The third and final trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been released, and it’s the most action-packed yet. We now know for sure that Daisy Ridley (Rey) and John Boyega (Finn) are the new lead characters, and they get lots of screen time in the new trailer. But it’s what’s not in the trailer – and new poster for that matter – that may give us our biggest clues as to the plot.
Before we ruin Star Wars for you, it’s important that we talk about its director: JJ Abrams. Abrams beamed from the USS Enterprise to the Millennium Falcon after two successful Star Trek movies, and in the run up to both he went to great lengths to keep the plot and, more importantly, the characters, under wraps.
This was most notable with Star Trek Into Darkness and the character played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Fan theories had been suggesting that Cumberbatch would play Khan Noonian Singh, a legendary villain in Star Trek canon. Abrams and the cast rebuffed this time and time again, and in the build-up trailers we discovered that Cumberbatch was playing a villain called John Harrison.
The deception endured until the film’s release, when we discovered that yes, Cumberbatch was John Harrison, until he revealed his true identity to Captain Kirk: he was Khan after all.
“We knew it!”, the Trekkies cried.
What's more, in Star Trek (2009), Abrams destroyed the planet Vulcan. It sent many Trekkies into a frenzy, they couldn't believe that such an iconic part of the franchise had simply been destroyed - it was an almighty "wow" factor.
So we know that Abrams likes to keep us in the dark and characters don’t always have to be who we think they are. And that he is not afraid to destroy things we once thought were "safe".
What, then, does this new trailer tell us about the plot of the new movie? Well not much, but it does tell us something interesting.
First we have to look at the new poster, which was released a couple of days ago. It features our new lead characters, Rey and Finn, as well as Poe Dameron, an X-Wing fighter pilot who also plays a big role. Then we have our favourites: Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. But there’s a notable absence: where is Luke Skywalker? And why doesn’t he appear in the trailer, either?
How is this for a theory: is it possible that Luke Skywalker has, just like his father, turned to the Dark Side after all to, as we hear in the trailer, “Finish what you started”? These are the words of Kylo Ren, spoken to the melted remains of Darth Vader’s helmet. But, and bear with us, is it possible that Luke Skywalker is Kylo Ren?
According to the blurb on the characters, Kylo Ren is “a dark warrior strong with the Force, originally a member of the Knights of Ren, and commander of the First Order”. The First Order pledge allegiance the Empire brought down by the rebels in Return of the Jedi.
Adam Driver has been cast to play Kylo Ren, but that doesn’t strictly mean he is playing him. It’s just possible that Adam Driver is Kylo Ren’s “body behind the mask”, but that Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker, in case you needed reminding) will play the facial roles.
Don’t scoff. Remember that Darth Vader was played by David Prowse in episodes IV to VI, but you never saw Prowse as he was wearing the costume. In the movies Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones, so Prowse never spoke a single line. And then when Darth Vader was finally unmasked at the end of Return of the Jedi, he was played by Sebastian Shaw.
So it’s not impossible given the franchise’s history that Adam Driver is nothing more than a body-double for Mark Hamill, and add this to JJ Abrams’ record of lying about characters’ true identities and it starts to become more believable.
But what could have turned Luke Skywalker? The whole basis of the original trilogy was how he was strong and good, tasked with restoring peace to the galaxy. Then so was his father, Anakin, until he found himself on the wrong side of the Force and became Darth Vader. This is something we don’t know… yet. It could be anything from an infatuation with his father that led him to follow in his footsteps, or maybe in a post-Empire galaxy, the new powers aren’t as democratic as he would have liked.
Does it sound far-fetched? When you look at the facts and take the emotion of an evil Luke out of it, it doesn’t sound very far-fetched at all. He is the franchise’s most-loved and most important character, but he doesn’t appear on the poster or in the trailer, and for that there must be a reason.
A trailer will always offer clues, and remember that we see Princess Leia being comforted by Han Solo at 1.56 minutes in. This clip wasn’t added at random, so maybe it’s telling us that she’s sad about her dear brother, Luke?
Luke showed compassion for his father, Darth Vader, in Return of the Jedi and it’s hard to believe anyone would speak so passionately to a melted helmet as he would. Don’t forget, we saw Anakin Skywalker’s transition from nine-year old boy to evil Lord of the Sith in little over 10 years, so what could happen to Luke in 30?
It’s also important to remember that when Disney bought Star Wars they stated that they would be making “at least” three more films. We know that, and we also know that Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher are now senior citizens.
There is already a rumour that Han Solo is killed off in The Force Awakens, and with the introduction of Rey, Finn, and Poe, the franchise needs to transition to a new younger band of heroes.
Out with the old and in with the new? “It’s true, all of it” says Han. Is it Han? Is it?
