“We’ve passed on all we know. A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight,” hints Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker.
(Well, Ghost Luke, I’m guessing…)
This week at D23, LucasFilm released new footage from The Rise of Skywalker, leading fans to speculate what it all means as the Skywalker Saga comes to an end.
I for one got excited for the first time in a long time.
Check out the special look at then let’s break it down:
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker | D23 Special Look
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker | D23 Special Look
Of course, the most buzz-worthy scene is “Dark Rey” wielding a duel-bladed — and red — lightsaber. I don’t want to fansplain to you or anything, but red blades are of course associated with the Sith, who often preferred synthetic crystals energized by the dark side of the force.
Rey’s blade could mean a number of things. Maybe she nicked it? Maybe she turned to the dark side? Or probably maybe it’s just a vision. Rey hasn’t had a character flaw yet, but who knows? Maybe J.J. Abrams wants to throw us a curve ball.
(PS: Has anyone else noticed how dangerous these fancy lightsabers are? Like, how does Kylo Ren not chop his leg off any time he ignites his crossguard lightsaber?? The Force can only do so much…)
I just want to know that he attended his safety brief.
Anyway, back to Rey.
Twitter user Alan Johnson has a different theory about Dark Rey:
I still think Rey is a clone and the Sith version from the new The Rise of Skywalker trailer is a clone that has been activated and possessed by Emperor Palpatine. The vision she had in The Last Jedi screamed “clone” to me at the time.pic.twitter.com/ztoM5sqJmZ
Now that would be interesting to me. And I’m going full nerd to tell you why.
A brief history on clones in the Star Wars universe: they were bred to fight as soldiers under their Jedi commanders during the time of the Republic (think prequels). Under Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the clone troopers fought the droid army of the Separatists during the Clone Wars.
But there was a hidden trigger implanted into every clone, and Palpatine (who of course we know was a Sith), issued Order 66, which named the Jedi Knights enemies of the Republic and called for their eradication. The clone militants purged the galaxy of the Jedi and gave Palpatine unchecked control of the Republic, allowing him to become the true antagonist of the original trilogy.
Also read: The first ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ teaser trailer just dropped
Emperor Palpatine was thrown into a deep shaft by Darth Vader during the Battle of Endor —presumably dead — and yet promo materials for the Rise of Skywalker have been teasing his return.
Could Palpatine have survived his fall? I’d say yes — any trained Force-user can levitate so it’s far-fetched for them to fall to their death. Theoretically he could have also hidden himself for all these years.
If he is alive, and Rey is a clone, that could pose many questions. Is Dark Rey also a clone? Could Palpatine “Order 66” her? Are there more versions of her? (I mean, I wouldn’t be unhappy with an Orphan Black situation…)
As a fan, it’s fun to consider the possibilities, which makes The Rise of Skywalker even more fun to look forward to.
