The new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer is here and, with it, theories aplenty about what the new footage means. Palpatine steals the show, with the Sith Lord primed to make his first appearance in the sequel trilogy after lying low for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. But we also get snippets of what Kylo Ren and Rey will get up to when the blockbuster releases this winter.
Rey and Kylo Ren have, to this point, easily been the two best characters of the sequel trilogy. So here’s 10 trailer hints about the duo and what they could be doing in the final installment of the Skywalker saga.
Rey: She Will Train
One of the big complaints among Star Wars fans is that Rey seems too overpowered. She started The Force Awakens as a mere scavenger from Jakku, somebody who had to dig deep in the desert to make a living. But by the end of that movie, she’s stronger than Kylo Ren and, in The Last Jedi, she came agonizingly close to defeating the villain for a second time.
Yet it now looks as if she’s undergoing training. She had some under Luke Skywalker but, ultimately, their relationship didn’t really work out. The new trailer shows her throwing down a helmet, dodging blaster fire and sprinting at breathtaking speed using a lightsaber. This all seems to suggest she’s finally getting the training that’s been long overdue.
Kylo Ren: He Will Shed His Helmet Again
Kylo Ren loved wearing his helmet - until former master Supreme Leader Snoke called him a ‘child in a mask’ and mocked him for trying to be like his grandfather, Darth Vader. We know that he’s getting the item he smashed to pieces in The Last Jedi repaired, with previous footage showing us that.
But it seems as if Kylo will shed it again. The bulk of the trailer clips show him not wearing it, from when he fights Rey on the remains of the Death Star to when he stares off into the distance on an unknown world.
Rey: She Will Go Alone
One of the biggest criticisms of The Last Jedi was the decision to split the gang up. Rey spent most of the movie trying to convince Luke Skywalker to train her, leaving Chewbacca to just eat porgs all day. Poe Damaron whined at the way the Resistance was run while Finn and Rose Tico both underwent a separate mission on Canto Bight.
And while we’ve been told the heroes will spend most of the movie with each other, it seems as if Rey will undergo her own mission, leaving her friends behind. She flies to the Death Star ruins on her own and takes on Kylo Ren single-handedly in the trailer alone. The sight of Finn running towards their fight screaming her name also suggests she’d have gone without the full backing of her friends.
Kylo Ren: He Will Destroy Darth Vader’s Helmet
We’ve mentioned Kylo Ren’s relationship with his own helmet, but what about his links to the one worn by Darth Vader during the events of the original trilogy?
Kylo spoke lovingly and pleadingly to the helmet in The Force Awakens, requesting the help of his grandfather amid his struggles to choose between the light and dark sides of the force. Yet The Rise of Skywalker trailer appears to show him and Rey slicing it in half with their blue and red lightsabers. Consequently, we’re now desperate to know what prompts Kylo into such drastic action.
Rey: She Will Embrace Anger
While Rey may be Disney’s own Star Wars Princess, she’s not exactly a hero without flaws. Like Luke Skywalker during the original trilogy we’ve also seen examples of her tempted to turn to the dark side, such as when she nearly murders Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base and when she uses her anger to defeat Luke during an alteraction between the two.
When she allows anger to flow through her, she’s extremely powerful. And most of the footage from the trailer shows Daisy Ridley sporting a rather furious look on her face. We’ve seen ‘Dark Rey’ shown off in previous material - so it seems possible that she may stray down that path after all.
Kylo Ren: He Will Try To Turn Rey
By this point, Rey is clearly angry about the lack of information about her past. She was devastated when Kylo Ren informed her in The Last Jedi that her parents were ’nobodies’ from Jakku who sold her for drinking money. And she says in the newest clip from The Rise of Skywalker: “People keep telling me they know me. But no one does.”
Yet then Kylo Ren responds by saying ‘I do’. It’s simple, it’s minimalistic, but the way he says it suggests that he’s trying to get into her affections. He doesn’t say it in anger he says is calmly, almost as if to somebody he loves. And this suggests that the villain may have another crack at turning Rey to the dark side.
Rey: She Will Find Palpatine Terrifying
Palpatine is being kept under wraps, with Disney clearly hoping that nothing about the character and his imminent return leaks out ahead of The Rise of Skywalker’s release this Christmas. They hide his face in the trailer, showing merely his silhouette. But, in that scene, we get to see Rey’s reaction to the Sith Lord.
And she looks terrified. She was stubborn when facing Supreme Leader Snoke in The Last Jedi and refused to back down to Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens. But Palpatine clearly has a different impact on her. And it looks like she’s going to go through quite an ordeal when going up against him.
Kylo Ren: He Will Not Try To Kill Rey
While Kylo Ren may not be successful in trying to turn Rey, it’s also unlikely that he’ll kill her. In fact, looking back at the two previous sequel trilogy movies, it’s debatable whether he’s made any attempt on her life at all so far.
In The Force Awakens, he chooses to knock her unconscious and take her as his prisoner, rather than slaughter her. When they face off on Starkiller Base he says ‘you need a teacher’, offering a helping hand rather than anything bad. In The Last Jedi they team up and Kylo goes after the Resistance - but not specifically Rey. The trailer for The Rise of Skywalker shows the duo facing off but it’s Rey on the offensive, with Adam Driver’s character looking like he’s on the defensive.
Rey: She Will Need Guidance From Other Jedi
Towards the end of the trailer, we hear Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa both talk about the force while Rey stares forward, eyes watering and lightsaber ignited in her hand.
And it’s possible that Luke and Leia - who may die in the blockbuster - will help her in her fight against Palpatine. George Lucas originally contemplated Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda assisting Luke in his fight against Palpatine in Return of the Jedi and this footage hints those plans, like the Sith Lord himself, will be resurrected.
Kylo Ren: He Will Die
There’s a moment, near the end of the footage, where Kylo Ren seems to have some feeling of grim realization etched across his face. And given he’s not wearing his mask, it looks as if he’s come to an understanding that he may need to sacrifice himself in order for Palpatine to be defeated.
He looks composed yet there’s definitely an element of fear in there. Kylo has always been unreadable but, in this scene, he looks as if he’s going to do something big. And that, most likely, will lead to his death.
