge explosion from the “final” trailer, but I doubt that this is what he is actually exploding.
Kylo Ren slowly placing his saber at a frightened Rey’s neck. Note that she isn’t moving to defend herself. There is also an interesting distortion effect when the saber gets near her face. Has she been captured? Why isn’t she running? This is the same location as the shot of Rey firing a blaster in the “final” trailer and the ESPN preview teaser where she notices First Order ships overhead. It is not the same snow covered forest that we see Finn and Kylo face off in.
“Hope is not lost today. It is found.” We end on a slightly extended version of Rey crying over someone from the “final” trailer. With the new voice over, one could read a change in Rey’s face at the end of the shot from despair to a slight ray of hope (pun intended) as a source of light and wind comes from off screen. Is this Maz speaking? Is Rey the new hope of the Sequel Trilogy?
And then…
Once again, while editing the above section of the article, we got an unexpected early Christmas present in the form of a TV Spot featuring new and intriguing footage and voice-over for us to ponder.
First we see a shot of the Falcon flying towards what is likely Maz Kanata’s castle. This is the same location we saw being attacked by the First Order and defended by X-wings. We also hear new dialogue from Maz Kanata over the next few shots saying “I have lived long enough to see the same eyes in different people.”
As the dialogue plays out, we see Rey and BB-8 in the market on Jakku. Rey rises into frame and the scene cuts to a push-in on Han Solo in winter gear on what is presumably the ice planet of Starkiller Base.
This fades into the shot we have already seen of Poe and Finn at the Resistance base. The fade from Han to Poe and Finn with this dialogue could suggest that the cocky pilot Poe and the recent First Order defector Finn are going to share some of the traits of a young Han Solo.
“I see your eyes. I know your eyes!” I believe this is meant to imply that Rey is the daughter of Han and Leia. However, I also don’t think they would make it this obvious. I believe this is more trickery from Abrams and Co.
Slightly extended shot of the entrance to Maz’s castle. The new flag at the top is a variation of the insignia of The Broken Horn Syndicate as seen in Star Wars: Rebels.
We see part of the shot from the ESPN preview teaser of Rey witnessing First Order ships flying overhead. Is this the beginning of the invasion on Maz’s castle? If so, Rey and BB-8 are away from the castle. I noted in a previous article that Rey was not in the shot of Han, Finn, and Chewie being held by the First Order.
Rey fights an unknown assailant on Jakku. This is the first time we have seen Rey use the staff as a weapon. We know from several toy sets, and an entry on the official site’s Databank, that there are characters known as “Unkar’s thugs” living on Jakku. From the official site: “Unkar’s Thugs. The strong-armed bullies who work for junk dealer Unkar Plutt help keep his scavenging business running on the remote, lawless world of Jakku.” This figure also resembles a costume seen at Celebration labeled “Junkyard Thug.” One toy set includes one of Unkar’s thugs with BB-8 and the figure seen capturing BB-8 in his net. Is Rey defending BB from the thugs?
X-wings battle over Starkiller Base. This is reminiscent of the Death Star run from A New Hope.
Shot of Rey at Maz’s castle looking perhaps shocked or confused.
“Follow me.” Previously seen shot of Rey holding out a hand to Finn with new dialogue over it.
New angle of Rey firing a blaster. We now see that she is firing at Kylo Ren, who is blocking the shots with his saber.
Rey in Falcon cockpit. Is she taking it into Hyperspace?
Falcon blasting out of the forest on the Starkiller Base planet. Notice that this looks like the same forest treeline that was exploding over the shot of Poe being tortured by Kylo.
Until next time. May the Force be with you. Always.
